Cuban courts Sheen for unscripted HDNet series
03/05/11 01:58 PM
By ED BARK
Mark Cuban and his HDNet would like to provide a weekly forum for the "bitchin' rock star from Mars," also known as Charlie Sheen.
RadarOnline reported Friday evening that the Dallas Mavericks owner and the Two and a Half Men head case "have begun negotiations" on a show for HDNet. That's not quite right, Cuban told unclebarky.com via email.
"Negotiating. No. Had a discussion about it. Yes," he said.
Asked why he'd want to do a deal with Sheen, Cuban said, "Why wouldn't we? That's the beauty of being an independent network. We all are curious about Charlie. And if he wants to tell us and show us more, HDNet is happy to provide him a platform. I think it would be fascinating."
Sheen has threatened to sue CBS for breach of contract after the network shut down production of Two And A Half Men in response to what it called "the totality of Charlie Sheen's statements, conduct and condition."
Cuban and HDNet already employ former CBS newsman Dan Rather, whose $70 million breach of contract lawsuit against the network was dismissed by a New York court in January 2010. Dan Rather Reports has been part of HDNet's prime-time schedule since November 2006.
Cuban's younger brother, Brian Cuban, is not a big fan of Sheen's at the moment. In "An Addict's View of Charlie Sheen," which he recently posted on his blog, The Cuban Revolution, Brian called Sheen "a scumbag for outing (Two and a Half Men producer) Chuck Lorre for being in AA."
Brian, a self-described "recovering addict" who says he's been sober for nearly four years, wrote that he "was once officially a certified Charlie Sheen mess minus the hookers and porn stars."
The actor's ongoing unhinged behavior, on display in numerous television interviews during the past week, is typical of an addict whose "self worth is completely stripped," Brian said. "Strip away the fame, money and bizarre statements and it's an insecure guy with a problem doing coke and using porn stars and rhetoric to pump himself up because he/she is afraid to face the reality of the situation. That's what addicts do."
Whether Sheen does a deal with HDNet is iffy at best. But Mark Cuban obviously would love to have him and clearly is a guy who still likes to take chances. In 2007 he bankrolled HDNet's 13-episode Geek to Freak with Dennis Rodman. So anything's possible.