Apple TV+ show 'Servant.' Image source: Apple. Apple TV+ show "Servant" allegedly stole key elements from a 2013 film called "The Truth About Emmanuel," and the trial is back on with a jury set to decide if Apple and M. Night Shyamalan should be fined $81 million.
Director Francesca Gregorini sued in January 2020, and the case was initially thrown out. She alleges that the dark themes surrounding a reborn doll and similar shots between the properties are enough to suggest copyright infringement. According to a report from Variety, creators of the show and M. Night Shyamalan will testify to a jury. The jurors will watch "The Truth About Emmanuel" and the first three episodes of "Servant" to help make a determination.
Gregorini is seeking $81 million in damages. For comparison, "The Truth About Emmanuel" grossed $226 in Los Angeles and $9 in Philadelphia. Shyamalan's defense argues that "Servant" was being written before the 2013 film ever debuted and that the concept of reborn dolls isn't something Gregorini invented. However, Gregorini argues it is more than simple plot points that were copied — entire scenes seem to be eerily similar between the properties.
I've watched "Servant" and read through the plot of "The Truth About Emanuel." The initial evidence with side-by-side scenes is also something I've taken into account. Simply put, these films share a few similarities, but the idea that one plagiarized the other is a stretch. There is a reborn doll, a nanny, and a traumatized mother in each story, but that is where the similarities end.
