The happiest man in Hollywood one month ago might have been Paul Haggis but George Clooney was pushing him all the way.
Having scooped up a statuette after packing on the pork to play CIA agent Bob Barnes in Syriana, the movie’s creators are now facing a day in court after accusations of plagiarism.
Stephanie Vergniault argues that around 15 scenes have been pilfered from her script Oversight, which she claims was inspired by a novel from former company man Robert Baer. Despite Gaghan’s claims that he too used the book as a starting point, Vergniault claims that the scenes copied were her own work.
The claim itself has been filed against film company Warner Bros, Clooney’s production company Section 8 and helmer Stephen Gaghan.
Warner Bros are, unsurprisingly, denying the validity of the claim and are said to be ready to thrash it out in court.
