EventCepts is suing Hollywood talent broker ONE Entertainment over a series of failures it claims led to the cancellation of La Dolce Italia Festival at Crown's Palladium Ballroom in February.

According to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, ONE Entertainment signed a $300,000 contract to "secure and coordinate the services of actor Al Pacino to appear as the grand host and featured guest of an Italian cultural event known as La Dolce Italia Festival" in Melbourne on February 26.

EventCepts paid a $80,000 deposit but, when New York-born Pacino said he was unavailable, ONE offered actor Alec Baldwin as a "suitable replacement" at a reduced fee of $255,000.

Now, hiring an Irish-American for an Italian festival in Australia might might seem a stretch but, as La Dolce's website points out, he is a renowned "Italophile" and was awarded the "2014 Friend of Italy Award in Rome on behalf of the Capri, Hollywood International Film Festival".

Plus he was in Married To The Mob.

A deal was struck, a second amount of $80,000 was paid to ONE, and EventCepts went about the process of advertising its gala event. Then disaster struck. According to documents, ONE informed EventCepts that Baldwin couldn't come due to "personal reasons" in January, just weeks before the gala event.

EventCepts demanded a full refund. ONE instead offered Havana-born actor Andy Garcia as a substitute for Baldwin.

Which would have meant a Cuban-American substituting for an Irish-American who was filling in for a New Yorker at an Italian festival in Australia.

EventCepts disagreed, saying Garcia was not a "mutually agreeable substitute" for Baldwin. The Melbourne-based company cancelled the event, refunded tickets and is now suing ONE for breach of contract. It is seeking both compensation and punitive damages from the Los Angeles company.

"It's a matter of principle for us," said Connie Paglianiti of EventCepts, who has launched the legal action. "ONE thinks that because we are in Australia we are not serious, but we intend to fight this all the way."

And fans of La Dolce Italia, which brought Sophia Lauren to Melbourne last year, need not fret. The gala event will be back in 2017. Just not with ONE Entertainment booking the talent. "Over my dead body," said Paglianiti.

TOMB RAIDERS

Speaking of bodies, the dead centre of Fawkner is open for business this Sunday. More specifically, the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, which runs Fawkner and 20 other cemeteries in Melbourne's north and west, is having an open day.

The concept is to "alter people's perception that cemeteries are spaces only utilised at a time of death and grief", but the highlights are some of the notable graves, crypts and the mausoleum.

Melbourne founder John Batman is buried at Fawkner. Given it's the Anzac Day weekend, Fawkner also offers the opportunity to pay your respects to that scallywag general Sir Thomas Blamey, and Victoria Cross winners William Ruthven and Issy Smith.

Visitors can join in an hour-long tour by bike of the city's oldest cemetery.

Of course, for those wanting a more modern approach, most of the victims of the underworld gang wars of recent years are also at Fawkner.

Thankfully they are no longer causing any trouble.

THE HECKLER

There is plenty of movement at the Real Estate Institute of Victoria after Domain broke the news that boss Enzo Raimondo is leaving after 16 years as chief executive. Insiders say the plan was to announce his departure to members on Tuesday, after the long weekend, drop a story to the Herald Sun, and put out a press release on Wednesday, until Domain scuppered it. So where will Enzo end up next? The smart money is on website realestateview.com.au, which explains why it has been spruiking his departure so much since the Domain story broke. But we also hear some REIV members want a closer inspection of realestateview.com.au's ownership structure and history. Stay tuned.