He might be credited as Steve Buscemi, but let's just call him Even-Steven.
The actor-director has settled a lawsuit he filed against a Florida-based distributor over Rockets Redglare!, a documentary that premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival but never received a proper release.
Buscemi coproduced the documentary with its director, the late Luis de la Reguera, and was joined in the suit by the filmmaker's estate.
The settlement was actually struck on Sept. 5, shortly after a federal judge in Miami ruled that Michael Broder, head of Small Planet Pictures in Fort Lauderdale, must pay the plaintiffs $1.75 million in damages for failing to market, promote and pay advance fees to distribute Rockets.
Broder was also ordered to hand over the rights to the flick and pony up $35,000 in legal fees.
Rockets chronicled the life of actor and Buscemi pal Michael Morra. Better known by his stand-up comedy handle, Rockets Redglare, Morra and Buscemi used to perform stand-up and one-act plays together in a show called The Rockets Redglare Taxicabaret.
A memorable figure in New York's art scene up until his death in 2001 from years of drug and alcohol abuse, Morra's exploits ranged from drug dealing to bodyguarding for the Sex Pistols and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Morra also appeared in more than 30 films, including Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law and the Buscemi-helmed Trees Lounge and Animal Factory.
Buscemi's publicist, Staci Wolfe, released a statement Monday indicating the plaintiffs proposed the settlement shortly after the judge reached his verdict.
"This was never about money, as reflected by the alternative settlement proposed by the filmmakers immediately after receiving a very large judgment. They just want the opportunity to distribute the film properly," Wolfe said.
De la Reguera died in a motorcycle accident in August 2006.
His attorneys, Hunter Chamberlin and J. Christopher Robbins, who filed the suit on behalf of him and Buscemi, declared themselves pleased with the outcome.
"This is the day we were looking forward to," they told filmthreat.com. "We wish Luis could have been alive to share it."
The producers say they hope to rerelease the film to attract a wider audience.
Said Buscemi: "All any of us want is to get this movie out there."
The documentary features interviews with Buscemi, Jarmusch, Matt Dillon, Willem Dafoe and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, among others.
According to Chamberlin, should Broder fail to cough up the fees within a specified period over the next three years, he runs the risk of having to pay the entire $1.75 million judgment. De la Reguera's lawyer said the rights to Rockets Redglare! will revert to the filmmaker's estate.