“The Shape of Water,” which was a favorite by the Oscars, is now facing a lawsuit. According to what is being claimed as “startling similarities” between this movie, and “Let Me Hear You Whisper,” a play, the movie is facing copyright infringement charges.
The film, which was under the direction of Guillermo del Toro, is a type of fantastical love story, which is being touted as one of the best films from 2017. In fact, this movie received several accolades in the awards circuit. The most notable of recognitions was a not from the Academy Awards, with “The Shape of Water” emerging as the closest thing to a “favorite” for the Oscars, after scoring a win at the Directors and Producers Guild. The bad news is, there is a fairly large cloud hanging over this celebration, which is only growing.
The Scandal Shaking the Foundation of “The Shape of Water”
As “The Shape of Water’s” profile started to grow, and it expanded into more theaters around the country, many people started to point out how similar it was to the story line found in “Let Me Hear You Whisper.” This is a play which was written by Paul Zindel, a Pulitzer Prize recipient.
If you aren’t familiar with this play, it features a main narrative that is based on a scrub-woman who tries to rescue a dolphin, who is willing to talk to only her, from a nearby research base. This is very similar to the romance that began to develop between “The Asset” and Elisa; however, there are some who are claiming this is just a coincidence.
Who Started the Lawsuit?
It was David Zindel, the playwright’s son who filed the lawsuit. This lawsuit detailed the complaint against “The Shape of Water.” In the document, Daniel Kraus, who is the producer, is mentioned quite a few times, mainly due to his prior admiration of the work that Zindel did. The fact is, Kraus is actually on tape saying that he developed the idea for this movie the same year that the adaptation of the play, “Let Me Hear You Whisper,” was seen on national TV stations.
In the past, Kraus has been rather cavalier about “taking” or “borrowing” from various sources for his wide array of projects. In fact, he actually admitted to stealing from anything he could when he was writing a book. Also, Kraus was the one who initially brought the idea to del Toro’s attention sometime during a meeting. This provided the filmmaker the ideas needed to tackle a dream project of his, which was to create a film that was similar to “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”
Copyright infringement cases aren’t something new to the world of Hollywood. As a result, this lawsuit isn’t gaining as much attention as it may be deserved. None-the-less, it is still something to consider when viewing this film, as the ideal may have been “borrowed” from someone else.
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