Overview

• StudioFest filed suit in May 2025 against Michael Shanks, Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Neon and WME, alleging ‘Together’ copies key elements of their 2023 film ‘Better Half’.
• Shanks says he completed the first draft of ‘Together’ in 2019 and registered it with the Writers Guild of America that year, undercutting the lawsuit’s timeline.
• The lawsuit claims both films feature a couple physically fused together as a metaphor for codependency and seeks actual and statutory damages, disgorgement of profits, injunctive relief and attorneys’ fees.
• Defense lawyer Nicolas Jampol argues the fused-couple premise is an unprotectable idea that predates both projects and has appeared in earlier film and television works.
• Neon acquired ‘Together’ for $17 million at Sundance and maintains its Aug. 1 release date as the case advances toward a likely multi-year jury trial.