Italian producers must wait for day in court
Wed May 26, 2010 @ 06:14PM PSTBy Matthew Belloni
A high-stakes trial scheduled this week between Oscar-winning Italian producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori (right) and the former president of his company has been postponed until June 8.
Gianni Nunnari allegedly ran Cecchi Gori Pictures from 1996-2008. The company filed a lawsuit in May 2008 claiming Nunnari engaged in fraud and breach of contract while in the position by using the Cecchi Gori staff to develop film projects diverted to Nunnari and his Hollywood Gang Prods. Cecchi Gori claimed losses in the tens of millions of dollars from Nunnari-produced pictures like "300" and "Everybody's Fine."
Cecchi Gori also claimed losses in the millions from Nunnari (left) getting producing credits on films like "The Departed" and "Shutter Island" by allegedly claiming ownership of Cecchi Gori film rights he didn't own. Cecchi Gori claims Nunnari falsely presented himself as a producer on films like "Life Is Beautiful," "Il Postino" and "Mediterraneo" when it was Cecchi Gori and his father Mario Cecchi Gori who did the producing.
Nunnari has denied the allegations, hiring Tim Gorry of Eisner Frank & Kahan to represent him in the trial, which was scheduled for this week in Los Angeles Superior Court. But now that's been pushed, due in part to the schedule of Judge Amy Hogue.
Cecchi Gori is repped by Charles Harder and a team at Wolf Rifkin Shapiro Schulman & Rabkin.