Los Angeles ? Hollywood has had its share of blockbusters this summer with pillaging pirates and returning superheroes, but an off-screen reality show starring a private eye accused of running a widespread wiretapping scheme hasn’t lived up to its billing.

Federal prosecutors said months ago that at least one more indictment was coming in the case against private detective Anthony Pellicano and 13 other suspects charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and other crimes.

That disclosure ignited speculation on movie sets and in corporate offices about who might be indicted.

However, no new defendants have been named since “Die Hard” director John McTiernan was charged in early April.

Now, the case has lost its sizzle and sent the entertainment industry searching for scandal elsewhere.

“The beef on the bun has been smaller than the promotion,” said publicist Michael Levine, whose clients have included pop star Michael Jackson and actor Charlton Heston.

“Right now what is being talked about is all the hype associated with this,” he said.

The initial indictment against Pellicano, unsealed in early February, detailed a shady underside of Hollywood where wiretaps were used to get dirt for threats, blackmail and, in some cases, to secure a tactical advantage in litigation.

It included allegations that Pellicano had illegally wiretapped the phones of Hollywood stars such as Sylvester Stallone and had bribed police officers to run the names of more than 60 people, including comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, through government databases.

Attorney Steven Gruel, photographed last week in his office in San Francisco, represents private investigator Anthony Pellicano, who is accused in a widespread wiretapping scheme. The Pellicano case has fizzled as prosecutors struggle to decrypt hundreds of audio files and snare A-list players.

More charges followed. Among those named were Terry Christensen, a prominent Hollywood attorney who represented billionaire Kirk Kerkorian. He was accused of paying Pellicano at least $100,000 to illegally listen in on conversations involving Lisa Bonder Kerkorian during a 2002 court battle with the mogul over child support.

Christensen has denied wrongdoing.

Hollywood Records president Robert Pfeifer admitted hiring Pellicano to wiretap the phone of his former girlfriend. And McTiernan pleaded guilty to making false statements to an FBI agent about hiring Pellicano to wiretap a producer on his 2002 box-office flop “Rollerball.”

Both are awaiting sentencing.

Federal authorities also questioned prominent entertainment attorney Bert Fields and studio bosses Brad Grey of Paramount Pictures and Ron Meyer of Universal Studios about their connections to Pellicano.

Thus far, however, no A-listers have been named as suspects and nearly all the defendants are bit players.

Prosecutors face two challenges when considering additional indictments: proving Pellicano’s clients knew the detective was doing something illegal and ensuring that the wiretap evidence falls within the five-year statute of limitations. Many of the calls listed in the indictment occurred between 1999 and 2002.

Defense attorneys are challenging the validity of search warrants, claiming they were a ruse to get inside Pellicano’s offices and look for suspected wrongdoing. They also have complained that prosecutors haven’t turned over all their evidence as part of the discovery process.

The disputes led U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer to postpone the trial until Feb. 13.

Pellicano has pleaded not guilty and is anxious to go to trial, said his attorney, Steven Gruel. However, Gruel believes his client won’t have to stand trial at all if he can convince a judge the search warrants and resulting evidence should be thrown out.

Hollywood’s attention has turned to new scandals such as Mel Gibson’s drunken driving case, but legal experts believe the wiretapping case could regain the spotlight if high-profile stars are called to testify during the trial.

“You could still have the parade of Hollywood witnesses even if you don’t have further indictments,” said Laurie Levenson, a former federal prosecutor and professor at Loyola Law School.

“This is the most egregious civilian wiretapping case I can think of. If you just put Pellicano behind bars, it was worth it,” she said.