Fiorentino Held Film Hostage, Suit Says

April 26 -- In her best-known role as a manipulative man-eater in The Last Seduction, actress Linda Fiorentino had no qualms about tying up her husband and spraying mace in his mouth. Ruthless, yeah, but just as bad is her real-life behavior, alleges a $5 million lawsuit against the actress, which charges her with holding an entire film hostage.

This lawsuit follows a report last month that Fiorentino might be sued for abandoning a starring role in Hudson's Law, a legal drama for CBS.

In the suit filed this week by German production company Art Oko Film, Fiorentino is being blamed for the shelving of the Georgia O'Keefe biopic Till the End of Time, in which she would have played the famous painter.

The production company accuses the actress of refusing to report for rehearsals, makeup, and camera tests and of feigning illness. Instead of reporting to the set, the suit claims, Fiorentino went to a party thrown by Playboy's Christie Hefner in her honor.

The suit charges that the delays caused by Fiorentino's no-shows jeopardized the participation of actor Ben Kingsley, who was set to play O'Keefe's lover, photographer Alfred Stieglitz. The film was finally shut down last August after failed attempts to recast Fiorentino's part, Variety reports.

In March, Variety reported that producers of the Hudson's Law TV pilot were deciding whether to sue the actress after they couldn't locate her to begin work. The role was recast with actress Kyra Sedgwick.

Kevin Smith, who directed Fiorentino in Dogma, has stated that he will never work with the actress again. Whether she will reprise one of her most high-profile roles, that of Agent L in Men in Black, remains to be seen. A Columbia spokesman could not confirm at this point whether Fiorentino is in or out of MIB2.