Steven Spielberg is one of the most successful directors of our time. But not everything went smoothly in his career. At the end of the 90s, he and his studio were even accused of plagiarism.
Which film is it about? Do you still remember Small Soldiers? Children of the 90s will surely remember the film with the small action figures.
It is about various figures that develop a life of their own and leave their plastic packaging. Specifically, the battling soldiers of the Commando Elite want to destroy the peaceful Gorgonites. A fight that the boy Alan witnesses because he takes parts of the figures home.
Small Soldiers was released in 1998 and was a modest success. The film cost 40 million dollars and only grossed about 72 million again (via the-numbers.com).
Shortly after the release, the studio behind the film, Amblin Entertainment, had to appear in court. The reason: Another filmmaker accused “Small Soldiers” of being a plagiarism. And thus also Steven Spielberg, who is part of the management of Amblin.
Spielberg is primarily known as the director of films like Schindler’s List or Jurassic Park. But in this case, he was sued for a film he did not even direct. By the way, he recently recommended a special film.
The concept of the film is allegedly stolen
What was the accusation? Steven Spielberg and Amblin faced accusations from Gregory Grant. Grant was also a director and had won a student Oscar with his short film “Ode to GI” in 1990.
Looking at the film, it quickly becomes clear why Grant recognizes a strong similarity between his work and Small Soldiers.
Even in the short film, you see lively soldiers interacting with objects from our human world and causing quite a bit of chaos.
Especially juicy: Gregory Grant had presented the concept of his film to Amblin. That was years before Small Soldiers. At that time, Grant’s idea was rejected.
When he saw Small Soldiers years later, he must have been quite surprised. He probably thought that his idea had been rejected and simply further developed by others.
What did Grant do about it? He initially went to court and sued Amblin for plagiarism. His lawyer Ira Reiner argued at the time:
Several scenes from Small Soldiers seem to be taken from Grant’s film, and the scenes are too similar to leave room for doubt. We see this as a case of David against Goliath. It is very unlikely that a jury would come to a different conclusion than plagiarism.
Ira Reiner via jeuxvideo.com
Should the lawyer be right? In advance, Reiner and probably also Grant were a bit too optimistic. Because at the end of the process, the court ruled in favor of Amblin and Spielberg. Small Soldiers was therefore not a plagiarism but an original work.
Grant came up short, and Small Soldiers developed into a cult film over the years. Even outside of the cinema, the film left its mark. There was various merchandise, such as toys, video games, or soundtracks.
A few years ago, a remake was in discussion, but as of now, nothing has come of it. Another film from the 90s is soon to receive a sequel: Twister.
