Rob Schneider's Chosen Lawsuit

Wed., Mar. 5, 2008 1:10 PM PST by Gina Serpe

The state of Rob Schneider's latest comedy is no laughing matter. Per usual.

But this time around, the lack of yuks doesn't have to do with bawdy humor. Instead, the Saturday Night Live alum and his producing partner and older brother, John, are being accused of cheaping out on longtime collaborator Bob Rubin, who filed suit against the brothers Schneider in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday.

Rubin alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty as well as unjust enrichment from the siblings, claiming they failed to make good on a promised finder's fee after he helped them secure financing for a completed but as yet unreleased Schneider vehicle titled The Chosen One. He is seeking at least $350,000 in damages.

Per the lawsuit, Rubin claims that in early 2007 he helped the Schneiders obtain $9.5 million for the film and that John (who produced both Deuce Bigelow: European Gigolo and The Hot Chick) had agreed to pony up a 3 percent take for raising the money.

Citing his long history of working without incident with the brothers, Rubin said in court documents that he did not get the proposed deal in writing, something he came to regret soon after, when he was informed by John that his cut would have to be reduced to 1 percent of the film's roughly $8 million budget, making for a payment of just $80,000.

"Having known John Schneider and Robert Schneider for over 23 years, [Rubin] trusted John Schneider's word," the suit states.

While Rubin claims he begrudgingly agreed to the lower payout, further insult to the financial injury wasn't far off. The financier claims that after months of failed attempts to collect the pay day, the Schneiders still owed him $60,000 as of last October.

In addition to the assurances of financial compensation, Rubin's suit also claims that the Schneiders made empty promises to get Rubin parts in movies as well as the opportunity to direct and produce his own TV show.

While neither Schneider brother has yet commented on the suit, court documents quote Rob as seemingly defending his actions, saying that "the Schneider brothers have done pretty well for Bob Rubin over the years."

The movie at the crux of the claims, meanwhile, is due out later this year. In addition to Schneider, The Chosen One stars Holland Taylor, George Dzundza and Marcus "brother of Paul" Giamatti and revolves around a particularly down on his luck everyman who discovers he may be, as the film's title suggests, the messiah.