SHORT TAKES : Producer Sues ‘Born’ Author

A producer is suing Ron Kovic, the Vietnam veteran whose autobiography was made into the film “Born on the Fourth of July,” contending that the author sold him the movie rights and then failed to help make the film.

Mel Goldberg, in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Superior Court in Los Angeles, alleges that Kovic sold him the film rights to the book in 1985 and agreed to put Goldberg in touch with such Hollywood figures as actors and potential financiers.

Goldberg contends that Kovic breached the contract by never setting up meetings and failing to allow renewal of the movie option. He is seeking $1 million in general damages and unspecified punitive damages.

Telephone calls to Kovic were not immediately returned.

“Born on the Fourth of July,” starring Tom Cruise as the young soldier who returns from Vietnam as a paraplegic, was released last month by Universal Pictures.