‘Shape of Water’ Plagiarism Lawsuit Dismissed: Guillermo del Toro Is the ‘True Creator’

A copyright lawsuit claiming Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar winner “The Shape of Water” stole from the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Paul Zindel has been dismissed (by way of The Hollywood Reporter). Both “Shape of Water” and Zindel’s play “Let Me Hear You Whisper” contain plots centered on a creature imprisoned in a science analysis facility. The lawsuit was initially filed by Zindel’s household in February 2018 simply forward of the Oscar voting deadline. “The Shape of Water” contended for 13 Academy Awards, profitable Best Picture and Best Director, amongst different prizes.

A spokesperson for Searchlight Pictures mentioned in an announcement (by way of THR): “David Zindel, the son of Paul Zindel, author of ‘Let Me Hear You Whisper,’ acknowledges, based on confidential information obtained during the litigation process, that his claims of plagiarism are unfounded. He acknowledges Guillermo del Toro as the true creator of ‘The Shape of Water.’ Any similarity between the two works is coincidental.”

More from IndieWire

The lawsuit was initially rejected by U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson, who dominated “the basic premise of an employee at a scientific facility deciding to free a creature that is subjected to scientific experiments” is “too general to be protected.” The copyright declare was revived in June 2020 when the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that “additional evidence, including expert testimony, would aid in the objective literary analysis needed to determine” the similarities between “The Shape of Water” and “Let Me Hear You Whisper.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the prosecution and protection groups have been scheduled “to present expert reports and witness designations” this week forward of a July trial date. Now the case has been dropped totally.

The Zindel household lawsuit was hardly the solely plagiarism declare made towards “The Shape of Water.” French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet came forward in February 2018 to accuse del Toro of copying the dance scene from his film “Delicatessen.” The scene in del Toro’s film options the characters performed by Sally Hawkins and Richard Jenkins performing a captivating two-step dance whereas sitting on a settee watching an previous Hollywood film.

“I told [del Toro]: ‘You have a lot of imagination, a lot of talent. Why go and [steal] the ideas of others?’” Jeunet advised the French publication Ouest-France. “[Del Toro] said, ‘We owe Terry Gilliam everything.’ According to [del Toro], he does not steal from others, it is Terry Gilliam who has influenced us all. When he [directs] the scene of the couple sitting on the edge of the bed dancing with their feet, with the musical in the background on TV, it is so copied and pasted [from] ‘Delicatessen’ that there is a moment when I say to myself that he lacks self-respect.”

Earlier in the 2018 Oscar season, “The Shape of Water” was accused of ripping off Marc S. Nollkaemper’s 13-minute quick “The Space Between Us.” Both titles depicted a girl working at a analysis facility who falls in love with a fish creature. The Netherlands Film Academy, which produced the quick, rejected such claims, saying the two movies “have their own very different identities” and “are not in any conceivable way interlinked or related.”

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire’s Newsletter. For the newest information, observe us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.