Mini-Me sues online celebrity muckraker over 'stolen' sex tape

Verne "Mini-Me" Troyer has sued TMZ.com for $20m, after the online celebrity gossip rag posted a sex video in which the 2 foot, 8-inch actor sticks it to former girlfriend Renae Shrider. The pint-sized film thespian is best known for playing Mini-Me in the second and third films in the Austin Powers comedy series: The Spy Who …

[Stuart Bevan]

How do these tapes go missing?

I've often wondered how tapes such as these go missing. You'd think folk would be fairly shrewd in hiding them.

[Steven Raith]

Mash up?

One Night in Mini-Me?

*shudders*

Steven R

[Anonymous Coward]

No it doesn't

It raises the question.

[lansalot]

Hmmm.

I doubt Mr Troyer will have a leg to stand on...

... wait a minute - that's not his leg !!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Pint sized!

Depending on how accommodating she is he may not use his willie at all.

[Anonymous Coward]

Powers' Pint-size Prick Porks Plaything

I can imagine (I haven't seen it so can't say for sure) how a Paris Hilton tape might generate some income but even allowing for the enormity of human diversity there is no way this tape could generate 20 million dollars.

[Jerry]

Stage Managed

I've actually seen an excerpt of said video and to my mind it's pretty obvious this is a stage managed 'schlock horror' publicity stunt.

Principal incriminating fact is there is a third party involved who pans the camera as required, independent of the actors.

Either they hired someone to film their varied orifice slurping for private consumption, or this was a planned setup to try and gain a few milliseconds of world fame.

Given the history of Paris Hilton who hawked her own video for all it was worth, I'm inclined to believe this also is a deliberate own-goal.

[GrahamT]

"the 2 foot, 8-inch actor"

To paraphrase Mae West:

"Nevermind the two foot, show me the eight-inches"

(was the comma really necessary after foot, or was it to provoke this type of comment?)

[Pete James]

@Stuart Bevan

There's a couple of theories on this, and all have some foundation.

A lot of personal assistants to stars (or so-called stars depending on your opinion) get given things to hold in safe-keeping. Sort of "Here, put this somewhere safe" kind of task. Why on earth they can't do it themselves Lord knows, especially something so personal, but there's a lot of videos and pics that never see the light of a lot more intimate stuff between rich and famous types. But as a lot of these PA folk are loyal to their bosses and want to stay in a job, they don't go punting trash round the press/web.

The sheer number of friends and hangers-on that come and go makes it a bit difficult to keep private stuff always hidden and things do get pinched on a regular basis from yer average celebs home.

The Celeb sex tapes genre is not seen so much as a career-ending scandal anymore - more in some case as career enhacing. Again, twisted thinking if you ask me but there are a few cases where this did give some people a head (ahem!) of steam in their work.

[amanfromMars]

Cynical Shakedowns ......

"I've often wondered how tapes such as these go missing. You'd think folk would be fairly shrewd in hiding them." ..... By Stuart Bevan Posted Monday 30th June 2008 09:54 GMT

Oh please, Stuart, how are you to make money from anything/nothing useful/smut, if it is hidden.

[Bickus Dickus]

XXXtra ordinary

Mini-Me becomes Mega-Me. Porn star extraordinaire. The biggest little porn star in the business (wink wink nudge nudge to Rhode Island).

Not since Voltron has someone risen to the occasion.

[Anonymous Coward]

Mini Me tapes goes missing and show up on a website

It appears evil super villians must use the same courier services as the British goverment......

[Anonymous John]

Tapes? How very 20th Century.

Why not DVDs or hard disk?

[Aitor]

Missing? Stolen!!

Most people have domestic services, this is, pleople who clean your house.

If they know you are famous, they might look at your tapes searching for gold....

[JP Sistenich]

@ Steven R: Even worse...

Mini-Me in Paris...

[Anonymous Coward]

Too late

The Streisand Effect will ensure this sex tape is available somewhere on the net for decades to come.

Paris icon, because she started the fad of leaking sex tapes.

[Anonymous Coward]

2 Foot, 8 Inches

That's a pretty good ratio for such a small guy! He just about would be a tripod...

Also, if I was going for a lawsuit of this style it would be "$20M, all of the copies the defendant has made and 100% of any money that is made from them. Or $100 per freely distributed/ "lost" "backup" copy." Just to make sure it didn't go missing again.

@Stuart Bevan

They get sent to one of the owner's other houses/new house using the TNT courier service. They're pretty adept at "losing" CDs...

Alternatively his partner in what is surely now a crime (he's almost childlike so it's probably covered by appropriate Brownian UK laws...) could have leaked them- sent them to a friend to say "seriously, he IS a tripod" or assert that he isn't.

Alternatively it could have been nicked.

Putting videos like this on the 'net is bloody awful. If they want to show themselves off then they should be able to do it on their own terms.

[Alexander Holland]

Tax right off

Are payments tax deductible? Pay $20M to the government or to a mate via a lawsuit?

[Anonymous Coward]

I Wonder

If that sort of thing is classed as extreme porn over here in the UK?

[Dan]

2 foot, 8 inch...

Is that 2 different measurements, or just the one?

Mine's the dirty mac...

[Joe K]

Piss off

The 1st Austin was highly overrated, the sequels though get better as they go on.

[Anonymous Coward]

MIssing Tapes

Tapes go missing because they are left in VCR's, Camcorders and on computers connected to P2P's, when their "users" use the Freudian slip and let someone else "see" them....

Paris because she likes the mini me

[Anonymous Coward]

Size isn't important ...

It's how much in damages he'll get if the lawsuit succeeds

[Rick]

question

Which begs the question: what price for a mash-up? for mini-me probably a really short stack! as for Paris thats a hot topic!

[ben edwards]

Tripod?

Only would be a tripod if he wasn't surrounded by poontang, and at his height he's at natural see/smell level for most average women.

[Rick]

I think we need some pictures of this

REG could you possibly dig up some exclusives for us? or some re-enactment ones?

[Andrew Tyler]

Can't wait to see it...

I will be searching Youporn daily (er...), until I find it.

[Steve]

For those wanting pictures...

Could El Reg knock up some Playmobil reconstructions? I can see problems with a Playmobil "Paris - Mini Me mashup" though as all the figures are the same size...still, should give you something to do in the lunch hour.

Paris, because she'd be up for a filmed mash up with mini-me if it'll raise a few quid.

Better tie a plank sideways across mini me's arse in case he falls in!

[Pasanonic]

It would have been so much funnier

if he had simply demanded ..."ONE MILLION DOLLARS"

[Paul Stephenson]

@Steve

I'm sure a legoman would be adequate for mini-me, compared to playmobil figures. :)

[Sarah Bee]

sigh

Yeah, that's right! Because, like, he's really small! LOL!

Sometimes, I read the stories on the Reg concerning threats to humanity immediate and distant, and feel a strange, unaccountable warm glow.

[Anonymous Coward]

Liberal arts ftw

"Yeah, that's right! Because, like, he's really small! LOL!"

Yeah, we mustn't joke about things that are inherently funny, even if the person in question makes a career from people laughing at his height.

We must all be more liberal because that's RIGHT, mmmkay?

"Sometimes, I read the stories on the Reg concerning threats to humanity immediate and distant, and feel a strange, unaccountable warm glow."

Sometimes I think Douglas Adams had it right with the B-ark.

[Sarah Bee]

Re: Liberal arts ftw

Quiet you, or I'll tell everyone your name (wow, I bet you hate your parents).