Paris Hilton surprises Miami court judge with little wave

Worldwide Entertainment Group Inc. filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Miami last year against the hotel heiress, alleging she failed to promote the 2006 film she starred in, “National Lampoon’s Pledge This!”

'Pledge This!' promo lawsuit
Local attorney Michael Goldberg, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the group in August of last year, alleged in the lawsuit: “Hilton failed to attend any talk shows or telephonic or in-person interviews.”

Hilton signed a deal with Worldwide in 2004 for the production and distribution of the movie “National Lampoon’s Pledge This!,” according to the lawsuit. The socialite heiress starred in the film and received credit as an executive producer.

The movie producers said they paid Hilton and her company, Paris Hilton Entertainment Inc., $1 million for “Hilton’s acting services” and for “reasonable promotion and publicity” for the movie, including its DVD release. But, she didn’t do adequately to promote the movie and rejected their requests to appear on talk shows and do radio and magazine interviews and other promotional opportunities for the film, they claim.

Lawyers for Miami-based concern, which is now defunct, are hoping to squeeze $8.3 million out of Hilton to recover the costs from their flopped film that cost $7.5 million to make but earned only about $2.9 million.

Hilton testifies
Meanwhile, Paris Hilton, the heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune and the daughter of real estate magnate Rick Hilton, has flatly denied allegations, insisting she promoted the 2006 film “Pledge This!” to the best of her ability.

The 28-year-old acknowledged that the film was a box office flop, but abruptly denied it was her fault that the film flopped, defending herself by claiming that she plugged it for everything she was worth.

"If I have my name attached to something, I want it to be as big as it can be," the blonde model/actress testified Friday, July 10, 2009.

"It could have been a lot better if it was done more professionally. I wanted it to do as well as possible."

Dressed in a black dress and six-inch stilettos and, Hilton gave a little wave to the judge before testifying.

"I've never had a witness wave at me before," Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno reacted with surprise to her wave on the way to the witness stand.

Hilton, who also sported diamond rings and a bracelet, told the judge she was never told her contract required appearances after the October 2006 premiere of the movie, insisting she spent more than two years promoting the movie beforehand, including two high-profile trips to the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Paris Hilton’s life in the media
Paris Hilton is best known for starring in a fish-out-of-water reality show called "The Simple Life" with a fellow heiress Nicole Richie, daughter of singer Lionel Richie. The life of the damsel has been in media spotlight ever since she entered the entertainment industry and subjected to criticism for her hard-partying lifestyle by almost everyone.

In November 2003, Hilton came in the headlines when a home video of her cavorting with her then-boyfriend Rick Solomon was published online.

Labeled as the “Party Girl,” Hilton has been involved in a number of legal cases. A Los Angeles party planner had accused her of bombarding him with angry phone calls, shoving him and threatening his life.

In June 2006, Hilton had a fender-bender accident when her Range Rover backed into a car in a parking garage after a shopping trip.