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Tuesday, February 27, 2018

The Shape of Water, a groundbreaking or plagiarism story

Por dbloggers

Oscar’s brings up new surprises just before the Awards’ ceremony happens, with a big concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra of California. Several are the nominees who covet the most important prize in Cinema Industry. The Shape of Water is one of the films generating the biggest expectations. By Guillermo del Toro, the movie was a success at the Golden Globes and was praised by the critics. However, it seems that the stronger contender will be sullied by the plagiarism lawsuit its director faces, a terrible accusation against the artist who showed talent and creativity in every film he has made.

According to some sources, Paul Zindel’s son-law suited del Toro alleging the story comes from a 1969 play of his father. David Zindel found out more than 60 coincidences between his father’s play called Let Me Hear You Whisper, and the new Guillermo del Toro’s work, The shape of water. The sue includes statements given by Kraus and del Toro in an interview where they explained the storyline is about a janitor who kidnaps an amphibian. For that reason, David Zindel pointed the finger at del Toro and Daniel Kraus, and accused them and said it the new Fox movie was a shame because it copied the story, elements, characters, and themes. Zindel´s son arguments neither Fox nor staff concerned about getting a license despite the “glaring similarities between the play and the obviously derivative picture.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, alleged that director Guillermo del Toro, producer Daniel Kraus and movie studio Fox Searchlight “brazenly copies the story, elements, characters and themes” from a 1969 play by the late Paul Zindel. Both plays tell the story of a lonely janitor who works at a scientific laboratory during the Cold War and bonds in love with a captive aquatic creature, hatches a plan to liberate it. On Zindel’s play the creature is a dolphin; on Del Toro’s film is a half-man, half-river creature. Zindel’s Let Me Hear You was TV produced in 1969 and once again in 1990. The author won a Pulitzer Prize for his 1964 play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.

That kind of things always happens. People or residuary legatee of great authors and their works are hunted by new versions or possible similarities with new ones. One objective: Not to preserve and fight for the legacy of their relatives. Sometimes it is possible, but most of the time the reason is to get a lot easy money. Even so, the play is a hit. It is not casual that, after over a year of showing the film all around the world, getting a lot of success and winning all kind of Cinema awards, this suit shows up. Fox Searchlight argues that the lawsuit has no basis. In addition, they said it is more than an accident the lawsuit appears when the Academy Award voting cycle is taking place, aiming at pressuring our studio to quickly settle”. Fox lawyers mentioned that they will execute a strong defense and, for an extension, this “groundbreaking and original film.”

Sometimes we see resemblance between two stories or more. It happens because writers, on the one hand, admire other authors and in a way they copy the style and sometimes the subject. These are the same problems and tragedy that surround daily human existence. How many plays portray an impossible romance and families oppose to it? So must Shakespeare be suited? I think there is a limit authors can´t cross, but nowadays it´s quite impossible to avoid similar subjects. The difference lies in how the work is performed and the vision about the topic perceived.

The Shape of Water was screened in two theaters in New York City on December 1st, 2017, and on December 8th, 2017, and has grossed $91 million worldwide. One more time del Toro said the idea to filmThe Shape of Water during a breakfast del Toro had with Daniel Kraus in 2011. Other case is 2015 del Toro’s short film The Space Between Us, which has similarities to Rachel Ingalls' novel Mrs. Caliban. Also it also primarily inspired by del Toro's childhood memories of seeing Creature from the Black Lagoon. But David Zindel claims$70 million alleging plagiarism that would come from the ticket box’s earnings.

The Shape of Water is this year’s big main adversary to defeat during the 90thedition of Oscar’s Ceremony Awards. The film has been nominated for 13 Oscar categories including best picture and best director. The Shape of Water has already won the best picture Golden Globe award and numerous acting and craft prizes from film critic groups in the United States and abroad.

True or not, several sources agreed on the fact del Toro had “never read nor seen Mr.nZindel’s play”. He has a respectful 25-year career as a moviemaker. He always is acknowledging his influences. Guillermo del Toro has won several awards and is a prestigious novelist and script writer. He jumped to the fame after his film El laberintodelFauno, that competed as Best Foreign Film in 2006 Oscars. Furthermore, he owns BAFTA, Golden Globe and Goya Awards were. He is the director of box office hits likeHellBoy, and Blade II.