Dave Franco, Alison Brie sued for copyright…
At least they will face it collectively.
Alison Brie and Dave Franco have been hit with a copyright infringement lawsuit over their upcoming movie “Together,” The Post can affirm.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, May 13, by manufacturing company StudioFest, which claimed that they pitched the script to Franco and Brie’s brokers at WME in 2020 but the real-life couple allegedly “passed on the offer to star in the project.”
The real-life couple is being sued for alleged copyright infringement. WireImage
Fast-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.”
In the lawsuit obtained by The Post, the manufacturing company accused Brie, 42, and Franco, 39, of producing 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.”
According to the lawsuit, StudioFest despatched a WME agent the script and offer for the couple to star in the movie back in 2020. NEON
However, Dave Franco and Alison Brie “passed on the offer to star in the project,” according to the lawsuit. NEON
In the court paperwork, StudioFest’s attorney, Dan Miller, identified what he claimed to be the “striking similarities” between both movies, including their alleged plot factors and the primary idea of a couple who “wake up to find their bodies physically fused together as a metaphor for codependency.”
“My client’s original work was stolen,” Miller advised The Post on Wednesday. “The similarities between the 2 works are staggering and defy any harmless clarification.
“We intend to hold the defendants accountable,” he added, “and look forward to trial.”
“My client’s original work was stolen,” StudioFest’s attorney advised The Post on Wednesday. NEON
It wasn’t until January 2025 that StudioFest allegedly found the couple was starring in “Together.” NEON
The horror movie was proven at this yr’s Sundance Film Festival and reportedly sparked a large bidding struggle. NEON
Jacklin and Beale created StudioFest, per the paperwork; however, the company is the only plaintiff listed in 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 via e-mail, per the lawsuit’s exhibit reviewed by The Post.
The following day, Franco’s agent knowledgeable the casting director that “Dave was going to pass but thank you for thinking of him.”
According to the lawsuit, Brie also “passed” on the offer.
The attorney claimed the flick is a “blatant rip-off” to “Better Half.” NEON
StudioFest’s attorney listed what he claimed to be the “striking similarities” between both movies. NEON
“Together,” which hits theaters this summer season, premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival. It was bought to Neon for “approximately $17 million” following a bidding struggle.
The newly filed lawsuit alleged that Brie and Franco “rejected StudioFest’s offer” for “Better Half” because “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 while explaining the alleged “blatant” similarities between the 2 horror flicks.
“Together” is set to be launched this summer season. NEON
“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 paperwork learn.
The go well with also named WME, director/author Michael Shanks, and Neon in the criticism.
StudioFest is asking to be awarded damages in the quantity that a jury sees match, as effectively as attorney’s charges, and more.
The pair married in 2017. NEON
Brie and Franco beforehand mentioned “Together” during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter before it premiered at Sundance earlier this yr.
Franco stated that he signed on to both produce and star in the film after a assembly with Shanks.
Brie added that she “lurked in the shadows” of Franco and Shanks’ dialogue and only signed on after her husband shared the script with her.
WME has since known as the lawsuit “frivolous and without merit.” Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP
“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 stated.
“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 against them, their shoppers and Shanks “frivolous and without merit” in a assertion to THR.
“The facts in this case are clear and we plan to vigorously defend ourselves,” the company added.
The Post has reached out to Brie and Franco’s reps, as effectively as WME, for remark.
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