Oscar-nominated film accused of plagiarism just before awards ceremony
An Oscar-nominated film has been accused of plagiarism by the writer of Luca, with the news breaking just before the awards ceremony.
Variety reports that writer Simon Stephenson wrote to the Writer's Guild of America on 12 January to set up a call to discuss something serious.
In a series of emails seen by the publication, Stephenson wrote: "I’ve encountered a credits-related issue on quite a high profile WGA-covered project."
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He then went on to claim that the screenplay from movie The Holdovers had been 'plagiarised line-by-line' from his work Frisco and argued that the evidence for this was 'genuinely overwhelming'.
Stephenson also said that others who had looked at it had used the word 'brazen' to describe the similarities.
The Holdovers is directed by Alexander Payne and written by Hemingson, and stars Paul Giamatti, and has been nominated for five Oscars including Best Screenplay.
In the movie, Giamatti plays a boarding school teacher who has to look after a 15-year-old pupil.
In Stephenson's screenplay for Frisco, a children's doctor has to look after a 15-year-old patient, and the writer who worked on Pixar film Luca and Paddington 2 complained to the WGA of plagiarism over the matter.
LADbible has contacted the representatives of Alexander Payne, David Hemingson, Simon Stephenson and the WGA for a comment.
More to follow.
With the 96th Academy Awards about to kick off, here are the nominations in full:
Best documentary short
The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island In Between
The Last Repair Shop
Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó
Best animated short
Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko
Best live action short
The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
Best visual effects
The Creator
Godzilla Minus One
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon
Best cinematography
El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Best film editing
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Best sound
The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest
Best production design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Best make-up and hairstyling
Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Society of the Snow
Best costume design
Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Best documentary feature
Bobi Wine: The People's President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol
Best animated feature
The Boy and the Heron
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best international feature
Io Capitano
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Teachers' Lounge
The Zone of Interest
Best original score
American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
Best original song
'The Fire Inside' - Flamin' Hot (Diane Warren)
'I'm Just Ken' - Barbie (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt)
'It Never Went Away' - American Symphony (Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson)
'Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)' - Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George)
'What Was I Made For?' - Barbie (Billie Eilish, Finneas O'Connell)
Best original screenplay
Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives
Best adapted screenplay
American Fiction
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Best director
Anatomy of a Fall - Justine Triet
Killers of the Flower Moon - Martin Scorsese
Oppenheimer - Christopher Nolan
Poor Things - Yorgos Lanthimos
The Zone of Interest - Jonathan Glazer
Best supporting actor
Sterling K Brown - American Fiction
Robert De Niro - Killers of the Flower Moon
Robert Downey Jr - Oppenheimer
Ryan Gosling - Barbie
Mark Ruffalo - Poor Things
Best supporting actress
Emily Blunt - Oppenheimer
Danielle Brooks - The Color Purple
America Ferrera - Barbie
Jodie Foster - Nyad
Da'Vine Joy Randolph - The Holdovers
Best actor
Bradley Cooper - Maestro
Colman Domingo - Rustin
Paul Giamatti - The Holdovers
Cillian Murphy - Oppenheimer
Jeffrey Wright - American Fiction
Best actress
Annette Bening - Nyad
Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon
Sandra Huller - Anatomy of a Fall
Carey Mulligan - Maestro
Emma Stone - Poor Things
Best picture
American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest
Topics: TV and Film, Oscars
Joe Harker