Lie Down With Dogs, Wake Up With Beverly Hills Ninja 2 and a Lawsuit

There's an old Korean proverb intoning that anyone who attempts to make a sequel to Beverly Hills Ninja starring David Hasselhoff will eventually get the cosmic punishment he or she deserves. If you don't believe that, then ask Jay So, the plaintiff in a new lawsuit involving the unfinished Beverly Hills Ninja 2 and six figures' worth of unpaid development work.

THR passes along word of the suit filed Wednesday in L.A., in which So alleges that writer-director Mitchell Klebanoff and his Korean investors (the latter of whom Klebanoff successfully sued last year for his own improper termination) stiffed him on a $100,000 co-producer fee. This came after So "commenced substantial pre-production efforts and activities, including sourcing potential investors" — one of whom, Jungho Han, eventually partnered with Klebanoff, with both allegedly changing the company name and edging So out:

As a result, So inquired about his $100,000. He then had a meeting Han, who allegedly told him that $200,000 had been obtained for the project, and that the money would be going to Klebanoff and Han. So was purportedly refused his fee. [...]

Meanwhile, around the time that So was karate-chopped out of the picture, the film experienced some money issues, according to details that were revealed in the earlier Klebanoff lawsuit. The film stopped production in LA, before resuming in Vancouver. Some of the film was shot, but it was never completed because Klebanoff and Han argued over things like whether the film's lead actress should appear nude in the film.

Of course. Did I mention that David Hasselhoff was in this, too? What could go wrong? Moreover, this is what they're dealing with at Los Angeles Superior Court? I say let Judge Joe Brown dispense with this in 15 minutes, complete with a lesson about the stinking miasma of Hollywood values and maybe remanding the litigants to some kind of experimental rehab for hideous taste. Or exiling them to space. Now I'm out of ideas. Suggestions?

[THR]

Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.