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San Francisco Chronicle
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area filmmaker of a Sundance hit being sued for ‘blatant rip-off'
Filmmaker and actor Dave Franco and his actress wife Alison Brie have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over their buzzy Sundance Film Festival horror film 'Together.' The suit, filed Tuesday, May 13, in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, says the couple's film is a 'blatant rip-off' of 'Better Half,' a 2023 independent film. Both movies play off the concept of a couple being physically fused together, and the suit alleges other plot and thematic elements in 'Together,' including a 'near verbatim' reference to Plato's Symposium, were lifted from the earlier film. 'Together' writer-director Michael Shanks, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment — which represents Franco and Brie — and Neon, the distributor which acquired 'Together' for $17 million out of Sundance, were also named as defendants. The plaintiff was listed as Studiofest, the production company of 'Better Half,' which was written and directed by Patrick Henry Phelan. The lawsuit also alleges that the casting director of 'Better Half' sent the script to Franco and Brie's agents at WME in August 2020 with an offer to star, but were turned down. A WME spokesperson told Variety that the suit is 'frivolous and without merit,' adding 'The facts in this case are clear and we plan to vigorously defend ourselves.' Franco, the 39-year-old brother of actor James Franco, is an alum of Palo Alto High School. He married Brie, 42, in 2017, and they have co-starred in four movies. Most recently, Franco directed the 2023 romantic comedy ' Somebody I Used to Know,' in which Brie was the lead.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
See Real-Life Couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco Go to Some Very Dark Places in Disturbing 'Together 'Trailer
Dave Franco and Alison Brie's (onscreen) relationship is undoubtedly put to the test in Together. Neon released a teaser trailer for the upcoming Michael Shanks-written and directed horror flick on Wednesday, March 19, which opens with a blissfully in-love Millie (Brie, 42) being carried by her husband Tim (Franco, 39) into their cozy-looking new home under a canopy of trees. The trailer soon shows just how those supernatural entities unfold, beginning with a sighting of two dogs in the forest that stand still in their tracks, as if frozen in time. Tim is next shown looking into a bathroom mirror, pulling a seemingly never-ending black string from inside his mouth, before Millie, who is presumably a teacher, peers down at a drawing done by one of her students: two fire-tailed dogs that appear conjoined at their heads, foaming at the mouth. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Related: Dave Franco and Alison Brie Joke Their Latest Movie Made Them 'More Codependent Than Ever' (Exclusive) Other disturbing images in the mostly dialogue-free trailer, set to an eerie instrumental piano piece, include Tim screaming from inside a pit, Millie appearing possessed as her body contorts and someone shaking as they levitate above the ground. Near the end of the preview, Tim tells Millie, "I love you," to which she responds, "I love you too." Together, Shanks' directorial debut, reunites Brie and Franco (who also co-produced) for the first time on-screen since the couple costarred in 2017's The Little Hours and The Disaster Artist. Franco also directed his wife in 2023's Somebody I Used to Know. 'With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple's relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh,' per a synopsis from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Together first premiered in January. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Related: Dave Franco and Alison Brie's Relationship Timeline During an interview with PEOPLE at the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, Texas, earlier this month, Brie told Franco that working with him is "very attractive." 'I am always so in awe of you when we're on set together,' added the Community alum, who has been married to Franco since 2017. 'We just gain more and more respect for each other," Franco told PEOPLE of working with his wife both on and off screen. 'We are getting to watch each other do new things,' Brie added. 'I'm endlessly impressed by the amount that Dave pushes himself outside of his comfort zone.' Together is in theaters Aug. 1. Read the original article on People
USA Today
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Yes, Dave Franco has heard your Luigi Mangione comparisons
Yes, Dave Franco has heard your Luigi Mangione comparisons Show Caption Hide Caption Watch Dave Franco and Alison Brie drink beer, talk new rom-com film Dave Franco and Alison Brie chat with USA TODAY's Ralphie Aversa at Loreley Beer Garden in Manhattan about their film, "Somebody I Used to Know." Entertain This!, USA TODAY Luigi Mangione has an undeniable celebrity lookalike. Actor Dave Franco, who social media users have been quick to compare to the alleged United Healthcare CEO assassin, is speaking out on those comparisons. "Has anyone approached you to play Luigi?" an interviewer for the Hollywood Reporter asked in a recent round of press for Franco's newest project. "Anyone? Do you mean everyone?" quipped Alison Brie, Franco's wife and co-star in the new body horror rom-com "Together." "I've never received more texts in my life about anything," Franco joked, adding no official offers had arrived but friends had been chiming in on the comparisons. "Anyone who has my phone number has reached out about it." Franco, who forms one part of a famous set of brothers (the other being James Franco), has collaborated with Brie on a few recent films, including "The Rental" and "Somebody I Used to Know." Before he was writing movies, he was starring in roles like Eric Molson in "21 Jump Street" and Jack Wilder in the "Now You See Me" franchise. Alison Brie and Dave Franco spill on their real-life, rom-com-worthy romance: 'I'm in trouble' Mangione, who is currently awaiting trial in a Manhattan jail, is accused of murdering healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in a politically motivated plot after becoming angered by the American healthcare system. After news of the murder's impetus became public, many across the U.S. also upset by the state of the insurance industry, lifted Mangione to a folk-like hero status, lauding not only the writings found on his person at the time of his arrest but also his appearance. That the killing played out like a true crime novel − complete with a police chase, bags of Monopoly money and a seeming manifesto − only added fuel to the fire. In a video with 2.8 million views, comedian Matt Buechele said of an FBI poster released of Mangione's face: "'Y'all, look for a low-key gorgeous assassin walking around the city.' It's like, you know how many gorgeous men there are in Manhattan? I'm supposed to just find him?" People are obsessing over the man charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO. How did we get here? "This has been happening for time immemorial," psychotherapist and author Stephanie Sarkis previously told USA TODAY of the pattern society has of lifting up embattled male figures. "It could be about the power of that person," she explained. "It could be that there's a danger to it. It could be also that the person thinks that they can fix the person. And sometimes there's no explanation for it. This is just what somebody's attracted to." Needless to say, with a biopic no doubt forthcoming, the internet's choice to play Mangione is already clear. Contributing: Charles Trepany
