March 11, 2005
TV News Show “Celebrity Justice” Interviews Attorney David Olan In Case Against Britney Spears

On March 11, 2005, David Olan was interviewed by the television news show Celebrity Justice. Olan’s client Christopher Merrill is suing Britney Spears, Paramount Pictures, and MTV alleging that the plot for Britney's 2002 road-movie "Crossroads" was ripped off from his original script, "Dream Alive."

At the time "Crossroads" was released, Spears told the Associated Press that she had dreamed up the plot herself, after plowing through a pile of unsuitable scripts. "I was like, why not come up with our own movie, and a concept that I can be really passionate about and I can put my heart into?'" she said. "When I realized I could do that, then I thought up the whole three-girls-being-best-friends-and-going-on-a-road-trip-together.”

Merrill claims he wrote the script “Dream Alive” in early 2000 and submitted the script to studios and production companies for consideration. His idea at the outset was to cast Britney Spears as the lead character. He memorialized this expression in a videotape he made pitching his ideas, which was to accompany his screenplay in mailings to networks, and studios.

In August 2001, MTV Studios contacted Merrill. They informed him they had received his script and asked him to sign a release. The release stated he would “not be entitled to any compensation because of MTV Networks’ use of such other, similar or identical material." Merrill did not sign the release.

In February 2002, Britney Spears’ movie Crossroads was released nation wide. “When I saw the movie Crossroads in its entirety I knew it had been directly derived from and was substantially similar to my screenplay Dream Alive,” Merrill said.