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After a weeklong reign as King of Hollywood, Brett Ratner has suffered a rather tragic tumble from his throne. X-Men: The Last Stand dropped 67 percent at the box office in its second weekend (replaced by—will the indignities never cease?— a Jennifer Aniston vehicle), and having suffered this loss of his royal powers, found himself unable to avoid his civic duty. Reports the Defamer Special Courthouse Correspondent:

So I was stuck downtown at jury duty yesterday, and noticed a parody-of-himself producer type namedropping into his cell phone. Turns out it was good old Brett Ratner, obviously stunned he couldn't buy his way out of a day spent in the jury selection room. Luckily he brought along his assistant to impersonate a juror and keep him company all day. I couldn't hear much of his phone conversations, but most of them concerned getting his disco light fixed. Apparently, he's got one in his bachelor pad and it's out. Very upsetting.

Unfortunately for Ratner, a malfunctioning disco light does not qualify as a "sudden personal tragedy," even if one tearfully explains to the judge how disappointed Courtney Love will be if she shows up to his estate's weekly Village People Night and the disco facilities aren't fully operational.