By Nell Geraets
A lawyer representing Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Australian-made film Together has slammed a copyright lawsuit filed against the production, arguing it is “not remotely similar” to the film Better Half.
Together is a body-horror movie written and directed by Melbourne filmmaker Michael Shanks. The film, in which a married couple begin to physically fuse, opened the Sydney Film Festival earlier this month.
The team behind Together claim their film was made entirely independently.Credit: Sydney Film Festival
On May 13 (US time), Shanks, married stars Brie and Franco, their agency WME, and distributor Neon were served with a copyright infringement lawsuit alleging the concept of Together was stolen from Better Half, a 2023 satirical romcom directed by US filmmaker Patrick Henry Phelan.
In a letter sent to the plaintiff’s lawyers on May 21, obtained by Variety, attorney Nicolas Jampol denied the plagiarism accusations, saying similarities between the films were not subject to copyright protection.
“Your client does not own this concept,” Jampol wrote. “Neither do our clients. It is an unprotectable idea, one that pre-dates all of our clients and has been explored in many films, television shows and other fictional works.”
The lawsuit against Together’s team accused them of “blatantly ripping off” the concept of Better Half, which also sees two people physically fuse. However, Jampol argued Together is “the opposite of Better Half in almost every way”. He said they explored the idea differently – the former through a supernatural horror lens and the latter through a more comedic lens.
The suit claimed Phelan allegedly pitched his screenplay for Better Half to Franco, Brie and their representative agency WME in August 2020; however, the pitch was rejected. The suit alleges that Franco and Brie rejected the offer because they wanted to produce the film themselves.
In response, Jampol claimed Shanks registered a draft for Together with the Writers’ Guild of America (WGA) in 2019 – a year before Better Half was offered to Brie and Franco’s agent.
“Before your client ever submitted a script to WME, Mr Shanks already had written most of the elements your client now accuses him of stealing,” he wrote. “The simple truth is that none of our clients copied a thing from Better Half.”
Responding to Jampol’s letter, the plaintiff’s attorney Daniel Miller referred to specific elements of the two films which he alleged were similar, including a scene in which the protagonists hide from someone in the bathroom after becoming attached at the genitals.
“We are confident a jury will see this sequence for what it is: a replication of Better Half’s original expression,” Miller said, per Variety.
He also asked for evidence of Shanks’ screenplay draft registered with the WGA and subsequent drafts.
Meanwhile, Jampol urged the plaintiff to drop the lawsuit, adding that the defendants will seek compensation for their attorneys’ fees if it’s pursued further.
“Accusing people of copyright infringement — especially ones who have dedicated their lives to creating original works and performances — should not be done lightly,” he wrote. “This is particularly true when the works are as obviously dissimilar as these.”
Neon, WME, Shanks, Jampol and representatives for Franco and Brie were all contacted for comment.
Together is set to land in cinemas on July 31.
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