'Stranger Things' creators accused of ripping off film
Charlie Kessler has accused Duffer brothers of copying his 2012 short film 'Montauk'
April 04, 2018
Charlie Kessler, the director of a short film called Montauk, has filed a lawsuit against Stranger Things creators, claiming they took his film idea.
Kessler alleged that brothers Matt and Ross Duffer took the idea for the sci-fi/supernatural series from his short film Montauk and a related feature film script titled The Montauk Project, and used it to create their popular Netflix series.
According to Kessler, he met the brothers at a premiere party during the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2014, where he discussed the idea with them.
Kessler’s film follows the story of a young boy who goes missing, featuring an adjacent military base known for conducting experiments on kids and a creature from another dimension with a cop haunted by his past was one of the major characters — eerily similar to the plot of Stanger Things' first season.
Having won an award at the Hamptons Film Festival in 2012, Montauk was a found-footage sci-fi short that told the story of a violent event that took place in the Long Island community.
The lawsuit filed by Kessler states that he is looking for monetary damages due to a breach of implied contract, according to Deadline.
Neither Netflix nor the Duffer brothers have commented on the matter yet.
Stranger Things already has two seasons under its belt with a third season in the making. It stars Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby-Brown, Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, and Gaten Matarazzo.
