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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.

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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(Page 9 of 9) Previous 15 Comments

121. He tried suing 2 years ago, can't you people read?

Posted at 9:09AM on Jul 16th 2009 by Jay Tanner

122. Wake up folks. 1977? He filed suit against the biggest new show in 2004...and no one reported it in the media? And no site has produced legal documents of these filings, including TMZ and TheSmokingGun? This is the new ARG (viral marketing game) for the final season of Lost. These always launch right before San Diego Comic-Con, which starts next week. I promise you we'll see some outburst, or something happen, during the Lost panel at SDCC.

Posted at 12:46PM on Jul 16th 2009 by Noah

123. Wake up folks. 1977? He filed suit against the biggest new show in 2004...and no one reported it in the media? And no site has produced legal documents of these filings, including TMZ and TheSmokingGun? This is the new ARG (viral marketing game) for the final season of Lost. These always launch right before San Diego Comic-Con, which starts next week. I promise you we'll see some outburst, or something happen, during the Lost panel at SDCC.

Posted at 12:51PM on Jul 16th 2009 by Noah

124. I didn't read all of the similarities (they're too boring), but seems to me that the comparisons could be worded in a way that makes them seem more similar than they really are. Would have to see the original scripts to compare. Also, many of these characters are stock character types in any drama, and they could easily occur independently to two different writers.

Posted at 7:50PM on Jul 16th 2009 by Andy

125. I believe in Spinner, are a lot of thief in this industry, Spinner is a lucky guy because he is a big producer and he have power to made an isue to the abc. Are a lot of amateurs artist, who lost a lot of prestige and money for this kind of powerfull people whitout soul who stole scripts every day. I m from argentina and i m a filmaker and a lost fanatic, and i love the work of JJ. But i believe that the story of Spinner is posible, Why not?

Posted at 5:45PM on Jul 16th 2009 by gus

126. Well for all the retards that asked why he waited so long maybe you would like to go back to the article and keep tracing the lines with your pencils and make sure you read everything because it states clearly that he had sued at an earlier time. Now as far as the characters go yes i agree that they are stock characters but the fact that the same group of stock characters are used in both raises some eyebrows. Other than that the fact that the "teaser" is pretty much exactly the same says a lot. Until more information is given we won't know the validity of either side but, coming from an industry that was based on theft I have all the evidence I need to think that spinner has a decent case.

Posted at 9:02AM on Jul 17th 2009 by dave

127. maybe he's telling the truth

Posted at 5:06PM on Jul 21st 2009 by Movies

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