NEW YORK - Is the world ready for a memoir called "Apocalypse Me"?
Perhaps if it's by Charlie Sheen.
The recently fired star of the CBS sitcom "Two and a Half Men" wants to tell his combustible life story, said executives at three publishing houses who asked not to be identified, citing the sensitive nature of the project.
Two of the publishers said Thursday that the book had the working title "Apocalypse Me," a reference to "Apocalypse Now," the Francis Ford Coppola film starring Sheen's father, Martin Sheen. Charlie Sheen has said he is obsessed by the film, which takes Joseph Conrad's classic novella of madness, "Heart of Darkness," and changes the setting from Africa to Vietnam.
The publishers who spoke to The Associated Press all said they turned down the memoir and expressed amazement anyone would take it, even if a finished work would likely be a best-seller. They cited Sheen's public rants and chaotic private life, including a history of accusations of domestic violence. And Sheen has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Warner Bros. and the executive producer of "Two and a Half Men," and he might be restricted in what he could say about the program.
The industry has been wary of such polarizing books since the fiasco of O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It." The book was promoted in 2006 by the HarperCollins imprint ReganBooks as a fictionalized confession to the murder of Simpson's former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The announcement caused such outrage that the book was pulled before publication by publisher's parent company, News Corp. ReganBooks has since been disbanded and its founder, Judith Regan, is no longer in the book business.
Sheen is being represented by agent Peter McGuigan, who is asking for payment of at least seven figures, said the publishers, who added that there was no written proposal. Sheen has boasted that he could get $10 million for a memoir.
McGuigan did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment. He is an agent with Foundry & Media and his company biography states that he is "happiest when representing controversial, out-of-the-ordinary or provocative subjects and authors."
