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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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31. One possibility is that Spinner may have been negotiating for some time with ABC/Touchstone without success and now his claim is facing a statute of limitations problem. If that is the case, he must go forward with formal litigation or lose all rights to his claim.
He would have to prove more than a passing similarity to the idea of being shipwrecked or jetwrecked on a tropical island. That idea has been around since Daniel Defoe published Robinson Crusoe 290 years ago. Or Wyss' Swiss Family Robinson from 1812. Or the Robinsons in Lost in Space (hello Irwin Allen) from 1965. Or about 300 other popular variations.

Posted at 8:23PM on Jul 13th 2009 by magottlieb

32. Why no Jessica and Tony Story,did TMZ drop the ball or are they not worthy of news,we all know jessica is heart broken

Posted at 7:39PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Tony Dumped Jessica

33. BORING!!

Posted at 8:52PM on Jul 13th 2009 by good girl

34. Ok, the only defence that the producers have is that he was originally paid for his script, and that it then became the property of ABC or Touchstone, or whoever paid him the $30k. It would all depend on the contract under which the script was purchased. Could be an interesting case. I'm sure it'll be settled outside of court, but I want to know what happens.

Posted at 7:39PM on Jul 13th 2009 by BBKing77

35. #25, Davo, is right. But there are many similarities and, in court, he could actually win if he can prove it. I doubt he'll be getting royalties and residuals, though, since he only created the show, but didn't work on it. He could still score a few million here.

Posted at 7:40PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Omar

36. Spinner has sued before. His lawsuits have been going on since the show started airing. He is 79 years old.

Posted at 7:41PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Matthew

37. I am sure the claim was made a long time and ago and settlement discussions only now fell apart which is why he sued.

Posted at 7:41PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Albert

38. I totally believe this is possible. A major TNT show appears to based--down the names of the characters--on a question I had posted on a forum for beginning screenwriters, in which I had given away my very unusual show idea in order to clarify my statement. Sometimes it takes awhile to either dig up the proof, or, to get mad enough to sue. Someday, maybe it'll be my own plagerism suit making the headlines. for me, all I will need is to find the printout of that website, which I may have done, only to have buried it, or tossed it out. The irony is, the very same forum where my (stolen)) show ideas posted a thread from an outraged newbie screenwriter claiming that producers steal show ideas ALL the time!! He told people never to post their ideas on the forum!! And all the "bigwig" guest "speakers" (read: Hollywood producers) all criticized him for saying that. I trusted these people. Which is exactly how my show idea got stolen.

Posted at 7:53PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Virginia West

39. A little homework shows this writer/producer/director has had a court case against ABC since at least 2005. Look at this link, and this guy's track record at IMDB.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0818961/news#ni0067608

Posted at 7:59PM on Jul 13th 2009 by VoiceOfReason

40. He filed this lawsuit FOUR YEARS AGO. (Not recently as TMZ would have you believe)

Here is a link to the article on the lawsuit. Check the date on the piece.

http://www.tv.com/story/571.html

Posted at 8:16PM on Jul 13th 2009 by WTF?

41. Uh, okay. The show started like what, 5 years ago now? Why take so long to make a lawsuit.

Posted at 7:53PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Rebecca

42. I HATE THIS SHOW WITH EVERY CELL AND FIBER OF MY SOUL. I WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THIS LAWSUIT BECAUSE EVERY "NETWORK" PEROSN INVOLVED IIN THIS SHOW IS THEEEEEEEEEE - MOST - HEINOUS - DOUCHEBAG - ON - THE - PLANET. THE REAL PROBLEM IS THE ADVERTISERS. I HAVE BOYCOTTED ALL ADVERTISERS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SHOW, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT DESERVE A CENT OF MY MONEY.

HEAR THAT YOU "LOST" PEOPLE?????????????? YOU ARE NOT "SMART". YOU CAN KISS MY HUGE GAPING AYNUS. I HATE THIS SHOW MORE THAN GEORGE W. BUSH, WHO INVENTED TERRORISM SO HIS FAMILY COULD GET MORE OF YOUR MONEY FROM OIL.

Posted at 7:55PM on Jul 13th 2009 by UIWEHFGJUIEWHRGJFK

43. The idea for the TV show "LOST" has been floating around Hollywood for many many years... finally ABC bought it. It probable was this guy's idea in the beginning... or maybe not.

Posted at 8:02PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Dev

44. are you all insane? if he sued then they would stop making the show! would you sue after 1 successful season or 5? if he wins (nevermind if hes telling the truth) he would stand to make a ton of money 5x the amount then if they stopped after season 1, im amazed hes suing already, must need money now or something.

Posted at 8:02PM on Jul 13th 2009 by dave

45. It's Hollywood. Business as usual.

Posted at 8:32PM on Jul 13th 2009 by Winsome Davis III

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