The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has countersued Michael Avila, aka Michael AvMen, the actor who sued AMPAS for “false imprisonment” after he was detained attempting to attend the Academy Awards in March.
The cross-complaint, which was filed Wednesday by the Academy's law firm Quinn Emanuel, charges Avila and his wife with trespassing at an event to which they did not have tickets, and seeks more than $200,000 in damages related to the cost of Oscar security. It also seeks to bar the Avilas from future Oscar shows.
The Academy move came on the heels of a statement released by Avila challenging the Academy's response to his lawsuit.
Avila’s initial suit describes a confusing chain of events in which the actor came to Los Angeles under the impression that his publicist had arranged for tickets to the Oscar show. At an unspecified “charity event” prior to the show, the suit says that Avila “establish[ed] communication with industry professionals who have attended events similar to the Academy Awards in the past,” who told Avila that it’s customary to have an on-site will-call area for tickets. Being "new to Hollywood awards shows," Avila and his wife believed the information, according to the court papers.
In fact, says AMPAS spokesperson Leslie Unger, the Oscar show never has a will-call area to pick up tickets; “guests … need to have their tickets ahead of time” in order to attend the show, and are not allowed near the theater without tickets or credentials. The Avilas were detained because they had gotten to the entrance to the theater without tickets.
The suit contends that Avila and his wife, who were staying at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel across the street from the Kodak Theater, never received confirmation from their unspecified publicist about the tickets. Believing that he could get the matter sorted out at the “resolutions desk,” Avila says that he and his wife were given a ride to the Kodak in a golf cart driven by an “AMPAS usher,” whereupon they were detained and questioned for six hours.
The Academy's cross-complaint charges the Avilas with ignoring "various signs ... advising that only ticketed guests were permitted on the red carpet," and says that when interviewed, Michael Avila admitted "that he had tried to get tickets and was unsuccessful."
The Academy is well-known for its zealous legal team, and for the extraordinary level of security that surrounds the Oscars. According to Unger, the Academy detained “about two dozen people” trying to gain entry to this year’s show.
Avila, meanwhile, released a statement earlier Wednesday disputing the Academy's version of his actions in its initial response to his lawsuit – specifically, its contention that the Venezuelan-born actor padded his resume.
The AMPAS statement, which theWrap noted on Monday, read, "The Academy can confirm that Edgar Michael Avila, also known as Michael AvMen, was among those detained by the Academy for attempting to enter the 82nd Academy Awards without a ticket. We note that Mr. Avila has to date sent his complaint to a trade paper rather than to the Academy, and that he discussed his suit earlier in an interview in which he described himself as ‘set to star’ in two upcoming features, neither of which lists him in that capacity."
