Shia LaBeouf accused of plagiarism

Shia Labeouf is at the center of a plagiarism row after his new short film was called a "complete rip-off" of a famed graphic novel.

The Transformers star directed a piece called Howard Cantour, which follows the inner-dialogue of a disgruntled film critic played by comedian Jim Gaffigan.

LaBeouf debuted the movie at the Cannes Film Festival in May (13), and released his work online on Monday (16Dec13).

However, fans of graphic novelist Daniel Clowes have claimed there are definite similarities between the film and his 2007 comic, Justin M. Damiano.

A spokesperson from Clowes' publisher, Fantagraphics Books, Inc., has addressed the accusations, telling The Hollywood Reporter that the 27 year old's film is "a complete rip-off", adding, "He (Clowes) had no knowledge that he had been plagiarised until today when the film was posted on (video sharing site) Vimeo... Even the trailer uses words from the Justin M. Damiano comic."