when I was growing up, and although I believe that people should be paid for their work, I don't believe that he could have written a screenplay that approaches cult or classic status.

Also, Wallace Stegner had a similar theft problem and the result was one of his best books, Angle of Repose. Not many people seem to know that about Stegner. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but the book is certainly brilliant and I strongly suspect that what he did with the material was immeasurably better than what his student could have done with it.