'Euphoria' Creator Sam Levinson Accused of Ripping Off Petra Collins
Petra reportedly claimed that she worked on Euphoria for about five months before being dropped by HBO for being “too young” - and was left in tears when she saw an exact “copy” of her work produced by Sam a year later. https://t.co/7xFxEz1Tfx
- BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) September 14, 2023
Photographer Petra Collins, who directed several of Olivia Rodrigo‘s videos, says she was asked to direct Euphoria‘s first season, in an older interview that’s now gone viral.
In an interview with the CBC about directing Rodrigo’s videos, including the VMA-nominated “Vampire,” is a link to an interview from January, with the Hungarian outlet PUNKT. In that interview, Collins says that her photos were Levinson’s inspiration for Euphoria, and that he reached out to her agency and asked her to direct (most likely the pilot).
“I created a whole world for it,” she said in the PUNKT article, and that included working on it for five months. Collins said that at the “last minute,” HBO walked back the offer because she was “too young.” A year later, Collins says she saw a billboard for Euphoria outside her apartment, and it was “a copy of my work. I started crying. I was so shocked.”
A source close to Sam told The Daily Beast: “It’s very widely known that Euphoria is a remake of an Israeli show.” According to the source, Levinson merely offered to “throw her name in the ring” to be considered to direct the pilot.
“As a fan of hers, he was hoping there was a possibility they could work together in that way. But by no means was anything promised. That wouldn’t have even been possible for him to do because ultimately it’s the network’s decision,” the source said.
oh so amy seimetz isn’t the first woman sam levinson and HBO did this to. they did it to petra collins first. what a vile human being pic.twitter.com/0AXdACnuv0
- bethany (@fiImgal) September 12, 2023
This - Petra Collins on, uh, why EUPHORIA might draw so many comparisons to her work - has just been sitting on the internet all year. (I believe the phrasing is wonky because it's translated from Hungarian) https://t.co/B9w78AaHwz pic.twitter.com/Eez9fYvYCl
- Sydney Urbanek (@sydurbanek) September 12, 2023
[Text]Q: You are inspired by contemporary culture and phenomenons attached to your main characters, your own generation, the millennials. Gazing, emoting (tears), masking light of the phone screen which illuminates the face), texting, and selfies were the main motives that appeared in your work of art. And you have had a major impact on contemporary culture - not to mention the series Euphoria, which is very much inspired by your aesthetic in my shy opinion. Do you see these similarities? Or is it just a zeitgeist?
Petra: I tell you the truth about that series what never was told. I never talked about this publicly, because it is such a crazy thing, but basically, the reason I moved to Los Angeles was because Sam Levinson, who directed the show. He reached out my agency and told "I wrote a show based on your photos. Will you direct it?" So I moved to LA, and work for HBO for about 5 months. I was like "I am directing the show". I created a whole world for it, I did the casting, whatever and the last minute HBO was like "We are not hiring you, because you are too young". And that was like "fine, okay, thank you so much" They won't take my version of the show obviously - I was so naiv -, they'll just do another one. So it was fine, I learned a lot, it was interesting... And a year later I walked out of my apartment, and see this billboard and it's exactly what I am, as a copy of my work. I started crying, I was so shocked. I mean it happens to me so many times in my career, but not on a scale like that. It was so intense to me, because this is the aesthetic that I built all my life, and now I have to change it, 'cause it enters the mainstream and it's been taken away from me. The worst thing was when people were unknowingly saying this show looks like your photos.
Sources: 1 | 2 | 3