Michael Shanks, the director of Together, has responded to a lawsuit accusing him and stars Dave Franco and Alison Brie of stealing the idea for the film. Shanks called the allegation “deeply upsetting” and “entirely untrue.”
Shanks’ feature debut made headlines at Sundance after Neon bought it for $17 million. But the success has been clouded by legal trouble. Last month, the producers of Better Half, a 2023 indie film, filed a lawsuit claiming Together copied their idea. Both films feature a couple who become physically stuck together by mysterious forces.
In a statement on Wednesday, Shanks said Together was inspired by his personal experiences of love and loss. “To have this called into question is not only deeply upsetting but entirely untrue,” he said. “This story is deeply based on my own lived experience and years of development.”
Shanks said he finished the first draft in 2019 and registered it with the Writers Guild of America that year. He also received funding from Screen Australia in 2020 to develop the project. In 2022, his agent introduced him to Franco, who, along with Brie, later joined as actor-producers.
“This has been a dream come true, made possible through years of hard work and luck,” Shanks said. “The lawsuit not only undermines that work but tries to erase the journey I’ve taken to bring this film to life. But the facts matter. The timeline, drafts, and records all support the truth.”
The lawsuit claims Brie and Franco were pitched Better Half in 2020, but passed on it. The Better Half producers say they were shocked by similarities after seeing Together at Sundance.
Neon and WME, the defendants in the case, dismissed the claim as an attempt to gain attention for a failed project. Their attorney, Nicolas Jampol, said the films are “not remotely similar” and urged the plaintiffs to drop the case.
Jampol added that Shanks wrote Together before Better Half was even pitched. “The facts are clear,” Shanks said. “The timeline is documented.”
The lawsuit is not expected to be resolved before Together hits theaters on July 30. If the case moves forward, it could last one or two years. Plaintiffs’ lawyer Daniel Miller, however, stands by the claim. He said, “The defendants are doing their best to explain away the unexplainable, but the evidence speaks for itself.”
Related topics:
