Charlie Sheen's TV adaptation of "Anger Management" has found itself entangled in a legal drama, months before its premiere.
Jason Shuman and his Blue Star Entertainment company have filed suit against "Anger Management" producer Joe Roth and his company, Revolution Studios, claiming that he developed the adaptation of the movie and has been denied back-end ownership and credit on the FX show by Roth. Shuman is seeking $50 million in the suit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Roth told TheWrap that he had not yet seen the complaint. He declined further comment.
The breach of contract suit alleges that Roth tapped Shuman in 2008 to go through the company's film catalog for titles that could be worked into adaptation and remakes. Shuman claims that Roth promised him a sweet deal, after getting shortchanged over developing the film "Are We There Yet" into a series. However, rather than "make it up to" Shuman as he allegedly promised, the suit claims that Roth cut him out of the loop.
"Then, in June 2011, without warning or justification, Roth went silent and refused to answer any of Shuman's emails or take any of his telephone calls," the suit claims. According to the suit, after getting frozen out, he saw media reports that Roth was negotiating with Sheen to develop and star in the adaptation.
Shuman's attorneys have not yet responded to TheWrap's request for comment. Lionsgate, which is producing the show, and FX, which will air the series, had no comment on the suit. Nor has a spokesman for Sheen.
Shuman says that he and his company are out more than $50 million in compensation due to the alleged abandoned deal.
The "Anger Management" adaptation is scheduled to premiere on FX in June. Sheen has a "significant ownership stake" in the project.
