Deadline

Courthouse sources tell us ... Judge Stephanie Sautner will allow cameras when Mel's case is called.

The hearing is scheduled for Friday at 1:30 PM PT.

Earlier this week, Sheen announced he was looking for a "winning" social media intern to join his team for an 8-week paid internship.

According to a rep from Internships.com -- the site Charlie is using to recruit his intern -- 74,040 people applied from all over the world.

Sources connected with Lorre tell us ... the mega-producer has been holding internal meetings about keeping the show going. Various options have been discussed, and they have a short list of replacements for Charlie's character.

Our sources say ... Lorre's people as well as honchos from Warner Bros. have been in touch with Rob's agent at William Morris-Endeavor, talking about Rob possibly coming onboard.

There are two stumbling blocks for Rob -- he currently stars in "Parks and Recreation," and he grew up with the Sheen family.

UPDATE: Ashton Kutcher.

When he wasn't burying his head in his arms ... or chain-smoking away ... Charlie once again lashed out against the "trolls" ... this time, blaming them for bad telephone service.

Sources connected with Charlie tell us ... Charlie has what they call a "Michael J. Fox" clause in his contract. When Fox was doing "Spin City," his contract provided that he would keep getting paid as long as the show was in production, even if he left the show. Ironically, when Charlie took over for Michael, Michael kept drawing his salary.

Sources say when Charlie signed on for "Two and a Half Men" ... the original contract provided an identical clause, so Charlie's people believe Warner Bros. is on the hook if they keep producing the show.

Here's the rub. Warner Bros. claims they fired Charlie for cause, nullifying the contract.

These are the battles that keep lawyers employed.

It all went down at the Live Nation office building in Beverly Hills ... where Charlie said he had a top-secret meeting with some old friends.

In the 11-page letter, obtained from sources connected to Charlie, Warner Bros. states, "Your client has been engaged in dangerously self-destructive conduct and appears to be very ill."

The letter then goes on to describe Charlie's hijinks, including trashing the Plaza Hotel in NYC, coke binges, on-set failures because of drug fatigue, and diatribes against "Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre.

The letter also notes that Charlie derailed production when he went into rehab, and then he fired his sobriety coach. In fact, Warner Bros. claims it was so concerned about Charlie's well-being, "Warner Bros. had an airplane waiting" to take him to a treatment facility ... but Charlie would have none of it.

As for why Charlie got fired, the letter says there is a clause in his contract saying they can fire a performer who commits "a felony offense involving moral turpitude."

The letter says, "There is ample evidence supporting Warner Bros. reasonable good faith opinion that Mr. Sheen has committed felony offenses involving moral turpitude (including but not limited to furnishing of cocaine to others as part of the self-destructive lifestyle he has described publicly) that have 'interfere[d] with his ability to fully and completely render all material services required' under the agreement."

In short, that's why Charlie was fired.

Charlie's lawyer, Marty Singer, has demanded Warner Bros. pay Charlie for the eight canceled episodes -- or else.

Charlie's lawyer, Marty Singer, tells TMZ, he believes Lorre is behind the move to fire Charlie from "Two and a Half Men" and that Lorre has interfered with Charlie's contract.

Singer doesn't buy Warner Bros. explanation that Charlie committed moral turpitude by admitting to drug use. Singer says when Charlie was going to plead guilty to a felony last year over the domestic violence incident in Aspen, Warner Bros. was not only ok with it, they renegotiated Charlie's contract.

Singer claims the real reason Warner Bros. gave Charlie the boot is because he insulted Lorre, and that's not reason to fire him.

And, Singer says, Charlie isn't the first star who couldn't co-exist with Lorre. Roseanne Barr and Brett Butler also couldn't work with Chuck. On the other side of the coin, Lorre is the most successful producer in TV currently, with three hit shows on the air -- "Two and a Half Men," "The Big Bang Theory" and "Mike and Molly."

"This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of their bazillions, never have to look at whatshiscock again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension."

Warner Bros. issued the following statement: "After careful consideration, Warner Bros. Television has terminated Charlie Sheen's services on 'Two and a Half Men,' effective immediately."

The statement does not say if the show will go back into production.

UPDATE: A source at Warner Bros. says no decision has been made on whether the show will come back.

Sources close to Lindsay tell us ... she had considered Lorne a mentor and a father figure -- and felt betrayed that he would let Miley mock her on TV -- so LiLo sent an email to let him know she was upset.

In case you missed the show -- Miley finished her opening monologue with a musical number which included the lyric, "I never stole a necklace or got a DUI .. never cheated on wife like that golfer guy ... so what if you can see a little boob from the side ... I'm sorry if I'm not perfect."

The Internal Revenue Service just filed a tax lien against Pacino -- claiming he slighted the government out of $169,143.06 in 2008 and $19,140.44 in 2009 ... for a grand total of $188,283.50.

A rep for Pacino tells TMZ ... Al never intended to screw over Uncle Sam ... and blames the whole thing on his former business manager Kenneth Starr ... not the guy from Lewinsky fame ... the convicted Ponzi schemer who was just sentenced to seven years in prison for bilking a bunch of Hollywood bigwigs out of millions.

We're told several issues stand in the way of a settlement. For starters, Brooke insists that a monitor be present whenever Charlie has the kids at his house. And Brooke wants to make sure any current or future goddesses are blocked from exercising parental responsibilities.

We're told both sides are gearing up for a court fight on Tuesday. In order for that to happen, Charlie's lawyers must give Brooke's lawyers notice by 10:00 AM Monday.

Stay tuned