By KATI CORNELL
April 1, 2008 -- Woody Allen didn't get the joke when American Apparel plastered photos of him dressed as a rabbi on billboards in New York and Los Angeles, and he's now suing the hipster clothing company.
The notoriously neurotic filmmaker hopes to laugh all the way to the bank, suing American Apparel for $10 million yesterday in a lawsuit that accuses the company of ripping off an image from his 1977 movie classic "Annie Hall."
The bizarre billboard ad appeared on the corner of Allen and Houston streets on the Lower East Side in May 2007 only to vanish days later.
The shot showed Allen with a long beard, hat, ringlets and glasses, with a Yiddish phrase that translates to "the holy rabbi" superimposed above and the American Apparel logo below.
A second billboard turned heads on the West Coast, and the photo was also briefly featured on American Apparel's Web site.
The LA-based clothing company, headed by CEO and founder Dov Charney, prides itself on provocative ads, but mostly turns to scantily clad young women.
Lawyers for Allen delivered the punch line in Manhattan federal court, socking American Apparel with the suit, which accuses the company of violating his civil rights and implying that he endorses the company.
The photo at the center of the dispute comes from a scene in "Annie Hall" in which Allen's character, Alvy Singer, meets girlfriend Annie Hall's WASP family.
"Allen was unaware that AAI was going to utilize his image on its billboards and Web site. Allen was not contacted, nor did he in any way give his consent to the use of his image and likeness and he was not in any way compensated," the suit alleged.
"AAI's unlawful use of Allen's image for commercial advertising purposes is especially egregious and damaging because Allen does not commercially endorse any products in the Unites States of America."
A spokeswoman for the company did not return a call seeking comment.
Allen claims he continues to suffer from the ad's effects and an image of the billboard is still available online through press articles about the billboard.
No stranger to courts, Allen won a highly publicized legal battle with his former producer Jean Doumanian, whom he hammered with a $14 million lawsuit over profits from eight movies.
Allen settled the case for $7 million in 2002.
The pair clashed again in 2006 over the editing of movies for TV and airline flights, and a Manhattan judge awarded the director $95,000 in legal fees.
