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Suit Claims 'Extreme Makeover' Idea Was Stolen

Friday, June 11, 2004

12:50 PM PT

A woman is suing the production company responsible for ABC's "Extreme Makeover," claiming the company and a talent agency took credit -- and all the money from the show -- for her idea.

Diane Locke is seeking $10 million in damages in a suit filed Thursday (June 10) in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Producer Lighthearted Entertainment and Endeavor, the agency that packaged the show, are named as defendants.

Executive producer Howard Schultz and Endeavor agent Sean Perry are also named in the suit; ABC is not.

In the suit, Locke claims she pitched an idea for a reality show about plastic surgery to a producer who's connected to Schultz and Perry. Her idea was rejected. She says the defendants then took her idea and sod it to ABC as "Extreme Makeover" without compensating her.

A spokesperson for Endeavor tells the Reporter that "It's not appropriate to comment on such matters; attorneys for Locke couldn't be reached.

"Extreme Makeover" finished its second season as one of ABC's top performers, drawing close to 10 million viewers a week on Wednesday nights.