Netflix’s Stranger Things Slapped With Lawsuit Claiming They Stole the Idea
Mike Sprague
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It looks like Netflix’s hit nostalgia series “Stranger Things“ is being hit with a lawsuit via Charlie Kessler who directed a six-minute short film called Montauk back in 2012. The short follows the story of paranormal phenomena in the vicinity of a government facility on a Long Island beach and was created as a teaser for a feature film called The Montauk Project.
Now, before changing its location to Indiana, Netflix’s “Stranger Things” was originally called “Montauk,” and, get this, also involves supernatural phenomena surrounding a government lab. This seems to be enough for Kessler who, this past Tuesday, filed a lawsuit via Variety accusing The Duffer Brothers of ripping off the idea, which he claims he pitched to them at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2014.
Now before anyone gets too angry at The Duffer Brothers, neither of these ideas are exactly original as back in 1992 there was a book published about mysterious happenings surrounding a government facility on Long Island called “The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time“, which tells the tales of repressed memories and secret government experiments at Montauk’s Camp Hero, and connections between said book and the Netflix series have been alluded to in the past.
“Mr. Kessler’s claim is completely meritless,” said Alex Kohner, attorney for the Duffers to Deadline. “He had no connection to the creation or development of ‘Stranger Things.’ The Duffer Brothers have neither seen Mr. Kessler’s short film nor discussed any project with him. This is just an attempt to profit from other people’s creativity and hard work.”
So make of all that what you will. We will keep up with this story as it unfolds and let us know as soon as we hear any more info. Until then make sure to hit us up and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
Netflix did not comment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgS2L7WPIO4
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