# ‘The Holdovers’ filmmakers accused of plagiarism and copyright infringement in new lawsuit

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-holdovers-filmmakers-accused-of-plagiarism-and-copyright-infringement-in-new-lawsuit/
- Published: 2026-10-29T11:00:54+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-29T11:35:52+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-holdovers-filmmakers-acused-plagiarism-copyright-infringement/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film

## Key points

- Simon Stephenson has sued over alleged copying in The Holdovers.
- He claims 46 incidents from his 2013 script were reused.
- The lawsuit seeks damages, legal fees and an injunction.

## Summary

Screenwriter Simon Stephenson has sued the filmmakers and companies behind The Holdovers, alleging the Oscar-winning film copied elements of his unproduced 2013 screenplay, Frisco. The case matters because it raises a copyright dispute over whether similarities between the two scripts resulted from copying.

Stephenson alleges that director Alexander Payne received copies of Frisco before declining to make it, and that 46 incidents from the script later appeared in The Holdovers. Frisco follows a paediatrician and a young patient, while The Holdovers centres on a teacher and pupil; the lawsuit also points to a line about a medical conference that was removed from a 2021 draft. Stephenson seeks damages, legal fees and an injunction against further infringement.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.