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Dan Gross: It's Octomom vs. boxing promoter in ring fight

OF ALL of Damon Feldman's cockamamie stunts, the one in which he and Octomom got engaged was the most ridiculous.

Octomom and Damon Feldman: A sham of a relationship.
Octomom and Damon Feldman: A sham of a relationship.Read more

OF ALL of Damon Feldman's cockamamie stunts, the one in which he and Octomom got engaged was the most ridiculous.

Now the Celebrity Boxing Federation promoter is suing Octomom, a/k/a Nadya Suleman, in Delaware County. The pair are due in court Wednesday in Broomall.

Feldman seeks his ring, which belonged to his ex-wife, or $7,500. He alleges that Suleman was supposed to return the ring after wearing it for a month to garner publicity for their fake engagement, but that she never did.

He "proposed" to Suleman in February, during a promotional appearance in Woodlyn, Delaware County.

He also states that he was to receive $5,000 for his participation in the stunt. Feldman asserts it was Suleman's manager, Gina Rodriguez, who concocted the chicanery.

"They are criminals," said Feldman, who himself recently came off probation after pleading guilty to state charges of fixing fights and promoting without a license. He was forbidden from promoting events in Pennsylvania, but now plans to do so again.

Neither Octomom nor Rodriguez returned requests for comment. It is unknown whether Suleman will be in court in Broomall on Wednesday. If she fails to show, legal sources say, a judgment could be imposed on her.

Wahlberg here for screening

Mark Wahlberg was at the Prince Music Theater (1412 Chestnut) on Tuesday night for a screening of his new film, "Broken City." Introducing the actor and the film's director, Allen Hughes, was Mayor Nutter, who listed the five films Wahlberg has made in and around Philadelphia - "Shooter," "The Happening," "The Italian Job," "The Lovely Bones" and "Invincible."

"You saved the best for last," Wahlberg said of "Invincible," in which he portrayed former Eagle Vince Papale. "If you said 'The Happening' last, that may have been a problem," Wahlberg said, referring to the M. Night Shyamalan flop.

"You've made me an honorary Philadelphian," Wahlberg said. "You don't give that s--- out for free," he said to the delight of the crowd.

"Broken City" opens Jan. 18. Check out our interview with Wahlberg and Hughes in Thursday's column.

Shyamalan show for Fox

M. Night Shyamalan is getting into the TV biz with Fox.

The Wayne, Delaware County-based filmmaker will direct and executive-produce a "long-form event" called "Wayward Pines," based on the novel Pines by Blake Crouch, reports People Paper television critic Ellen Gray.

Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly was hesitant Tuesday to call it a miniseries, though Gray estimates a 10- or 12-part program.

"If anything, we're going to try to emulate the HBO model," Reilly told Gray on Tuesday at the Television Critics Association winter meeting in Los Angeles.

That model, he explained, is "high-end talent, big in scope - epic - productions, which probably will have movie stars and top-notch talent, people who want to do television but are not going to sign up for five years."

Fox says "Wayward Pines" is a "mind-bending thriller evocative of the classic cult hit 'Twin Peaks.' "

It's about a Secret Service agent who goes to Wayward Pines, Idaho, to find two missing federal agents. Mystery ensues.

As for the movie biz, Shyamalan's next one is "After Earth," starring Will Smith and his son Jaden. It's due out June 7.

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