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Get ready for the Real Housewives of the Legal World.
Confidenti@l has exclusively learned that reality TV star and would-be film producer Sonja Morgan is plotting a courtroom drama to reverse a multimillion-dollar judgment she claims led her to bankruptcy.
The former New York “Housewives” star committed $ 18 million to invest in Hannibal Pictures’ planned movie “Fast Flash to Bang Time” — a would-be flick said to star John Travolta. Morgan never came up with the cash, the film never made it to the screen, and in 2009 a judge ordered her to pay Hannibal Pictures $ 7 million in damages.
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Morgan committed $ 18 million to ‘Fast Flash to Big Time,’ which was set to have John Travolta in a starring role.
She appealed the case and lost, but now Morgan has been telling close pals she has new evidence that will upend the ruling in a Dec. 9 court appearance in Los Angeles.
Plus, she plans to win in the court of public opinion by packing the courtroom with all her reality TV colleagues.
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In 2012, a Hong Kong bank alleged that Hannibal Pictures forged documents to secure $ 7 million for Antonio Banderas movie ‘The Big Bang.’
“This housewife was duped!” Morgan recently told a confidant.
She also groused to a Confidenti@l source that Hannibal Pictures has a history of run-ins with the law. In 2010 Adrien Brody sued the production company to stop the DVD release of “Giallo” until he was paid in full for his work on the film. A settlement was soon reached. In 2012, Hong Kong’s Standard Chartered Bank alleged the production company forged key documents that helped secure $ 7 million to finance the Antonio Banderas film “The Big Bang.” Standard Chartered didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Hannibal Pictures CEO Richard Rionda Del Castro tells Confidenti@l that legal spats are part of the filmmaking business, and that snafus he’s had on other projects have nothing to do with Morgan’s claims against his company.
“Mrs. Morgan loves to waste money and people’s time, but she cannot escape justice,” Rionda Del Castro tells Confidenti@l.
Pascal Le Segretain
The CEO of Hannibal Pictures says Morgan is ‘very dishonest.’
He calls Morgan’s latest appeal “frivolous.”
“She has no way out, so she is trying to do anything she can to roadblock and stall,” he insists.
“She’s very dishonest and she has the facility to lie to herself and the people around her.”
Morgan, who filed for bankruptcy in 2010, did not return our request for comment.
PHOTOS: OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN AND JOHN TRAVOLTA: A TIMELINE OF THEIR FRIENDSHIP
HAYDEN BLASTS UNCIVIL WRITES
Hayden Panettiere threw a tantrum after an autograph hunter approached her for her John Hancock at LAX. “I know you,” the “Scream 4” actress shouted at the 50-year-old signature-seeker. “You’ve been doing this for way too many years. This is sad. You need to get a real job. You shouldn’t be doing this after all this time. It’s just sad!”
The autograph hound didn’t take kindly to the lecture.
“What are you, my schoolteacher or something?” he snapped. “You have no right to patronize me and criticize me. I enjoy getting autographs.”
But he didn’t get any enjoyment out of this celeb run-in — Panettiere wouldn’t sign a thing.
The autograph hound has been getting signatures from the stars since the Reagan administration, and most celebs recognize him — and his doggedness — and give him some ink.
For an actress whose credits include “I Love You Beth Cooper” and “Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil,” we’re surprised Panettiere wasn’t flattered that someone wanted her autograph.
kevinthatwas via YouTube
James Franco and Seth Rogen, who’s definitely riding bareback, are wild ones in the ‘Bound 3’ spoof.
SLEAZY RIDERS: A DISTURBING TREND
James Franco and Seth Rogen released a frame-by-frame re-make of Kanye West’s new “Bound 2” video, in which the rapper drives a motorcycle through the desert with a shirtless Kim Kardashian seated on the handlebars. In the spoof, Franco plays West while Rogen — shirtless, naturally — plays Kardashian. While both videos are unsettling and funny in their own ways, at least it’s intentional in Franco and Rogen’s version. And heads up, Franco-philes — the actor will make his Broadway debut in “Of Mice and Men” when it opens at the Longacre Theatre on April 16.
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Harry Styles took Kendall Jenner to dinner, and then said he has a crush on Rihanna.
HARRY RISKS A RI-OT
Tough luck, Kendall Jenner. Just days after One Direction heartthrob Harry Styles took the quasi-Kardashian out to dinner at Craig’s in Los Angeles, the British crooner revealed he has a crush on Rihanna. Harry spilled the beans when Ryan Seacrest asked him about his celebrity crush at the 1D HeartRadio album release party. It shocked the packed crowd at the Almeida Theater, many of whom screamed: “Kendall. Kendall.” Dirty Harry simply delivered a wide grin.
PHOTOS: ONE DIRECTION ROCKS MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: SEE 1D BEFORE THEY WERE STARS
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The object of Harry Styles’ affection, Rihanna, sizzles on Sunday at the American Music Awards in L.A.
KNOCKOUT PERFORMANCE
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee — and act like a Hollywood star? That could be in the cards for Brooklyn-born, two-time welterweight champ Paulie Malignaggi, whose first bout with the big screen comes Dec. 6 in a screening of “Omerta: The Act of Silence” at the second annual Shadow Box Film Festival at the Manhattan School of Visual Arts. Malignaggi makes his acting debut as the main character in the flick, written and directed by Craig Syracusa, about a Brooklyn mobster who finds God and wants out of the family business.
SHORTS CIRCUIT
Funny girl Olivia Munn didn’t let New York’s chilly temperatures interrupt her love for short shorts. The “Newsroom” star rocked a pair of denim shorts while out and about in Manhattan on Monday in a scene reminiscent of Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman.” We hope Munn bundles up as the weather worsens this week.
PHOTOS: OLIVIA MUNN: THE ACTRESS THAT CAN’T KEEP HER CLOTHES ON
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Be careful around Matthew McConaughey — he might leave junk out.
MATT STILL LEAVING JUNK OUT
A Hollywood honcho copped an eyeful of Matthew McConaughey’s privates when the power player took a stroll with the actor. As the pair talked on the street outside McConaughey’s Los Angeles home, nature called and the star — who was once arrested playing bongo drums naked — relieved himself right then and there, says our source. The industry bigwig was horrified and asked McConaughey, “Can you please keep your privates private?” according to our spywitness. That didn’t stop McConaughey, who chuckled and acted as if it were totally normal.
SEEN AND HEARD …
Billionaire John Catsimatidis celebrating wife Margo’s birthday at Le Cirque. … Taryn Manning enjoying brunch at Beauty & Essex. … Mischa Barton at Bedlam’s “Saint Joan” at 45 Bleecker St. on Thursday, and back on Friday to see “Hamlet.” … Rapper Sammy Adams partying at new LES hotspot 205 Club with John Stamos. … Adrian Grenier hosting a dinner at Chi Lin in West Hollywood. … Miley Cyrus watching little people twerk at her 21st private birthday bash at Beacher’s Madhouse at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
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Ben Affleck and daughter Seraphina on an outing Sunday on L.A.
SPECIAL AFFLECKS DEPARTMENT
Meet the new Batman’s alter-ego — Super Dad. Ben Affleck spent family time with daughters Violet, 7, and Seraphina, 4, on a sunny Sunday in Los Angeles. Affleck is at work on “Batman Versus Superman,” playing the Dark Knight opposite Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel.
COURIC TO REPROGRAM AT YAHOO
Katie Couric has left ABC News and will join Yahoo, beginning early next year, in an anchor role. It appears to be an odd move for Couric, who joined ABC three years ago as a special correspondent and launched the fledgling talk show “Katie” last year. As Confidenti@l first reported in September, Couric has been looking for an exit, and found it online. She already had a segment on Yahoo, but company CEO Marissa Mayer says her role will expand to be “the face” of the website. For now, her syndicated show “Katie” will continue taping.
GARVEY’S RINGING ENDORSEMENT
Finally! Confidenti@l’s own Marianne Garvey is engaged. While vacationing in Miami on Monday, Garvey’s boyfriend Kevin Barry popped the question. “I’m so happy,” Garvey texted to the newsroom. “He’s my dream come true.” The magic moment happened on the beach one day shy of their two-year anniversary as a couple. Garvey’s wait for the ring has also been a long-running joke on her VH1 show “The Gossip Table,” and here at Confidenti@l. Thanks, Barry for finally ending the suspense — and the kvetching. Congrats, kids.
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Lady Gaga gave booty-ful performances both during and after the American Music Awards in Los Angeles.
THING OF BOOTY
Lady Gaga continues her never-ending quest to be named attention-seeker of the year. The “Born This Way” singer channeled her inner cat while on the prowl at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood after her act at the American Music Awards. In a glittery revealing unitard, the songstress shook her booty at snappers before signing autographs for the Little Monsters outside.
