Steven Spielberg Accused Of Ripping Off Hitchcock 9/9/08

Movie mogul Steven Spielberg has been charged with stealing his Disturbia plot from Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window in a new Hollywood legal spat.

The moviemaker's DreamWorks Studio and Universal Pictures have been accused of copyright infringement by the current owners of author Cornell Woolrich's short story, which inspired Hitchcock's 1954 classic thriller.

James Stewart, who starred in that film, bought the rights to the story, Murder From a Fixed Viewpoint, and representatives at the Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust think Spielberg should have done the same before making his film, which starred Shia LaBeouf.

According to the lawsuit, filed in New York, the plots of Disturbia and Rear Window are "essentially the same".

Top critics noted the similarities when Disturbia hit cinemas in 2007, with one reviewing calling Spielberg's movie "a rip-off".