She-Creature a rip-off?

[Mad Dog Mike]

At one of the screenwriting forums I visit there was a post from a guy who says he was ripped off by the producers of the recent She-Creature movie. Now this isn't some kid, he's one of the more respected members of this site. I always read his posts because he really knows his stuff.

Anyway, he and his partner plan to sue once they get a good (and cheap) lawyer. He didn't give too many details, only that their script was about a man-eating mermaid.

So my question is this... has anyone here seen the original She-Creature from 1956? The one the recent movie was supposedly based on? How different was the new version? I guess if it's a totally different plot, one that resembles these writer's script, then there might be some room for plagiarism. Provided the writers can prove that the producers had access to their script, of course.

[Coffin Joe Jr.]

If I'm not mistaken, the recent "Creature Feature" flicks, produced by Stan Winston, were in name only remakes of the original AIP movies. They just retained the movies' names, and then went for something new as far as the stories were concerned. There were articles in Fangoria and Cinefantastique about it, so I advise you to check those out to get more info.

Ok, after my post I checked out the IMDB, and the 1956 original has a COMPLETELY different story, about a hypnotist who reverses his secretary to a pre-historic monster. NO MERMAIDS.

[Altar]

I actually loved this update. Most of the creature feature movies suck. This one was great

[TravisDearly]

Mad Dog Mike is now three words:
At one of the screenwriting forums I visit there was a post from a guy who says he was ripped off by the producers of the recent She-Creature movie. Now this isn't some kid, he's one of the more respected members of this site. I always read his posts because he really knows his stuff.

Anyway, he and his partner plan to sue once they get a good (and cheap) lawyer. He didn't give too many details, only that their script was about a man-eating mermaid.

So my question is this... has anyone here seen the original She-Creature from 1956? The one the recent movie was supposedly based on? How different was the new version? I guess if it's a totally different plot, one that resembles these writer's script, then there might be some room for plagiarism. Provided the writers can prove that the producers had access to their script, of course.Yeah if there gonna sue them. Then they should sue alot of the manga creators in japan. lol

Man eating mermaids isn't original.

PEACE OUT!

[Smilin' Jack Ruby]

A rip-off? Really? Whenever I hear these stories, it's always really disturbing because there IS such a thing as parallel development where people come up with the same idea at the same time. Usually, if a scripter sues somebody at a studio for "ripping off his work," that's not a good way for said screenwriter to EVER get another meeting in Hollywood as most would perceive him/her as a loose cannon. In fact, a studio/prodco might shy away entirely from even giving the guy/gal the time of day if they thought they would get sued should the person come in and pitch something that was even remotely like something else they had in development.

It's a slippery slope without absolute proof that the producers had access to that script without some labyrinthine "I sent it to this agency where that very same director was repped, too!" plotline.

[Dan Whitehead]

Does this mean I'll have to shelve my script about a rabid manatee?

[Charlie Brigden]

Dan Whitehead:
Does this mean I'll have to shelve my script about a rabid manatee?Haven't they already done a Roseanne biopic?

[Mad Dog Mike]

Well, like I said before, I don't have all the details. I'm not saying this definitely happened. I only know that this writer believes he was ripped off.

If anyone from the site (Smiling Jack, Rotten, Butane, etc) wants to contact him for more info, let me know. I don't know if he'd be open about it without having a lawsuit in place yet, but it's worth a try.

(edited cuz I didn't proofread)