Joe Pesci's fat and angry. And that's not a good thing.
The volatile Oscar winner is suing mad after packing on 30 pounds to play a plump part in the upcoming mob film "Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father," only to see producers pull a switcheroo and offer him a much leaner role.
Now, Pesci's going to the mattresses.
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In his lawsuit filed yesterday in Los Angeles, Pesci claims he was offered the role of Angelo Ruggiero, an enforcer and longtime confidant of boss John Gotti Sr., along with a $3 million paycheck.
But after Pesci joined other high-powered castmembers like John Travolta and Al Pacino (and, in a supporting role, Lindsay Lohan) to hype the project, he says producer Fiore Films pulled a fast one and by offering him a lesser role of Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, a mobster who tried to kill Gotti. The lesser role came with a lesser paycheck of $1 million.
Pesci cliams he was used to garner attention for the movie and that he had an oral contract for the role of Ruggiero. Plus, he says he broke his strict diet to gain pounds he now needs to shed.
"Defendant has no intention of paying Pesci $3 million or having him portray Ruggiero in the film," the lawsuit states. "Rather plaintiff secretly planned to use Pesci's name and likeness to promote the film and then to later concoct some pretext for terminating the contract so as to avoid paying plaintiff anything for the substantial publicity and 'buzz' that was generated."
But Fiore Films CEO Mark Fiore claims it's a big joke saying that Pesci walked away before a deal was ever inked and says he may now file a countersuit because Pesci never actually signed a contract to play a role in the movie.
The film is supposed to begin production Jan. 3.
And here we thought Lohan would be the distraction.