Man Claims Hangover 2 Is Based On His Life -- Well, Except For the Transsexual Prostitute Part

Remember this summer's Hangover Part II? The Todd Phillips sequel about American pals who indulge in blacked-out Bangkok escapades involving kidnapped Buddhist monks, a chain-smoking monkey, Toyota car chases, kathoey prostitutes, Russian mobsters and Mike Tyson singing an obscure '80s song from Murray Head? Well, now someone is claiming that the critically disappointing blockbuster was based on his own life, and he's suing the filmmakers.

The claim comes from Michael Alan Rubin, a screenwriter who attests that his Asian adventures -- particularly the ones he outlined in his own, horribly-titled (no offense, Michael) script Mickey and Kirin -- inspired Hangover 2. It all started four years ago. Cue the fuzzy dissolve...

It was 2007 and Michael Alan Rubin was four years younger than he is now. [Wish I could expand on this but no age is given.] Rubin had just married a Japanese woman named Tamayo in...Japan. The lovebirds spent their honeymoon in Thailand and India, The Hollywood Reporter reports, only instead of enjoying their time overseas, "differences started arising over Rubin's financial condition." What kind of differences exactly? Apparently the kind that make the bride refuse to share a room with her groom. At some point in India, Rubin met with a Bollywood producer and decided to salvage his new marriage write a script based on (what sounds like) a miserable honeymoon. So that happened and Rubin allegedly deposited a copy with the Writers Guild of America.

Fast forward four years. Rubin has seemingly miraculously missed all of Warner Bros.' marketing -- billboards, previews, television spots, Internet ads, talk show segments -- and hears about the plot of Hangover 2 from a friend. Upon hearing that this movie also features some wild and crazy hijinks involving American guys and a wedding, Rubin files a lawsuit in California suing the Hangover 2 filmmakers for copyright infringement, misappropriation of his publicity rights, and defamation.

Why defamation? Because Rubin believes that the filmmakers "suggested the inference that he was under the influence of drugs when he ditched his girlfriend and proposed to a male-to-female transexual prostitute." [Spoilers, if you haven't seen The Hangover 2] In the film, the four main characters played by Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha and Zach Galifianakis consume marshmallows laced with muscle relaxants and ADHD medicine. Ed Helms's character, while intoxicated, has sex with a male-to-female transgender prostitute.

Rubin will be representing himself in court.

This is the third lawsuit to be filed against the Hangover 2 filmmakers. The first, filed by the artist who designed Mike Tyson's face tattoo, has been settled. The second, filed by a stunt man who claims to have suffered brain injuries while making the film, is still pending. The Hangover Part II grossed over $580 million worldwide.

· Man Sues Claiming 'Hangover II' Ripped Off His Life Story (Exclusive) [THR]