Lawsuit Finds Lost
One writer, meanwhile, likened it to himself--or, rather, his decades-old work.
Alleging fraud and breach of contract, scribe Anthony Spinner is suing ABC and producers of the Emmy-nominated adventure drama for the alleged theft of a 1977 series proposal, the Hollywood Reporter said.
The lawsuit, seeking unspecified damages, was filed Friday in Los Angeles, the trade paper reported. ABC has declined comment on the litigation.
According to the Reporter, Spinner says he was hired by the producers of Land of the Lost to develop an idea for an ABC series to be called Lost, about stranded plane crash survivors who encounter "strange creatures" and "dangerous characters."
At the time Spinner says he came up with his Lost, writer-producer J.J. Abrams was about 11. Twenty-seven years later, Abrams and Damon Lindelof saw ABC launch their Lost, a series about stranded plane crash survivors who encounter the aforementioned polar bear, the mysterious "Others" and various strange and dangerous characters and creatures.
A breakout hit of the 2004 season, the latter-day Lost will compete next month for 12 Emmys, including one for Outstanding Drama Series.
According to IMDb.com, a producer-writer named Anthony Spinner scored an Emmy nomination in 1977 for producing Baretta. And earlier this year, a veteran TV writer name of Anthony Spinner was a participant in class-action lawsuits charging that the broadcast networks were discriminating against scribes aged 40 and older.
The Lost lawsuit, meanwhile, marks the second time this month ABC has made headlines for alleged idea theft. Earlier, the network and moonlighting American Idol judge Simon Cowell were sued for allegedly basing the network's upcoming reality series, The Million Dollar Idea, on a Minnesota-originated show of the same name.
Cowell, for one, wasn't having any talk that he'd stolen someone else's thunder. The judgmental judge told TV's Extra he'd take a lie-detector test to prove his point: "I have never, ever seen their show."
E!Online by Joal Ryan 8/23/05
LOST LOST LOST LOST LOST LOST
Main || News
Solitary Phoenix: Home | Index | Site status || About me