“Stranger Things” Creators Say They Can Disprove Plagiarism Charges

The Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross, say that they can prove that they did not plagiarize the concept behind Stranger Things, the hit series that they produce for Netflix.

Fans already know that the show is heavily influenced by other properties; set in the 1980s, it’s your basic Goonies homage with the tone of some classic Stephen King stories, and as much nostalgia as they can fit in. However, recently filmmaker Charlie Kessler has accused the show of ripping off his short film Montauk.

Montauk was made in 2011 and based on conspiracy theories about secret experiments that allegedly took place in the titular New York hamlet. Allegedly, Kessler wanted to expand the film and pitched the idea to the Duffer Brothers in 2014, only to be turned down. However, he claims that Stranger Things stole the ideas that he presented to them.

For what it’s worth, it has been established that Stranger Things was originally going to be called Montauk and likewise be based on the supposed experiments that happened there. The series was ultimately set in a fictional Indiana town called Hawkins, however, with title and plot elements changed along the way.

However, TMZ is reporting on e-mails that seem to prove that the brothers could not have stolen the idea from Kessler. One, dated to 2010, describes their ideas as a “real, paranormal, gritty ’80s” TV show and specifically mentions using the Montauk experiments, showing that that idea (nor the similar government experiments done in the final project) came from Kessler’s 2011 film.

Another e-mail, dated to 2013 (before Kessler says that he pitched the idea to the Duffer Brothers) describes the story in more detail. “Benny leaves his friend Elliot’s house, a bunch of kids are there, eating pizza, dungeons and dragons… Benny leaves on bike, hears voices, goes into strange world, taken by some evil force.” Fans will instantly recognize this as the plot of the first episode, save for the fact that “Benny” and “Elliot” later became “Will” and “Mike.”

The Duffer Brothers’ lawyer commented in the TMZ article that these e-mails prove that the pair were developing the show before Kessler allegedly met them. While there are certainly some similarities, this seems to be the case of both drawing inspiration from the same (supposedly) real life event.

Source: http://www.imdb.com/news/ni61986732