The creators have since responded.
The creators of Stranger Things, Matt and Ross Duffer, are being sued by a filmmaker who claims that they ripped off his idea for the beloved Netflix sci-fi series.
In his lawsuit, Charlie Kessler said that he made a short feature called “Montauk,” that revolves around government experiments, which he wanted to adapt into a feature-length TV show. The plot reads as follows: “In the series, set in 1980 Montauk, Long Island, a young boy vanishes into thin air. As friends, family, and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one very strange little girl. Montauk is a love letter to the 80s classics that captivated a generation.”
The film premiered in 2012 and won an award at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Kessler claims that he pitched the idea to the Duffer brothers in 2014 at a party at the Tribeca Film Festival for a series called The Montauk Project. Kessler states that he “presented materials” that detailed the outline of the project which the Duffers ultimately sold as Stranger Things to Netflix in 2015.
EW have reported that Stranger Things was originally set in Montauk, Long Island, but the location was then moved to Hawkins, Indiana.
Kessler’s short film was based on the real-life conspiracy theory about secret paranormal government experiments that were conducted at Montauk during the 1970s.
Regarding the charges, Kessler is asking for both monetary damages and a jury trial. Since these allegations were made, an attorney for the Duffer brothers has released a statement on their behalf. “Mr. Kessler’s claim is completely meritless,” said Alex Kohner, attorney for the Duffers. “He had no connection to the creation or development of ‘Stranger Things.’ The Duffer Brothers have neither seen Mr. Kessler’s short film nor discussed any project with him. This is just an attempt to profit from other people’s creativity and hard work,” the statement reads.
In a previous interview with Slash Film – that was conducted in 2010, six years before Stranger Things was released – Kessler talks openly about Montauk and his plans to adapt it into a TV show.
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