After "The Social Network"s' endless scenes of depositions, Jesse Eisenberg should have a pretty firm grounding in the legal system.
That might come in handy.
Last week, the Oscar nominee hit Lionsgate and Grindstone Entertainment with a $3 million lawsuit, charging the companies with falsely advertising his cameo in "Camp Hell" as a lead role in the low-budget horror film.
The "Zombieland" star claims that in 2007 he agreed to spend one day filming a small part in the film as a favor to friends. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, he says that he received only minimal compensation for his work.
Also read: Jesse Eisenberg Grilled on Doing It to Mark Zuckerberg
Yet, art for the film's DVD jacket trades heavily on Eisenberg's minimal work, featuring a large photo of his face and his name above the title.
"Eisenberg's reputation and good will with the public and his fans will be severely harmed if they are duped into purchasing a copy of the 'Camp Hell' DVD as a result of false advertising by defendants that it is a horror film starring Jesse Eisenberg," the complaint reads. "Eisenberg's fans and the public should be protected from defendants' fraudulent conduct and false advertising and unfair business practices."
A spokesperson for Lionsgate declined to comment.
Eisenberg is alleging misappropriation of right of publicity, quantum meruit (a legal phrase meaning reasonable value of services) and unfair business practices. He said that the studio is consciously trading on his recent film hits in an effort to sell the low-budget "Camp Hell."
The movie centers on a Bible camp that becomes demonically possessed. Bruce Davison stars as the priest in charge of the camp.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this article