David Franco And Alison Brie Face Lawsuit For Allegedly Stealing Idea
Dave Franco and Alison Brie, along with WME, are being sued for allegedly stealing the idea for their body horror movie Together after another studio had to watch their “worst nightmare” unfold onscreen.
According to The Independent, a new lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court in which StudioFest accuses Franco and Brie, who are producers on the film, of turning down an offer to star in another film with a similar story.
The lawsuit alleges that the film is a “blatant rip-off” of their own and shares similar plots, such as identical endings and scenes. One of them is where the couple dances to a Spice Girls vinyl record after accepting their fates.
Dan Miller, a lawyer representing StudioFest, explained the main characters of the film are nearly identical to each other.
“In both works, the main characters’ careers are also substantially similar,” writes Miller in the complaint. “In both, Character A is a teacher and Character B is a punk artist looking for their big break.”
The complaint notes that these are not just tropes used, but an “artistic choice” that “defy any innocent explanation.”
Better Half, a 2023 film that StudioFest financed and owned the rights to, features a plot centering around a couple whose bodies have fused together following a one-night stand.
The lawsuit alleges that the pair made a “copycat film” alongside another WME client. Franco, Brie, WME, writer and director Michael Shanks, and Neon, which bought the rights to the film, and specifically named in the lawsuit.
StudioFest has claimed that the company optioned Patrick Phelan’s Better Half in 2019. A casting director followed up with WME agents who represent Franco and Brie, to send the script for the film as well as offer the couple a $20,000 offer to star.
The offer was declined, so StudioFest moved forward with production. However, it has claimed that they sat in “stunned silence, their worst nightmare unfolding” during this year’s Sundance Festival as Together premiered.
More similarities, according to StudioFest, involve a scene where rats are shown stuck together and then another scene later on where the characters become stuck together by their genitals in a bathroom.
Together is due to hit cinemas in July.
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