In these days when anyone can find a reason to sue anyone else (tripping on a lawn, a dog biting them after they’ve pocked it with a stick), it’s almost refreshing to report on a case of good old contract wrangling.
Still, it’s not a good day for John Goodman, who is being sued by Constantin Film, which is demanding $3 million from the actor. According to the lawsuit, Goodman had agreed a $500,000 salary to appear in Pope Joan, which was scheduled to start shooting this May with Franka Potente playing a Medieval woman who disguises herself as a bloke and… well, you can guess the rest from the title.
Constantin alleges that Goodman was all signed on to play Pope Serguis, though apparently the company had only secured a verbal agreement (yeah, good luck with that), and now wants dosh to replace “significant sums” lost on pre-production work.
In response, Goodman’s publicist Stan Rosenfield has fired off a quick reply: "There were talks about Mr. Goodman participating in the 'Pope Joan' project, although no agreement was ever reached,” he told gossip website TMZ. “This is a frivolous lawsuit."
We suggest pistols at dawn.
