Orange County Choppers is facing foreclosure on an upcoming episode of its reality series, 'American Chopper.'In November, the Times Herald Record reported that the lender behind OCC's headquarters in Newburgh, N.Y., filed a foreclosure action against the reality stars. The preview for next week's 'American Chopper: Senior Vs. Junior' showed Paul Teutul Sr. dealing with the news.
According to The Times Herald Record, Orange County Choppers has two mortgages through GE Commercial Finance Business Property Corp. One is for $11 million and the other is for $1.5 million. The November foreclosure action said the OCC missed payments of $96,400 and $14,000. They were due July 1.
Richard Mahon, lawyer for the Choppers, told the newspaper in November that his clients stopped making payments to put pressure on the lender to modify terms of the loan since the value of the building has changed in the recession.
"This is just a bump in the road," Mahon told the Record. "We believe the parties will reach a resolution and the headquarters will continue in this location."
In other TV news ...
• 'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena' debuted to big ratings. The Starz prequel series was seen by 1.1 million viewers at 10PM, 66 percent higher than 'Spartacus: Blood & Sand's' premiere a year ago. [Deadline Hollywood]
• Want to confront the celebrity you hate? The CW might be able to help. The network is working on a project that pairs celebrities with ordinary folk, giving the regular person a chance to confront the celebrity and a chance for the star to win the hater over. It's being called 'H8R.' [Entertainment Weekly]
• Jay Leno has been named the Hasty Pudding Man of the Year. Harvard honored Justin Timberlake last year. [E! Online]
• Fox's 'Lie to Me' has been hit with lawsuit over stolen ideas. John Gertz Prods and Roderick Anscombe claim to have worked with Fox for three months on a project based on a screenplay called 'Lie to Lie,' one that is very similar to the Tim Roth series. According to the lawsuit, Fox told the plaintiffs they were abandoning the project. Anscombe and JPG are suing Fox, Simon Andreae and Imagine Entertainment for breach of contract and breach of confidence.[Hollywood Reporter]
• After getting a taste of reality TV with 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' Kelsey Grammer as started a new production venture to develop formats and reality shows. Grammer and reality TV veterans have formed G3 Productions. G3 and Zodiak USA have also formed a joint venture. [Variety]
