MOVIES - July 9, 1987

Writer Dyanne Asimow Simon has filed a suit against Paramount Pictures and director Ron Howard for more than $2 million, alleging that they stole her story idea to make the 1986 film “Gung Ho.” Simon claims that she met with executives of Imagine Films, Howard’s production company, in 1982. She discussed her idea for a comedy about a Japanese automobile manufacturer taking over an American plant, Simon said, but was ultimately told that Paramount executives were not interested. As a result, she alleged, her professional reputation has suffered “irreparable harm.” Officials of Paramount studios were not immediately available for comment.