A new documentary is claiming that Marvel legend Stan Lee has millions of dollars stolen by his former road manager, Max Anderson.
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Stan Lee: The Final Chapter is released on demand on July 28, and follows the final years of the comic book creator prior to his death in 2018, aged 95. The film alleges that Anderson mistreated Lee, controlling his financial and personal affairs. In a new clip, obtained by Entertainment Weekly, the film implies that money was stolen from him following extensive signing sessions.
In the clip, Lee can be heard asking “How much money did I make here tonight?” after a well-attended signing. “Not enough,” Anderson responds. “It’s never enough, Stan.” The movie’s producer, Alex Barajas, who also worked for Lee for several years, then recalls being asked to count the money earned, adding: “Then I would leave and then whatever happens to the money at that point, none of my business. It’s not my thing to ask.”
Last June, Anderson was sentenced to a year and one day in prison for tax fraud charges, having failed to report $1.2 million (£894,666) earned through his work for Lee (via LA Times). Stan Lee’s daughter, J.C. Lee, had also brought a lawsuit against Anderson, accusing him of stealing over $21million (£15.6million) from her father. The case was settled last May (via The Hollywood Reporter). Anderson has continually denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with Lee.
Stan Lee is best known as the creative leader of Marvel Comics, bringing the publisher from a small publishing house to a global media brand and co-creating characters such as Spider-Man and the X-Men. Following his retirement from the company in the ‘90s, he remained a figurehead for the company, famously making cameos in every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie from Iron Man in 2008 to Avengers: Endgame in 2019.
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