Review of Population Zero (2016) by Tim H — 24 Apr 2017

This "documentary" is a poor re-hash of a novel I wrote In 2007 entitled FREE FIRE that was published by Penguin Random House. In my novel, a fictional murder that occurs in a remote section of Yellowstone Park where the murderer goes free because of an obscure Constitutional loophole. The novel was inspired by an essay by a brilliant Michigan State law professor named Brian Kalt who was credited in my novel but not Population Zero. Free Fire is still in print and it's been translated in over 27 languages. What happens in the book is wholly fictional.

I was contacted several months ago by a volunteer at a film festival who screened Pinder's and Levins's Population Zero. The volunteer said it closely mirrored Free Fire but without any attribution. That festival rejected the submission.

After consulting lawyers we learned that plagiarism has to be literal, i.e. replicating actual lines of prose or dialog. Legalities aside, the premise, plot, structure, hook, and conclusion are strikingly similar to my novel. Anyone who has read Free Fire would agree. No reason to see the film, though. Except for the premise it really isn't very good.

C.J. Box.