'Girls Gone Wild' chief bites back at 'Piranha 3D'

LOS ANGELES  - How mad is "Girls Gone Wild" mogul Joe Francis at Jerry O'Connell's coke-snorting, kid-filming character who loses his penis to ravenous fish in this weekend's "Piranha 3D"?

"I believe Mr. O'Connell may lose more than his penis (i.e., lots of money) if he and the Weinstein Co. choose to release this film and continue to falsely associate me with its questionable content," Francis told The Hollywood Reporter.

Francis' lawyer Larry Stein sent a letter to the film's distributor, The Weinstein Co., after O'Connell told the news website Daily Beast of his role: "I get to play Joe Francis! Oh, wait. For legal reasons I'm supposed to say, 'I play someone loosely based on Joe Francis.'"

The letter threatens that "any defamatory or disparaging statements, or depictions, in the media or in the film itself, or other statements that portray Mr. Francis in a false light, will be met with swift litigation."

We've seen the film, in which O'Connell plays "Derrick Jones," the soft-core porn auteur behind a video series called "Wild Wild Girls." (Get it?) We never caught the ages of the various naked women in the 3D horror film, but the male lead, whom the O'Connell character films slurping tequila off a girl's stomach, is said to be 17.

"I appreciate a good parody as much as the next guy, but to associate me with drugs and the filming of underage girls crosses a definite line," Francis said. "Jerry O'Connell has repeatedly and emphatically stated on the public record that he is 'playing Joe Francis,' not a fictional character based on me. Mr. O'Connell has done this despite having been warned by his own lawyers not to admit this."

A Weinstein Co. spokesperson said "we don't comment on any pending legal matters" and referred calls to attorney Bert Fields, who is out of the country.

So-called "libel-in-fiction" claims have become more common lately under the legal theory that the average person would be led to believe a character is based on a real person (like Francis) and the depiction puts him in a false light and/or defames him.

Francis says he hasn't seen the film but his lawyers are monitoring the situation and will not hesitate to sue.

"The actors, producers, distributors and others associated with this film are on notice that my legal team will be evaluating their film and monitoring their promotional activities," Francis said. "Clearly, this film was intended to be more than a mere parody, and I intend to seek damages if and when the film is distributed."

We caught up with O'Connell at the "Piranha 3D" premiere on Wednesday and asked him about the Francis fracas.

"The character is based on a number of people in the soft core porn industry," O'Connell said with a smile. "Any similarities are purely coincidental."

Francis isn't buying the excuse. Will Joe check out the movie and see for himself?

"Probably not," Francis said, "because I have heard from several people who have seen the movie that it's so bad, it's unwatchable. But I'm sure that my lawyer Larry Stein will be front and center opening day!"