No less than they’ll face it collectively.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over their upcoming movie “Together,” The Publish can verify.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, Could 13, by manufacturing firm StudioFest, which claimed that they pitched the script to Franco and Brie’s brokers at WME in 2020 however the real-life couple allegedly “passed on the offer to star in the project.”
Quick-forward to January 2025, when StudioFest “learned that Franco and Brie were producing and starring in a virtually identical film entitled Together, written and directed by another WME client—Michael Shanks.”
Within the lawsuit obtained by The Publish, the manufacturing firm accused Brie, 42, and Franco, 39, of manufacturing a “blatant rip-off” of a “Better Half,” a 2023 impartial movie written by Patrick Phelan and produced by Jess Jacklin and Charles Beale, which StudioFest claimed it had “exclusive rights to develop, produce and exploit.”
Within the court docket paperwork, StudioFest’s lawyer, Dan Miller, identified what he claimed to be the “striking similarities” between each movies, together with their alleged plot factors and the principle idea of a pair who “wake up to find their bodies physically fused together as a metaphor for codependency.”
“My client’s original work was stolen,” Miller informed The Publish on Wednesday. “The similarities between the 2 works are staggering and defy any harmless rationalization.
“We intend to hold the defendants accountable,” he added, “and look forward to trial.”
Jacklin and Beale created StudioFest, per the paperwork; nevertheless, the corporate is the one plaintiff listed within the lawsuit.
Brie and Franco, who married in March 2017, have been allegedly approached to star in “Better Half” after the casting director reportedly despatched a script to the pair’s brokers at William Morris Endeavor on August 19, 2020 by way of e mail, per the lawsuit’s exhibit reviewed by The Publish.
The next day, Franco’s agent knowledgeable the casting director that “Dave was going to pass but thank you for thinking of him.”
In response to the lawsuit, Brie additionally “passed” on the supply.
“Together,” which hits theaters this summer season, premiered in January on the Sundance Movie Pageant. It was offered to Neon for “approximately $17 million” following a bidding conflict.
The newly filed lawsuit alleged that Brie and Franco “rejected StudioFest’s offer” for “Better Half” as a result of “they wanted to produce the film themselves and have WME package the project with one of the agency’s own writers.”
“In both ‘Better Half’ and ‘Together,’ the main characters struggle to navigate daily life as their physical attachment progresses and they start to control each other’s body parts,” the go well with charged whereas explaining the alleged “blatant” similarities between the 2 horror flicks.
“While at first they desperately search for ways to detach their bodies – from medical intervention to chainsaws – by the end, they resign themselves to their conjoined existence,” the court docket paperwork learn.
The go well with additionally named WME, director/author Michael Shanks, and Neon within the criticism.
StudioFest is asking to be awarded damages within the quantity {that a} jury sees match, in addition to lawyer’s charges, and extra.
Brie and Franco beforehand mentioned “Together” throughout an interview with The Hollywood Reporter earlier than it premiered at Sundance earlier this 12 months.
Franco mentioned that he signed on to each produce and star within the film after a gathering with Shanks.
Brie added that she “lurked in the shadows” of Franco and Shanks’ dialogue and solely signed on after her husband shared the script together with her.
“I remember reading the script and immediately turning to Alison to say, ‘I think we should act in this one together,’ because the characters had been together for over a decade,” the “Love Lies Bleeding” star mentioned.
“I figured that our real-life relationship could lend itself well to that dynamic,” Franco added.
WME, the couple’s expertise company, has since known as StudioFest’s criticism towards them, their purchasers and Shanks “frivolous and without merit” in an announcement to THR.
“The facts in this case are clear and we plan to vigorously defend ourselves,” the company added.
The Publish has reached out to Brie and Franco’s reps, in addition to WME, for remark.
