As if Heroes hasn't had enough bad press lately. Here comes another controversy to deal with.The makes of the Icelandic film Astropia are demanding an injunction against the NBC show, saying it has violated copyright laws. Remember the scene in the most recent episode where cheerleader Claire went to the record store to interview for the job left vacant when Aquaboy went on the run? The producers of Astropia say that the scene is very similar to one that they had in their 2007 film. Both show girls going to a comic book store job interview.
This is the second time that the show has been accused of lifting material from another source. A lawsuit came up during the show's first season.
The two scenes are after the jump. The first clip is from Heroes, the second clip is from Astropia. You be the judge! Is Heroes just taking stuff from other sources or is this just a superficial similarity?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-12-2009 @ 2:37PM
KMF said...
No it's not the really same. I'm probably going to take some heat but I think the Astropia scene was better.
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3-12-2009 @ 2:39PM
Tim said...
Not even close!
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3-12-2009 @ 2:50PM
Oscar said...
The only similar part was when all the geeks stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the girls as they walked into the stores.
BTW, I must not spend as much time in comic book stores as I think because I have never seen anything like that. I thought it was kind of mean of Heroes to act like everybody who sets foot in a comic book store is a nerd or geek of the highest level with their awkwardness ratings going off the charts.
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3-12-2009 @ 3:24PM
Dan said...
I love comic book stores and I'm a jock who got lots of girls (before I got stupid and moved in with my GF), but generally the people who spend time in them are just like that. Stereotypes exist for a reason. I have also seen plenty of fat cheerleaders who are more interested in school than boys...but a TV show like Heroes needs to play on the stereotypes, as they are most relatable to the fans. If the guys in the comic book store were all male models, people would have complained "come on, guys like that don't like comics!"
3-12-2009 @ 3:24PM
Dan said...
Yeah right, like the producers of Heroes watch some obscure TV show from Iceland...this is pathetic. Plus, have you ever seen a hot chick in a comic store? It's the same way in any store, it's not like having comic book geeks staring at a hot girl is anything new.
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3-12-2009 @ 3:17PM
Jason said...
They are as similar as Transformers and Go Bots.
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3-12-2009 @ 3:18PM
mark perna said...
Outside of the hot chick amongst the geeks gag which is not original to either of these shows, I saw absolutely nothing in common between them. I think it is a stunt to bring PR to Astropia which looks kind of interesting.
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3-12-2009 @ 3:25PM
J. said...
I agree. The injunction was a good publicity move because I had never heard of that flick before and now I plan on checking it out.
3-12-2009 @ 3:30PM
jackie said...
Not even close, so what anyway..... it's all about the almighty dollar that none of have anyway.. get over it! Everyone wants to sue... it's so stupid.
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3-12-2009 @ 3:45PM
Randy said...
Sounds like they should be sued for infringing on Star Wars -- "I felt a great disturbance in the force" is a direct steal.
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3-12-2009 @ 4:05PM
KarDee said...
It's ridiculous! So what this lawsuit is saying, is that no blond girl can ever be portrayed as going into a comic book store to apply for a job in ANY film or show because they did it first? If this is the case, there won't be any more movies or TV shows, because everything will have been done. Its simply absurd.
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3-17-2009 @ 4:50PM
LarryD said...
I had similar thoughts to what KarDee said, except that my thoughts are that since Comic Books stores came into existence, there has been only one instance where a blond girl has entered any comic book store and asked for a job? And it will never happen again? And of course the Geek are going to gawk.
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3-12-2009 @ 4:18PM
Randy said...
Also, from the description on IMDB, it sounds like Astropia is more or less a re-tread of the TV show "Stacked", with Pamela Anderson...
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3-12-2009 @ 5:07PM
sh said...
I'm going to sue both of them for stealing my idea of "pretty blonde in a comic shop" I had when i was 12.
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3-12-2009 @ 4:32PM
jffm said...
So dissimilar it didn't even really warrant having a TVSquad post about it. Obviously some hacks trying to snag some publicity by making a completely unnecessary claim against a well known show.
I'm surprised some posters are even saying the other show looks interesting (unless they're sock puppets for the show that's suing). The dialog's bland as pablum and the few notes they do hit are Creative Writing 101 pretty much.
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3-12-2009 @ 5:19PM
Hendrik said...
The adult webcomic Menage a 3 just had quite a similar storyline, beginning here: http://www.menagea3.net/d/20090224.html. Who ripped of whom?
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3-12-2009 @ 6:48PM
Ian said...
Comic shop, not record store.
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3-12-2009 @ 7:13PM
Mr_A said...
All due respect, the only thing I care to point out, is that you noted it was a "record store," whereas any self respecting fan of Heroes should know that it's a "comic book store." After all, with all the heavy comic book influence in the show...
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3-13-2009 @ 4:58AM
Phish said...
My goodness, there are people actually still watching this show? They probably thought they could steal all they want since no one is watching, haha
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3-13-2009 @ 2:32PM
Vijay said...
Total rip. Just like the time I was working on a family sitcom and thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if the wife asks the husband to do something, the husband doesn't want to do it because it's too girly, and, after hilarious antics, it takes a third party to step in and show that he should do it, all just under 22 minutes?" I think that plot was stolen a few hundred times, and no lawyer will take my lawsuit.
Or when I came up with the idea of reading people's minds. And then Stan Lee had to go and steal it.
/irony
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