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On Jan. 12, screenwriter Simon Stephenson sent an email to the Writers Guild of America’s senior director of credits Lesley Mackey asking to set up a call to discuss an important matter. The CAA-repped writer, whose credits include Pixar’s Luca and StudioCanal’s Paddington 2, wrote, “I’ve encountered a credits-related issue on quite a high profile WGA-covered project.” According to the email exchange reviewed by Variety, a call between the two took place, and, in a follow-up missive, Stephenson wrote, “the evidence "The Holdovers" screenplay has been plagiarised line-by-line from "Frisco" is genuinely overwhelming – anybody who looks at even the briefest sample pretty much invariably uses the word ‘brazen.’”
Stephenson was referring to his own screenplay “Frisco,” a drama centered on a world-weary middle-aged children’s doctor and the 15-year-old patient he gets stuck looking after, and David Hemingson’s “The Holdovers” — a drama revolving around a world-weary middle-aged boarding school teacher and the 15-year-old pupil he gets stuck looking after. In the latter, that teacher is Paul, played by Paul Giamatti in a beloved performance that has him vying for best actor honors. Back in 2013, “Frisco” was one of the hottest screenplays in town when it landed at No. 3 on the Black List, an annual survey of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays founded by Franklin Leonard. “The Holdovers,” of course, is Alexander Payne’s critically acclaimed Focus Features film that nabbed five Oscar nominations including one for best original screenplay, where it is considered a frontrunner heading into Sunday’s ceremony, locked in a tight race with Justine Triet and Arthur Harari’s “Anatomy of a Fall.” With voting already closed, Hemingson could become the third screenwriter of a Payne-directed film to win a screenplay Oscar. (Payne himself won adapted screenplay for “Sideways” and “The Descendants.”)
Payne and Hemingson declined comment. Stephenson confirmed the authenticity of the emails but declined further comment.
Stephenson’s complaint kicked off a protracted back and forth between the writer and his guild that continued through this week without resolution. Variety has reviewed correspondence between several WGA staffers and the British writer — whose biggest current project is an adaptation of his own novel, “Set My Heart to Five,” which is set up at Working Title and Universal with Edgar Wright attached to direct — as well as documents that were shared with the guild’s three officers, 16-member board and general counsel.
Stephenson was referring to his own screenplay “Frisco,” a drama centered on a world-weary middle-aged children’s doctor and the 15-year-old patient he gets stuck looking after, and David Hemingson’s “The Holdovers” — a drama revolving around a world-weary middle-aged boarding school teacher and the 15-year-old pupil he gets stuck looking after. In the latter, that teacher is Paul, played by Paul Giamatti in a beloved performance that has him vying for best actor honors. Back in 2013, “Frisco” was one of the hottest screenplays in town when it landed at No. 3 on the Black List, an annual survey of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays founded by Franklin Leonard. “The Holdovers,” of course, is Alexander Payne’s critically acclaimed Focus Features film that nabbed five Oscar nominations including one for best original screenplay, where it is considered a frontrunner heading into Sunday’s ceremony, locked in a tight race with Justine Triet and Arthur Harari’s “Anatomy of a Fall.” With voting already closed, Hemingson could become the third screenwriter of a Payne-directed film to win a screenplay Oscar. (Payne himself won adapted screenplay for “Sideways” and “The Descendants.”)
Payne and Hemingson declined comment. Stephenson confirmed the authenticity of the emails but declined further comment.
Stephenson’s complaint kicked off a protracted back and forth between the writer and his guild that continued through this week without resolution. Variety has reviewed correspondence between several WGA staffers and the British writer — whose biggest current project is an adaptation of his own novel, “Set My Heart to Five,” which is set up at Working Title and Universal with Edgar Wright attached to direct — as well as documents that were shared with the guild’s three officers, 16-member board and general counsel.
