Lennon's Sister Facing Lawsuit Over Film

A film about the early life of Beatles legend John Lennon has been throwninto jeopardy - the star's sister is facing legal action over the book on which the movie is based.

Lennon's sister Julia Baird collaborated with Geoffrey Giuliano on JohnLennon, My Brother, which was published in the late 1980s.

Baird went on to pen her own book, 2007's Imagine This Growing Up WithMy Brother John Lennon.

But Giuliano has accused Baird of basing her biography on his previous research into Lennon's life.

And now he is set to launch a legal battle over new movie Nowhere Boy -which is based on Baird's book - claiming he is entitled to 50 per cent of her earnings from the picture.

He says, "In doing my own research, I filled in a lot of blanks for her. More than half the material in the book is a result of my research. "Additional information in Imagine This was uncovered by me in my original research.

I was the person who conceptualised the original book". The movie will star Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff and is setfor release in 2010.