ROBERT DE NIRO filed notice of a US$1 million lawsuit over a photograph of him and fellow actor Sean Penn blowing out their birthday candles at a private party last year.

　De Niro and Penn share the same birthday — August 17. De Niro was celebrating his 58th birthday and Penn his 41st at a rooftop party at De Niro’s loft in the lower Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca.

　A photograph of the two actors was offered for sale by photo agency Celebrity Vibe, and appeared in at least one newspaper and one national magazine, De Niro’s lawyer, Tom Harvey, who filed initial paperwork in the case in Manhattan Supreme Court, said recently.

　“Our contention, as we hope to prove in the lawsuit, is that someone snuck into a private residence and took unauthorized pictures for profit,” Harvey said.

　Jeffrey Boyard, a co-owner of Celebrity Vibe who is named in the legal filing, said the agency did nothing wrong. “Our photographer was invited,” he said.(SD-Agencies)