Movie News
Spielberg facing Disturbia lawsuit
Tuesday 9 September 2008
According to Reuters, the suit was filed at Manhattan federal court on Monday by the Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust, which owns the rights to the short story 'Murder from a Fixed Viewpoint' on which Hitchcock's film was based.
The lawsuit names Dreamworks, its parent company Viacom Inc, and Universal Pictures.
The studios are accused of copyright infringement and breach of contract. Spielberg, a Dreamworks founder, is also named as a defendant.
The lawsuit claims that: "What the defendants have been unwilling to do openly, legitimately and legally, (they) have done surreptitiously, by their back-door use of the 'Rear Window' story without paying compensation."
It goes on to allege that the films' stories are "essentially the same".
'Disturbia' was directed by DJ Caruso and starred Shia LaBeouf.
'Rear Window', released in 1954, was based on the Cornell Woolrich short story 'Murder from a Fixed Viewpoint', the movie rights to which were obtained by Hitchcock and the actor James Stewart. The Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust claims that the makers of 'Disturbia' should have done the same.
The defendants have not commented on the allegations.
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