‘Together’ Director Michael Shanks Issues Statement Strongly Protesting Idea-Theft Accusation

On May 13, production, financing, and distribution institution StudioFest revenge a copyright suit successful Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that Alison Brie and Dave Franco had turned down an connection to prima successful nan studio’s film “Better Half,” and past developed their ain conception of a assemblage scary movie based connected a co-dependent relationship, “Together,” pinch WME.

Now nan head of “Together,” Michael Shanks, is firing backmost successful a connection released via nan X and Instagram accounts of nan film’s distributor, Neon, which bought nan completed characteristic for $17 cardinal retired of Sundance earlier this year, nan biggest woody of nan festival. The movie had premiered to raves, pinch its crisp insights into what it intends to beryllium successful a semipermanent narration someway past translated into grisly assemblage scary visuals. Franco’s Tim and Brie’s Millie person been together for years and conscionable astatine nan infinitesimal that their narration seems to person deed nan rocks, thing happens to origin them to commencement virtually sticking together — to beryllium incapable of leaving each other’s presence.

Shanks called nan accusation of thought theft “entirely untrue,” “devastating,” and that it had “taken a dense toll” successful nan remarks that laid retired his agelong narration to this story. WME had antecedently told IndieWire that nan suit was “frivolous and without merit” and that nan agency would “vigorously take sides ourselves.”

“Have you ever been successful a narration truthful agelong that nan statement betwixt you and nan different personification starts to blur?” Shanks said to footwear disconnected his statement. “I’ve been pinch my partner for complete 16 years — almost half my life. That entanglement of identity, love, and co-dependence is what inspired TOGETHER. It’s not conscionable a script; it’s a reflection of thing profoundly personal. Tim’s story, his emotion for Millie, his narration to his family, his narration to unfulfilled ambitions arsenic a musician, is wholly rooted successful my ain individual life. I mislaid my begetter astatine a young property successful nan aforesaid measurement our main characteristic does, his trauma is rooted successful my own. To person this called into mobility is not only profoundly upsetting but wholly untrue.”

“I wish I didn’t person to explain this, but I completed nan first draught successful 2019 and registered it to nan Writer’s Guild of America that aforesaid year. In October 2020, I received improvement backing from Screen Australia to further nan project. In 2022, my supplier astatine WME introduced maine to Dave Franco. From nan very first meeting, we bonded complete our emotion of horror, and I sounded him TOGETHER — a book I had been trying to get into accumulation for years, pinch nary luck. Soon after, he and Alison Brie came onboard to enactment successful and nutrient nan film. To now beryllium accused of stealing this communicative — one truthful profoundly based connected my ain lived experience, 1 I’ve developed complete nan people of respective years — is devastating and has taken a dense toll.”