Shia LaBeouf apologises for plagiarism blunder
Shia Labeouf has made a public apology after he was accused of plagiarising a graphic novel in a short film he directed.
The Transformers star directed Howard Cantour, a short piece which stars comedian Jim Gaffigan as a disgruntled film critic, and posted it online on Monday (16Dec13) after debuting it at the Cannes Film Festival in France in May (13).
LaBeouf quickly found himself at the centre of a plagiarism row
after fans of graphic novel Justin M. Damiano noted distinct
similarities between the film and author Daniel Clowes' work, while
the writer's publishers branded the movie a "complete rip-off".
The actor has now apologised for failing to credit Clowes' work as
the inspiration for his film.
In a series of posts on his Twitter.com page, he writes, "Copying
isn't particularly creative work. Being inspired by someone else's
idea to produce something new and different IS creative work... In
my excitement and naivete (sic) as an amateur filmmaker, I got lost
in the creative process and neglected to follow proper
accreditation... I'm embarrassed that I failed to credit Daniel
Clowes for his original graphic novella Justin M. Damiano, which
served as my inspiration... I was truly moved by his piece of work
& I knew that it would make a poignant & relevant short. I
apologise to all who assumed I wrote it... I deeply regret the
manner in which these events have unfolded and want Daniel Clowes
to know that I have a great respect for his work... I (messed)
up."