LOS ANGELES – Vanessa Hudgens has become one of the most in-demand starlets in Hollywood, and now the man who professes to have discovered her wants a piece of her pie.
Pop Tarts has obtained documents filed on Monday in the Los Angeles Superior Court in which her former producer/manager Johnny Viera says he wants $5 million of her fortune.
Click here to see the documents (PDF).
Viera claims that he and Hudgens entered a financial agreement back in May 2005 to launch her career and go 50/50 on her earnings. But after the enormous success of “High School Musical,” Viera says she gave him the boot and although they came to a settlement agreement, Ness hasn’t been paying her way.
But according to her Vanessa's father, Greg Hudgens, Viera has a “predatory nature” and the Disney dad has been trying to set up a Web site or phone line to stop more “unsuspecting talent” from falling victim to his ways.
Calls to Hudgens’ rep were not returned.
And just a quick word of warning to anyone planning to snap a pic of Vanessa’s beau, Zac Efron — don't get caught.
Efron and Hudgens recently attended Ashley Tisdale's 23rd birthday bash at Malibu's DKNY Beach House. We're told the Tinseltown twosome was pursued by the paparazzi as they drove out to the hotspot, and a brawl broke out between the house's security guards and the pap-snappers who tried to jump the fence and follow the lovers inside.
Already somewhat flustered, Efron reportedly refused to socialize and was upset that there were too many people in attendance. His bad mood escalated when he spotted one attendee taking random photographs of the party, and he automatically assumed the pictures were of him.
According to an eyewitness, a fuming Zac literally jumped across the pool and stormed over to confront the snapper, screaming “Do you wanna picture of me? Do you?”
After making a scene, we’re told the Disney divo was quick to apologize and confess his embarrassment after having learned that the random snapper was actually one of the publicists running the beach house. Oops! Efron then decided to retreat inside with a K Styler styling iron and spend a good chunk of the soiree straightening his hair in front of the mirror alongside BFFs Hudgens and Tisdale.
Panettiere's Parents: The Night Before
In the early hours of Monday morning, Hayden Panettiere's 49-year-old father was arrested on suspicion of striking his wife, but was released Monday afternoon on a $50,000 bail.
But prior to Alan Panettiere's arrest, the family enjoyed a fundraising dinner for the Whalemen Foundation hosted by their "Heroes" daughter on Sunday night.
We're told that the family sat together and put on big smiles as dinner was being served, but behind the scenes, mama Panettiere was peeving people.
"She was acting very highly strung and high-maintenance," said our source, adding that Hayden's father appeared to get a little irritated. Apparently, both folks were very much enjoying their adult beverages, but it was unclear if either was intoxicated.
But on a lighter note, Miss P raised thousands for the anti-whaling cause. Her beau, Milo Ventimiglia, was part of a bidding war on numerous items that were auctioned off, but didn't have much success. He finally won the last item up for bid — a pair of earrings.
Protesters Swarm Stiller’s Movie Premiere
It was a star-studded night in Los Angeles on Monday as Hollywood’s hottest (think Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise and Tobey Maguire) stepped out to celebrate the premiere of the satirical comedy “Tropic Thunder."
Just one small problem — hundreds of angry protesters (led by Special Olympics chairman and CEO Timothy Shriver) circled around outside the red carpet urging people to boycott the DreamWorks comedy over the use of the word of “retard."
But according to director/star Stiller, it’s all a big misunderstanding.
"I think we were clear about what our intention was in the movie and where the humor was coming from, and I feel like that’s clear in the context of the movie," Stiller said.
We'd also like to note how amazing (and healthy) Cruise's wife Katie Holmes looked as she and Tom dedicated their evening to signing autographs for fans. Sporting a super-short hairdo, the former “Dawson’s Creek” starlet looked lovely and curvaceous. But before any rumors start running rampant, we didn’t see a baby belly.
Baldwin and Basinger Come to Custodial Agreement?
Divorced duo Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger had their attorneys do an awful lot of dirty work for them at the Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.
The lawyers battled it out behind closed doors for most of the morning and into the afternoon session over custody rights to their 12-year-old daughter, Ireland.
Although details of what went down are unknown and the transcripts are sealed, some sort of resolution was obviously reached as no return date was appointed.
"I'm very pleased that the court gave us so much consideration, but I have to respect the court's wishes that everything stays silent," Baldwin's lawyer Vicki Greene told Pop Tarts, adding that her client is "doing great."
"He's up for an Emmy!" she exclaimed.
And while Kim's lawyer, Neal Hersh, refused to confirm whether the "L.A. Confidential" actress was happy with what went down in the courtroom, he said she was pleased that the court gave so much time and consideration to the case.
And Ireland?
"She's a great child," Hersh said. "She has grown into a delightful young lady."
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