Oscars 2024 Best Picture Nominee The Holdovers Runs Into Plagiarism Row On Eve Of Academy Awards

The Holdovers is coming in strong at Oscars 2024 with five nominations under its belt, including Best Picture and Writing (Original Screenplay). However, its makers are facing accusations of plagiarism by screenwriter Simon Stephenson, popular for his work on Luca and Paddington 2.

Stephenson has alleged that story of The Holdovers has striking similarities to his unproduced screenplay for Frisco, which is about a cynical pediatrician who finds himself caring for a teenage patient over a period of days.

Stephenson makes his case to Writers Guild Of America

The plagiarism case against The Holdovers has come to light on the eve of the Oscars 2024. According to Variety, Stephenson prepared documents comparing scenes from both screenplays as well as their overall structure. Variety, which made one of those documents public recently, reported Stephenson sent it to the WGA in January to seek help. According to one document, The Holdovers director Alexander Payne was sent drafts of the script in 2013 and 2019 in a bid to get him to board the project.

Stephenson has contented that Payne had Frisco script in both 2013 and again in late 2019, right before Payne approached The Holdovers writer David Hemingson about collaborating on a project. That contention seems to be backed up by emails involving several Hollywood agencies and producers.

Stephenson's mail to WGA says The Holdvers script in ‘copied’ 

In a mail written to the guild, Stephenson wrote, “The meaningful entirety of the screenplay for THE HOLDOVERS has been copied from the FRISCO screenplay by transposition. This includes the FRISCO screenplay’s entire story, structure, sequencing, scenes, sequential sub-beats within scenes, line-by-line substance of action and dialogue, characters, arcs, relationships, theme and tone. A majority of this has been done line-for-line, and a large number of unique and highly specific elements created in FRISCO are readily and unequivocally identifiable in THE HOLDOVERS.”

Going in the 96th Academy Awards, The Holdovers has five nominations under its name - Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Picture, Film Editing, Actor In A Leading Role for Paul Giamatti and Actress In A Supporting Role for Da'vine Joy Randolph.