By Anthony McCartney, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Farrah Fawcett’s estate sued a producer Friday who collaborated with the actress, claiming he botched a documentary project and misused her company’s money.
The lawsuit claims Craig J. Nevius exploited Fawcett and improperly revealed privileged information about the actress to the media, including that her cancer had returned. The suit also claims Nevius turned in an unworkable first cut of a documentary on Fawcett’s fight with cancer and he may have embezzled money from the actress’ company, Sweetened By Risk.
The lawsuit states NBC, which aired the television special “Farrah’s Story,” had to rework the footage with help from Fawcett’s longtime companion, Ryan O’Neal. The edits were being made until shortly before the special aired, the lawsuit states.
“These allegations lack merit and are a pathetic attempt to try to intimidate and further injure Mr. Nevius,” said attorney Miles J. Feldman.
Nevius sued O’Neal and Fawcett’s friend Alana Stewart over “Farrah’s Story” last year. The case is still pending.
That case, filed the day the special was aired for Fawcett’s friends and reporters, claims O’Neal, Stewart and Fawcett’s business manager Richard B. Francis, interfered with Nevius’ role in “Farrah’s Story.”
Friday’s lawsuit was filed by Francis, who is a trustee of Fawcett’s estate, and Sweetened By Risk LLC.
The lawsuit states Nevius knew Fawcett for about five years before he June 25 death. He worked on a reality TV series featuring the actress called “Chasing Farrah” and was producing the documentary that eventually aired on NBC. The lawsuit claims Fawcett cut ties to him in early 2009 and he became jealous of O’Neal and Stewart.
The lawsuit filed Friday contends Nevius turned in a first cut of “Farrah’s Story” that was deemed “wholly unacceptable” by the actress. She then turned creative control of the film over to O’Neal, the suit states.
The complaint states Francis believes Nevius “embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars” from Fawcett’s company. It states Nevius has refused to allow Sweetened by Risk’s financial records.
Fawcett’s “Charlie’s Angels” co-star, Kate Jackson, said Friday evening she was shocked at the lawsuit’s allegations against Nevius. Jackson had been critical of the producer in the past, but said Friday those comments were misguided.
She said it was her understanding that Fawcett had creative control of the early version of the documentary on her cancer fight.
“He had an unflagging devotion to Farrah in every way and he worked with her to help her achieve her vision, not his vision and not anybody else’s vision,” Jackson said in a telephone interview.
Nikki Baker Becomes CEO At Fallon
Fallon has appointed Nikki Baker as its new CEO. Baker, who joined the creative agency in 2018 and has served as co-chief creative officer with Leslie Shaffer since 2021, succeeds Rocky Novak, who has been in the role since 2019.
Baker’s promotion to CEO comes at a time of significant momentum for the agency, including six consecutive years of growth and award-winning work.
Baker’s recent career highlights include creatively leading the Walmart partnership with the Publicis Groupe team and spearheading innovative campaigns such as the award-winning “RomCommerce” 23-episodic series and the internet-breaking Mean Girls campaign, among hundreds of other campaigns together with the brand over the past few years. Together with Shaffer, Baker has also been instrumental in elevating Fallon’s creative output for longstanding clients like Arby’s, Mattress Firm, and Front Door/American Home Shield.
“I’ve always been an admirer of Fallon, even before I joined. The chance to lead the agency is an absolute honor. Fallon is a place like no other with amazing talent and a legacy of building big, innovative, creative ideas,” said Baker. “Rocky has represented the best of Fallon. He’s been a great leader, and I couldn’t be more excited to take the reins and lead the agency through to the next chapter. With creativity at our core, we’re going to be as ambitious as ever, push boundaries, and continue embracing emerging platforms to deliver work that truly resonates in culture.”
Prior to joining Fallon six years ago, Baker held positions as creative director and art director at agencies including DDB and GSD&M, working with major brands such as McDonald’s, Southwest Airlines, and Wrigley. Her work has been recognized by... Read More