A 'Girlfriend Experience' is in the Starz

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES reports that filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and Starz are bringing an anthology series of "The Girlfriend Experience," based on Soderbergh's 2009 film of the same name, to cable.

The movie starred porn's Sasha Gray as a pricey Manhattan escort. The series will offer 13 episodes about 13 different women in 13 different cities, possibly getting paid for 13 different positions.

Writing and directing will be indie filmmakers Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz.

Co-executive producer Philip Fleishman said in a statement, "Many of these women are extremely accomplished. They range from musicians in major orchestras to Ph.D. candidates in the sciences and often feel empowered by the control and economic freedom their work as GFE's affords them. The question is whether they define a new genus of contemporary relationship, or have relationships always been transactionally based in one form or another?"

And Starz said, "Yeah, whatever. It's HBO's 'Cathouse' meets Showtime's 'Red Shoes Diaries.' "

The U.S. Justice Department has urged Judge Robert Cleland to dismiss a lawsuit that blames the government for the negative effect of describing fans of Insane Clown Posse as a loosely organized gang.

The rap-metal duo from the Detroit area says the 2011 FBI report violates the First Amendment. Their fans, called Juggalos, say they've lost custody of children, lost jobs and been denied housing simply because they like the music.

Government attorney Amy Powell asked Cleland, a federal judge in Detroit, to throw out the case yesterday. She says the FBI is not responsible for how police agencies use information in the national gang report.

But Saura Sahu, an attorney for four fans, says the government went too far.

Cleland says he'll probably make a decision in July.

* An appellate court in L.A. has upheld a $19 million judgment against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis in a slander case filed over his claims that casino mogul Steve Wynn threatened to kill him.

The California 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld the verdict in a ruling issued yesterday.

After a 2012 trial, a jury found that Francis' statements about threats were defamatory. Both men testified during the trial.

Francis appealed the verdict, arguing he first made the comments in a court proceeding over a gambling debt and should not be held liable for them.

Francis claimed Wynn threatened to kill him in subsequent television interviews and confirmed the in-court statements to the celebrity website TMZ.com.

Francis said he will again appeal the ruling.

* Former Philadelphia Orchestra conductor Maestro Riccardo Muti will mark the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I by leading a youth orchestra in a performance of Verdi's "Requiem."

The Italian orchestra conductor said in Rome yesterday that he hoped the music would serve to pay tribute to the heroes of the war "through a message of reconciliation." Italy's Luigi Cherubini Youth Orchestra will perform with young musicians from other countries in what Muti called an "expression of musical harmony" and peace on July 6 in Redipuglia, site of a monument to World War I dead in northeastern Italy.

* In Rhode Island, a home owned by Conan O'Brien has been removed from a potential auction after he paid some back taxes on the property.

Town officials tell the Westerly Sun that Conan paid his $8,000 bill on Friday morning.

The property near the Westerly shore is valued at about $723,000. It was among several the town planned to auction today to settle delinquent tax bills.

Conan publicist Drew Shane issued a statement blaming a clerical error and saying Conan had been unaware he owed back taxes.

Can Tattle use that defense the next time we're pulled over: "Sorry officer, we were unaware we were speeding."

* Fans of the late author Vince Flynn will be able to look forward to new books featuring the terrorist-fighting protagonist Mitch Rapp.

Flynn's publisher and his estate have commissioned another thriller writer to complete Flynn's unfinished novel, The Survivor. Author Kyle Mills also will write two more books in the Rapp series.

Flynn died on June 19, 2013, after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. The Minnesota author published 14 books and sold more than 15 million copies in the U.S. alone.

The Survivor is tentatively slated to hit shelves next year.

* Sting told London's Daily Mail that his six children are not in line to receive trust funds from his $300 million fortune.

With more than 100 people on his payroll, Sting says, the money is going out as fast as it's coming in, which is not entirely true or he wouldn't have a $300 million fortune.

On the plus side, each of the kids will get an autographed copy of "Zenyatta Mondatta."

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

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