M. Night Shyamalan Accused of Plagiarizing Jessica Biel’s 2013 Movie ‘The Truth About Emanuel’
M. Night Shyamalan, master of plot twists, might not have anticipated this twist in his professional career. The acclaimed filmmaker behind unforgettable movies like The Sixth Sense and Split has been accused of plagiarizing an independent film.
The Allegations Against M. Night Shyamalan
Variety reported that Francesca Gregorini, the director of the Jessica Biel-starring movie The Truth About Emanuel, is suing Shyamalan for $81 million, alleging that the show Servant, a psychological horror series Shyamalan executive produced for Apple TV+ “stole key elements from her 2013 movie.”
The Truth About Emanuel and Servant: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Aside from Jessica Biel, The Truth About Emanuel also stars Kaya Scodelario, Emanuel, a young woman who becomes obsessed with her new neighbor, Linda (Biel), a woman mourning the death of her child. She applied as Linda’s babysitter, only to find out that the “baby” is, in fact, a doll she cares for as if it were alive since she was unable to face the reality of her loss.
Shyamalan’s Servant also features a grieving woman, Dorothy Turner (played by Lauren Ambrose) who after undergoing a transitory object therapy with her husband Sean, began caring for a lifelike reborn doll she believes is her real son. Similar to Biel’s movie, the couple also hired a young woman, Leanne (Nell Tiger Free) to be their “son’s” nanny.
The premise of both the movie and the series is undeniably similar. Same emotional stakes, and same characters (albeit the main ones, Emanuel and Linda, and Dorothy and Leanne) and same main theme of a disturbed mother mourning the death of their child. However, the genres differ: Emanuel is an emotional drama, while Servant is a psychological horror series.
Shyamalan’s Response
The Academy Award nominated director remained tight-lipped about the lawsuit but already appeared in court to participate in the trial and is set to testify. Aside from him, writer Tony Basgallop, producer Taylor Latham and Apple TV+ head of programming Matt Cherniss were also in attendance, according to Movie Web.
Opening Statements of Both Sides
Entertainment Weekly reported about the opening statements of both Gregorini and Shyamalan’s lawyers per a court transcript. Both sides alleged the idea behind the movie and the TV shows are based on the creators’ personal life experiences.
Patrick Arenz, Gregorini’s attorney said, Emanuel is “based on Ms. Gregorini’s life experiences because it was about her efforts to protect her mother when she was suffering from an addiction and keeping up the delusion that everything was fine at home.”
Brittany Amadi, the defense’s lawyer also argued that Basgallop came with the idea for Servant in 2005 when “he and his wife had hired an 18-year-old nanny. And that was what his concept was born from. He thought of ‘What if you welcomed a nanny into your home and strange and sinister things started to happen?’ The idea of an anti-Mary Poppins.”
The defense also pointed out that the movie only made $226 in Los Angeles and $9 in Philadelphia arguing that “If a ticket costs $10, that means about 22 people saw her movie in the theater with the most sales [in Los Angeles]. Ask yourself, is it reasonable to assume that one of those 22 people were any of the creators of Servant?”
For The Truth About Emanuel, this controversy is breathing in new life to an obscure movie that did not get very much attention. As for M. Night Shyamalan, if the accusation sticks, it could raise questions about the originality of Servant and future works.
