Shia LaBeouf's short film Howard Cantour.com came under Internet fire after it was discovered that he plagiarized the whole thing from Daniel Clowes comic Justin M. Damiano. The both have never met before, but apparently that stuff was so inspiring it made LaBeouf want to make a film. Here's him apologizing:
Copying isn’t particularly creative work. Being inspired by someone else’s idea to produce something new and different IS creative work. In my excitement and naiveté as an amateur filmmaker, I got lost in the creative process and neglected to follow proper accreditation. I’m embarrassed that I failed to credit @danielclowes for his original graphic novella Justin M. Damiano, which served as my inspiration. 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. 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. I fucked up.
Except that even his apology was plagiarized.
As some on Twitter have pointed out, it seems even the first part of LaBeouf’s apology may have been plagiarized from a Yahoo! Answers user named Lili
What gives, LaBeouf? Seriously?