Woody Allen wins $95,000 from former producer
Last Updated: Sunday, August 13, 2006 | 4:12 PM ET
CBC Arts
Woody Allen has been awarded $95,000 US in legal fees in a dispute with his former producer and friend, Jean Doumanian.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bernard J. Fried ordered Doumanian, once the director/actor's producing partner and a friend of 30 years, to pay out the money.
The two have been legally entangled since 2001 but reportedly remain good friends.
Woody Allen, in this 2002 file photo, has been in and out of court with his former producer partner and friend of 30 years, Jean Doumanian.
(Associated Press)
In the most recent round, Allen went to court earlier this year because he objected to edits Doumanian had made to six of his films: Bullets over Broadway, Mighty Aphrodite, Everyone Says I Love You, Deconstructing Harry, Celebrity and Sweet and Lowdown.
In Friday's decision, Fried actually sided with Doumanian, ruling she was within her rights to replace several swear words in versions edited for television and airplane instead of simply bleeping them out, as Allen would have preferred.
But Fried found Doumanian's company, Sweetland Films, didn't pay the proper residuals in Allen's name to the Screen Actors Guild, the Writers Guild of America and the Director's Guild of America. The judge also held Sweetland in contempt for failing to adhere to an earlier order stipulating the payments.
Teamed up on eight movies
In 2001, Allen sued Doumanian and Sweetland for $14 million US, claiming she had cheated his Moses Productions out of gross profits from eight movies the two had teamed up on dating back to 1993.
In 2002, following a nine-day trial, they settled for a reported $7 million US before the jury could reach a verdict.
The 70-year-old auteur is still making movies. His latest, Scoop, starring Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johannson, opened July 28.
Allen won a best director Oscar for 1977's Annie Hall and a screenwriting Oscar for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986).
