SHORT TAKES : Manager Sues Director Harlin

The director of two of the summer’s biggest box office hits--”The Adventures of Ford Fairlane” and “Die Hard 2”--was sued Monday by his personal manager who alleges the filmmaker owes her $530,000 in commissions.

Venetia Stevenson contends Renny Harlin engaged her as his personal manager on Feb. 19, 1988, and agreed to pay her a 10% commission on “all gross monies received as result of his activities in entertainment industries,” for a two-year period, the lawsuit said.

In March, 1988, Harlin was hired to direct “Nightmare on Elm Street IV,” and paid a $4,000 commission to Stevenson “without any objection,” the lawsuit said.

Subsequently, he was hired to direct “Lions on the Beach” and “Aliens III,” which were never produced, and the just-released “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane,” “Die Hard 2,” and the not-yet released “Gale Force,” the suit said. Harlin has paid only $55,267 of the $531,000 he owes Stevenson, the lawsuit said.

When Stevenson began demanding the money, Harlin told her in August, 1989, that he was putting down a substantial amount on a house he was buying and asked her to wait until October, 1989. Stevenson again requested the money on Nov. 3, 1989, but Harlin repudiated the agreement and refused to pay, the suit said.