Essays

May 19, 2010

I haven’t read anything about you commenting on the film (title censored) being nearly identical to your novel, INTENSITY. As far as I know, the filmmaker has given you no credit. What do you have to say about that? — Sandra, Colorado

My snail-mail newsletter (well, it’s really Trixie’s, as she has more space in some issues than I do) has run an item on this matter in two issues, under the title THE RIP-OFF MOVIE. I’ll quote the piece in its entirety here: “Many readers have been writing to inform Dean that a recent movie, which we aren’t going to promote by naming it, ripped off the first half of INTENSITY. Initially the director of this bloody and inept film denied having read the book, but later acknowledged that part of it might have been “inspired” by INTENSITY. In the past, Dean has been aggressive about plagiarism and has succeeded in every action he has taken against every plagiarist. In this case, a win appeared inevitable, but he decided to ignore the offense because he found the film so puerile, so disgusting, and so intellectually bankrupt that he didn’t want the association with it that would inevitably come if he pursued an action against the filmmaker. Maybe the lesson is that if you’re going to steal from Dean’s work, you better make your version as disgusting and misanthropic, as full of loathing for humanity, as you can; then you might get away with it!”

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