M. Night Shyamalan’s Apple TV+ thriller series Servant may be over, but the legal drama surrounding it isn’t.
Back in 2020, filmmaker Francesca Gregorini sued Servant producers Tony Basgallop and M. Night Shyamalan, as well as Apple, claiming that the series stole elements of the 2013 indie film The Truth About Emanuel. The copyright lawsuit was thrown out, before being revived again in early 2022, sending it to a jury hearing.
M. Night Shyamalan and collaborators entered court today for the first day of the copyright trial. The team hope to disprove Gregorini’s claims and defend the originality of the series and its central concept.
Filmmaker claims M. Night Shyamalan stole his story
The Truth About Emanuel bears at least some level of face-value similarity to Apple’s Nell Tiger Free outing. It’s about a grieving mother who bonds with a young woman babysitting a doll, and the latter of which is cared for as though it was a real child.
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Jurors will watch The Truth About Emanuel alongside Servant’s first three episodes in order to determine whether the level of similarity is “substantial,” according to reports. Judge John F. Walter originally dismissed the case, claiming the projects aren’t sufficiently similar to rule in Gregorini’s favor, before the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that such an early dismissal of the copyright claim was “improper.”
Proving copyright infringement can be difficult, as the plaintiff must show substantial similarity and that the defendant had access to the work in question. The defense team reportedly cited facts such as the film’s small box office cume ($226 in L.A., and one $9 ticket in Philadelphia, ironically where Shyamalan was raised), while the plaintiff’s team argued that the film was widely available online, and to Apple TV exec Max Aronson.
The trial is expected to last two weeks, and could amount to an $81 million windfall if jurors rule in Gregorini’s favor.
