Lawsuit could delay ‘Da Vinci’ movie

It’s the latest twist for the mega-selling conspiracy thriller “The Da Vinci Code” – a lawsuit against the book’s publisher for breach of copyright that could delay the much-anticipated movie version.

Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of the 1982 nonfiction book “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail,” are suing publisher Random House, claiming that parts of their work formed the basis of Dan Brown’s novel.

If the writers succeed in securing an injunction to bar the use of their material, they could hold up the scheduled May 19 release of “The Da Vinci Code” film, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.

Brown is expected to give evidence in London’s High Court next week. “The Da Vinci Code” has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide and remains high on best seller lists nearly three years after publication.

Both it and “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail” hinge on the theory that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and they had a child, and that bloodline survives to this day.

The lawyer for Baigent and Leigh, Jonathan Rayner James, said the suit was not an attempt to “stultify creative endeavor” or to claim a monopoly on ideas or historical debate, but to prove that Brown had “relied heavily” on the earlier work.

Jonathan Baldwin, representing Random House, said the two authors were making “wild allegations.”