I feel ripped off by... Shyamalan.

[ambient]

A few months back I first heard about Shyamalan's new project - Devil. And now it has finally hit the movie theaters. From what I can tell, it is not really generating much buzz, but to me it is the most anticipated movie of the year.

Let's go back to 2002. I am in college. Two of my friends and I, while hanging out, decide to come with some ideas for a more or less unique script. One of my friends actually did some acting in small local projects and knew people involved in the business. Now, we are talking really small time, no one too big or famous. So, we are trying to come up with an idea that would be unique, clever, yet easy to shoot on an extremely low budget. After some time we finally come up with a story. Several perfect strangers find themselves trapped in an office building elevator, and while waiting to be rescued discover that they are all connected in some way and most of them have done really bad things in their lives. However, one of the passengers in not what he seems to be. He is the angel of death. Judging people as they interact with each other. In the end, all but one are dead, some realize the error of their ways, some don't, and the one who survives is given another chance.

We wrote the script, revised it a few times, and then started sending it around to see if anyone would be interested in financing the project. We had a little bit of a hard time finding someone who was interested, at least in the project in its original form. One local TV producer thought that it could sell if we remade it into a TV series that would be something like a more edgy Touched by an Angel kind of thing. None of us really liked that idea. So after a while our personal priorities started shifting a bit, and we gave up on it.

Fast forward to 2010. I read about Shyamalan's Devil. I have this very confused feeling of joy and anger. I get in touch with my college friends, who are now scattered across the US. And we all agree that the concept of Devil sounds very similar to our project. Now that the movie is out, and I have read up on the plot and the spoilers, I have to say that while the details are not necessarily the same, the basic plot, some of the characters, and the development of the story are quite similar. As much of a skeptic as I am, it just seems that similarities go beyond mere coincidence.

Why am I posting this here? Not sure. Probably want to hear what people here think. Am I crazy? Or does this whole thing seem a little suspect?

[ProjectSpam]

Chances are it's merely a coincidence, though I hate M. Night Shyamalan so I want to say there is a small chance it's plagiarism.

Can't really talk to any lawyers or do anything about it, though, unless your old script was registered by the Writers' Guild of America (or an equivalent) back in the day.

[big giant circles]

I sympathize with your feeling that it's possible that MNS stumbled upon your idea and made his own adaptation of it, I really do.

But on the flip side of the coin, there are billions of people in the world, and that means billions if not trillians (if not more) ideas floating around, and odds are, there's going to be some overlap.

Furthermore, there could be other people out there who had the same idea, maybe even before you had the idea. It's kind of the cycle of an idea. It's frustrating, sure, but try not to let it bug you too much, it's just kind of the way things are. Virtually everyone in the music industry can especially relate.

[friendlyHunter]

If you've done all that research into what the movie's about and you still aren't sure, why don't you go see it?

Oh right, then you'd just feel ripped off by shyamalan again.

[Palpable]

Hmm, hard to say. I'll mention that I've written a short story about people who get trapped in an elevator and eventually figure out they're in some kind of purgatory and they're being judged, not too far off your idea or Devil. I've also written a novel that had several specific details in common with an episode of Angel I hadn't seen at the time. Good ideas tend to get independently thought up because they're good ideas (notice the little pat-on-the-back I'm giving myself?). I wouldn't assume you've been ripped off unless the specifics match too.

But I also wouldn't rule out that maybe the germ of your idea traveled by word of mouth to the screenwriter. Do any of your college friends know this guy, or someone who knows him? If so, it seems a lot more likely your idea was used for this.

[ambient]

Hmm, hard to say. I'll mention that I've written a short story about people who get trapped in an elevator and eventually figure out they're in some kind of purgatory and they're being judged, not too far off your idea or Devil. I've also written a novel that had several specific details in common with an episode of Angel I hadn't seen at the time. Good ideas tend to get independently thought up because they're good ideas (notice the little pat-on-the-back I'm giving myself?). I wouldn't assume you've been ripped off unless the specifics match too.

Palpabale, thanks for offering your perspective. I definitely agree with you that many ideas tend to run concurrently and independently. I will probably end up chalking it up to that. But I will definitely watch it and see if there are any specifics that match up. Thing is, it is possible that some will, but it will be only because of the eventualities that would emerge logically because of the set up.

[ambient]

Chances are it's merely a coincidence, though I hate M. Night Shyamalan so I want to say there is a small chance it's plagiarism.

Can't really talk to any lawyers or do anything about it, though, unless your old script was registered by the Writers' Guild of America (or an equivalent) back in the day.

It is registered with the WGA.

[suzumebachi]

i say SUE THE BEJESUS OUT OF HIM!

[D]

Very relieving post to me. For the longest time I've had a similar issue and wondered exactly how my story, ended up as an animated TV series.

Though I was planning to see the film, Devil, I'll be sure to credit you instead Since I know the feeling, I started writing my version of Avatar:TLAB while in High School, 1994.

[Brandon Strader]

i say SUE THE BEJESUS OUT OF HIM!

I say this as well. Seriously dude, do it. Then you'll make a portion of the probably low amount of money this movie will make anyway due to uhh.. being made by Shyamalan.. yeah thats why..

[Charlie's Angel]

It'd be easier and only slightly less dignified to rob a bank.

[Ech]

I'll join the club.

I recall having to improvise a scene back in high school drama class involving 2 people with dark pasts and their judging lawyers being stuck in an lift...

No angel of death though.

[Brandon Strader]

In college I wrote a story about a midget horse that wanted snout enhancement, but it went horribly wrong and it became the ugliest midget horse ever. In the last panel, it committed suicide by hanging itself. Yeah, it was a comic-style story. My instructor loved it, and read it in front of the class.

.....this will be a Shyamalan movie one day.

[Palpable]

In college I wrote a story about a midget horse that wanted snout enhancement, but it went horribly wrong and it became the ugliest midget horse ever. In the last panel, it committed suicide by hanging itself. Yeah, it was a comic-style story. My instructor loved it, and read it in front of the class.

.....this will be a Shyamalan movie one day.

M. Night Shyamalan's The Snoutening

[OverCoat]

WHAT A TWEEST

you could make a movie about this situati... wait a second

[Thylacine]

RottenTomatoes has this at 41% right now. It's breaking the downward trend of the movies he's made lately. I really wanted this to suck worse than Last Airbender, and thought a movie shot mostly in an elevator would do that. (No offense, ambient.)

Yeah, if it's registered that you had the idea first, sue away. First, though, let me ask this: if he DID take it, how did he go about reading it in the first place? Do WGA scripts have public access or something, or do you think it got pinched when you were sending it out?

This is why I haven't written a book yet - too easy to get ideas stolen or to inadvertently steal from others. Well, that and I'm too lazy for my own good.

[Hyperion5182]

Even more reason why M. Night needs to

Die

in a

FIRE

D.I.A.F. D.I.A.F. D.I.A.F. D.I.A.F. D.I.A.F. D.I.A.F. D.I.A.F.

[AkumajoBelmont]

even more reason why m. Night needs to

die

in a

fire

d.i.a.f. D.i.a.f. D.i.a.f. D.i.a.f. D.i.a.f. D.i.a.f. D.i.a.f.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Love it.

[Bleck]

shyamalan hasn't directed a good film in a little over ten years

[Tensei]

Your description very much reminds me of Sartre's No Exit, which might've been a possible inspiration.

[EdgeCrusher]

shyamalan hasn't directed a good film in a little over ten years

Good thing he didn't direct Devil then.

[Thylacine]

Good thing he didn't direct Devil then.

Huh, the ads mislead me with their "from the mind of" crap. I honestly thought he was a director.

Looks like this movie is in the same vein as "Stuart Little." It's a little sad if he really did take the idea. It means he'd have to settle for production.

I guess I can stop looking for him in the commercials now. Although, his IMDB page doesn't state that he acted in the Last Airbender, so I guess that phase of his career is over.

[Benjamin Briggs]

intriguing

could it be that there are billions of people in the world and sometimes two of them have an idea that is similar

[Brandon Strader]

intriguing

could it be that there are billions of people in the world and sometimes two of them have an idea that is similar

There's billions of punk bands who all play the same riff.

[The Dual Dragons]

Here's a similar type of thread:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1314655/board/nest/170765579

So I doubt he stole from your script.