Shia LaBeouf was accused of plagiarizing most of his new short film Howard Cantour, after the film was released on its promo website. LaBeouf apologized for the similarities between Howard Cantour and a comic called Justin M. Damiano, created by Daniel Clowes on Twitter and claimed that he did not mean to copy the comic, but was inspired by it.

Daniel Clowes was shocked when he found out about the plagiarism. During an interview with Buzzfeed he said,

“The first I ever heard of the film was this morning when someone sent me a link. I’ve never spoken to or met Mr. LaBeouf. I’ve never even seen one of his films that I can recall — and I was shocked, to say the least, when I saw that he took the script and even many of the visuals from a very personal story I did six or seven years ago and passed it off as his own work. I actually can’t imagine what was going through his mind.”

The accusations led to the film being password protected by producers. Many people wonder if Clowes plans to file a lawsuit against LaBeouf for the plagiarism.

Copying isn't particularly creative work. Being inspired by someone else's idea to produce something new and different IS creative work.

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

In my excitement and naiveté as an amateur filmmaker, I got lost in the creative process and neglected to follow proper accreditation

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

Im embarrassed that I failed to credit @danielclowes for his original graphic novella Justin M. Damiano, which served as my inspiration

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

I was truly moved by his piece of work & I knew that it would make a poignant & relevant short. I apologize to all who assumed I wrote it.

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

I deeply regret the manner in which these events have unfolded and want @danielclowes to know that I have a great respect for his work

— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 17, 2013

If plagiarizing the film wasn’t bad enough, some people are claiming that LaBeouf also plagiarized his apology. Various parts of what LaBeouf tweeted as an apology are also part of a post made on Yahoo Answers several years ago.

Was LaBeouf just searching the web for more “inspiration” or is he just unable to come up with material of his own, even when it’s an apology?

Image via Wikimedia Commons.