FIRST OFF . . .

Randall Dale Adams, who was freed from prison after his guilt in slaying a police officer was questioned in the movie “The Thin Blue Line,” is suing the film’s producer to regain the rights to his life story. The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Houston, alleges that Errol Morris of Massachusetts lost the rights last December by failing to exercise an option to extend a two-year agreement. Morris purchased exclusive rights for $10 in December 1986 and later produced “The Thin Blue Line,” which was instrumental in getting the Adams case re-heard in Texas courts. Adams, 40, served 12 years in prison before being released last March after an appeals court ruled he was entitled to a new trial for the 1977 murder of Dallas police officer Robert Wood. “The Thin Blue Line” pointed to another man who in a taped interview with Morris all but confessed to killing Woods. Randy Schaffer, a Houston lawyer who led the fight for Adams’ release, said Adams wants a declaration he owns the rights so he can pursue book and movie offers estimated “in the neighborhood of six figures.” Schaffer said Morris has claimed he did exercise the option and has resold the rights to Miramax Production Co., also a defendant in the lawsuit. Morris said he is “hurt and upset” by the lawsuit. “I worked very, very hard for a number of years to see that justice was done in this case.” He said he is still paying off debts from “The Thin Blue Line” because profits were “nil.” Morris said that Schaffer was present and did not object when Adams originally signed a release. “The simple thing is that when I met Randall Adams nobody cared about the case,” Morris said. Adams, who returned to his home in Ohio after his release, was not available for comment.