Sheen spoofs himself in a new online video

NEW YORK — Actor Charlie Sheen is spoofing an infamous TV appearance in a new online video.

Uploaded to YouTube over the weekend, the seven-minute parody intercuts his newly taped responses with questions posed by ABC News correspondent Andrea Canning in the widely viewed interview that aired last month.

As Canning is seen repeatedly asking Sheen if he's on drugs and when he last used them, the former "Two and a Half Men" star makes fun of his various catch phrases, his many slogan-embossed T-shirts and his nicotine habit. At one point, he poses with cigarettes jamming his nostrils and both ears.

The wacky video had been viewed more than 140,000 times by Monday afternoon. (Warning: Video clip contains adult language.)

Sheen began a multi-city concert tour Saturday. He'll appear in Cleveland on Tuesday.

Story: Chicago cheers Sheen after Detroit failure

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Duh, winning? Sheen gets cold reception in Detroit

DETROIT — Charlie Sheen and his "goddesses" took the stage to thunderous applause Saturday night for the first leg of his "Torpedo of Truth" tour. The 70-minute show hadn't even ended when the first reviews were in, and they were brutal.

The former "Two and a Half Men" star showed that comedic success on the screen doesn't necessarily translate to the stage, and the capacity crowd at the 5,100-seat Fox Theatre rebelled before he left the stage, chanting "refund!" and walking out in droves.

Linda Fugate, 47, of the Detroit suburb of Lincoln Park, walked outside and up the block yelling, "I want my money back!"

She said she paid $150 for two seats.

"I was hoping for something. I didn't think it would be this bad."

Fans who gathered outside the theater before the doors opened Saturday — some who had to fly in for the show — said they were hoping to see the increasingly eccentric actor deliver some of the colorful rants that have made him an Internet star since his ugly falling out with CBS and the producers of "Two and a Half Men."

They got the ranting. It just wasn't funny.

"I expected him to at least entertainment a little bit. It was just a bunch of ranting," said Rodney Gagnon, 34, of Windsor, Ontario.

Video: Sheen’s road tour gets off to rocky start (on this page)

Promising to give fans "the real story," the 45-year-old Sheen kicked off a month-long, 20-city tour Saturday night, with the second show scheduled for Sunday in Chicago.

The show started well for Sheen, as the crowd stood and cheered as he and the women he calls his "goddesses" took the stage. The women, one a former porn star and the other an actress, carried signs with the words "War" and "Lock," references to one of the catchphrases Sheen recently coined.

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"I don't see a single empty seat," he said.

After one audience member booed, Sheen sanguinely replied, "I've already got your money, dude."

He tried on a bowling shirt like one his TV character Charlie Harper would wear, then took it off and had his goddesses burn it. He then donned a Detroit Tigers No. 99 jersey, a reference to his role in the film "Major League."

He told everyone he wanted them to enjoy "a night of winning." Winning, in fact, was one of many of Sheen's catchphrases to be displayed in a video montage. Others: "Violent hatred" and "Adonis DNA."

USA Today was live-tweeting the event, producing a string of messages that portrayed a crowd that was increasingly restless and angry.

The twitter feed from USATODAYLifelineLive had Sheen sitting on someone’s lap in the audience, playing catch with someone on stage.

In one five-minute segment the twitterer offered these entries:

“Sheen: ‘I’m having a great time!’”

“Charlie Sheen is sitting on stage tweeting. Guy behind me just yelled, ‘I want my money back!’"

“Sheen: ‘Tell the guy next to you booing to shut the — up so the rest of us can enjoy the show.’”

“Sheen has lost control of the crowd. He left the stage and ordered some music. Rapper onstage now.”

But apparently it wasn't Snoop Dogg, whom Sheen said would perform at the show. Instead, the show ended with a video for a new Snoop Dogg song before the lights went on.

Sheen's publicist Larry Solters declined to comment after the show, but Sheen reappeared after the house lights went up to thank those who remained.

Toronto-area resident Ronnie Prentice was among several fans outside the theater who said they were hoping to see Sheen rant.

"It's kind of like a NASCAR race. You're just tuning in because you're just waiting for the accident to happen," said Ronnie Prentice, 37.

Adam Hawke said he bought a ticket for the same reason.

"He might be doing something really crazy," said Hawke, 47, who works in the construction business and lives in Michigan. "He's a wreck. That's half the draw."

Geoff Rezek, 69, flew in from New York to see what he believed was going to be "history in the making."

"I wouldn't miss the first show. Who knows if there's going to be a second show?" said Rezek, a computer consultant from Connecticut, who said he also bought a ticket for Sheen's show next week in his home state.

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Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police as for his acting. His father, actor Martin Sheen, has compared his son's fight against addiction to that of a cancer patient's fight for survival.

In August, Sheen pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colo., to misdemeanor third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple recently finalized their divorce.

The wayward star's behavior, which included lashing out at the show's producer, Chuck Lorre, finally became too much for Warner Bros. Television, which booted him from "Two and a Half Men" on March 7.

Sheen fired back with a $100 million lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a "rock star from Mars" and a "warlock" with "Adonis DNA" who lives with two "goddesses" — both of whom he said would be at the Detroit show.

His unique banter and catchphrases — think "winning" — have spread over the Internet and onto T-shirts, more than a few of which are expected to be sold on the tour, which wraps up May 3 in Seattle after stops in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, New York, San Francisco and others. Sheen has said the Detroit show, where tickets cost $45 to $80, sold out.

"I am bringing 'My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option' show out to you in the battlefield," Sheen said in a video announcing the tour. "If you're winning, I'll see you there. Trolls need not apply. ... Buy your ticket. Take the ride. And the ride will take you."

Msnbc.com staff contributed to this report from The Associated Press.

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Chicago cheers Sheen after Detroit failure

CHICAGO — After being heckled and booed in Detroit, Charlie Sheen made some changes to his road show Sunday night — and this time, it ended with a standing ovation.

Sheen used a talk show-style format at his Chicago show, with a master of ceremonies asking the actor questions. The interviewer, who didn't identify himself, kept Sheen on track and gave the actor a chance to make some snarky comments.

Video: Sheen’s road tour gets off to rocky start (on this page)

Some audience members said the second performance on Sheen's "My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option" tour wasn't outstanding, but at least it had amusing moments. And Sheen drew cheers throughout the show, which began and ended with a standing ovation.

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Mackenzie Barth, 19, said it was a "weird" show. "At least no one was booing," she added.

During the show at the historic 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre, Sheen smoked cigarettes and answered questions about his marriages, his career and his life with the women he calls his "goddesses."

"They have not disallowed me everything that makes me happy. Period. The end," Sheen said of the former porn star and an actress who live with him.

Sheen also had some snappy comebacks for the emcee.

Story: Duh, winning? Sheen gets cold reception in Detroit

Asked how many times he had been married, Sheen retorted, "Seven-thousand. That's why I'm broke."

Asked why he's "paid for sex" in the past, Sheen responded, "Because I had millions to blow. I ran out of things to buy."

Sheen also seemed to have a better rapport with the Chicago crowd. As the show began, some in the crowd began chanting "Detroit sucks." When one audience member asked Sheen to take off his shirt, he swapped his T-shirt for a collared shirt thrown at him by a larger man in the audience. He proceeded to wear the too big shirt for the rest of the show and referred throughout the show to the man who had given it to him.

Early on, Sheen urged the audience in an obscenity-laced statement "not to become (expletive) Detroit tonight. Let's show Detroit how it's (expletive) done." Later when Sheen was asked by the interviewer when he had started "winning," Sheen responded, "The winning started in (expletive) Chicago."

Ellen Olson, who was wearing a black T-shirt with Sheen's catchphrase "Winning!" in white across the front, said she enjoyed the performance.

"I think he interacted with the audience a lot, which made it more funny," said Olson, 55, of Elmwood Park.

Before the show, audience members said they had low expectations based on what they heard and read about the inaugural performance.

"We figured we'd try it out and see what happens, and if it's bad, we'll leave," said Katie Iglehart, 23, of Chicago, who was attending the show with a friend.

Like the Chicago show, Sheen's Detroit performance began with thunderous applause. But it soon disintegrated before ending 70 minutes later. In between, Sheen tried to appease his audience with rants, a rapper and a question and answer session, ultimately concluding the first show was "an experiment."

Sheen, 45, reappeared after the house lights went up to thank the hundreds who remained.

It wasn't clear when the former "Two and a Half Men" star lost the audience, but there were many awkward moments.

Sheen, known for his wild partying and rampant drug use, said he thought Detroit would be a good place to tell some stories about crack cocaine. The remark prompted loud, immediate boos.

At another point, Sheen showed a short film he wrote, directed and produced years ago called "RPG." He sat in the front row to watch the flick, which starred a much younger Johnny Depp. Again, more boos.

Sheen didn't show the film Sunday night.

Sheen has made headlines in recent years as much for his drug use, failed marriages, custody disputes and run-ins with the police, as for his acting. Martin Sheen has compared his son's struggle with addiction to a cancer patient's struggle for survival.

In August, the wayward star pleaded guilty in Aspen, Colo., to misdemeanor third-degree assault after a Christmas Day altercation with his third wife, Brooke Mueller. The couple have since finalized their divorce.

Sheen's behavior, which included lashing out at "Two and a Half Men" producer Chuck Lorre, finally became too much for Warner Bros. Television, which fired him March 7.

Sheen fired back with a $100 million lawsuit and all-out media assault in which he informed the world about his standing as a "rock star from Mars" with "Adonis DNA."

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Charlie Sheen spoofs himself in a new online video (AP)

NEW YORK – Charlie Sheen is spoofing his famous "20/20" appearance in a new online video. Uploaded to YouTube over the weekend, the seven-minute parody intercuts his newly taped responses with questions posed by ABC News correspondent Andrea Canning in the widely viewed interview that aired last month.

As Canning is seen repeatedly asking Sheen if he's on drugs and when he last used them, the former "Two and a Half Men" star makes fun of his various catch phrases, his many slogan-embossed T-shirts and his nicotine habit. At one point, he poses with cigarettes jamming his nostrils and both ears.

The wacky video had been viewed more than 140,000 times by Monday afternoon.

Sheen began a multi-city concert tour Saturday. He'll appear in Cleveland on Tuesday.

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No script. All riff. Sheen tour details trickle out (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Charlie Sheen plans to "riff like an artist" from memory rather than use a script on his 21-date "Torpedo of Truth" tour next month, delivering a mostly spoken word performance of about 80 minutes, according to one of the show's producers.

Joey Scoleri told E! News in an interview on Friday that audiences would also get to ask questions of the fired "Two and a Half Men" actor, and he promised a "wild ride of highs and lows and dark and light and laughter and being surprised."

Few details have so far been released of the tour, which sold out quickly in several U.S. cities after the massive publicity enjoyed by Sheen's bizarre rants and his exit from the most-watched comedy on television.

The description on the Ticketmaster website for "Charlie Sheen's Violent Torpedo of Truth Defeat Is Not an Option" show reads merely; ""Will there be surprises? Will there be guests? Will there be mayhem? Will you laugh? Will you scream? Will you know the truth? WILL THERE BE MORE?!?! This IS where you will hear the REAL story from the Warlock. Bring it. I dare you to keep up with me."

Scoleri told E! News that Sheen was not using any writers.

"It's all Charlie. I don't think it's a script, as much as he is going to riff like an artist...He will probably do most of it from memory, he's that talented."

"There will be some multimedia, but largely just him and a microphone and he's going to talk, and having heard some of the stuff he is going to say, people are going to be pleasantly surprised. There will be some things that are shocking and provoking, but you're going to laugh," he added.

Sheen, who has been in and out of drug and alcohol rehab in the past year, was the highest paid actor on U.S. television before he was fired on March 7 because of what executives called his "dangerously self-destructive conduct".

Sheen fired back with a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television and the show's producer Chuck Lorre claiming he was wrongfully terminated.

Scoleri said Sheen could make "several hundred thousand" dollars from each of his live shows but declined to give precise figures.

Celebrity website TMZ on Friday estimated he could rake in $7 million from ticket sales, merchandising and after-parties -- the equivalent of his salary for about four episodes for playing a skirt-chasing bachelor on "Two and A Half Men."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Charlie Sheen merchandise clampdown has begun (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Now that Charlie Sheen is going on tour and selling merchandise bearing his famous slogans, his reps are clamping down on vendors selling goods that trade off the much-followed Sheen saga.

FEA Merchandising, a subsidiary of Live Nation, has been busy in the past 48 hours, sending takedown notices and cease-and-desist letters in an attempt to own the exclusive market on Charlie Sheen merchandise. In the process, the company has stepped on the toes of a woman's rights group protesting the Sheen saga with a charitable endeavor.

As we reported Thursday, a number of companies and individuals have already beaten Sheen to the trademark office, registering such catch-phrases as "winning," "tiger blood," and "Adonis DNA." Without a firm trademark stake over these marks, FEA has been exploiting a different protection maneuver -- claiming that products that bear Sheen's words violate his publicity rights.

For example, Kate Durkin says she was horrified by the reception that Charlie Sheen has been receiving in the media and among people on Twitter. So she, along with several others, set up an organization called Unfollow Charlie, intending to sell the t-shirt design bearing that slogan and donating the proceeds to the charity RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network).

After setting up shop at Zazzle.com, an online retailer that allows users to upload images and create their own merchandise, Durkin was notified that the design would be taken down as the result of infringement. She got an e-mail that stated:

"Unfortunately, your product was removed because it featured a design that does not meet Zazzle Acceptable Content Guidelines. Specifically, your product contained content that violates Charlie Sheen's rights of celebrity/publicity. Charlie Sheen's name and likeness are protected by rights of celebrity/publicity and may not be used on Zazzle products without permission."

Durkin followed up, questioning whether her product was removed because her group was critical of Sheen's following.

FEA doesn't seem overly concerned with Sheen's image, however, as much as attempting to lock down the market.

Another Zazzle retailer who was attempting to sell a t-shirt with "#winning" emblazoned on the front reports also being subject to a takedown notice over Sheen's publicity rights.

The use of publicity rights to protect slogans is extremely rare but not unprecedented. Nearly thirty years ago, for instance, Johnny Carson sued a toilet manufacturer who attempted to sell portable toilets bearing the phrase, "Here's Johnny," supposedly inspired by the late night talk show host's introduction each night on his program. Carson was successful in the lawsuit.

More recently, in a lawsuit that involved publicity rights in merchandise, FEA and Live Nation sued Rolling Stone magazine for slapping its famous cover images of musicians on t-shirts, tote bags and other items. The publication asserted in a summary judgment motion that it had a First Amendment right to the merchandise, which a judge declined to grant without seeing more evidence. Before the case got to trial, however, the dispute was settled.

The big issue in FEA's claims is whether it is overstepping its authority. Is a term like "Unfollow Charlie" evocative of Sheen's "personality" to the extent a judge would see it as unfair commercial exploitation of the actor? Does a charity organization attempting to express a viewpoint deserve free speech protections?

FEA hasn't responded yet to our inquiries.

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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Sheen hits setback in lawsuit with Warner Bros.

LOS ANGELES — Charlie Sheen has been dealt a procedural blow in his lawsuit against Warner Bros. Television and "Two and a Half Men" co-creator Chuck Lorre over his firing from TV's No. 1 comedy show.

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Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the private dispute-resolution company JAMS on Tuesday sided with WBTV and Lorre in deciding that its own arbitrator has jurisdiction over the dispute.

The move means the confidential arbitration will go forward despite Sheen's request that the fracas be litigated publicly via the $100 million lawsuit he filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

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The decision, communicated in a letter from a JAMS lawyer to all the parties, makes it much more likely that Sheen's high-stakes legal war with Warners and Lorre will be resolved in private — and not in a public trial, as Sheen has said he is entitled to under the law.

More from THR: Singer's letter to JAMS (pdf)

The moves are the latest legal maneuvers stemming from Sheen's abrupt dismissal from TV's most-watched comedy.

Sheen's lawyer Marty Singer on Wednesday criticized the decision, and his partner William Briggs fired off a response letter to JAMS challenging the ruling.

Singer told The Hollywood Reporter that the dispute-resolution company should let a court decide the matter.

"JAMS is wrong," Singer said. "This case involves many different parties and different issues, and it should not be subject to an arbitration agreement between Charlie Sheen and Warner Bros."

Singer's letter, a copy of which was obtained by THR, also threatens to ask a judge to stop JAMS from going forward with the arbitration.

"In the unfortunate event that JAMS decides to proceed with the arbitration process, JAMS will force my client to seek judicial relief, which may include enjoining JAMS from proceeding with this matter," the letter states.

More from THR: Sheen's lawyer explains why star's suing

Warner Bros. asked JAMS to initiate an arbitration on March 4 in response to threats by Sheen and Singer that the actor would sue over his termination. Sheen's contract with the studio includes a broad arbitration clause providing that disagreements be resolved by a JAMS arbitrator, but Sheen has no contract with Lorre, his Chuck Lorre Prods. or CBS, which airs "Two and A Half Men."

Singer last week filed a bombshell $100 million lawsuit on behalf of Sheen and the "Men" cast and crew alleging a conspiracy among Warners and Lorre to shut down the series.

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Lorre asked JAMS to consolidate Sheen's disputes with Warners and Lorre into one private arbitration.

Now has JAMS decided — over Singer's objections — that it has the authority to settle both the Sheen vs. Lorre and Sheen vs. Warners battles.

More from THR: Lorre lawyer responds to Sheen lawsuit

If Singer can't stop the whole mess from going to private arbitration, Sheen would lose a significant piece of leverage in the case. Juries tend to side with high-profile celebrities and the prospect of Sheen getting a public venue in which to expose Warner Bros.' private financial information and attack the studio and producer, might have prompted Warners to settle.

Singer, for his part, is still confident.

"Whether we go to arbitration or court, we still feel we will prevail because the facts and law are 100 percent in our favor," Singer said. "I can understand why Chuck Lorre wants to keep this in a secret tribunal. When the facts come out they will show that he and Warner Bros. had absolutely no basis to terminate my client."

Copyright 2011 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

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Could Sheen really kick addiction with his mind?

Whether or not you're watching Charlie Sheen go from TV actor to celebrity train wreck, the "Two and a Half Men" star has stirred a pot when it comes to his criticism of the addiction treatment industry.

Sheen's televised rantings against Alcoholics Anonymous, his statements that he possesses "tiger's blood" and has cured himself of drugs and booze through "his mind" have raised eyebrows among professionals who treat people with addictions.

The question remains: can you quit smoking, drugs or alcohol by willpower alone? Experts say it's possible, but add that many who do usually relapse or weren't technically addicted in the first place.

"Lots of people can quit on their own for a short time, but there's always the risk they may return to use and that happens frequently," said Ryan Vandrey, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

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"How do you define recovery?" Vandrey said. "I'm sure (Sheen) has gone several weeks or months without getting high or getting drunk, then he goes again. At what point do you define him as cured? Many people say it's an ongoing disorder."

For those who haven't been following the tabloids, Sheen has had a public history of stays in various rehab centers beginning in the 1990s. He has also been arrested in several publicized domestic violence episodes and accidentally shot an ex-girlfriend.

But it's the past few days when things started getting weird. CBS shut down production of the top-rated show "Two and a Half Men" after Sheen's verbal attacks against the show's producer. Sheen said he left rehab to cure himself at home along with two girlfriends he calls "The Goddesses." And this week, a Los Angeles judge issued an order removing his two-year-old twins from his home after allegations of violence by his soon-to-be ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, who also has had a public history of drug use.

Despite Sheen's history (and perhaps because of it), some psychologists say that rehab centers that offer an intense 30-day stay aren't the answer for all patients.

"This is one of the big myths that the treatment industry perpetuates on the public," said A. Thomas Horvath, a psychologist and president of Practical Recovery, a San Diego treatment center. "The majority of the public do so on their own. Rehab in itself is no panacea or (Sheen) wouldn't have to go so many times."

Horvath says his program tries to change people's behavior without using a 12-step program, the model used for decades by Alcoholics Anonymous.

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"The most common way out of addiction is natural recovery, which occurs using informal resources, and not treatment or a recovery support group," Horvath said. "The treatment industry downplays this fact or denies it, probably because it is not good for business."

Horvath says his approach uses standard psychological techniques to change behavior. He and others interviewed by Discovery News agreed that most people suffering from drug or alcohol dependency have multiple problems, which may include various forms of mental illness or psychological conditions, such as bipolar disorder or manic depression. 

That makes identifying the causes or behavior -- and getting people to quit -- even harder, according to Michael Fingerhood, director of the Center for Chemical Dependence at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Fingerhood said he has had patients relapse after 15 years of staying sober and their tolerance for high levels of drugs or alcohol returns as if they had never stopped. He noted that different drugs affect the brain in different ways. Smokers who use a nicotine patch have about a 25 percent success rate, while those who stop without anything have a 5 to 10 percent rate, Fingerhood said.

When it comes to alcohol, Fingerhood said about 5 percent of people who say they can do it on their own actually succeed.

"It takes months of abstinence to be able to think clearly," Fingehood said. "Your neurons aren't connected for a while after drinking heavily."

Drugs like cocaine and heroin have a success rate somewhere in between smoking and alcohol, he said. With his patients, Fingerhood says he looks for small improvements rather than absolute cures.

"You hope that as people go along, the amount they relapse gets shorter," he said. "Some will go a month of being sober, then they drink for five or six days. Then maybe they'll stay sober for several months or a year. "

© 2011 Discovery Channel

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Sheen: My mom is Jewish, so I'm Jewish

The Charlie Sheen saga continued on Friday with a new interview with Access Hollywood Live.

After a whirlwind week filled with more media rants, the removal of his twin boys from his home on Tuesday and a temporary restraining order from estranged wife Brooke Mueller (also Tuesday), Sheen called in to Access Hollywood Live on Friday morning to put accusations of anti-Semitism to rest as he revealed that he himself is Jewish, and to dish on his plans to travel to Haiti with his pal Sean Penn.

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“My mom is Jewish. Here’s where it gets confusing — we don’t know who her father was,” Charlie told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover during the phone interview on Friday’s show. “But she is, in fact, Jewish. So, I guess that would make me Jewish, and my children Jewish. And Brooke [Mueller], my ex-wife is Jewish. So, I guess I should’ve rolled all that out too.”

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“You’re getting accused of anti-Semitic remarks — you might want to say, ‘By the way, I’m Jewish!’” Bush told Sheen.

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“I know, I know — stupid me,” Sheen replied. “I just got caught sleeping. Caught napping. Which is rare for me. Anywho... But, I’m proud of it. There you have it.”

The “Two and a Half Men” star also confirmed that he plans to travel to Haiti next week with friend and fellow actor Sean Penn.

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“We’re going to do a couple things first and then it looks like we’re heading down [to Haiti],” Sheen told Bush and Hoover of his plans to visit the earthquake-ravaged nation with the Oscar winning actor. “And I’m excited as hell because, you know, if I can bring the attention of the world down there, then clearly this tsunami keeps cresting.”

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Penn founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization immediately following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti and frequently visits the struggling country to continue his charity work. The former “Milk” star recently weighed in regarding the Sheen saga in an interview for the April issue of GQ, offering his support for the embattled actor.

“When you divorce the moral judgments, which I prefer to do, I see a guy who has a clearer view of the nature of the world around him than is sometimes comfortable to have,” Penn reportedly told the mag of Sheen’s recent behavior. “Those are the sort of people who have a tendency to find altered states.

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“But [Charlie] is a very ironic character,” Penn continued. “He’s got pretension in the crosshairs of his wit. I think to a large degree he’s saying, ‘Guys, we’re only going to be here once, so lighten the f--- up.’”

A source revealed the Haiti trip news to Access on Thursday evening — a claim Penn’s rep denied at the time. The rep was not immediately available for comment on Sheen’s new travel announcement when contacted by Access Hollywood on Friday.

William Shatner says Sheen isn't crazy

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Could Sheen really kick addiction with his mind?

Whether or not you're watching Charlie Sheen go from TV actor to celebrity train wreck, the "Two and a Half Men" star has stirred a pot when it comes to his criticism of the addiction treatment industry.

Sheen's televised rantings against Alcoholics Anonymous, his statements that he possesses "tiger's blood" and has cured himself of drugs and booze through "his mind" have raised eyebrows among professionals who treat people with addictions.

The question remains: can you quit smoking, drugs or alcohol by willpower alone? Experts say it's possible, but add that many who do usually relapse or weren't technically addicted in the first place.

"Lots of people can quit on their own for a short time, but there's always the risk they may return to use and that happens frequently," said Ryan Vandrey, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Mmm, cinnamon. A whiff can boost your mood Healthy to-do of the day! Women who sniffed a whiff of cinnamon reported positive feelings days later, a study shows.

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"How do you define recovery?" Vandrey said. "I'm sure (Sheen) has gone several weeks or months without getting high or getting drunk, then he goes again. At what point do you define him as cured? Many people say it's an ongoing disorder."

For those who haven't been following the tabloids, Sheen has had a public history of stays in various rehab centers beginning in the 1990s. He has also been arrested in several publicized domestic violence episodes and accidentally shot an ex-girlfriend.

But it's the past few days when things started getting weird. CBS shut down production of the top-rated show "Two and a Half Men" after Sheen's verbal attacks against the show's producer. Sheen said he left rehab to cure himself at home along with two girlfriends he calls "The Goddesses." And this week, a Los Angeles judge issued an order removing his two-year-old twins from his home after allegations of violence by his soon-to-be ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, who also has had a public history of drug use.

Despite Sheen's history (and perhaps because of it), some psychologists say that rehab centers that offer an intense 30-day stay aren't the answer for all patients.

"This is one of the big myths that the treatment industry perpetuates on the public," said A. Thomas Horvath, a psychologist and president of Practical Recovery, a San Diego treatment center. "The majority of the public do so on their own. Rehab in itself is no panacea or (Sheen) wouldn't have to go so many times."

Horvath says his program tries to change people's behavior without using a 12-step program, the model used for decades by Alcoholics Anonymous.

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"The most common way out of addiction is natural recovery, which occurs using informal resources, and not treatment or a recovery support group," Horvath said. "The treatment industry downplays this fact or denies it, probably because it is not good for business."

Horvath says his approach uses standard psychological techniques to change behavior. He and others interviewed by Discovery News agreed that most people suffering from drug or alcohol dependency have multiple problems, which may include various forms of mental illness or psychological conditions, such as bipolar disorder or manic depression. 

That makes identifying the causes or behavior -- and getting people to quit -- even harder, according to Michael Fingerhood, director of the Center for Chemical Dependence at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Fingerhood said he has had patients relapse after 15 years of staying sober and their tolerance for high levels of drugs or alcohol returns as if they had never stopped. He noted that different drugs affect the brain in different ways. Smokers who use a nicotine patch have about a 25 percent success rate, while those who stop without anything have a 5 to 10 percent rate, Fingerhood said.

When it comes to alcohol, Fingerhood said about 5 percent of people who say they can do it on their own actually succeed.

"It takes months of abstinence to be able to think clearly," Fingehood said. "Your neurons aren't connected for a while after drinking heavily."

Drugs like cocaine and heroin have a success rate somewhere in between smoking and alcohol, he said. With his patients, Fingerhood says he looks for small improvements rather than absolute cures.

"You hope that as people go along, the amount they relapse gets shorter," he said. "Some will go a month of being sober, then they drink for five or six days. Then maybe they'll stay sober for several months or a year. "

© 2011 Discovery Channel

View the original article here

Sheen ubiquity brings avalanche of punch lines

>>> oh, yes, is it time? t. is time, prerecorded mika.

>> and the only reason we can get away with what we're about to do is because she's not sitting here. she would have vetoed this. there are more important events but we have charlie sheen .

>> this week, charlie sheen stopped pretending he's not from mars.

>> defeat is not an option. they picked a fight with a warlock. epic behavior. psychological distress, oh, my god.

>> fools, trolls. i've been riding it on a mercury surfboard. i'm an a drug, it's called charlie sheen .

>> are you clean right now?

>> look at me, duh.

>> sheen showed he's taken to heart president obama 's message of winning the future .

>> first step in winning the future --

>> duh, winning.

>> maybe he's a disciple of the great vince lombardi .

>> they all know winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.

>> duh, winning.

>> sheen brought his winning message to more than a million followers on twitter. while back on tv, america tried to follow along as he explained his feet with cbs.

>> now you have your cleanup hitter and it's late august and i'm sitting on 64 bombs at 4:20, 107 driven in and we're not in the playoffs yet.

>> with his tv career on the rocks, sheen reminded the country of his rather imbresive imdb page.

>> i won best picture at 20. i wasn't even trying.

>> a week after questioning the manhood of one of the founding fathers .

>> i'm not thomas jefferson . he was a [ bleep ].

>> sheen cited the wisdom of another great american thinker .

>> i missed practice, talking about practice, to quote the great allen iverson . practice.

>> we're talking about practice, man. what are we talking about? practice?

>> charlie declared himself ready to get back to work, announcing that he had healed himself of his problems with drugs and alcohol.

>> i close my eyes and made it so with the power of my mined.

>> what kind of a mind could cure addiction? the 10,000-year-old kind.

>> i have a 10-year-old-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old. that's how i describe myself.

>> wait, what?

>> i have a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old.

>> sheen swears he's high on sheen and only sheen .

>> drug tests don't lie. the scoreboard doesn't lie.

>> charlie walks the path of recovery with his live-in godesses, both of them only slightly older than the 7-year-old boogers.

>> i don't care where the bus is going. that's how we live. you know what i mean .

>> for charlie sheen this week, no apologies, just nonstop wing.

>> that's fine. that's how i roll. bye-bye. there's the frickin' door.

>> speaking of winning, the author of the book "winning," jack welch on " morning joe ." [

>>>

View the original article here

Could Sheen really kick addiction with his mind?

Whether or not you're watching Charlie Sheen go from TV actor to celebrity train wreck, the "Two and a Half Men" star has stirred a pot when it comes to his criticism of the addiction treatment industry.

Sheen's televised rantings against Alcoholics Anonymous, his statements that he possesses "tiger's blood" and has cured himself of drugs and booze through "his mind" have raised eyebrows among professionals who treat people with addictions.

The question remains: can you quit smoking, drugs or alcohol by willpower alone? Experts say it's possible, but add that many who do usually relapse or weren't technically addicted in the first place.

"Lots of people can quit on their own for a short time, but there's always the risk they may return to use and that happens frequently," said Ryan Vandrey, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Mmm, cinnamon. A whiff can boost your mood Healthy to-do of the day! Women who sniffed a whiff of cinnamon reported positive feelings days later, a study shows.

E. coli found on 50 percent of shopping carts Sniff test: Living without a sense of smell Botox for your bits? Shot may smooth over sex problems FDA defends actions on tainted wipes

"How do you define recovery?" Vandrey said. "I'm sure (Sheen) has gone several weeks or months without getting high or getting drunk, then he goes again. At what point do you define him as cured? Many people say it's an ongoing disorder."

For those who haven't been following the tabloids, Sheen has had a public history of stays in various rehab centers beginning in the 1990s. He has also been arrested in several publicized domestic violence episodes and accidentally shot an ex-girlfriend.

But it's the past few days when things started getting weird. CBS shut down production of the top-rated show "Two and a Half Men" after Sheen's verbal attacks against the show's producer. Sheen said he left rehab to cure himself at home along with two girlfriends he calls "The Goddesses." And this week, a Los Angeles judge issued an order removing his two-year-old twins from his home after allegations of violence by his soon-to-be ex-wife, Brooke Mueller, who also has had a public history of drug use.

Despite Sheen's history (and perhaps because of it), some psychologists say that rehab centers that offer an intense 30-day stay aren't the answer for all patients.

"This is one of the big myths that the treatment industry perpetuates on the public," said A. Thomas Horvath, a psychologist and president of Practical Recovery, a San Diego treatment center. "The majority of the public do so on their own. Rehab in itself is no panacea or (Sheen) wouldn't have to go so many times."

Horvath says his program tries to change people's behavior without using a 12-step program, the model used for decades by Alcoholics Anonymous.

Beat Deafness: A Man Lost in Musical Time Mazda Issues Recall Over Spider in Fuel Tank Designing Protest-Friendly Cities Enzyme Brings Back Old Memories

"The most common way out of addiction is natural recovery, which occurs using informal resources, and not treatment or a recovery support group," Horvath said. "The treatment industry downplays this fact or denies it, probably because it is not good for business."

Horvath says his approach uses standard psychological techniques to change behavior. He and others interviewed by Discovery News agreed that most people suffering from drug or alcohol dependency have multiple problems, which may include various forms of mental illness or psychological conditions, such as bipolar disorder or manic depression. 

That makes identifying the causes or behavior -- and getting people to quit -- even harder, according to Michael Fingerhood, director of the Center for Chemical Dependence at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

Fingerhood said he has had patients relapse after 15 years of staying sober and their tolerance for high levels of drugs or alcohol returns as if they had never stopped. He noted that different drugs affect the brain in different ways. Smokers who use a nicotine patch have about a 25 percent success rate, while those who stop without anything have a 5 to 10 percent rate, Fingerhood said.

When it comes to alcohol, Fingerhood said about 5 percent of people who say they can do it on their own actually succeed.

"It takes months of abstinence to be able to think clearly," Fingehood said. "Your neurons aren't connected for a while after drinking heavily."

Drugs like cocaine and heroin have a success rate somewhere in between smoking and alcohol, he said. With his patients, Fingerhood says he looks for small improvements rather than absolute cures.

"You hope that as people go along, the amount they relapse gets shorter," he said. "Some will go a month of being sober, then they drink for five or six days. Then maybe they'll stay sober for several months or a year. "

© 2011 Discovery Channel

View the original article here

Sheen ubiquity brings avalanche of punch lines

>>> oh, yes, is it time? t. is time, prerecorded mika.

>> and the only reason we can get away with what we're about to do is because she's not sitting here. she would have vetoed this. there are more important events but we have charlie sheen .

>> this week, charlie sheen stopped pretending he's not from mars.

>> defeat is not an option. they picked a fight with a warlock. epic behavior. psychological distress, oh, my god.

>> fools, trolls. i've been riding it on a mercury surfboard. i'm an a drug, it's called charlie sheen .

>> are you clean right now?

>> look at me, duh.

>> sheen showed he's taken to heart president obama 's message of winning the future .

>> first step in winning the future --

>> duh, winning.

>> maybe he's a disciple of the great vince lombardi .

>> they all know winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.

>> duh, winning.

>> sheen brought his winning message to more than a million followers on twitter. while back on tv, america tried to follow along as he explained his feet with cbs.

>> now you have your cleanup hitter and it's late august and i'm sitting on 64 bombs at 4:20, 107 driven in and we're not in the playoffs yet.

>> with his tv career on the rocks, sheen reminded the country of his rather imbresive imdb page.

>> i won best picture at 20. i wasn't even trying.

>> a week after questioning the manhood of one of the founding fathers .

>> i'm not thomas jefferson . he was a [ bleep ].

>> sheen cited the wisdom of another great american thinker .

>> i missed practice, talking about practice, to quote the great allen iverson . practice.

>> we're talking about practice, man. what are we talking about? practice?

>> charlie declared himself ready to get back to work, announcing that he had healed himself of his problems with drugs and alcohol.

>> i close my eyes and made it so with the power of my mined.

>> what kind of a mind could cure addiction? the 10,000-year-old kind.

>> i have a 10-year-old-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old. that's how i describe myself.

>> wait, what?

>> i have a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old.

>> sheen swears he's high on sheen and only sheen .

>> drug tests don't lie. the scoreboard doesn't lie.

>> charlie walks the path of recovery with his live-in godesses, both of them only slightly older than the 7-year-old boogers.

>> i don't care where the bus is going. that's how we live. you know what i mean .

>> for charlie sheen this week, no apologies, just nonstop wing.

>> that's fine. that's how i roll. bye-bye. there's the frickin' door.

>> speaking of winning, the author of the book "winning," jack welch on " morning joe ." [

>>>

View the original article here

Sheen ubiquity brings avalanche of punch lines

>>> oh, yes, is it time? t. is time, prerecorded mika.

>> and the only reason we can get away with what we're about to do is because she's not sitting here. she would have vetoed this. there are more important events but we have charlie sheen .

>> this week, charlie sheen stopped pretending he's not from mars.

>> defeat is not an option. they picked a fight with a warlock. epic behavior. psychological distress, oh, my god.

>> fools, trolls. i've been riding it on a mercury surfboard. i'm an a drug, it's called charlie sheen .

>> are you clean right now?

>> look at me, duh.

>> sheen showed he's taken to heart president obama 's message of winning the future .

>> first step in winning the future --

>> duh, winning.

>> maybe he's a disciple of the great vince lombardi .

>> they all know winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.

>> duh, winning.

>> sheen brought his winning message to more than a million followers on twitter. while back on tv, america tried to follow along as he explained his feet with cbs.

>> now you have your cleanup hitter and it's late august and i'm sitting on 64 bombs at 4:20, 107 driven in and we're not in the playoffs yet.

>> with his tv career on the rocks, sheen reminded the country of his rather imbresive imdb page.

>> i won best picture at 20. i wasn't even trying.

>> a week after questioning the manhood of one of the founding fathers .

>> i'm not thomas jefferson . he was a [ bleep ].

>> sheen cited the wisdom of another great american thinker .

>> i missed practice, talking about practice, to quote the great allen iverson . practice.

>> we're talking about practice, man. what are we talking about? practice?

>> charlie declared himself ready to get back to work, announcing that he had healed himself of his problems with drugs and alcohol.

>> i close my eyes and made it so with the power of my mined.

>> what kind of a mind could cure addiction? the 10,000-year-old kind.

>> i have a 10-year-old-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old. that's how i describe myself.

>> wait, what?

>> i have a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old.

>> sheen swears he's high on sheen and only sheen .

>> drug tests don't lie. the scoreboard doesn't lie.

>> charlie walks the path of recovery with his live-in godesses, both of them only slightly older than the 7-year-old boogers.

>> i don't care where the bus is going. that's how we live. you know what i mean .

>> for charlie sheen this week, no apologies, just nonstop wing.

>> that's fine. that's how i roll. bye-bye. there's the frickin' door.

>> speaking of winning, the author of the book "winning," jack welch on " morning joe ." [

>>>

View the original article here

Sheen: My mom is Jewish, so I'm Jewish

The Charlie Sheen saga continued on Friday with a new interview with Access Hollywood Live.

After a whirlwind week filled with more media rants, the removal of his twin boys from his home on Tuesday and a temporary restraining order from estranged wife Brooke Mueller (also Tuesday), Sheen called in to Access Hollywood Live on Friday morning to put accusations of anti-Semitism to rest as he revealed that he himself is Jewish, and to dish on his plans to travel to Haiti with his pal Sean Penn.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: From Bad Boy To Oscar Winner: Sean Penn Over The Years

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“My mom is Jewish. Here’s where it gets confusing — we don’t know who her father was,” Charlie told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover during the phone interview on Friday’s show. “But she is, in fact, Jewish. So, I guess that would make me Jewish, and my children Jewish. And Brooke [Mueller], my ex-wife is Jewish. So, I guess I should’ve rolled all that out too.”

Sheen claims 'Two and a Half Men' coming back

“You’re getting accused of anti-Semitic remarks — you might want to say, ‘By the way, I’m Jewish!’” Bush told Sheen.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hot Shots Of The Stars Helping Out At The ‘Hope For Haiti Now’ Telethon

“I know, I know — stupid me,” Sheen replied. “I just got caught sleeping. Caught napping. Which is rare for me. Anywho... But, I’m proud of it. There you have it.”

The “Two and a Half Men” star also confirmed that he plans to travel to Haiti next week with friend and fellow actor Sean Penn.

Story: 7 ideas for saving 'Two and a Half Men'

“We’re going to do a couple things first and then it looks like we’re heading down [to Haiti],” Sheen told Bush and Hoover of his plans to visit the earthquake-ravaged nation with the Oscar winning actor. “And I’m excited as hell because, you know, if I can bring the attention of the world down there, then clearly this tsunami keeps cresting.”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebs Who Give Back

Penn founded the J/P Haitian Relief Organization immediately following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti and frequently visits the struggling country to continue his charity work. The former “Milk” star recently weighed in regarding the Sheen saga in an interview for the April issue of GQ, offering his support for the embattled actor.

“When you divorce the moral judgments, which I prefer to do, I see a guy who has a clearer view of the nature of the world around him than is sometimes comfortable to have,” Penn reportedly told the mag of Sheen’s recent behavior. “Those are the sort of people who have a tendency to find altered states.

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VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Two And A Half Men’ Star Charlie Sheen

“But [Charlie] is a very ironic character,” Penn continued. “He’s got pretension in the crosshairs of his wit. I think to a large degree he’s saying, ‘Guys, we’re only going to be here once, so lighten the f--- up.’”

A source revealed the Haiti trip news to Access on Thursday evening — a claim Penn’s rep denied at the time. The rep was not immediately available for comment on Sheen’s new travel announcement when contacted by Access Hollywood on Friday.

William Shatner says Sheen isn't crazy

Copyright 2011 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

Sheen slams AA and 'Men' in radio rant

Charlie Sheen called into a nationally syndicated radio show on Thursday and unleashed a shocking rant in which he attacked Alcoholics Anonymous and his hit CBS show, “Two and a Half Men.”

CBS shuts down 'Two and a Half Men' for season

“I was told if I went on the attack, they would cancel the show,” Sheen claimed to host Alex Jones in an interview for his radio show, “The Alex Jones Show,” referring to his CBS bosses.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Two And A Half Men’ Star Charlie Sheen

“Are they happy with the $5 billion they made off me?” Sheen asked. “[‘Two and a Half Men’] is a runaway frickin’ juggernaut.”

Sheen made it abundantly clear he doesn’t believe the show can survive without him, telling Jones, “Watch your ratings, dudes. Watch your stupid ratings.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Scenes & Stars Of CBS’ ‘Two And A Half Men’

“Do what you’re gonna do — I’ll go make movies with superstars,” he threatened.

His hit sitcom wasn’t Sheen’s only target on Thursday. He also ripped into Alcoholics Anonymous, calling the organization a “cult” and “a bunch of losers,” who he claims are “brainwashing his family.”

Despite his seemingly outrageous behavior, Sheen said he plans on being back to work at his CBS show when production resumes on Tuesday.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebs Who Have Been In Rehab

“I’ll be early,” he told Jones. “I don’t sleep — I wait.”

A rep for Sheen had no comment about the interview when contacted by Access Hollywood on Thursday.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Charlie Sheen: The Early Years

Copyright 2011 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

Have TV viewers seen last of Charlie Sheen? (AP)

NEW YORK – As Charlie Sheen continued to rant on, his bosses at "Two and a Half Men" seemed prepared Friday to move on. The network's decision to stop production of television's most popular sitcom this season — and maybe for good — has multimillion-dollar implications for CBS and producer Warner Bros. Television, but it's hardly fatal.

The remaining four episodes were scrapped Thursday after Sheen called the show's executive producer Chuck Lorre a "contaminated little maggot." Sheen's remarks were made on a radio program and in a letter posted on the TMZ website. He kept it up Friday, calling Lorre a clown and loser in text messages to ABC's "Good Morning America" and vowing to show up for work next week.

However, there won't be any work for him to do, as Sheen's erratic personal life may finally have killed a job that reportedly pays him $1.8 million an episode. He's been hospitalized three times in three months, with the production put on hold in January after his most recent hospital stay following a night of frenzied partying. Taping was to resume next week, a plan that blew up Thursday.

"There comes a time when you say, `Enough,'" Jeffrey Stepakoff, a veteran television writer and author of "Billion Dollar Kiss: The Kiss That Saved Dawson's Creek and Other Adventures in TV Writing," said Friday.

The last original episode of "Two and a Half Men" aired Feb. 14.

Sheen plays a hard-partying playboy in the series, which has been a durable performer for CBS for eight seasons. It has averaged 14.6 million viewers this season, down 4 percent from last year, the Nielsen Co. said. The show has fluctuated little in audience, with the 16.5 million viewer average in 2004-05 its highest and 13.8 million in 2007-08 the lowest, Nielsen said.

"It's very hard to get rid of a show that is successful and popular and has served as a launching pad for other comedies," said Brad Adgate, a television analyst for Horizon Media. "This is still a hit-driven business and it's hard to get a hit like that."

Sheen, in an interview Friday with Pat O'Brien on Fox radio's "Loose Cannons" show, said he would fight any effort to not pay him for the balance of his contract, which runs through next season.

He questioned whether he would go back for a ninth season or not, calling it a "toxic environment."

"If they want to roll back to season nine, I gave them my word I would do that but not with the turds that are currently in place. It's impossible ... it would go bad quickly," he said.

Canceling the show outright would eliminate the anchor series on CBS' popular Monday night lineup, with its 9 p.m. replacement likely getting lower ratings. However, since "Two and a Half Men" is a long-running hit with a highly paid cast and staff, CBS will almost certainly replace it with a show that's cheaper to put on, perhaps making up for the lost ad revenue, analysts say.

It's been widely thought that next season would be its last. It would have brought "Two and a Half Men" up to around 200 episodes in its life span, considered optimal for a long life in syndication. There are 177 episodes now.

Unlike NBC, which is looking to continue "The Office" even though star Steve Carell is leaving after this season, it seems unlikely that CBS or Warners would want to continue the show without Sheen or choose another actor to replace him.

CBS is in a strong position as the top-rated broadcast network. Last week, for example, Fox's two editions of "American Idol" were the most-watched prime-time shows on television, and the next 16 on the Nielsen Co.'s popularity list were all on CBS.

"CBS, of anybody, can absorb an issue like this, because they have bench strength," said Don Seamen, vice president and communications analysis for MPG North America. "They have other shows that can fill the slot. If it was NBC, they would be more willing to look the other way."

Can Lorre look the other way at insulting, even borderline anti-Semitic remarks sent his way by the actor he cast in his series? If "Two and a Half Men" ends, it's hardly the end for Lorre, already one of the most successful producers in TV whose other shows include the CBS hits "The Big Bang Theory" and "Mike & Molly."

"Chuck Lorre might just say, `I can't work with this guy anymore,' and nobody would blame him," Seamen said.

Still, stranger things have happened in television.

"I'd like to think anyone could kiss and make up. Laverne and Shirley did," said Drew Carey, who starred in and co-created "The Drew Carey Show." He referred to the oft-rumored feud between stars Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams on the hit sitcom that debuted in 1976.

Producers can also bring in someone to replace Sheen, Carey said, acknowledging it's a risk with viewers.

"I'd put a million bucks on the table that they're discussing this" and weighing possible replacements for Sheen, said Carey, host of "The Price Is Right" game show.

"Two and a Half Men" already airs in syndication, and has deals locked up with stations that represent roughly 95 percent of the country to keep the reruns on the air through 2020, said Bill Carroll, an expert in the syndication market for Katz Media.

Sheen's troubles haven't hurt the show's popularity in this market; if anything, the opposite may be true, Carroll said. Two weeks ago, it was the third most popular syndicated show on TV after "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy," he said. This season it has been the most popular sitcom in reruns, beating out "Family Guy," "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Seinfeld," he said.

Syndication is where a producer such as Warner Bros. and others involved in TV shows make their real money. For example, the FX cable network licensed rights to the 177 "Two and a Half Men" episodes for a reported $750,000 each, he said. A less popular show, "Family Guy," sold rights to its reruns in New York for $68,000 a week — and that's just one of more than 200 markets across the country.

Add in the fact that Warners gets to sell some advertising time on the "Two and a Half Men" episodes, and it's an astronomical amount of revenue with little expense; the shows are already filmed. Warners would take a financial hit if the show ended now, but not until after 2020, Carroll said.

"It's not inconsequential," he said. "But it's not tragic."

Warners has already prepared for the possibility: even before the latest Sheen episode, it had sent contingency notices to stations that had bought rights to the show for what would happen to their contracts if there's no ninth season.

CBS said Friday that the show's slot will be filled with reruns for the time being. It would not be a surprise if CBS airs some of its other comedies in the slot before the season ends, as a test to see how they might do.

"Mike & Molly," averaging 11.9 million viewers in its freshman season in Monday's 9:30 p.m. time slot, could be a candidate to move up. Less risky might be the more established "How I Met Your Mother," although that show is considered near the end of its run.

CBS moved "The Big Bang Theory" from Monday to Thursdays this season and it has done quite well, lessening the likelihood the network would want to move it back.

___

Associated Press Television Writer Lynn Elber and AP writer Robert Jablon contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.cbs.com

View the original article here

Charlie Sheen denies anti-Semitism in TV row (AFP)

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Troubled actor Charlie Sheen denied Friday being anti-Semitic in an attack on the producer of hit TV series "Two and a Half Men," which has been canceled for the season due to Sheen's latest outburst.

Sheen also insisted he is sober and plans to turn up for work next week for the top-rated TV series, in which he stars. Four shows remain to be filmed this season.

CBS and Warner Brothers announced the cancelation on Thursday after Sheen, who was briefly hospitalized last month following his latest reported booze and drugs-fueled partying mishap, denounced the show's co-creator Chuck Lorre.

In a series of statements to radio and the TMZ celebrity website in the last few days, Sheen railed against Lorre, referring to him as Chaim Levine, the Hebrew translation of the TV producer's name.

"There's something this side of deplorable that a certain Chaim Levine -- yeah, that's Chuck's real name -- mistook this rock star for his own selfish exit strategy, bro," he said, apparently referring to himself.

"Last I checked, Chaim, I spent close to the last decade effortlessly and magically converting your tin cans into pure gold. And the gratitude I get is this charlatan chose not to do his job, which is to write," he added.

After the TV series was canceled Thursday, he added: "I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels, especially if they wind up in my octagon. Clearly, I have defeated this earthworm with my words.

"Imagine what I would have done with my fire-breathing fists."

Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti Defamation League lobby group, condemned Sheen's comments.

"By invoking television producer Chuck Lorre's Jewish name in the context of an angry tirade against him, Charlie Sheen left the impression that another reason for his dislike of Mr. Lorre is his Jewishness," he said in a statement.

"This fact has no relevance to Mr. Sheen's complaint or disagreement, and his words are at best bizarre, and at worst, borderline anti-Semitism," he added in a statement.

But speaking from the Bahamas, where he is reportedly vacationing with a new girlfriend, Sheen denied Friday being anti-Semitic.

"I was referring to Chuck by his real name, because I wanted to address the man, not the b (expletive) TV persona," he told TMZ, which said Lorre's birth name is Charles Levine.

Sheen, whose birth name is Carlos Estevez, added: "So you're telling me, anytime someone calls me Carlos Estevez, I can claim they are anti-Latino?"

Separately, ABC television cited text messages from Sheen insisting he plans to go to work next week on "Two and a Half Men," despite its cancelation announced Thursday by producers Warner Bros and CBS.

The TV series about hedonistic jingle writer Charlie Harper -- played by Sheen -- has been a hit since it was launched in 2003 and has been nominated for numerous awards, including nods for Sheen at the Emmys and Golden Globes.

The Nielsen ratings agency listed it in fifth place in its latest TV shows survey, with 14.5 million viewers for its last aired episode.

Sheen was reported as saying that he was close to signing a deal with Home Box Office for a new series called "Sheen's Corner," but an HBO spokesman denied there was a deal in place.

The star filed for divorce from his wife of two years in November, days after being taken to hospital following a reported drunken incident at a luxury New York hotel involving another porn star.

In addition to his reported substance abuse, Sheen had several run-ins with the law in the 1990s in cases related to drugs, domestic violence and prostitution.

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