Dog-Eat-Dog World of Screenwriting

More accusations of idea theft in Hollywood. Writer/director/actress Laura Kightlinger is suing her former friend and neighbor writer/director/actor Mike White, claiming she gave him her script We're All Animals to read, only to discover later that he was making a film called Year of the Dog (which starred Molly Shannon and was released earlier this year by Paramount Vantage). According to the LA Times, the suit contends his script drew heavily from her script. Her screenplay was about a woman obsessed with rescuing cats. His is about a woman obsessed with rescuing dogs. Per the Times:

A survey of the two scripts shows some similarities in basic plot elements: In each, the lead character loses her pet -- one dies and one wanders off; each brings her animal rights activism to the workplace, where she is eventually fired; each begins hoarding animals; and each visits a farm. Most other key plot points and characters differ.

Interestingly enough, Kightlinger isn't making a copyright claim, but rather breach of an implied contract, according to her attorney Jennifer McGrath. "Mike and Laura were friends, but he was also a writer-producer," she told the LAT. "There was an expectation that if she told him her idea and he was going to use it in some way, she would be paid and she would also be involved in the project."

White: "They are totally different scripts... I know there is a similarity in the sense that [the female leads] both have pets that they care about, but beyond that, everything she is saying that is similar seems like a real stretch to me."

Third party attorney quoted in the piece: these suits are hard to prove.