PEOPLE WATCH

Contract Dispute: Is Michael Oliver a real-life problem child? Universal Pictures thinks so, and has sued the tiny 11-year-old “Problem Child” actor for $190,000 in a contract dispute. In opening arguments Wednesday, a Universal attorney said the red-haired moppet and his mother broke a promise to make “Problem Child 2” for $80,000. Just days before the film’s 1991 production, the attorney said, Oliver’s mother demanded $500,000 for her then-9-year-old son--which the studio agreed to only because without Oliver reprising his role as the devil child Junior, the entire movie would fold, costing Universal $4 million. The lawyer for Oliver and his mother, Dianne Ponce, said, however, that Universal still owes Oliver $350,000, and that Ponce was following standard Hollywood practice in renegotiating the contract because the first “Problem Child” was a $51.7-million hit.