Daniel Clowes Pursuing His Legal Options Regarding Shia LaBeouf’s Plagiarism

So, you probably know the story that broke this week: Actor/filmmaker Shia LeBeouf made a short film. That film, titled "HowardCantour.com," premiered at Cannes last year. The short was a close adaptation of Dan Clowes' 2004 "Justin M. Damiano" comic story.

The story was adapted without Mr. Clowes' consent or knowledge or credit on LeBeouf's movie. The Beat has the story here in a piece titled "Did Shia LeBeouf Rip Off a Daniel Clowes Comic For His Short Film? UPDATE: YEP."

Mr. LeBeouf claimed to be the creator of the story until this week, when "HowardCantour.com" was available online. It was apparent to the many comics nerds out there that this was an unauthorized rip off of Daniel Clowes. 

When Mr. LeBeouf was caught, he decided to confess. 

Mr. LeBeouf cited he "got lost in the creative process" and did not credit Clowes. Making this even more outrageous: Shia LaBeouf plagiarized his own public apology.

The film is now password protected.

Eric Reynolds, Clowes' long-time editor at Fantagraphics, is outraged. He wrote to Buzzfeed:

“His apology is a non-apology, absolving himself of the fact that he actively misled, at best, and lied, at worst, about the genesis of the film. No one ‘assumes’ authorship for no reason. He implied authorship in the film credits itself, and has gone even further in interviews. He clearly doesn’t get it, and that’s disturbing. I’m not sure if it’s more disturbing that he plagiarized, or that he could rationalize it enough to think it was OK and that he might actually get away with it. Fame clearly breeds a false sense of security.”

More here: Daniel Clowes Pursuing His Legal Options Regarding Shia LaBeouf’s Plagiarism.