Shia LaBeouf is currently under fire for his new film, HowardCantour.com, because he plagiarized a comic book writer for the script and gave him no credit for the work. 

According to The New York Daily News, the film -- which was released online on Monday -- lifted significant passages from Daniel Clowes's work, Justin M. Damiano, right down to the opening line of the movie. Both start with the line, "A critic is a warrior, each of us on the battlefield have the means to glorify or demolish, whether a film, a career or an entire philosophy by influencing perception in ways that if heartfelt and truthful, can have far-reaching repercussions" -- and the similarities continue for much of the film's 11-minute, 47-second running time.

Buzzfeed was the first outlet to break the story about the plagiarism, and they spoke to Clowes directly about the theft. "I've never even seen one of his films that I can recall -- and I was shocked, to say the least, when I saw that he took the script and even many of the visuals from a very personal story I did six or seven years ago and passed it off as his own work," he said. "I actually can't imagine what was going through his mind."

When the scandal broke, LaBeouf took to Twitter to apologize. "Copying isn't particularly creative work. Being inspired by someone else's idea to produce something new and different IS creative work ... In my excitement and naiveté as an amateur filmmaker, I got lost in the creative process and neglected to follow proper accreditation ... Im [sic] embarrassed that I failed to credit @danielclowes for his original graphic novella Justin M. Damiano, which served as my inspiration ... I was truly moved by his piece of work & I knew that it would make a poignant & relevant short. I apologize to all who assumed I wrote it ... I deeply regret the manner in which these events have unfolded and want @danielclowes to know that I have a great respect for his work," he wrote.