You wouldn't think anyone would have a cause of action against Paris Hilton for not getting enough publicity, but Worldwide Entertainment Group is claiming that it does.
Worldwide was apparently the entity responsible for "National Lampoon's Pledge This!," a 2006 movie in which Hilton starred (and was also credited as "executive producer"). In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami last week, Worldwide alleges that it paid $1 million for "Hilton's acting services" (AP's quotation marks) and for promotion and publicity efforts. It claims that Hilton failed to fulfill various promotional obligations and so owes it a minimum of $75,000. (Some reports stated that Hilton, who originally became famous because of a sex tape, had complained that the movie had "too much nudity.")
I would guess there may be some difficulty in proving damages, since this movie likely would not have done well had Hilton promoted it her entire life. Currently, Pledge This! is ranked #15 on the Internet Movie Database's "Bottom 100" list, just below (or above) another Hilton vehicle, "The Hottie & The Nottie" (#14), and five notches worse than "The Tony Blair Witch Project" (#20). "If I could give this movie a rating less than one [out of 10] I would," wrote one reviewer. "This movie made my brain try to jump down my throat and choke me just to save itself from the abject misery. . . . I would like to personally curse the names of the people who gave this movie a positive review."
Hilton supposedly will next appear in a movie musical called "Repo! The Genetic Opera," and another MTV reality show.
Link: AP via FindLaw.com
Link: Pledge This! on the Internet Movie Database
Link: FilmCritic.com (calling it "a film with absolutely no saving graces")
