ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996              TAG: 9603200065
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-7  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: NEW YORK

PRODUCERS SETTLE IN MID-LAWSUIT WITH `PHILADELPHIA' LAWYER'S FAMILY

The hit movie ``Philadelphia'' was indeed inspired by a New York lawyer who was fired after he developed AIDS, the film's producers admitted Tuesday.

TriStar Pictures Inc. had insisted the events in the 1993 movie were fictitious and unrelated to the story of Geoffrey Francis Bowers, who was fired in 1986 by the world's largest law firm, Baker & McKenzie.

The settlement was reached on the fifth day of trial on a $10 million lawsuit filed by Bowers' family. Terms were not released. The lawsuit claimed that a producer, Scott Rudin, had promised the family would be paid.

Rudin sold his rights to the story for $100,000. The film grossed more than $157 million and is expected to return a $70 million profit.

- Associated Press

LENGTH: Short :   25 lines