Lawsuits
The Underground Comedy Movie was the subject of several lawsuits filed by Offer against others. On September 23, 1998, Vince Offer filed a suit against
20th Century Fox and the co-directors of
There's Something About Mary,
Bobby and
Peter Farrelly. Offer claimed that 14 scenes in
Mary were lifted from his film. The Farrellys released this statement: "We've never heard of him, we've never heard of his movie, and it's all a bunch of baloney."
[24] The case was dismissed with prejudice on a motion for
summary judgment by order of the court in 2000, and
Twentieth Century Fox was awarded $66,336.92 in attorneys' fees.
[25]
In 2000, Offer successfully sued
Anna Nicole Smith for $4 million, claiming that Smith had agreed to be in his movie, but backed out in 1996 over fears that appearing in the movie would be detrimental to her career.
[26] Offer won the lawsuit, but the case was settled anyway.
In 2004, Offer sent out a press release through prnewsonline.com announcing his intention to sue the Church of Scientology. In 1997, while production was ongoing, the
Church of Scientology had allegedly begun a large-scale
smear campaign against Offer and his film (Offer was a Scientologist at the time).
[7] The director claimed the Scientologists' "
Celebrity Center" in
Hollywood labeled him a "criminal" (based on the rules of Scientology) and threatened his Scientology friends in the movie business with "condemnation" punishment that could be lethal to their careers if they did not write malicious reports against Offer.
[7]
Arrest
On February 7, 2009, Offer was arrested in
Miami Beach, Florida on a charge of
felony battery after an altercation with a 26-year-old
prostitute. Offer contended that he struck the prostitute when she "bit his tongue and would not let go." Prosecutors later declined to file formal charges against either individual.
[2][27][28]