New "Substance"? It was supposed to be a blockbuster, there will be a court case

"Together" is a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, which the creators have called the new "Substance". Unfortunately, they have now been... sued for copyright infringement. Is the production starring Dave Franco and Allison Brie plagiarism?

"Together" started making noise after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It was there that the production found a distributor, and there was huge interest in buying it. Ultimately, the rights to it were sold for $17 million.

Shortly before the wide release scheduled for August 1, however, a legal battle is brewing for copyright infringement allegedly committed by the film's creators.

Still from the film Together / promotional materials

Together tells the story of a couple whose relationship is going through a serious problem. Their last attempt to reconcile and find the feeling that once connected them fails.

It turns out, however, that the characters are unable to separate, and a mysterious force literally holds them together . And it is this idea for a story about a couple that remains physically connected to each other that is the reason for the lawsuit that went to court on Tuesday, May 13.

Together movie poster / promotional materials

According to the lawsuit, reported by Variety , Dave Franco and Allison Brie , who are married and have worked together on several projects including Together , rejected the idea for Better Half presented to them in 2020.

Their agency, which had received a script by Patrick Henry Phelan , also knew about the case. When the producers of the later film, Jess Jacklin and Charles Beale , heard about the premiere of Together , they decided to go to the screening at Sundance to look for similarities with their project.

"As the audience laughed until they cried, Jacklin and Beale sat stunned, watching their worst nightmare unfold. Each scene convinced them that the defendants had not so much exploited ideas and scenes as stolen virtually every element of the 'Better Half' aesthetic," the lawsuit says.

It is suggested that Franco and Brie intentionally rejected the idea for the aforementioned film, only to later create a similar project with their own writers. In addition to the married artists, the defendants also include director Michael Shanks , the WME agency representing Franco and Brie , and the distributor, Neon , which bought the distribution rights to "Together" .

A WME spokesman commented on the lawsuit and assessed it as unfounded.