Writer sues over 'Knocked Up,' says movie a knock-off of her book

A Calgary writer has accused U.S. filmmakers of the hit comedy "Knocked Up" of using her ideas for their movie, adding that her suit is not a grab for cash.

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Lifestyles writer Rebecca Eckler's book, "Knocked Up: Confessions of a Hip Mother-to-be," relates her experience as an on-the-rise journalist who becomes pregnant at her engagement party. It was released in 2004 in Canada and in 2005 in the United States, the Toronto Star reported Tuesday.

"Knocked Up" opened last weekend, taking in nearly $30 million in U.S. box office receipts. It is about an up-and-coming entertainment journalist who gets a promotion, celebrates a bit much and becomes pregnant.

"Everywhere I go, people ask if it's based on my book," Eckler said.

Denying claims that she's in it for the money, Eckler said she filed suit in January in Los Angeles, well before the movie's release.

Eckler said she began legal proceedings after a friend sent her a copy of the screenplay and she noticed similarities between her book and the movie starring Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen.

The suit named writer-director Judd Apatow, Universal Studios and NBC Universal Inc.