Maybe Howard Stern Show ex-cast member Stuttering John and the fellow producers of the forthcoming John Gotti biopic didn't hear, but Joe Pesci "don't shine shoes no more".
Photos: See the super sexy costume that got Adrianne Curry banned from Comic-Con 2011
Pesci is currently suing Fiore Films, the production company in charge of the forthcoming biopic 'Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father,' stating that the company hired him to play Gotti's crew chief Angelo Ruggiero $3 million dollars and the tried to downgrade both his role and his salary.
"Defendant has no intention of paying Pesci $3 million or having him portray Ruggiero in the film," the lawsuit states. "Rather plaintiff secretly planned to use Pesci's name and likeness to promote the film and then to later concoct some pretext for terminating the contract so as to avoid paying plaintiff anything for the substantial publicity and 'buzz' that was generated."
Pesci claims he recently packed on 30 pounds in preparation for playing the role of Gotti's crew chief Ruggiero, helped promote the film and then received notice that he had been recast in the lesser role of Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, who attempted to assassinate Gotti at one point.
Lindsay Lohan was involved in a similar dispute with Fiore films several months ago when she was told that instead of playing Gotti's daughter Victoria, her part had been downgraded to daughter-in-law Kim Gotti. Lohan agreed to the lesser role after threats of being cut from the project completely.
Lindsay Lohan was out of the Gotti movie, but they keep pulling her back in!
Howard Stern commented on Pesci's lawsuit during Thursday morning's satellite radio broadcast, chuckling:
“Leave it to Stuttering John to produce a movie that’s $3 million in the hole.”
The Gotti flick, Stuttering John's first foray into film production, has been fettered with problems from the start. Director Nick Cassavetes jumped ship shortly after the April 2011 press conference to hype the film--at which time there was still no script for the project.
Filming is tentatively scheduled to begin in January 2012, so Fiore Films still has a little time to smooth things over. Who knows? Maybe all will be forgiven and Pesci will look back on the pre-production spat as a funny story.
Funny how? Cause Joe Pesci's a funny guy. You know--the way he tells the story and everything. Not like he's a clown--like he amuses us. Not like that at all...
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