Dave Franco and Alison Brie are facing a copyright infringement lawsuit over their upcoming horror film "Together."
Filed in California, the suit alleges that the movie is a "blatant rip-off" of the plot of the 2023 romantic comedy "Better Half" created by StudioFest producers Jess Jacklin and Charles Beale, Variety reported.
Franco and Brie, who are married and frequent collaborators, were reportedly pitched "Better Half" back in 2020, according to the lawsuit, but they and their agents at WME declined the project at the time.
Jacklin and Beale discovered "Together" was set to screen at Sundance just a day before the event and decided to watch it to see if there was any potential overlap with their own film, Variety reported.
"As the audience laughed and cheered, Jacklin and Beale sat in stunned silence, their worst nightmare unfolding," the suit states. "Scene after scene confirmed that Defendants did not simply take 'stock ideas' or 'scenes a faire' but stole virtually every unique aspect of 'Better Half's' copyrightable expression."
In a statement to the Independent, however, a spokesperson for WME dismissed the lawsuit.
"This lawsuit is frivolous and without merit. The facts in this case are clear and we plan to vigorously defend ourselves," the statement said.
The suit claims that Franco and Brie copied "Better Half" after turning down the original pitch "because they wanted to produce the film themselves and have WME package the project with one of the agency's own writers."
In the synopsis, the "Better Half" was described as "a surreal, satirical comedy about a man and a woman who have a one-night stand, and wake up to see that they have become literally and physically attached."
The suit describes several alleged similarities between the two films.
"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 complaint alleges. "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."
Among the similarities, the suit claims, is a "strikingly similar bathroom sequence where the protagonists become attached at the genitals and attempt to hide their intimate encounter from a minor character waiting just outside."
The lawsuit points to a nearly identical ending in both films, where the couples play a vinyl record of the Spice Girls' "Spiceworld" album as they come to terms with their situation.