Franco and Brie Sued Over ‘Together’ Copyright Clash
Like a moonlit sonnet yearning to be heard, this Hollywood copyright saga hums with unspoken tension as Dave Franco and Alison Brie find themselves at the heart of a “blatant rip-off” horror film dispute. Plaintiffs Julie Rack and Frank Mannion, whose 2015 short film “LOCKED” cast its spell on a modest indie circuit, allege that the couple-in-confinement premise, beat-by-beat dialogue echoes, and even the weather-beaten country manor setting in the 2021 Netflix release Together have been lifted wholesale—with nary a bow of credit.
Filed in Manhattan federal court on March 10, this standoff reads like a gothic ballad of creative ownership gone awry. Rack and Mannion claim their original vision—two estranged lovers shackled by pandemic-style lockdown in a creaky Old World estate—was mirrored in the Daldry-directed feature penned by Enda Walsh. The duo’s lawsuit cites scene-by-scene parallels, from the lovers’ waking to a locked front door to the final, anguished embrace beneath flickering oil lamps. They seek injunctive relief to block further distribution, plus unspecified damages for emotional distress and lost licensing fees.
Sources at People Magazine confirmed that letters before suit were sent last December, while Variety reports the filmmakers privately reached out to Netflix legal counsel in vain. The complaint, curated by attorney Jonathan Roberts, references original storyboards, dated emails, and screenplay drafts as irrefutable proof of creative misappropriation. A spokesperson for Franco and Brie declined to comment, defending the film as “an original work inspired by universal themes of love and isolation.” Yet behind closed set doors, Hollywood whispers trace the hush money and settlement whispers that often follow such high-profile skirmishes.
The stakes feel unusually poetic: two celebrated actors embodying lovers torn apart, now themselves ensnared in a legal purgatory. Netflix, the film’s distributor, stands poised on the sidelines, its streaming algorithms humming while studios and talent alike ponder the cost of inspiration versus imitation. With litigation costs soaring through April, any resolution could reshape crediting norms across the industry.
Meanwhile, fans of Franco’s dry wit and Brie’s off-beat charisma watch this real-life horror drama unfold with equal parts curiosity and dread. Will the suit end in a hush-hush deal that wraps both parties in nondisclosure velvet? Or could a landmark ruling redefine the boundaries of cinematic homage?
And so, the tale drifts onward, an elegy for originality in an age of endless remixes—yet still whispering the promise of justice, or at least a blockbuster settlement. Will this be the final curtain call, or merely the overture to another act in Hollywood’s ongoing courtroom opera?
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People Magazine, Variety
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
