Home : Lost : Man Claims He Got 'Lost' First

Man Claims He Got 'Lost' First

Posted Jul 13th 2009 5:20PM by TMZ Staff

There may be one human being on Earth who understands the TV show "Lost" -- a guy who claims he created the show 32 years ago.

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Anthony Spinner -- a producer on "Baretta" and "Babes in Toyland" -- says back in 1977 he was paid $30,000 to write a TV pilot, which eventually became a 121-page script called "Lost."

Spinner is now suing ABC and Touchstone Television, claiming the network passed on the show in '77, '91 and '94 ... then suddenly created an exact replica with Touchstone in 2004.

Spinner lists a ton of similarities in his suit -- which was filed on July 10 -- notably an "airplane headed to Los Angeles [that] crashes into a tropical jungle-like environment."

Spinner also alleges the new "Lost" characters -- including Jack, Locke, Sayid, Kate and Sawyer -- are all rip-offs ... down to their occupations and dark pasts.

The comparisons go on and on. Spinner is suing for damages and a cut of royalties, profits and a bunch of other stuff. Spinner tried to sue a few years ago, but it was dismissed for procedural reasons.

Tags: abc, anthony spinner, AnthonySpinner, lawsuit, lost

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16. Our sources tell us that Spinner does infact have a very tight case here and can show almost beyond a shadow of a doubt where he did infact create a script that was and is almost identical to the current "Lost" . Will Estell, vice president of 3G Media, LLC- and a Publisher and writer himself (See "Wisdom & Wisecracks for the Aspiring Business Owner", Amazon.com)says Spinner has proof that his script and pilot are "far more" than simply similarities and that in his opinion Spinner- who Estell has no direct connection with- did create "Lost" and is entitled to proceeds from the series. Guess this one will have to play out in court. May the...uh, "true creator" win.

Posted at 7:21PM on Jul 13th 2009 by E Tips Today

17. If he's telling the truth, DOWN WITH THOSE THEIVES!
If he's lying, SON OF A MOTHER FLUCKER!

Posted at 7:14PM on Jul 13th 2009 by over 9000

18. Since '77. Where has this idiot been? There is always someone who has a script that was ripped off. I actually wrote the entire story line and music for West Side Story, but no one believes me. Should I sue?

Posted at 7:15PM on Jul 13th 2009 by bobbybaby

19. Seriously? You wait 5 seasons before you decided this was your idea?

Posted at 7:15PM on Jul 13th 2009 by seriously

20. Is it possible to find the complaint online? I'd love to read the paperwork he filed. Harvey? Smoking Gun?

Posted at 8:44PM on Jul 30th 2009 by GeeCee

21. Same ish happened with me, except this guy has a chance to win...

Posted at 11:58PM on Jul 13th 2009 by GOLGO13

22. A quick google search shows this writer filed the lawsuit in August 2005 -- right after season 1 finished airing.

Posted at 8:18AM on Jul 14th 2009 by google fu

23. since the start of TIME .

Posted at 7:20PM on Jul 13th 2009 by I`am still lost

24. It can sometimes take a long time to mount a lawsuit. Plus, suppose he realized he was being ripped off during the first season. By allowing several seasons to pass, perhaps it only solidified his case. If he presented a case after only one season, perhaps it would have minimized his lawsuit gain potential. At any rate, if it is indeed his story, I hope he takes them for all they're worth. There's nothing worse than a rat scoundrel taking credit for something they didn't do.

Posted at 7:22PM on Jul 13th 2009 by nomad

25. Wow, hope he gets a settlement.

Posted at 7:31PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Maria

26. And it only took him 5 seasons to realize it

Posted at 7:22PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Keith

27. People steal stuff in Hollywood all the time. The industry is all ego based and nobody gives a crap about anybody. In order to prove it he'll have to show a connection to the show's eventual creators and prove they had access or read his script. this could be easy or difficult depending if he had an agent that kept records of everywhere the script was sent. that's one of the primary purposes of agents...to long all submissions for this kind of thing. Just about every big movie or show gets sued eventually and most of the time it's coincidence but sometimes there is truth to it. But you gotta prove the later creator saw your script which is the tricky part.

Posted at 3:34AM on Jul 18th 2009 by babyfacemagee

28. Well, given that it's basically Lord of the Flies with grown-ups I'm not surprised someone else had the idea first. Plus, the characters are the same in any post-apocalyptic tale across the board. (Doctor, Military Man, Tough-Guy, Tough-Girl, etc.)

The worst piece of evidence is the ethnic minority who's picked on because of their colour. In an American TV show? Really?

The only interesting thing is the sabre-tooth tiger, which is strange, especially since the polar-bear thing only really existed in the pilot.

Posted at 7:27PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Davo

29. I know the plot of Lost can be hard to follow, but did it actually take this guy five years to figure this out? Pretty lame.

Posted at 7:29PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Toby12

30. ABC is a piece of DODO.

I hope he puts them Out .

Empty their purse..

Go GO GO getem man

Posted at 7:34PM on Jul 13th 2009 by The Truth

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