Hollywood actor Shia LaBeouf has been accused of plagiarizing comic book writer Daniel Clowes for a short film he directed. Shia posted his new short film HowardCantour.com online on Monday, December 16 having first debuted the work at the May 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
The piece stars Jim Gaffigan as an online film critic named Howard Cantour, and it is almost a direct adaptation of Justin M. Damiano, a 2007 comic written and drawn by famed artist Daniel Clowes.
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"In my excitement and naiveté as an amateur filmmaker, I got lost in the creative process and neglected to follow proper accreditation," tweeted LaBeouf.
It is surprising to find that nowhere in the promotion for or credits of the film does LaBeouf mention the Clowes comic.
Eric Reynolds, longtime editor of Clowes' comics and associate publisher at Fantagraphics, called the film "shameless theft!"
"The first I ever heard of the film was this morning when someone sent me a link. I've never spoken to or met Mr. LaBeouf," Clowes was quoted saying. "I've never even seen one of his films that I can recall - and I was shocked, to say the least, when I saw that he took the script and even many of the visuals from a very personal story I did six or seven years ago and passed it off as his own work. I actually can't imagine what was going through his mind."
Both the film and comic start with narration by the main character, who says, "A critic is a warrior, and each of us on the battlefield have the means to glorify or demolish (whether a film, a career, or an entire philosophy) by influencing perception in ways that if heartfelt and truthful, can have far-reaching repercussions."
The astounding similarities continue through the end of the film and the pieces share many more direct quotes.
This accusation is not the first as LaBeouf has been accused of plagiarism before, taking blocks of quotes from an Esquire article and pasting them into an email he sent Alec Baldwin that he leaked online.
LaBeouf tweeted: "Copying isn't particularly creative work. Being inspired by someone else's idea to produce something new and different IS creative work."
LaBeouf claimed he wasn't "copying" Clowes, but rather was "inspired" by him and "got lost in the creative process."
A representative for LaBeouf has not immediately returned a request for comment, but the film is now password protected.
On Sunday Alia tweeted, "Tomorrow (Dec 16) 8 p.m. launching the theatrical trailer of my second and very special film `Highway` at PVR! Very nervous to be honest. Please love it.” Jab We Met director’s Highway also stars Randeep Hooda in the lead role and it is slated to hit the cinemas on Feb. 21, 2014.
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