A Tale of Ghostwriters and Alien Landings

A writer’s alien-ation. . . . “Pulp Fiction” vs. “Natural Born Killers”. . . . Kareem Abdul-Jabbar takes the 5th. . . . Fax relief. . . . And some weighty issues on “Melrose Place.”

THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE: When you’re promoting your life story, especially when that story turns into a bestseller about flying saucers, it’s not a good idea to let your son butt in on the press junket, assault the publicist and threaten the life of the producer who owns the movie rights.

That’s allegedly what happened after Col. Philip J. Corso’s ghostwritten memoir, “The Day After Roswell,” was published this summer, according to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. Named as defendants are Col. Corso and his son, Philip Jr., accused by producer Neil Russell of failing to promote the book after a dispute over money.

The hardback spent three weeks in August on the New York Times bestseller list, rising to No. 12 before dropping off the radar. A favorite of UFO buffs, it propounds that the laser, the microchip and fiber-optics were developed from technology gleaned from an alien spacecraft that crashed 50 years ago in the desert near Roswell, N.M.

During a 21-year military career, Corso was a key intelligence officer who served on Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff in Korea and as a national security advisor to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Russell says in his suit that he bought the rights to Corso’s life story in 1992, then decided it would be lucrative to publish a book and then release a movie version.

The dispute began at a meeting in April or May when, the suit states, Corso’s son “demanded extraordinary amounts of money” pending the book’s release.

Afterward, the suit contends, Corso Jr. interfered with interviews, assaulted Russell and a Simon & Schuster publicist, and threatened Russell’s life--all at the colonel’s behest. The colonel, meanwhile, is accused of trying to negotiate a better movie deal with someone else.

Because of the Corsos’ behavior, the suit alleges, Simon & Schuster and its Pocket Books division canceled negotiations for future book deals.

Russell and his production company are seeking unspecified damages, as well as punitive damages and a restraining order preventing the Corsos from calling or threatening Russell and his family.

Neither Russell nor his lawyer, Martin J. Singer, had any comment. Corso’s publicist at Pocket Books had no comment and said she didn’t know how to reach him. Other attempts to reach Corso were unsuccessful.

PULP FRICTION: That confrontation last month between “Pulp Fiction” director Quentin Tarantino and “Natural Born Killers” associate producer Don Murphy has found its way into the courts.

Murphy has sued Tarantino for $5 million, contending that he’s been unable to work since the fracas at AGO, a trendy West Hollywood restaurant. He alleges in his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that Tarantino slammed him against a wall and punched him in the face, breaking his watch band and humiliating him.

The incident was allegedly prompted by comments Murphy made about Tarantino in the book “Killer Instinct,” written by “Natural Born Killers” co-producer Jane Hampshire. Although the suit did not elaborate on those comments, they reportedly had to do with who was the more talented filmmaker. Because the suit was filed late Friday, representatives for Tarantino and Murphy were unreachable.

REMAINING SILENT: Citing an investigation by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar this month refused to answer lawyers’ questions about his confrontation with a music editor outside a Westwood frozen yogurt shop, according to documents filed in Santa Monica Superior Court.

Abdul-Jabbar, the retired Los Angeles Laker, not the football player of similar name, invoked his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination at a Nov. 7 deposition, according to a transcript included in the court filings.

Attorneys Larry R. Feldman and David Bricker are seeking a court order to compel Abdul-Jabbar to answer their questions about the April 20 incident. A hearing was set for Dec. 9.

The lawyers represent Jerry Cohen, a music editor at Universal Studios, who is suing Abdul-Jabbar for an alleged assault during a misunderstanding over a hand gesture.

Cohen contends that the 7-foot former basketball star slammed him against a store window and onto the ground. He also alleges that Abdul-Jabbar wrapped his hands around his neck.

In their court papers, Feldman and Bricker say Abdul-Jabbar is improperly hiding behind the 5th Amendment because he waived his protection against self-incrimination by providing his written version of events.

In the statement, Abdul-Jabbar admits that he grabbed the 5-foot, 7-inch Cohen by the back of his collar after Cohen allegedly made an obscene gesture at him. He denies punching or choking Cohen.

According to his statement, Abdul-Jabbar was driving in his Mercedes to visit his dying mother in the hospital when Cohen blocked traffic.

Although the hoops great asserts that he was flipped off, Cohen says he was just pointing at a parking spot he desired, the court records say.

Peter Covette, head of the city attorney’s West Los Angeles office, confirmed that his office is reviewing the matter to determine whether charges should be filed against Abdul-Jabbar or the case should be referred to the office’s hearing department for a less drastic resolution.

“We will not be litigating in the press,” said Abdul-Jabbar’s attorney, Barry G. West.

JUST THE FAX, MA’AM: The case was about unfair business competition and whether state or federal laws should prevail. But it resulted in a ruling that could improve the quality of life for every Californian who owns a fax machine.

By barring an Arizona company from soliciting business via fax, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Abbey Soven has dealt a blow to unsolicited fax junk mail in California.

The issue was raised by the nonprofit National Notary Assn., which objected to California laws that take a more liberal stance toward fax machine junk mail than the 1991 federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which outlaws mass faxings of advertisements.

Although it’s also illegal under the California law to send junk mail via fax, it is not illegal to receive it. And so, an Arizona-based company exploited that loophole, sending countless faxes to unsuspecting Californians.

Judge Soven upheld the federal law, saying it superseded the state law, and the case was quickly settled, said Pasadena attorney Daniel J. Coplan, who represented the notary association.

Getting an unsolicited fax ad is particularly annoying, Coplan said, because you’ve already paid for it by the time you say no. “It’s unfair because it puts the burden on you to pay,” he said. “Congress wanted to correct that.”

Representatives for the Arizona company could not be reached.

LOOKS COUNT: In Aaron Spelling’s TV world, an ill-timed pregnancy is often resolved by a character’s tumble down the stairs. Not so in the real world, where Spelling Television and the producers of Melrose Place are defending themselves in what is believed to be the first trial involving a Hollywood actress’ claim that she was fired because she was pregnant.

Actress Hunter Tylo is alleging wrongful termination and discrimination. With such plot elements as motherhood, sex appeal and Hollywood, the Los Angeles Superior Court trial last week seemed to be stealing a page from the popular nighttime soap.

Jurors have seen blow-ups of Tylo’s slinky replacement, the bee-stung-lipped Lisa Rinna, attired scantily in a bikini and a miniskirt.

They’ve viewed a chart of Tylo’s weight gain during her pregnancy, which showed that she would have blimped from 111 to 144 pounds by the time she shot her first bikini scene.

And Tylo enjoyed a little Perry Mason moment, revealing on the witness stand that she is now eight months pregnant, even if she doesn’t look it. Her point: The MP producers are wrong when they contend that she wasn’t sexy enough to play a seductress capable of stealing away Heather Locklear’s TV hubby.

The rhetoric is flying.

“Would Roseanne Barr be hired to play a dramatic role as Miss America?” MP attorney William Waldo asked in his argument. “This is one of the very, very rare cases in America where appearance counts.”

Tylo replied: “You don’t have to be a pencil to seduce a man.”