[Grammar] Any similarities to actual events...

[kilroy65]

The following sentence appears at the very end of the closing credits of "Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces" (2013):

Any similarities to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The subject and the verb clearly do not agree in number. However, a friend says that at least a hundred people must have proofread the text, so the sentence can't be incorrect. She won't agree with me unless she receives confirmation from higher authority (a native speaker/teacher).

PS: A bottle of fine old Scotch whisky is at stake! ;-)

 

[GoesStation]

PS: A bottle of fine old Scotch whisky is at stake! ;-)

What does the higher authority receive for providing confirmation?

 

[tzfujimino]

So, should it be "Any similarity to ... is ..."?

 

[kilroy65]

Yes, that would be correct.

 

[tzfujimino]

What does a non-native English teacher receive for providing a grammatically correct sentence?
Hmm. A (roll of) Scotch tape?;-)

(Edit)
I've added "roll of" to make it grammatical.