Author Suing Joss Whedon; Claims He Stole Idea for Cabin in the Woods
John Squires
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Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard are on top of the world right now with the impending release of the Whedon-directed Avengers: Age of Ultron and the recent premiere of the Goddard-created “Daredevil” series on Netflix. But today they’re at the center of much controversy, as one author claims they stole his idea.
2012 saw the release of The Cabin in the Woods, which was co-written by Goddard and Whedon and directed by Goddard. Three years later, almost to the day, writer Peter Gallagher has come out of the woodwork to claim the movie’s central idea was his, and he’s suing Whedon and Lionsgate for damages.
The news comes courtesy of TMZ, who note that Gallagher’s book The Little White Trip: A Night in the Pines was released a full five years before The Cabin in the Woods. The book centers on five young friends who head out to a cabin in the woods and find themselves the stars of a twisted real-life game.
Gallagher says that there a grand total of 25 direct similarities between his book and the movie, with one of them being that the female characters share strikingly similar names – Julie and Dura in the book, Jules and Dana in the movie. He says that he used to promote the book on the streets of Santa Monica, California, where Whedon happens to live.
Damages in excess of $10 million are being sought by the author, and we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more about this developing story. Does Gallagher have a leg to stand on here, or is he merely trying to get some of that Avengers money? Perhaps time will tell.
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