Spielberg, studios sued over Disturbia - Blu-ray Forum

hc666 · 09-09-2008, 03:58 PM

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/20...earwindow.html

I have to agree it was a rip off...

Marine Mike · 09-09-2008, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hc666

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/20...earwindow.html

I have to agree it was a rip off...

Thats hilarious as my wife and I thought this whole time it was a remake!

kpkelley · 09-09-2008, 04:00 PM

Seems a little late in the game doesn't it?

hc666 · 09-09-2008, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marine Mike

Thats hilarious as my wife and I thought this whole time it was a remake!

lol i did too... it was very close to the other movie!!!

stockstar1138 · 09-09-2008, 04:06 PM

i figured it was just a slightly different packaged rear window, figured they had everything worked out legally.

kind of suprised to see this coming out nearly a year after disturbia was released.

Slec · 09-09-2008, 04:29 PM

I figured it was a repackage of The Burbs (great movie by the way)

aramis109 · 09-09-2008, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

i figured it was just a slightly different packaged rear window, figured they had everything worked out legally.

kind of suprised to see this coming out nearly a year after disturbia was released.

Me too. Definitely very closely parallels Hitchcock's movie.

CptGreedle · 09-09-2008, 04:45 PM

Really a sad thing to get sued over a piece of crap movie like that (and by that I mean Distrubia).
Rule One when ripping off another film. If you are going to rip off a film without permission, make sure it is (financially) worth the impending lawsuit.

CptGreedle · 09-09-2008, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slec

I figured it was a repackage of The Burbs (great movie by the way)

Great movie! Which is not totally unlike Rear Window, but clearly not the same movie, as he is not really confined to his house and makes a fool out of himself with the help of his neighbors. In fact, it is a complete comedy while these are not. He is also not "spying" on his neighbors, and happens to hear and see them digging in their backyard which revives the urban horror stories about the previous owner of the house.

Great movie, similar, but not the same.

bhampton · 09-09-2008, 04:48 PM

Quote "Really a sad thing to get sued over a piece of crap movie like that..."

Exactly my thoughts. Although,... I kind of enjoyed the first hour or so and then wham it got uber-crappy.

I don't even want the Blu Ray which is pretty significant.

-Brian

jadedeath · 09-09-2008, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

Really a sad thing to get sued over a piece of crap movie like that (and by that I mean Distrubia).
Rule One when ripping off another film. If you are going to rip off a film without permission, make sure it is (financially) worth the impending lawsuit.

Or:

Call it a 'homage'

Logan

quexos · 09-09-2008, 06:15 PM

Well you could say that "Madagascar" is a plagiarism of "The Wild" or maybe the other way around I don't remember for sure but those two are way too similar don't you think ?

UKTruBlu · 09-09-2008, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CptGreedle

Really a sad thing to get sued over a piece of crap movie like that (and by that I mean Distrubia).
Rule One when ripping off another film. If you are going to rip off a film without permission, make sure it is (financially) worth the impending lawsuit.

Well it did make nearly 6 times what it cost:
http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2007/DSTRB.php

Dogslyf · 09-11-2008, 06:04 PM

I don't think anyone involved with Disturbia would deny that Rear Window was not an influence. A rip off? I don't know? Many movies blatantly construct their plots around familiar story structures. It's kind of like saying Tarantino ripped of Chaucer when he made Reservoir Dogs. I would say that Disturbia was a "rip off" if the main character was a guy stuck in a wheelchair who spent time looking at a neighbor across the way and seeing an apparent murder. The 13th Warrior is based on Eaters of the Dead, which is a blatant Beowulf clone. I read somewhere that horror movies, no matter what the subject matter, usually follow one of two different rules. One: characters trapped in a large are with limited resources while having to combat a physically superior enemy (Duel, Jaws, etc.) Two: a small number of characters trapped in a small area that they cannot leave, but with a number of valuable resources at their disposal (Alien, Haunted House movies, space movies, etc.).
I'm not sure this is a copyright infringement issue. We'll see. Probably going to end up as an out of court settlement.

Blu Titan · 09-11-2008, 06:07 PM

Disturbia = Rear Window with a different dressing. It is as abvious as daylight.

fronn · 09-11-2008, 08:23 PM

Wow, that's odd.

I could have sworn it was marketed as a Rear Window remake.

That's rather bizarre... I actually re-watched Rear Window around the time I rented Disturbia because of that.

It was blatantly obvious, so much so that I thought it was just accepted as a remake of it. Part of why is because Paramount has Rear Window in their library and Disturbia is theirs too... how do legal issues come up in that case? I suppose Paramount doesn't actually own the rights to the film, only distribution.

edit:

It seems the owners of the book/short story it came from are suing, not the people related to the Rear Window movie... That makes sense... Way less baffling now. I knew it was marketed as a Rear Window remake.

alexakajeff · 09-13-2008, 05:49 AM

I also, like many of you, thought it was a remake!!!

LORDs_angellos · 09-14-2008, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quexos

Well you could say that "Madagascar" is a plagiarism of "The Wild" or maybe the other way around I don't remember for sure but those two are way too similar don't you think ?

They're similar, sure, but so were A Bug's Lfe and Antz, or Finding Nemo and Shark Tale. You can't copyright stuff as broad as making a movie about zoo animals going to the jungle. Even though it's legal, it just comes off as repetitive. I did like both "repetive" movies though. They weren't too alike to warrant just watching one of them. The Wild looks WAY better than Madagascar though.

ThePhantomOak · 09-14-2008, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hc666

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/20...earwindow.html

I have to agree it was a rip off...

strange... I had no idea that it was NOT a remake... It seemed quite obvious that it was.

Ernest Rister · 09-14-2008, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

i figured it was just a slightly different packaged rear window, figured they had everything worked out legally.

kind of suprised to see this coming out nearly a year after disturbia was released.

I'm not surprised -- you wait for the film to gross as much money as possible, then you sue for your cut of it.

09-09-2008, 03:58 PM	#1
hc666 Blu-ray Guru Member since:Nov 2007 Home Theater Gallery:7 Blu-ray collection:100 Blu-ray reviews: 26	Spielberg, studios sued over Disturbia http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/20...earwindow.html I have to agree it was a rip off...

09-11-2008, 08:23 PM	#16
fronn Expert Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:St. Paul, Minnesota Blu-ray collection:- DVD collection:- Blu-ray reviews:1	Wow, that's odd. I could have sworn it was marketed as a Rear Window remake. That's rather bizarre... I actually re-watched Rear Window around the time I rented Disturbia because of that. It was blatantly obvious, so much so that I thought it was just accepted as a remake of it. Part of why is because Paramount has Rear Window in their library and Disturbia is theirs too... how do legal issues come up in that case? I suppose Paramount doesn't actually own the rights to the film, only distribution. edit: It seems the owners of the book/short story it came from are suing, not the people related to the Rear Window movie... That makes sense... Way less baffling now. I knew it was marketed as a Rear Window remake. Last edited by fronn; 09-11-2008 at 08:33 PM.

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09-09-2008, 04:00 PM	#3
kpkelley Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Framingham, MA 4K collection:385 Blu-ray collection:2478 Digital collection:113 Blu-ray reviews: 152	Seems a little late in the game doesn't it?

09-09-2008, 04:06 PM	#5
stockstar1138 Banned Member since:Apr 2007	i figured it was just a slightly different packaged rear window, figured they had everything worked out legally. kind of suprised to see this coming out nearly a year after disturbia was released.

09-09-2008, 04:29 PM	#6
Slec Blu-ray Samurai Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Dec 2007 Location:Baltimore, MD Home Theater Gallery:29 Blu-ray collection:241 Blu-ray reviews: 7 Trading Score:30	I figured it was a repackage of The Burbs (great movie by the way)

09-09-2008, 04:45 PM	#8
CptGreedle Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Sworn super-hero now services Atlanta (and suburbs). Blu-ray collection:128 Blu-ray reviews:5	Really a sad thing to get sued over a piece of crap movie like that (and by that I mean Distrubia). Rule One when ripping off another film. If you are going to rip off a film without permission, make sure it is (financially) worth the impending lawsuit.

09-09-2008, 04:48 PM	#10
bhampton Blu-ray Count Member since:Aug 2007 4K collection:981 Blu-ray collection:2537 DVD collection:67 Blu-ray reviews: 6 Trading Score:18	Quote "Really a sad thing to get sued over a piece of crap movie like that..." Exactly my thoughts. Although,... I kind of enjoyed the first hour or so and then wham it got uber-crappy. I don't even want the Blu Ray which is pretty significant. -Brian

09-09-2008, 06:15 PM	#12
quexos Banned Member since:May 2007 Location:Brussels, Belgium	Well you could say that "Madagascar" is a plagiarism of "The Wild" or maybe the other way around I don't remember for sure but those two are way too similar don't you think ?

09-11-2008, 06:04 PM	#14
Dogslyf Active Member Member since:May 2008	I don't think anyone involved with Disturbia would deny that Rear Window was not an influence. A rip off? I don't know? Many movies blatantly construct their plots around familiar story structures. It's kind of like saying Tarantino ripped of Chaucer when he made Reservoir Dogs. I would say that Disturbia was a "rip off" if the main character was a guy stuck in a wheelchair who spent time looking at a neighbor across the way and seeing an apparent murder. The 13th Warrior is based on Eaters of the Dead, which is a blatant Beowulf clone. I read somewhere that horror movies, no matter what the subject matter, usually follow one of two different rules. One: characters trapped in a large are with limited resources while having to combat a physically superior enemy (Duel, Jaws, etc.) Two: a small number of characters trapped in a small area that they cannot leave, but with a number of valuable resources at their disposal (Alien, Haunted House movies, space movies, etc.). I'm not sure this is a copyright infringement issue. We'll see. Probably going to end up as an out of court settlement.

09-11-2008, 06:07 PM	#15
Blu Titan Super Moderator Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Edo, Land of the Samurai Home Theater Gallery:42 4K collection:41 Blu-ray collection:2864 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:92	Disturbia = Rear Window with a different dressing. It is as abvious as daylight.

09-13-2008, 05:49 AM	#17
alexakajeff Banned Member since:Apr 2008 Blu-ray reviews:2	I also, like many of you, thought it was a remake!!!

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