Porn Star Sued By Theater Owner For No-Show
CHICAGO (STMW) - A west suburban movie theater owner is suing the adult film actress Jenna Jameson, claiming she failed to make public appearances she had agreed to.
Ted Bulthaup, owner and chief executive officer of Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville and Hollywood Boulevard Cinema in Woodridge, has filed a suit seeking more than $50,000 in damages from Jameson.
She allegedly reneged on an agreement to make paid personal appearances at his theaters earlier this year, deciding it would be "more fun" to spend part of that weekend attending a celebrity blogger's birthday party in California, according to the litigation.
Efforts to reach Jameson were unsuccessful.
The lawsuit, filed in DuPage County Circuit Court in Wheaton, accuses Jameson of "breach of her written contract to attend events scheduled for March 24-26."
Both theaters had scheduled several "special screenings" of the 2008 film "Zombie Strippers!" in which Jameson starred, the suit read in part.
Jameson was to autograph photographs of herself and 200 copies of her book, How To Make Love Like A Porn Star, and interact with her fans and pose for photos with them, according to the suit.
Her appearances would have generated "tens of thousands of dollars in revenue" for the cinemas and Jameson, according to the lawsuit.
The day before the event, Jameson's agent, sent "a vague doctor's note" to Bulthaup, in which Jameson maintained she had a "medical emergency" and would be unable to attend the screenings, the suit said.
Bulthaup later learned that instead "on the very evening [Jameson]" was supposed to be at Hollywood's theaters, "she attended 'Perez's Blue Ball,' " a birthday party for blogger Perez Hilton, the suit alleged. Bulthaup said Hilton's website featured photographs of Jameson attending his party. "We just — from a variety of sources and resources — determined she was not sick, and indeed planned on going to this party, and tried to get out of her contract" using illness as an excuse, Bulthaup said.
He declined to say how much money had been lost because of Jameson's no-show, although an affidavit of damages filed with the suit indicated his loss "does exceed $50,000."
A preliminary hearing on the matter is set for Aug. 15.
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