Original ideas are thin on the ground in Hollywood because, as everyone knows, we’re all idiots and new ideas turn us into terrified cavemen.
That’s why most of the films released these days are either remakes, adaptations, sequels or big honking primary-coloured idiot trumpets starring Adam Sandler called Duh: My Is Yes LOL. But at least we can all say that the Shia LaBeouf movie Disturbia is completely original and pioneering and one of a kind. Even though it’s sort of identical to Rear Window.
That’s something the estate of the man who owns the rights to Rear Window seem to have just figured out, because they’re suing Disturbia producer Steven Spielberg over all the similarities to their story. But it’s obvious that Disturbia and Rear Window are completely different movies – Rear Window didn’t want to make us punch ourselves unconscious, for example.
The movie industry thrives on remakes. That’s why the box office chart this weeks features a remake of Bangkok Dangerous, a remake of Death Race 2000, a remake of the musical Mamma Mia, a remake of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, a remake of Brideshead Revisited and Meet Dave, a remake of every single bad film Eddie Murphy‘s ever been in.
Usually nobody has a problem with Hollywood’s self-cannibalisation – everyone makes money, so everyone’s happy – but when films start allegedly remaking other films without acknowledging the remake, that’s where the trouble starts.
And that’s what has happened between the owners of the Rear Window rights and Disturbia, a film that – even to our sludgy brains – couldn’t really hide its resemblance to Rear Window. And that’s why Disturbia‘s producer Steven Spielberg has just been sued by the estate of the man who owns the Rear Window rights, as E! Online reports:
With a $20 million budget, Disturbia was considered a modest hit last year, taking in $80.2 million at the U.S. box office. None of which was shared with the estate of the late Sheldon Abend, who bought the rights to Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 story It Had to Be Murder after the author died in 1968, according to the lawsuit.
It’s an interesting case, because both Shia LaBeouf and director DJ Caruso both cited Rear Window during the promotion of Disturbia, although both pointed out that they were both their own films. Which is sort of true, in a way. Here’s our comparison:
REAR WINDOW
* About a man trapped in his house due to injury.
* While trapped, the man spies on his neighbours, including a pretty girl.
* He sees a murder through some binoculars.
* He sends his girlfriend out to help catch the murderer.
* It starred Jimmy Stewart and is one of the most famous films ever made.
DISTURBIA
* About a man trapped in his house due to house arrest
* While trapped, the man spies on his neighbours, including a pretty girl.
* He sees some murders through some binoculars.
* He sends his girlfriend out to help catch the murderer.
* It starred Shia LaBeouf and was so bad it made us want to cry and commit hate crimes against animals.
Does that warrant a lawsuit? It’s not for us to say. However, Shia LaBeouf is probably praying that the Rear Window people win their case, because if they do it’ll open up all his other movies to the same sort of action.
For instance, you could say that – judging by the trailer – his new movie Eagle Eye seems fairly similar to the first season of 24, or that Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull plagiarised the first three Indiana Jones movies.
And, what’s more, our lawyers are already putting together a watertight case around the fact that Transformers is a direct shot-for-shot rip-off of a noisy, brightly-coloured, totally formless nightmare we had after eating four kilos of Haribo when we were seven. See you in court, Shia.
jen says
I love Shia LaBeouf…
To THe Retards says
You guys are so retarted….Get a life Stuart and become a real critic!
Karl says
I like the movie but has anyone noticed the many similarities to the plot of the classic Fright Night.
The movies work well because the father or man of the house role is taken on by the Son in both movies the father is not present to help.
Disturbia Similarities to Fright Night
1 Using binoculars to spy on his next door neighbour
2 There is a TV news report of a missing woman
3 Charlies sees a woman being bitten and then the body removed when spying on jerry next door
4 Charlies girlfriend helps in the quest to prove he is not a vampire
5 Jerry gets invited in to charlies house and tries to charm his mother, exactly the same happens in Disturbia when Mr Turner helps his mom with the shopping and invites her to a meal there is also the underlying threat posed to Kale / Charlie in both scenes.
Anyway enjoyed both films but I think I still prefer fright night the casting was superb.