Way back in 2020, we heard that Francesca Gregorini, writer/director of the 2013 psychological thriller The Truth About Emanuel, was not happy about Servant, the Apple TV+ psychological thriller series that was created by Tony Basgallop and executive produced by M. Night Shyamalan. Gregorini was so upset about the show, and so convinced that it was a rip-off of her movie, that she hit Apple, Shyamalan, Basgallop, and the rest of the show’s executive producers and production companies with a copyright infringement lawsuit. While Servant has gone on to complete its four season run since Gregorini filed the lawsuit, Variety reports that the copyright trial got started this week and is expected to last for two weeks. What’s at stake? $81 million.
Jessica Biel and Kaya Scodelario star in The Truth About Emanuel, which told the following story: A troubled girl (Emanuel) becomes preoccupied with her mysterious new neighbor (Linda), who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to baby-sit Linda’s newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. The twist is that Linda’s newborn is actually a doll, but Emanuel goes along with the act that it’s a real baby.
Starring Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, Nell Tiger Free, and Rupert Grint, Servant is about a couple that has formed an emotional bond with a doll created to resemble their dead infant daughter and the nanny the couple hired to take care of it.
On the first day of the trial, Gregorgini’s lawyer showed “jurors clips of both projects during his opening statement. He argued that both depict a delusional mother who cares for a doll as though it is a real baby, and a nanny who is complicit in the delusion.” As the trial goes on, jurors will be watching The Truth About Emanuel and the first three episodes of Servant in their entirety.
The defense will be arguing that “Basgallop began developing the show years before The Truth About Emanuel was released, and that those involved with the show never drew on the film. … To prove copyright infringement, the plaintiff must show both substantial similarity and that the defendant had access to the infringed work.“
Do you think Francesca Gregorini has a case, or do The Truth About Emanuel and Servant just happen to be about similar subjects, with no copyright infringement involved? Share your thoughts on this lawsuit by leaving a comment below.
The post The Truth About Emanuel director is suing M. Night Shyamalan and others behind Servant for $81 million appeared first on JoBlo.
