Fuller sues Cowell

SIMON VS. SIMON: Simon Fuller has sued Fox and FremantleMedia North America, alleging that the network and production company reneged on an agreement to name him executive producer of the upcoming X Factor and to pay him, the Wall Street Journal reports. The suit, filed in L.A. County Superior Court, lays out a tangled narrative in which Fuller and Simon Cowell became rival TV producers. After Cowell started X Factor in the U.K. in 2004 as a rival to Pop Idol, Fuller sued, calling the show's format a copy of Idol. According to Wednesday's complaint, Fox quickly brokered a settlement between Fuller and Cowell and sent a letter stating that the network would "approve" a credit for Fuller as an executive producer of any U.S. version of X Factor, and pay him a fee "commensurate with his duties and stature in the entertainment industry." In response to Fuller’s suit, Fremantlemedia and Fox released the following statement: "Mr. Fuller has not been hired, nor performed any duties, on the U.S. version of The X Factor. His suit seeks payment and credit as an executive producer despite his neither having been approved by the required parties, nor hired, as such. We believe this lawsuit is without merit and we expect to prevail." (7/21a)