The makers of the comedy film "Goodbye Mr. Loser" have been quick to deny allegations that the film plagiarized Francis Ford Coppola's "Peggy Sue Got Married."

A long article, written by two famous film critics, accusing the film of plagiarism surfaced on Wednesday and quickly spread around the Internet. The article claimed there were many similarities between "Goodbye Mr. Loser" and "Peggy Sue Got Married."

"Peggy Sue Got Married" is a 1986 American comedy-drama film starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high school in 1960.

"Goodbye Mr. Loser," adapted from the namesake theater play, follows a middle-aged loser, who, having had a big fight with his wife, is magically transported back into his teenage body from 1997 when he was still in school after a weird dream induced by a hilarious drunken debauch at the wedding of his first love.

Directors Yan Fei and Peng Damo, who directed "Goodbye Mr. Loser," said the real inspiration of the film was from a heatedly discussed topic in an online community, asking "what if, when you wake up, you find yourself in a high school class and everything you experience in life is a dream?"

Yan Fei's statement on Thursday reads, "This is our first film and we are just a student in the world of motion pictures. However, we know the bottom-line and the need for integrity by a creator. It is outrageous to label us as plagiarists. We made the story alone and I speak from my conscience that Peng Damo and I had never seen 'Peggy Sue Got Married' before and even now."

Another director Peng Damo said, "We have mysophobia (fear of contamination) when it comes to our script. We have to defend our reputation, so please don't spread the false information. Those who want to accuse us of plagiarism please go and watch the two films first."

"Goodbye Mr. Loser" was a stage play for three years before it became a big screen production. But the critics insist the whole story structure and concept are from "Peggy Sue Got Married."

"This same story structure cannot be denied," the article stated. "The conception should be unique so that nothing can replace it."

"Plagiarism has always been a shame, and it’s all very sad," it said.

The producer Mahua FunAge Production Co. Ltd. released a statement on Thursday night denying the claim. "Mahua FunAge has always upheld the principle of original creation and rejected any plagiarism. We respect and protect every original creators' hard work and intellectual property. We accept all criticism no matter if it is fun-making or serious, but we cannot accept the smear campaign to taint Mahua FunAge and crew members' reputation. We will firmly back up our team members and will try hard to protect the legal rights and interests of creators. "

As the topic is hotly debated on the Internet, some lawyers said the similar structure didn't necessarily equal plagiarism and it was too early to form a conclusion without forensic comparison.

Meanwhile, the "Goodbye Mr. Loser" promotional team suspect some rivals are trying to smear them out of jealousy, as the low-budget film has become a real dark horse since debut from a low-digit opening to grossing more than 1 billion yuan (US$157.32 million) so far.

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