The critically acclaimed film The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne and written by David Hemingson, is facing allegations of plagiarism just days before the Oscars. The film’s screenplay, nominated for Best Original Screenplay, is being accused of bearing striking similarities to an unproduced 2013 screenplay titled Frisco by writer Simon Stephenson.
Stephenson has compiled documents comparing scenes, structure, characters, and dialogue between the two scripts, alleging that “the meaningful entirety of the screenplay for THE HOLDOVERS has been copied from the FRISCO screenplay by transposition.” He claims that the film’s entire story, sequence of events, character arcs, themes, and even specific lines of dialogue have been lifted from his Frisco script.
One notable example highlighted by Stephenson is an early scene where the protagonist is reprimanded by their boss for offending a politician’s family member, which occurs in both scripts with similar details.
Stephenson reportedly sent these comparison documents to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) in January, seeking assistance. However, representatives for Payne, Hemingson, and Stephenson have not yet provided comments on the matter.
The Holdovers, starring Paul Giamatti as a cynical boarding school teacher caring for a student over Christmas break, has been praised by critics and audiences alike. Its screenplay is nominated against several other films at the upcoming Academy Awards, with voting having closed late last month.