Think it's a coincidence that just in the last four years, a pair of movies about a pair of firemen who pretend to be gay popped up in cinemas? Not bloody likely, mate -- at least according to a new lawsuit. 
In the suit, obtained by TMZ, Aussie film outfit Strange Bedfellows Pty Ltd. allege that the 2007 Adam Sandler-Kevin James comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" was ripped off from their own faux-gay-fireman movie, "Strange Bedfellows." That movie, starring Paul Hogan and Michael Caton, came out in 2004, and was the highest-grossing movie in Oz that year.
But you'll never guess who allegedly made the bridge between Crocodile Dundee and Billy Madison. Did you say Deuce Bigalow?
According to the papers, Rob Schneider got a copy of "Strange Bedfellows," and gave it to Adam Sandler, who then turned around and made "Chuck and Larry." The Aussie company alleges that Sandler's company Happy Madison Productions have "continuously infringed [Bedfellows'] copyright by distributing, selling, producing, and claiming authorship" over "Chuck and Larry."
As it happens, "Chuck and Larry" grossed $120 million in the U.S., while "Bedfellows" did about $4.2 million (U.S.) in its native land. The suit seeks unspecified damages.
Happy Madison Productions didn't immediately return a call for comment.
See More
Reader Comments
(Page 1 of 2) | 1 | 2 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments
I've never seen Adam Sandler be funny, I'll have to take your words for it, Like he took the story and plot from Australia.
Does anyone in Hollywood actually have an original idea??
Who cares...it's Adam Sandler...I'm sure it was way better than the Oz version...
of course!!! pay up!!! theres not an original though in hollywood these days...every is copied from somewhere else!!!!
Adam cant act anyway, and the original Strange Bedfellows was darn hillarious. I loved that and just watched it recently on cable. I wish them the best of luck because I hadn't laughed that hard since...I don't know when. Good luck Bedfellows!
4.2 million??? and that was the highest grossing movie in Australia in 2004, damn I didn't know Australia was that poor.
I remember watching " Strange Bedfellows " and it was a good movie. Now that I have seen both movies, it does appear to me that " Chuck and Larry " is not original at all. Adam should have at least tried a different workplace, like an autoworkers plant or nuclear power plant, it is not that difficult to find a different story line. But I remember " La Cage Au Foix " and " The Birdcage " made in the US with Robin Williams. A movie comes off better when the viewers can relate to the actors and their accents.
gotta respect the original crocodile hunter!! "thats not a lawsuit mate, THIS IS A LAWSUIT$$$" ... Crikeys!!!
wasted days and wasted nights:
In the comedy The Guru with that fine fox Heather Graham, there is a subplot involving two gay firefighters. How many 'gay firefighter' movies are there?
Never found Adam Sandler to be that funny..........Hell.........Bob Barker kicked his A$$!
Show him your knife, Nick!!!!
As soon as I saw the Aussie movie I knew Adam had used the idea. Of course I thought he did it with permission. Now that I see that he did not, he is toast.
Anyone who says that no one should care because the Adam Sandler movie made more money is a jackass. Every penny Chuck and Larry made was from an un-original idea. The fact that it made so much money many only makes this more wrong and more disturbing. I can't wait for the "Lord of the Bracelets" trilogy to come along and make somebody a billion dollars they don't deserve.
Let's do the maths.
Australia is pushing 21 million people. You guys have what, 300 million? Of course a movie over there is going to make $100 mil +, compared with our $4.2 mil. Our market is what, 15 times smaller than yours?
Strange Bedfellows was hilarious, and I think you would have found that had Happy Maddison Productions asked for permission to use the material, the original production company would have obliged. That or, the least they could have done was not rip it off so blatantly.
