Latest news with #Spiceworld
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alison Brie and Dave Franco's Together accused of idea theft
Alison Brie, Dave Franco, WME, and director/screenwriter Dave Shanks have all been named in a new lawsuit accusing them of stealing the idea for their forthcoming wide release Together. The film was a hit at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, and it was there that the producers of the 2023 film Better Half first felt that their film had been copied, they claim. In the lawsuit, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers of Better Half allege that after Patrick Phelan wrote the script in 2019, the film's casting director reached out to the WME agent representing Franco and Brie in 2020. The entire script was attached, the lawsuit says, and there was a $20,000 offer for them to take the lead roles. Obviously, Franco and Brie did not make the project, which continued production and quietly premiered in 2023. But when Together debuted this past winter, the producers felt that the two films had too many similarities for it to be pure coincidence. (There will be discussion of plot elements of Together in the rest of this paragraph, so consider this a spoiler warning.) Per the suit, both movies center on a couple that becomes 'physically fused together as a metaphor for codependency.' Both movies reference Plato's Symposium as a plot device, both characters try solutions from 'medical intervention to chainsaws,' both films have a scene where the main characters become attached at the genitals, and both films 'end in the same way, with the couple pulling out a vinyl record of the Spice Girls album—Spiceworld—in the scene where they accept their fate,' according to the suit. The suit goes on to run through similar themes and character motivations that the two films allegedly share. In a statement to Variety, a spokesperson for WME characterized the suit as 'frivolous and without merit.' The lawsuit concludes with a demand for a jury trial. More from A.V. Club What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas in a chaotic The Studio Alison Brie and Dave Franco's Together accused of idea theft Rosamund Pike says she was asked to undress for Die Another Day audition
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Alison Brie and Dave Franco sued over $17 million film 'Together' for allegedly copying indie movie 'Better Half'
Actors Alison Brie and Dave Franco are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over their upcoming film Together, which premiered at Sundance and was acquired by Neon for a reported $17 million. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, accuses Brie, Franco, and others of copying the 2023 indie film Better Half, citing shared plot points and thematic similarities. According to Variety, Better Half was written and directed by Patrick Henry Phelan and produced by StudioFest, the sole plaintiff. The film is a surreal romantic comedy about a couple who wake up physically fused after a one-night stand. In August 2020, a pitch for the project was sent to Franco and Brie's agents at WME, but was declined. The complaint alleges that Together not only replicates the central concept but also specific scenes, including one where the couple is joined at the genitals while trying to hide it from another character. Both films also reportedly end with the couple pulling out a vinyl copy of the Spice Girls' Spiceworld album as they accept their fate. Named defendants include Brie, Franco, WME, Neon, and writer-director Michael Shanks. StudioFest alleges the couple turned down the pitch in order to develop a similar project independently with a WME-affiliated writer. A WME spokesperson called the lawsuit 'frivolous and without merit,' adding that they plan to 'vigorously defend' against the claims. Together is scheduled for release on August 1.
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Alison Brie and Dave Franco sued for copyright infringement over Sundance horror ‘Together'
Alison Brie and Dave Franco are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over their new film Together, which premiered at Sundance and was acquired by Neon for a reported $17 million. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by StudioFest, alleges that the film is a 'blatant rip-off' of Better Half, a 2023 independent feature written and directed by Patrick Henry Phelan. According to the complaint, Together closely mirrors the central concept of Better Half, in which a man and woman find themselves physically fused together following a one-night stand. StudioFest alleges that the similarities go beyond basic premise, citing nearly identical sequences and themes, including a 'near verbatim' quote from Plato's Symposium, scenes involving desperate separation attempts, and an ending involving the Spice Girls' Spiceworld album. The lawsuit claims that Brie and Franco were pitched Better Half in 2020 by WME, their talent agency, but turned it down. StudioFest asserts that the couple, along with their agency, later pursued the concept independently with another writer. 'They wanted to produce the film themselves and have WME package the project,' the complaint alleges. Producers Jess Jacklin and Charles Beale reportedly discovered Together the day before its Sundance premiere. After attending the screening, they said they were 'stunned' by the resemblance. 'Scene after scene confirmed that Defendants did not simply take 'stock ideas'... but stole virtually every unique aspect of Better Half's copyrightable expression,' the filing states. Named defendants include Brie, Franco, WME, writer-director Michael Shanks, and distributor Neon. In a statement, WME dismissed the lawsuit as 'frivolous and without merit,' adding that they intend to 'vigorously defend' against the claims. Together is set for theatrical release on August 1.
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Collection of 30,000 vinyl albums sells for £132,000 at auction
A collection of vinyl records amassed over 60 years has been sold at auction for nearly £132,000, almost double the expected two-day sale was run by Ewbank's in Send, vinyl collection had been the life's work of an unnamed collector, who had recently had estimated the "jaw-dropping" collection would sell for about £80,000. A Peel Sessions collection, featuring artists including Jimi Hendrix, Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, Nico and Stiff Little Fingers, was expected to fetch between £800 and £1,200, but went for £4, a collection of Rolling Stones albums expected to sell for up to £400 went for £1,235, and a box of records by 90s artists, estimated to sell for between £300 and 500, was sold for £1,430.A box of Jimi Hendrix Experience albums went for more than twice its £500 estimate, at £1,040, and a copy of the David Bowie LP The Man Who Fell To Earth, with an estimated price of £500, was sold for £1, a copy of the Spice Girls' album Spiceworld, which had an estimated price of £340 to £360, sold for £780.
