|
 In a complaint filed on Monday in Los Angeles
federal court, Denise Daniels said the animated film, featuring
color-coded characters representing individual human emotions,
mirrors a children's program called "The Moodsters" that she
conceived and pitched to Disney every year from 2005 to 2009.
Daniels, who lives in Minnesota's Twin Cities area and has
appeared on TV shows including "Today" and "Oprah," said she had
an "implied-in-fact" contract with Disney requiring that she be
paid from box office, DVD, Blu-Ray, iTunes and merchandise
revenue from "Inside Out."
The film has grossed more than $850 million worldwide since its
June 2015 release. Daniels said this "extreme success" was not
possible without her work, and that Disney should pay her
because it is "custom and common in the entertainment industry."
A Disney spokesman, however, said "Inside Out" was an original
Pixar creation. "We look forward to vigorously defending against
this lawsuit in court," the spokesman said.
Ronald Schutz, a lawyer for Daniels, declined to comment.
Daniels was unavailable to comment.
The lawsuit is at least the second in three months accusing
Disney of stealing a concept for a blockbuster film.
In March, the Hollywood screenwriter Gary Goldman, whose credits
include the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Total Recall," sued
Disney for allegedly copying its Oscar-winning animated film "Zootopia"
from his work.
[to top of second column] |
"Inside Out" follows 11-year-old Riley, voiced by Kaitlyn Dias, as
she tries to cope with her family's move to San Francisco from
Minnesota.
It also shows her dealing with personifications of five emotions:
Joy (yellow), Sadness (blue), Fear (purple), Anger (red) and Disgust
(green), voiced by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader, Lewis
Black and Mindy Kaling.
Daniels said this resembled "The Moodsters," in which characters
also had assigned colors: Happiness (yellow), Sadness (blue), Fear
(green), Anger (red) and Love (pink).
According to her complaint, "Inside Out" director Pete Docter,
former Disney Chief Financial Officer Thomas Staggs and several
other Disney executives had access to her pitch.
No individuals were named as defendants.
In the "Zootopia" case, Disney has denied wrongdoing and asked a
federal judge to dismiss Goldman's complaint.
The Daniels case is Daniels v. Walt Disney Co et al, U.S. District
Court, Central District of California, No. 17-04527. The Goldman
case is Esplanade Productions Inc v. Walt Disney Co et al in the
same court, No. 17-02185.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bernadette
Baum and Lisa Shumaker)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
