Charlie Sheen settles lawsuit over "Men" firing (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Charlie Sheen has settled a lawsuit with the makers and creators of "Two and A Half Men" over the actor's dismissal from the top-rated U.S. television comedy earlier this year, Warner Bros. said on Monday.

Sheen had filed a $100 million lawsuit against the studio behind the CBS comedy and its creator Chuck Lorre after he was fired from the show in March.

Warner Bros. did not put a figure on the settlement. The case had been settled through arbitration.

"Warner Bros. Television, Chuck Lorre and Charlie Sheen have resolved their dispute to the parties' mutual satisfaction. The pending lawsuit and arbitration will be dismissed as to all parties. The parties have agreed to maintain confidentiality over the terms of the settlement," Warner Bros said in a statement.

Sheen, the highest-paid actor on U.S. television, was fired from "Two and A Half Men" after publicly insulting Lorre in a series of bizarre interviews. His remarks followed a series of trips to rehab that had forced production on the TV comedy to be suspended in early 2011.

Monday's settlement announcement followed months of acrimonious exchanges, tempered by contrite appearances by Sheen on TV talk shows and at The Emmys in the last two weeks.

Sheen was replaced on "Two and A Half Men" by Ashton Kutcher. The new season debuted last week to a record 28.7 million U.S. viewers -- a bigger audience than any episodes in the comedy's first eight seasons with Sheen in the starring role as a womanizing bachelor.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Sheen, studio settle lawsuit over 'Men' firing (AP)

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer Anthony Mccartney, Ap Entertainment Writer – Tue Sep 27, 7:05 am ET

LOS ANGELES – The studio that fired former "Two and a Half Men" star Charlie Sheen said Monday it has struck a deal with the actor to end their legal dispute.

Warner Bros. Television released a statement saying that Sheen's lawsuit against the studio and series executive producer Chuck Lorre has been settled "to the parties' satisfaction." The statement said terms of the settlement are confidential.

Sheen had filed a $100 million lawsuit for wrongful termination against Warner after his firing last March. His attorney, Marty Singer, had said much of that amount was the actor's share of DVD, syndication and other profits that the studio was withholding.

Singer said he could not discuss specifics of the settlement, but he said all parties were satisfied with the resolution.

The Los Angeles Times reported Sheen's settlement would be $25 million, although celebrity website TMZ reported the deal would be worth roughly $100 million over the next several years. Both outlets cited unnamed sources in reports about the settlement amounts.

Sheen was fired at a time when he was the highest-paid actor in television, with a per-episode salary reported to be between $1.2 million and $2 million. His exit cut short the CBS comedy's season.

By then, Sheen had been on a media blitz for weeks, using catchphrases such as "Tiger Blood" and "winning" and describing himself as a warlock.

The case never became the forum for Sheen's grievances that the actor said he was seeking — most of the court proceedings centered on whether the dispute should be heard through private arbitration, as called for in the actor's contract. A judge determined that the case should be moved to arbitration in June and attorneys had been working through that process.

Sheen has distanced himself from his previous outlandish behavior in recent weeks and has acknowledged he was at least partly responsible for his ouster from television's top-rated comedy.

"It was bad," Sheen told Jay Leno, "and I own my part in that, and I just want to make everything right."

Appearing last week at the Emmy Awards as a presenter, he addressed the "Two and a Half Men" cast and crew, saying, "I wish you nothing but the best for this upcoming season."

"Men" returned to the air last week with Ashton Kutcher joining the cast as a new character. He plays an Internet billionaire who decides to buy the house that had been owned by Sheen's now-deceased character.

A phone message for Lorre's attorney Howard Weitzman was not immediately returned.

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Judge: No public trial for Sheen over 'Men' firing (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Charlie Sheen won't get quite the audience he wanted for his $100 million lawsuit over his firing from "Two and a Half Men" — a judge on Wednesday ruled his case should be handled through private arbitration rather than in a public courtroom.

Sheen's contract with Warner Bros. Television has a valid arbitration clause, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman wrote in a 21-page ruling. The decision will dampen publicity about the case, which Sheen filed on March 10 — days after he was fired from his starring role on television's top-rated comedy.

The ruling applies to Sheen's allegations against "Men" executive producer Chuck Lorre, whose contract with Warner Bros. also has an arbitration clause.

Sheen had requested the case be heard in public court, and a judge heard arguments on the issue in April.

But Goodman said in his ruling that Sheen was represented by competent attorneys when he signed his contract requiring any disputes to be handled through private arbitration.

The studio cited Sheen's bizarre behavior in interviews and his criticism of Lorre as reasons for the actor's firing.

Sheen's role has been eliminated from the show and Ashton Kutcher will appear next season.

Sheen's spokesman Larry Solters declined comment in an email. A phone message to Sheen's attorney, Marty Singer, was not immediately returned.

"We're very gratified by the court's ruling enforcing the parties' arbitration agreement," Warner Bros. said in a statement.

Lorre's attorney, Howard Weitzman, also welcomed the ruling.

"This matter will now proceed in an orderly fashion as the parties agreed to," Weitzman wrote in an email.

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