{"id":10975,"date":"2025-06-19T15:01:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T15:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=10975"},"modified":"2025-06-19T15:01:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T15:01:25","slug":"michael-shanks-denies-plagiarism-in-together-film-starring-dave-franco-and-alison-brie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=10975","title":{"rendered":"Michael Shanks denies plagiarism in Together film starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Michael Shanks, writer-director of the upcoming indie film Together, has spoken out following a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against him and the film\u2019s creative team\u2014including stars and producers Dave Franco and Alison Brie. The suit, brought by production company StudioFest, claims Together unlawfully copied the premise of their 2023 film Better Half.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement obtained by TheWrap, Shanks dismissed the lawsuit as unfounded, calling the film a reflection of his \u201cown lived experience.\u201d He said the story\u2014about a couple who wake up physically fused together, symbolizing co-dependency\u2014was inspired by his 16-year relationship, which has been marked by \u201centanglement of identity, love and co-dependence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not just a script; it\u2019s deeply personal,\u201d said Shanks, who also explained that key plot elements\u2014like the main character\u2019s trauma over the loss of a parent and his struggles as a musician\u2014were drawn from his life. \u201cTo have this called into question is not only deeply upsetting but entirely untrue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>StudioFest filed the lawsuit in May, alleging Together copied plot points, dialogue, themes, and even visuals from Better Half. Their lawyer, Dan Miller, said, \u201cThe similarities between the two works are staggering and defy any innocent explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In response, Shanks provided a detailed timeline of the film\u2019s development, asserting he completed the first draft in 2019 and registered it with the Writers Guild of America that year\u2014well before StudioFest\u2019s script was submitted to WME in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Supporting Shanks\u2019 timeline, distributor Neon and WME accused the plaintiffs of \u201cchasing headlines before the film\u2019s release,\u201d insisting Shanks alone created the story. Together, acquired by Neon for $17 million following its Sundance debut, is set for release on August 1, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Shanks concluded, \u201cI stand by Together, its origins, and the years of work it took to make it real.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Shanks, writer-director of the upcoming indie film Together, has spoken out following a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against him and the film\u2019s creative team\u2014including stars and producers Dave Franco and Alison Brie. The suit, brought by production company StudioFest, claims Together unlawfully copied the premise of their 2023 film Better Half. In a statement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10975\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}