"They forced us to sue!
We want this lawsuit to shine a light
on the slimy practices of the new stalkerazzi..."
A pair of noted Hollywood film and documentary producers filed a potential million- dollar lawsuit this morning against the paparazzi photo agency X17, claiming breach of contract and fraud relating to photos of the reunion of Lindsay Lohan and her father Michael.
According to papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in Santa Monica, Burt Kearns and Brett Hudson of Frozen Pictures claim they’d “entered into a contract with Brandy Navarre & X17, Inc. on August 29, 2007, to ‘set up and shoot’ ‘exclusive pix’ (photos) of the reunion of Lindsay Lohan and her father Michael (the subject of a Frozen Pictures documentary project) in Provo, Utah” in early September, but that “on October 5, 2007, Navarre refused to pay, claiming she had made a side deal… paying an unamed third party a flat fee… and ‘assumed’ Plaintiff would share in the funds.”
The suit asks for $66,500 in unpaid fees, $200,000 in damages and a percentage of photo of video sales that could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the total, It states that Navarre claims her photographer in Provo had organized a “flat rate” with Michael Lohan, but “wired (the money) to a bank account in someone else’s name... (I don’t know it off the top of my head). I assumed Michael would split this with you.”
According to the suit, Lohan denies making any deals with X17. Both he and his daughter Lindsay are expected to be subpoenaed to testify.
“This is a simple lawsuit. We had an written agreement to perform a service for X17. They approached us! We did our part, but X17 thought they’d get off more cheaply by double-dealing,” Kearns told Tabloidbaby.com exclusively this afternoon. “We asked X17 nicely to pay what they owe. They forced us to sue them.”
Kearns says the photo deal was made, in part, to publicize and fund The Michael Lohan Reality Project, the continuing documentary reality seriesFrozen Pictures has been shooting since 2004 (The series’ promotional trailer was leaked to YouTube this week, generating more than 100,000 viewers in less than two days). Photos from the project have appeared numerous times on the X17 website and been sold around the world.
“We’ve been working with X17 since the spring,” says Kearns. “We thought they were the new breed. Unfortunately it’s a new breed that hands cameras to valet parking attendants and street people, that endangers lives by chasing unstable young women in cars—and doesn’t live up to its word.
“I’ve worked in the tabloid news business for close to thirty years,” Kearns, former managing editor of Hard Copy and producer of A Current Affair (and author of Tabloid Baby! -- ed.), adds. “I’ve dealt with the great paparazzi, from Zanger to Ramey to Woody. We don’t work this way. TMZ, X17-- they’re all the same. They’re slash-and-burn amateurs. We want this lawsuit to shine a light on the slimy practices of the new stalkerazzi—and to bring all their dealings and bookkeeping to light.”
Does it really surprise you that Michael Lohan, who has twice been convicted of crimes involving dishonesty, would be in the middle of this mess? It shouldn't. Once a con man, always a con man.
ReplyDeleteGo get 'em guys. Until I hear their side of the story, sounds like they played both sides of the table.
ReplyDeleteMike Walker should boil this down and put it in his column. (But he should REFRAIN from indulging in all the CAPS and italicized flourishes! We get it, Mike!) :)