Is "Brokeback Mountain" too similar to "My Husband Is on the Down Low and I Know About It" ?
hmmmmmm.
Janice Scott-Blanton, the author of "My Husband Is on the Down Low and I Know About It," filed a $250 million lawsuit claiming copyright infringement against Universal and the studios that financed and distributed "Brokeback Mountain," reports BlackNews.com.
Scott-Blanton claims there are over 50 substantial similarities between her novel and the Academy Award-winning film. An early bar scene in the movie reminded Scott-Blanton of a scene from her novel, but she chalked it up to coincidence until further scenes, including the first sexual encounter between Jack and Ennis, reminded her of her novel.
In "Brokeback Mountain" Alma(Michelle Williams) confronts her husband Ennis (Heath Ledger) about his homosexual activity during Thanksgiving dinner and tells him she purposely wrote a note and put it on his fishing line for him but he never found it. According to Scott-Blanton, this scene is strikingly similar to a scene in her novel wherein her character Annette confronts her husband James about his homosexuality on their ninth anniversary. James tells her he wrote a confession in his journal purposely, knowing she was secretly reading it. Both scenes are set in a kitchen.
Scott-Blanton will argue in court that the film is strikingly similar to her novel in terms of characters, plot, themes, and sequence of events.
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Greg Hernandez has covered the entertainment industry for the Daily News since 2001. He's considered a bit odd by some for his obsession with box office numbers, has been known to camp out near the kitchen at premieres for first crack at the hors d'oeurves, and Greg's never seen a red carpet he didn't want to stroll down.
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perhaps scott-blanton ought to check if there are similarities between her book and the Brokeback Mountain short story and which was published when.
Does this woman truly not know that the Brokeback Mountain movie was based on Pulitzer prize-winning author Annie Proulx's short story of the same name, which first appeared in the New Yorker in 1997?
That kitchen scene you described has zero similarity to each other, aside from being in a kitchen. If there ARE similarities, perhaps Annie Proulx should be suing Ms. Scott-Blanton instead.