Charlie Sheen on "Anger Management's" Success, Selma Blair Firing and Show's Future

[JamesG]

Charlie Sheen on "Anger Management"
Sep 22, 2014
by Michael Schneider


Charlie Sheen says 87 episodes of "Anger Management" have already been shot.

"We're almost 10 from the finish line and that checker flag," he says. "It's been an amazing run, it's been an education."





"Anger Management" was shot on an accelerated time frame, without table reads or rehearsals. That allowed producers to frequently shoot two episodes a week, getting to 100 episodes (enough for syndication) in half the time it normally takes.

"Anger Management" may be the biggest success story to come out of the "10/90" model — in which a network orders 10 episodes, and if the show reaches a ratings benchmark, an order for the additional 90 episodes is immediately triggered.





More recently, FX also tried a 10/90 sitcom starring George Lopez (Saint George) and another featuring Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence (Partners), but neither landed the full 100-episode slate.

(FX Networks CEO John Landgraf says he "probably" won't continue with the form.) Others remain in the works, however, including one starring Kevin James.





Sheen says the secret weapon behind "Anger Management" was sitcom vet Bruce Helford, who oversaw the complicated enterprise.

"It's all about Bruce and how he sculpts this and how he coddles it and cares about it and prepares for it. He's never rattled. I've never seen the man raise his voice on set. We've done 1,000 scenes together now. He is Yoda with all of his Han Solo attributes intact. Without Bruce this doesn't happen."





That doesn't mean there weren't several bumps along the way. Half way through the order, production was halted for a time as the show was reconfigured. As part of the changes, Sheen's original co-star, Selma Blair, departed.

"This is me being polite, we realized that we couldn't really explore my character if he was stuck to one gal," Sheen says. "And the problem was, Two and a Half Men aired around it. And people liked that character better because he wasn't stuck in a relationship. So we had to ask Blair to leave because the show was dying. And she wasn't helping. I'm not blaming Selma for anything. I'm blaming myself for hiring her."





Among other changes, Lara Bell Bundy joined "Anger Management" as its new female lead, and Brian Austin Green's role as Sheen's friend and neighbor was greatly expanded.

"What we've pulled off is beyond the pale of anything that could be viewed as doable," Sheen says of "Anger Management's" production schedule. "It's so frickin' hard and so taxing. But with the right group of people around you, like Bruce and the cast and crew, you can catch lightning in a bottle."





Sheen says "Anger Management's" performance in syndication will determine whether any more episodes are produced beyond the 100. He also hopes to now focus on a handful of film projects he's been kicking around.

"If it continues, awesome," he says. "I'm available. Best job I ever had. If it doesn't? I gave them all I had. Best education I ever had. Best friends I ever made. Best group of people I've ever worked with. I believe we're delivering something that's not just another bag of slag to the hack pile of contemporary network television."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Charlie-...n-1087345.aspx