A lawsuit by writers Sachin Gadh and Jonathan Sender had been filed against "her" director and producer Spike Jonze over the film's screenplay. Digital Spy, pointing to a report by TMZ, said that the writers claimed that Jonze stole the screenplay from them.
Gadh and Sender said that they submitted a screenplay titled "Belv" to one of Hollywood's top talent agencies, Creative Artists Agency. Digital Spy noted that CAA also represented Jonze, whose film work based on his IMDb profile also included "Where The Wild Things Are," "Being John Malkovich" and the Nicolas Cage-starrer "Adaptation." CAA, said Gadh and Sener, reportedly said that they do not accept unsolicited screenplays. However, when Jonze's "her" debuted in theaters, the duo noted striking similarities between the screenplay they have submitted to CAA and Jonze's new film, according to the lawsuit.
The Huffington Post in a separate report said "Belv" is currently being marketed on the Internet as "The Belv Show" and features a warped mobile phone that serves as an electronic companion to the main character, who is a man unlucky in love. The mobile phone would eventually serve Gadh and Sender's protagonist as a wingman. Citing TMZ's report, the duo is claiming that the depiction of lead star Joaquin Phoenix's character in "Her" turning to a mobile computer device for love advice.
Both TMZ, DIgital Spy and the Huffington Post noted that Jonze has yet to react to the lawsuit filed by Gadh and Sender.
In an earlier interview with the Telegraph, Jonze claimed that his inspiration for "Her" was spurred from a brief moment with Siri on his own mobile phone. The UK paper noted that Apple launched its personalised user interface in 2011.
"It was this very limited interaction with a program, an instant messaging chat. Then Siri came out as I was writing this. It seemed like a good sign," Jonze told the paper.
Digital Spy said the "Her" has reaped five Academy Awards nominations, which include Best Picture and Best Writing (Original Screenplay). The film also stars Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde and Amy Adams.
