Guillermo del Toro won his case.
"David Zindel, the son of Paul Zindel, who was the author of
Let Me Hear Your Whisper
, acknowledges, from all the information studied during this trial, that his plagiarism complaint is unfounded,"
said a door -speaking from Fox Searchlight, a subsidiary of 20th Century Studios, as reported by
The Hollywood Reporter
.
This announcement marks the end of a three-year legal battle.
Read also:
The Shape of Water
by Guillermo del Toro, a monster success
Oscars for best film and best director in 2018,
The Shape of Water
was the subject of plagiarism by the Pulitzer Prize Paul Zindel, for his play
Let Me Hear You Whisper
published in 1969. The book told also the romantic relationship between a maintenance worker in a science laboratory and a sea monster.
Mutual agreement
Guillermo del Toro immediately denied the plagiarism, swearing to the
Deadline
site that
he had never heard of this work before making his film.
"
For me, it is a relief to take this case and the facts to court and not to public opinion,
" he said at the time.
In July of the same year, a first decision was made by the judge of the California federal court, Percy Anderson.
"
Although the play and the film share the basic principle of a laboratory employee deciding to free a creature subjected to scientific experiments, this concept is too general to be protected
", he had decided.
Faced with this verdict, Paul Zindel's son appealed in June 2020. The trial was due to take place next July.
A few weeks before the opening date, the case has therefore just been abandoned.
This week, the two sides presented the court with expert testimony analyzing the two works.
A new study which finally resulted in a joint agreement.
Following this decision, the production made it known that Guillermo del Toro was
"the true creator of
The Shape of Water
"
and that
"any similarities between the two works is a coincidence.
"
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