Paul Schrader Accused of Lifting Idea for ‘The Card Counter’ From Aspiring Screenwriter
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer A man who met writer-director Paul Schrader at a campus event at their Michigan alma mater has filed a lawsuit alleging that Schrader later stole his ideas and used them in the film “The Card Counter.” Mark Vanden Berge alleges in the suit that he met Schrader after a screening of “First Reformed” at Calvin University, a Christian college in Grand Rapids, in February 2018.
He says he told Schrader about a treatment he was working on for a film called “Blown Odds,” about a gambler’s search for redemption, and asked Schrader for help developing it into a marketable screenplay.
According to the suit, Schrader told him to email him the treatment. Vanden Berge sent it to him, according to the suit, but never heard back from Schrader directly, though he says he was told that Schrader had received it. “The Card Counter,” Schrader’s subsequent film, was announced in late 2019.
It, too, involves a gambler seeking redemption. Vanden Berge alleges that there are several other similarities between his treatment and Schrader’s film.
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