You may remember a project we recently reported on entitled Colossal, set to star Oscar winner Anne Hathaway, an intriguing sci-fi romance about a woman connected with her mind to the destructive events in Tokyo involving a giant lizard attack.
Sound a tad familiar?
THR reports that the similarities with studio Toho’s stalwart Godzilla franchise is just too great and the people behind Colossal are have been hit with a big fat lawsuit as a result. The Hathaway star vehicle – previously described outright as “Godzilla meets Lost In Translation” and with a “…meets Being John Malkovich” now thrown in for good measure – is just too close for comfort for Toho. In fact they say it basically IS Godzilla at this point.
The main issue seems to be the fact that it’s about a giant lizard attacking Japan’s capital, which has been the bread and butter of the popular destruction series since its inception six decades ago. It even points out that in trying to sell the film for distribution at Cannes, Voltage Pictures used the term “Tokyo is under attack from Godzilla” and even used a pic from the recent Godzilla reboot.
The filed lawsuit claims that Voltage are, “brazenly producing, advertising, and selling an unauthorized Godzilla film of their own.” To add dubious insult to injury, Toho also give as evidence what writer-director of Colossal and co-defendant in the case, Nacho Vigalondo, said last Autumn about the idea that was then gestating:
It’s going to be the cheapest Godzilla movie ever, I promise. It’s going to be a serious Godzilla movie, but I’ve got an idea that’s going to make it so cheap that you will feel betrayed.
Ouch…
Source: THR