Alexander Payne sued over script for The Holdovers film

Screenwriter Simon Stephenson filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on Wednesday against director Alexander Payne, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. The lawsuit, filed in California federal court, claims that the film The Holdovers was plagiarised from Stephenson's unproduced screenplay titled Frisco. Focus Features was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Variety reported. [1][2]

The Hollywood Reporter reported that Stephenson accuses Payne of copying major elements from his screenplay, which was set at a children's hospital, and adding surface level cosmetic changes. The lawsuit claims that Payne read the script for Frisco in 2013 and again in 2019 before he approached a writer for the film. Variety reported that Stephenson took his claims to the Writers Guild of America in 2024, but the union stated that it could not adjudicate the issue and referred him to a lawyer. [1][2]

The Holdovers is a 2023 American comedy drama film directed by Alexander Payne, written by David Hemingson, and starring Paul Giamatti. Focus Features released the film in the United States in October 2023. Payne has previously denied the plagiarism claims at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Variety reported. [1][9]