Woody's Ex-Producer Strikes Back

The neurotically inclined filmmaker is now on the receiving end of a lawsuit filed by his former friend and producer Jean Doumanian. A month after Allen took her to court claiming she hoodwinked him out of profits, Doumanian, who produced Allen's last eight films, filed a countersuit claiming the director is an overpaid, "self-indulgent" backstabber.

In court documents filed Monday in Manhattan State Supreme Court, Doumanian accuses the 65-year-old Allen of making "unwarranted and baseless claims" against her and damaging the financial stability of her company, Sweetland Films, by "engaging in self-indulgent conduct and profligate spending" on his films.

She's asking the court to terminate her contract with the Woodster and is seeking undisclosed damages.

Prodded by his manager, Allen last month filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Doumanian and her partner, Jacqui Safra, alleging the two cheated him out of earnings and failed to report the "substantial revenues" earned by the films the three had done together since 1994. Allen said he was entitled to 50 percent of the gross Sweetland received from the films in question--the Oscar-winning Mighty Aphrodite and Bullets over Broadway, Sweet and Lowdown, Small Time Crooks, Deconstructing Harry, Celebrity, Everyone Says I Love You and a documentary about Allen, Wild Man Blues.

In her own court papers, Doumanian said that, based on her friendship with Allen, Sweetland Films stepped in to fund the funnyman's films in 1993 after financing from TriStar Pictures fell through due to Allen's troubled off-screen life.

Doumanian claims Allen was considered box-office poison after a string of made-for-the-tabloids accusations by his then-girlfriend, actress Mia Farrow. Farrow said Allen had abused their 5-year-old adopted daughter and had an affair with one of Farrow's teenage adopted daughters, Soon-Yi Previn. (Allen and Previn married in 1997 and now have two daughters.)

According to Doumanian's suit, Sweetland Films and Allen's film company, Moses Productions, had a financing and distribution deal that sought to compensate Allen while shielding Sweetland from red ink.

"Everyone...agreed that, because some of Allen's [projects] might be profitable and some might not be, and because Sweetland would not be charging interest on the moneys advanced to make the films, the films were to be cross-collateralized in order to protect Sweetland's investments," the suit says.

Sweetland would thereby give Allen a "reasonable, nonrecoupable" advance of $2.5 million for his films and the company "would pay Moses an amount equal to one-half of the adjusted gross proceeds, if any." In other words, Allen's share would be calculated according to the profit margins of all of his films taken together during the partnership.

However, Doumanian's suit goes on to say that since Allen had yet to recognize the "cross-collaterization" deal they had since they began their partnership, he has no right to any profits.

"Sweetland has paid to [Allen's company] Moses all of the monies to which it is entitled, and as of the filing of [Allen's] complaint, Sweetland has overpaid Moses," the suit adds.

Doumanian says she will give Allen rights to his films if he repays her his salary dating back to the beginning of their business relationship.

While Allen refused comment on the suit, his rep, Leslee Dart, issued a statement calling Doumanian's assertions groundless and saying Allen's claims were based on a report issued by independent auditing firm Sills & Adelman.

"Common sense would tell you that if the defendants actually believed in their positions on the merits they would not need to resort to smears or distractions that have nothing to do with this accounting dispute," Dart says.

Allen and Doumanian met while he was a standup comic, and they had been friends and business partners for almost four decades. He cut his business ties with her in March 2000 and signed with DreamWorks SKG.