Abel Ferrara, one of the godfathers of New York’s indie-film scene, still can’t write off one of his ex–writing partners, Scott Pardo. The dispute started shortly after the festival release of Mary (2005), when Pardo initiated litigation against Ferrara in France for not giving him official credit as a writer or his pay. “It’s a big international mess,” Pardo says. Mary, which stars Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and Juliette Binoche, has not been released in the U.S. Last month, Pardo’s lawyer in France fired off a letter to the Cannes Film Festival complaining about the appearance of Go Go Tales, Ferrara’s latest film, a strip-club comedy. “Straight up, I got the shaft,” says Pardo. “All I want is my credit.” Ferrara is now living abroad, and he and his international lawyers could not be reached. The last time Pardo spoke with Ferrara was over a year ago, Pardo says, when the director called from Rome to try to settle the dispute. “I told him, ‘Bro, it’s all good. It’s not personal. Just have your attorney call me.’”
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