$81 Million Controversy: M. Night Shyamalan Accused of Plagiarism in His 90% RT Show

M. Night Shyamalan moves in mysterious ways. The Sixth Sense, in which Bruce Willis doesn't know he's a ghost (we hope it’s no longer a spoiler for anyone…), remains the director's flagship film. Some call him untalented, others a genius of our time.

But right now, Shyamalan along with Apple.

M. Night Shyamalan Was the Showrunner of Apple's Series Servant

In 2019, the series Servant was released, and although it is promoted as an M. Night Shyamalan project, its creator is actually Tony Basgallop, the writer of Inside Men.

On the other hand, the film has all the hallmarks of the master of wild stories: absurd dialogues and many plot twists. Servant is a dramatic story about the loss of a child, intertwined with the plot of a suspicious nanny raising a creepy doll.

For four seasons leading up to 2023, fans have been theorizing about the mysterious project, but two years later, when talk of Servant had died down, one event has brought the series back into the spotlight.

M. Night Shyamalan And Apple Sued for $81 Million Over Servant

Italian director Francesca Gregorini is suing M. Night Shyamalan and Apple for $81 million. She claims the director used key elements from her 2013 film The Truth About Emanuel in Servant. The first trial in the case was held on January 14.

Gregorini's attorney showed jurors footage from both projects during his opening statement in federal court. He argued that both involve a delusional mother who cares for a doll as if it were a real child, and a nanny who acts suspiciously.

For the defense, the attorney argued that writer Tony Basgallop, who created the series, began developing that concept in 2005, years before The Truth About Emanuel was released, and that those involved in Servant never relied on the movie.

Gregorini filed the lawsuit in January 2020, shortly after Servant debuted on Apple TV+. A federal judge dismissed the suit months later, but a US Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated it in 2022.

Shyamalan and the show's other creators are expected to testify. The jury began its deliberations by watching The Truth About Emanuel in its entirety and the first three episodes of Servant.

The Truth About Emanuel Was a Box Office Flop

The Truth About Emanuel stars Jessica Biel and Kaya Scodelario, but despite its star-studded cast, the film failed to make a profit, earning 39% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The defense presented evidence that the film grossed only $226 in Los Angeles and only $9 from one viewer in Philadelphia.

Source: EW