"Friday Night Lights" writer and director Peter Berg accused Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's campaign of stealing the show's catchphrase "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose" in a letter obtained by Matthew Belloni of the Hollywood Reporter.
In the letter, Berg writes he was "not thrilled" the campaign "plagiarized" the slogan. "Your politics and campaign are clearly not aligned with the themes we portrayed in our series. The only relevant comparison that I see between your campaign and Friday Night Lights is in the character of Buddy Garrity -- who turned his back on American car manufacturers selling imported cars from Japan."
The "Clear Eyes" phrase was repeatedly used throughout the series, particularly by football Coach Eric Taylor (played by Kyle Chandler), to psych up players before a game. Garrity, played by Brad Leland, played an intervening fat cat in the team's booster club who often tried to strong arm Taylor into doing his bidding.
The Romney campaign has repeatedly used the slogan in campaign appearances and solicitations, including a photograph of Romney touching a sign with the slogan on its website and on the campaign's Facebook page.
The Reporter says that Berg is an outspoken supporter of President Barack Obama's re-election.
