Plagiarism Allegations Against the Film *The Shape of Water*.
As Oscar night approaches, controversy is mounting over the films selected by the Academy Awards to compete for the prestigious statuette.
“The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro’s film nominated for 13 Oscars, is accused of plagiarism: the film is alleged to be based on the 1969 play “Let Me Hear You Whisper” by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Zindel. The lawsuit filed against the director, producer, and film studio was brought by David Zindel, the son and heir of the famous playwright, who bluntly accuses them of having “shamelessly copied the story, elements, and characters” from his father’s play, even using the exact same words.
The ball is now in the judge’s court, as he must determine whether Zindel’s allegations are valid. However, this is not the first time that Hollywood has seen heated battles over allegations of plagiarism, especially when highly anticipated films are involved.
Sergio Leone’s classic Western *A Fistful of Dollars* is one of the pinnacles of its genre, thanks in part to Clint Eastwood’s incredible performance as a wandering gunslinger who, during his travels, finds himself caught in the middle of a feud between two families in a small village on the Mexican border. Unfortunately, the film is also an unauthorized remake of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai film *The Samurai’s Challenge*. Kurosawa sent Leone a letter saying, “Nice movie, but it was my movie,” and sued him for a share of the profits. The two settled on a payment of $100,000 and 15% of worldwide profits.
Another high-profile case involved *The Terminator*. Harlan Ellison is one of the most combative authors in the entire world of American science fiction, and by now there are dozens of lawsuits against people accused of stealing his ideas. However, the lawsuit he filed against James Cameron over The Terminatorwas slightly different. Ellison wrote an episode of Beyond the Limits titled “Demon With a Glass Hand,” which told the story of a robot soldier who, disguised as a human, is sent back in time. Orion Pictures decided to pay compensation before the case even went to court, and Ellison received money and was credited in the film.
Finally, there is the case of *The Prince Seeks a Wife*. In 1982, the well-known screenwriter Art Buchwald wrote a treatment for Paramount titled “King for a Day,” in which the protagonist was a wealthy and arrogant African ruler traveling to America. Eddie Murphy was supposed to play the lead role. Paramount bought the treatment and spent several years unsuccessfully trying to find someone to write the screenplay before abandoning the project in 1985. The rights thus reverted to Buchwald, who sold them to Warner Brothers. Later, Paramount made a film starring Eddie Murphy, who played the role of a wealthy and ignorant African ruler traveling to the United States. The film was titled Coming to America. Buchwald was neither paid nor credited, so he sued, but Paramount settled with him privately for an undisclosed sum.