Jeff Shell, former CEO of NBCUniversal, speaks during a conference at the Cannes Lions International Festival in 2022. REUTERS On the night of Feb. 20, a number of top Paramount and RedBird executives received a draft complaint that would rock the Melrose lot.
A professional gambler-turned-Hollywood consigliere was seemingly planning to sue president Jeff Shell for not paying him for consulting services. The would-be plaintiff also alleged that Shell shared confidential studio information with him in the process.
Sources tell Page Six Hollywood that R.J. Cipriani made a series of wild claims in the complaint, including that he saved the studio millions by helping Shell successfully navigate a standoff with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. (Last summer, Parker and Stone enlisted litigators Bryan Freedman and Stuart Liner before inking a $1.5 billion deal with Paramount to keep Kyle and Cartman in the Melrose fold.)
Jeff Shell waves as he arrives at the Sun Valley Resort. Getty Images Paramount brass quickly enlisted Gibson Dunn to investigate the claim, and Shell’s relationship with the mysterious fixer. Shell — who has “manically and obsessively worked to protect his image,” according to one source familiar with his behavior after being fired by NBCUniversal for an affair with an underling — turned to his longtime attorney Patricia Glaser to help him face the scrutiny.
But multiple sources say it was Glaser who first connected Cipriani and Shell last year.
In fact, Glaser has previously represented Cipriani, a reported FBI informant who is familiar with the inside of a courtroom (both civil and criminal). Glaser didn’t respond to a request for comment about having worked with Cipriani in the past.
“The question is why Patty connected Jeff to this guy,” says one source familiar with the drama.
According to insiders, Cipriani’s lawsuit demonstrated familiarity with some of the studio’s inner workings. “He clearly had access to Paramount information,” says one.
Jeff Shell attends UFC 324. Zuffa LLC Cipriani made a vague claim about an SEC matter in the unfiled complaint as well. A source familiar with the Shell-Cipriani dynamic says the fixer “deputized” himself when it came to his role with Shell — but there’s no indication he ever actually did anything for him.
Well, that will be something Gibson Dunn will have to figure out. Either way, Paramount Skydance has been leaking like a sieve in recent months, observers note. And Cipriani is known for utilizing a wide network of Hollywood reporters.
As for the lawsuit threat, Glaser tells Page Six Hollywood that if Cipriani makes the “mistake” of moving forward, “we will strongly respond.”
The legal eagle also told Deadline on Monday: “We were presented with a draft complaint riddled with clear errors of fact and law.”
When Cipriani was asked by this confused reporter about the oddity of Glaser being both Shell’s lawyer and his lawyer, he responded: “You should call and ask her about that. Get your [popcorn emoji] ready.”
