Dave Franco and Alison Brie‘s Sundance hit “Together” just might be coming apart. The indie feature, which was acquired by Neon in a $17 million deal out of Sundance, is at the center of a lawsuit alleging copyright infringement.
The lawsuit was filed on May 13 in Los Angeles Superior Court by StudioFest, which claims that actors Franco and Brie turned down an offer to star in 2023 film “Better Half” that the studio financed. The lawsuit accuses Franco, Brie, and agency WME of creating their own version of “Better Half” with fellow WME client Michael Shanks, who made his feature directorial debut with “Together” from a script he wrote. Neon, which bought the title and will release the film July 30, is also named in the lawsuit.
Both “Better Half” and “Together” are body horror dramas that follow a couple who literally become fused together. The lawsuit lists the similarities between the two films, including these specific plot points: The female characters are a teachers while the male characters are “punk artist[s] looking for their big break”; rodents are stuck together as a recurring visual motif; the protagonist couple become attached at the genitals in the bathroom; and the final scene both have the couple playing a vinyl record of the same Spice Girls album and dancing.
“This lawsuit is frivolous and without merit,” a WME spokesperson told IndieWire. “The facts in this case are clear and we plan to vigorously defend ourselves.” IndieWire has reached out to representatives for Franco, Brie, Shanks, and Neon for comment.
Patrick Phelan wrote the “Better Half” screenplay in 2019, which was optioned by StudioFest. The casting director for the film emailed Franco and Brie’s respective WME agents at the time to offer $20,000 each for the lead roles. Connor Paolo and Dianne Doan were later cast in the lead roles; Phelan made his directorial debut with the feature, which was released in 2023.
THR included a portion of the legal complaint citing how the producers at StudioFest had their “worst nightmare unfold” after watching “Together” at Sundance 2025, two years after “Better Half” debuted.
“This is not a generic comedic trope — it is a highly specific, artistic choice that plays out in a nearly identical fashion with both works framing the scene using a visual shot of the minor character’s feet peeking out from just outside the door,” the complaint reads. “Defendants used the same combination of the awkward physical attachment, the urgency to remain hidden, and the romantic subtext of the looming outsider to achieve a substantially similar feel.”
“Together” star and executive producer Franco previously told THR that WME arranged a meeting between him and Shanks to discus the feature; Brie later joined the film after her husband Franco forwarded her the script. “I remember reading the [‘Together’] script and immediately turning to Alison to say, ‘I think we should act in this one together,’ because the characters had been together for over a decade,” he said. “I figured that our real-life relationship could lend itself well to that dynamic.”
