Gavin Polone sues Summit Entertainment claiming he was kicked off a 'Ledge'

By Matthew Belloni

EXCLUSIVE: Manager/producer Gavin Polone has sued Summit Entertainment and a writer of the upcoming drama "Man on a Ledge" claiming he was promised a producer role on the project and was secretly booted when Summit came on board to make the film. 

Polone and his Pariah shingle claim in a lawsuit filed today that in 2001 he began working with writer Pablo Fenjves on the script for "Ledge" with the understanding that Polone would be attached to produce if the project went anywhere. Once finished, however, Fenjves "surreptitiously, and without [Polone's] knowledge, entered into an agreement with [Summit] purportedly granting Summit the right to produce and distribute a motion picture based on the screenplay," according to the lawsuit. "Plaintiffs have not been offered, nor have they received, their rightful position as producer on the movie."

California poised to enact another anti-paparazzi law

By Matthew Belloni

Memo to paparazzi: Drive recklessly, end up in jail.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger now has a bill on his desk that will impose strict new penalties on photographers who break traffic laws in pursuit of a photo. Under the legislation approved today by the state legislature, those busted can receive up to a $5,000 fine and a year in prison.

The move is the latest in California to try to fight back against aggressive photographers. Schwarzenegger, himself no stranger to paparazzi, signed another bill into law last year that fines photographers for taking photos that invade a celebrity's right to privacy. That law also targets media outlets that purchase the photos.

BBC trying to muzzle the big 'Top Gear' secret

By Eriq Gardner

The BBC is attempting to stop HarperCollins from publishing a book that will unmask the identity of the costumed stunt driver in the successful series "Top Gear."

"Top Gear" is the biggest BBC hit and an international sensation that features a stunt driver known as The Stig alongside famous guests. For years, many have speculated on the identity of The Stig, with British newspapers guessing it might be former Formula Three driver Ben Collins.

A new autobiography by The Stig himself will settle this once and for all -- but not if the BBC has its way.

Howie Mandel would like to be paid for DVD games

Howie Mandel was stiffed $210,000 for his work on three DVD games, according to this lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The "America's Got Talent" judge and "Deal or No Deal" host is said to have provided video shooting and voice-over work for Imagination's "Would You Rather," "Fact or Crap" and "The Wrong Game."

Alevy Productions, Mandel's loan-out company, says it got two installments of $20,000 from Imagination as per a 2006 contract, but is owed the rest.

No word on whether the banker has made a fair and generous settlement offer that Mandel can contemplate. 

Hollywood Docket: 'Glee' kids want soundtrack money; 'Ellen' music case; Lindsay Lohan repents

• Note to Hollywood lawyers looking for sympathetic clients: Some cast members of Fox's hit "Glee" are singing a sad song about not profiting sufficiently from the show's big-selling soundtrack. [NYP]

• Vivendi and Time Warner are seeking arbitration in a copyright case over whether "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" played music without getting proper license from recording labels. [Bloomberg]

• Disney, Sanrio and DC Comics are suing a supplier of "moonwalks" bounce houses -- those inflatable enclosures commonly used at children's birthday parties -- alleging the company violated copyright and trademarks by slapping on images including Disney's Snow White and DC's Batman. [Bloomberg]

• A counterinsurgency against copyright infringement lawsuits: In the UK, a bunch of accused pirates are coordinating a harassment action against one of the law firms bringing many of the suits. [TF]

• Lindsay Lohan is making the interview rounds after getting out of jail. "I want my career back," she says. "I was irresponsible." [THR]

• Mel Gibson has become a legal adjective. Note this case where the defendant allegedly "repeatedly went on Mel Gibson-like Anti-Semitic tangents" against the managers and business partners of a burlesque artist. [CNS]

Q&A: Meet the lawyer trying to bring down 'Jersey Shore'

By Eriq Gardner

Fans of MTV's "Jersey Shore" love the outsized personalities and the occasional fisticuffs. But it's hard to throw a punch without making some enemies, and chief among them might be New Jersey-based attorney Eugene Lavergne.

He isn't the only lawyer going after MTV and parent Viacom for airing the show. But in the past year, Lavergne has filed three separate "Jersey" lawsuits. From his first case on behalf of client Stephen Izzo, Jr., the alleged victim of a punch from one of the cast members, to his latest case on behalf of a woman identified as J.P., an alleged victim of the show's security staff, Lavergne has been pushing New Jersey judges to accept the notion that "Jersey" has all the characteristics of a racketeering enterprise. Which Lavergne says makes Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone the equivalent of a mob boss.

Should Arnold Schwarzenegger sue for accent theft?

By Eriq Gardner

Fun legal question of the day: Can Arnold Schwarzenegger sue a video game publisher over a character with a thick Austrian accent? 

Dan Nabel, an attorney at LA's Greenberg Glusker firm, asks that question after playing Starcraft II, released this summer by Activision-Blizzard.

The game features a mechanized soldier unit seemingly based on Schwarzenegger called the "Thor," with sound-alike dialogue derived from three of the Governator's movies, including "Predator," "True Lies," and "Conan the Barbarian."

Here's a look.

This Taylor Lautner RV lawsuit just got a lot more interesting

By Matthew Belloni

The owner of the RV dealership sued by Taylor Lautner has issued a unique challenge to the "Twilight" star: push up or shut up. 

Brent McMahon, owner of the Irvine, Calif.-based McMahon's RV, held a press conference this morning to challenge the buffed-up Lautner to settle his lawsuit with a push-up contest. That's right, whoever can do the most push-ups wins -- or at least gets some money donated to charity. 

Lautner sued McMahon's last week for not delivering a $300,000 customized rig in time for the shoot of his new movie "Abduction." Lautner claims his dad, Dan Lautner, negotiated for McMahon's to refurbish a 2006 Affinity Country Coach RV by June but the dealership failed to meet the deadline.

Hollywood Docket: Time Warner carriage deal?; YouTube survives in Germany; Paris Hilton's defense

• In advance of a Thursday deadline, lawyers for the Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Cable have made significant progress on a new carriage deal covering ABC, ESPN and other Disney networks. [THR]

• A German court has declined a request for an injunction that would have forced Google to block the country's access to some music videos on YouTube, but left open the possibility that it may move in that direction. The parties are arguing over who is responsible for detecting illegal files on the video-sharing website. [Bloomberg]

• "The Expendables" was the most pirated movie on the Internet last week. Congrats, Stallone! [TF]

• The maker of a documentary about the Pirate Bay is looking towards crowd-funding for the finishing funds for his film. [BoingBoing] 

• Soap opera star Hunter Tylo is being sued for owing money to her manager, her lawyers, and a security firm. [CNS]

• From the dept. of great defenses: Paris Hilton says the cocaine in the handbag she carried couldn't have belonged to her because the handbag itself was not swanky enough for her to own. [The Sun]

'Ghost Hunters' producer files $3M royalties lawsuit

By Eriq Gardner

Pilgrim Films & Television, the production company behind Syfy's "Ghost Hunters," is suing DVD distributor Big Vision Entertainment for failing to pay more than $3 million in royalties.

According to a lawsuit filed this week in Los Angeles Superior Court, Pilgrim alleges that Big Vision breached a contract signed in June 2005. That deal allegedly granted Big Vision the exclusive right to distribute "Ghost Hunters" on DVD in exchange for 65% of net profits. The term sheet is said to have expired but was renewed by oral agreement.