Loose lips launch lawsuits.

Jennifer Lopez is being sued for $3 million by a director who claims she stole
his idea for a big-screen adaptation of the opera Carmen.


Adam Shankman, who made his directing debut on Lopez's 2001 hit The Wedding
Planner, claims he told the multihyphenate (actress, pop star, producer, fashion
designer, restaurant owner, perfume purveyor, etc.) about his idea to cast her
in the romantic tragedy.


Lopez allegedly took a shine to the idea and passed it off as her own in a pitch
meeting with Universal Pictures, cutting Shankman out of the deal, according to
court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court May 2. The amount of damages
was unspecified, but we're sure Shankman's figure will have plenty of zeros.


A rep for the Latina diva dismissed the allegations, saying, "We have not seen
the complaint, but I'm surprised that anyone would have the audacity to claim
intellectual domain over a property as well known as Carmen."


The 1875 opera, remade by everyone from Cecil B. DeMille (news) to MTV (who cast
Beyoncé Knowles as the lead in its hip-hopera), is itself based on a French
novel by Prosper Merimee.


Also named in the suit are Lopez's manager Benny Medina and Absolute
Entertainment.


News of the Carmen suit came just as the Bronx-born babe announced a long-term
production deal with Spanish-language TV network Telemundo. Lopez's first
project is an opera of sorts--she'll produce a tele-novella (a soap opera) about
a young girl from the block who dreams of becoming a star (Glitter, anyone?).


Meanwhile, Carmen isn't the only project causing legal woes for Lopez. Last
week, she was accused of creative sampling, when Paramount sent a
cease-and-desist order to Sony (parent company of Lopez's label, Epic Records),
accusing the celeb of swiping some moves from Flashdance for her new video "I'm
Glad." That dust-up is expected to be settled without having to go to court.


J.Lo isn't the only superstar accused of stealing a good idea when she hears it.
Madonna (news - web sites) and Guy Ritchie (news) were slapped with a similar
lawsuit for allegedly not compensating the man who suggested a remake of Swept
Away. This, before the box-office flop earned five Razzies for bad taste.


Now, would-be producer Vincent D'Onofrio (news) (no relation to the Law & Order
actor) may find his case thrown out of court, because his lawyer missed a
hearing.


Superior Court Judge Soussan G. Bruguera could rule to dismiss the suit after
D'Onofrio's attorney was a no-show at an April 1 court date. The judge is also
considering a request that would have Getzels pay more than $1000 to the
opposing attorneys for having to reschedule. Getzels calls the snafu a
"calendaring error."

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