There were concerns The Holdovers was going to win 'Best Original Screenplay' at today's 96th Academy Awards after plagiarism accusations.

The award instead went to Anatomy of a Fall.

Screenwriter Simon Stephenson - who also wrote Paddington 2 - claims The Holdovers' story is remarkably similar to a script he wrote in 2013.

Hollywood reporter Sean Mandell says by not winning, they've dodged a dicey situation.

"The Guild has said - in those correspondence anyway, not publicly - they said that there's nothing really they can do, because it has to be a lawsuit matter."

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