Behind the Story Line

By Jess Cagle

After being shot down over Bosnia in 1995, U.S. Air Force Captain Scott O'Grady survived for days by eating insects. Surviving in Hollywood may prove equally arduous. O'Grady filed suit last week against 20th Century Fox, claiming that the 2001 movie Behind Enemy Lines, about a U.S. soldier shot down over Bosnia, ripped him off. But last November, before he saw the film, O'Grady told TIME he had read the script and wasn't bothered by similarities. "Anything that's semipatriotic is good because I'm patriotic," he said. A Fox representative says, "We were surprised because at the time of release, Mr. O'Grady's public comments acknowledged that the movie was not his story." What changed? Just before the film's release, O'Grady learned that Fox was advertising the movie during the Discovery Channel documentary Behind Enemy Lines: The Scott O'Grady Story--a tactic he says exploited him. (The channel is named in the suit.) According to his complaint, "Captain O'Grady was also troubled that the 'hero' in the Fox movie used foul language, was portrayed as a 'hot dog' type pilot, and disobeyed orders." O'Grady claims that earlier this year Fox "admitted" the movie was based on his 1995 autobiography. He is suing for unspecified damages and a share of the film's profits. --By Jess Cagle