Charlie Sheen tells CNN's Piers Morgan what he wants
BY RITA SHERROW World Television Editor
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
3/01/11 at 10:09 AM
Actor Charlie Sheen stayed in the media spotlight on Monday with a live interview with Piers Morgan on CNN.
That interview continued the actor’s media blitz which included interviews with ABC’s "Good Morning America” and NBC’s “Today Show,” both taped over the weekend, a “20/20” special on ABC Monday, and various rants interviews on radio and with the entertainment web site TMZ.com.
In his latest remarks, Sheen talked about what he wanted out of the whole thing and what he expected of his castmates from ‘Two and a Half Men.” Production of the rest of the season of his series was canceled last month following the actor’s third hospitalization and admitted drug use.
TVWeek.com provided a transcript of the “relevant part of the interview” from Sheen's interview with CNN’s Morgan.
Piers Morgan: Millions of fans just want the show back on the air. What is the way to make that happen?
Charlie Sheen: I don’t know. But it might involve us all getting into a room.
Morgan: And what would you say if you did?
Sheen: I’d say O.K., you’ve (the network) agreed to pay the crews for four shows. You’ve got to pay them eight. And then you’ve got to pay the rest of the cast eight. And then you’ve got to pay me eight. Then we could have a dialogue. That’s just doing the right thing. [Earlier in the interview Sheen said he was underpaid, but he retracted his earlier demand--that he had told NBC--that he needed a million dollar raise per episode to $3 million per show. He said instead that that demand was negotiable.]
Morgan: What would you then sign up to do, in terms of personal behavior?
Sheen: I guess I would have to play ball on some front. But I don’t feel like they still have a right to interfere in my personal life. I don’t do it in theirs. If they’ll submit to all the same constraints, all the some points to that agreement, then fine, I’m onboard
But then I hear stories like that they’re going to hire John Stamos. You guys do that you deserve anything that happens later. Sorry, John, you’re a lovely man. But you got on me on Howard Stern, bro, and I don’t forget anything.
Morgan: How do you hope it ends?
Sheen: I have a vision of us getting back on the air for season nine and then doing season 10 and cleaning up all this mess behind us and then when we’re back on stage and doing it all perfectly and brilliantly that a couple of adjustments will have been made. We all know where we stand right now, so we can’t be like “Hey, good to see you again.” Not.
Morgan: What about your fellow cast members? Have you talked to any of them?
Sheen: I have not because I don’t feel like there’s any real support there. No one has issued a statement, made a phone call—I’ve got a couple of angry texts, whatever, I can ignore that. I’m out here doing this for all of us, guys. I’m not trying to embarrass you or ruin your jobs or ruin the show or anything like that.
Morgan: Do they feel you’ve let them down?
Sheen: I don’t know. I don’t know. I’d be speaking for them. It would’ve been nice if there was some measure of support from ANYBODY. ANYBODY at this point. But it’s all right, man. Every great movement begins with one man, and I guess that’s me.
Morgan: You’re kind of like the Che Guevara of Hollywood at this moment.
Sheen: I'll take it. I'll take it. Nice.
In all the interviews the actor has denied being a drug addict while lambasting his series’ creator/executive producer Chuck Lorre, CBS and Warner Bros. studio. His long-time publicist resigned following Sheen’s rambling TMZ interview. He has also demanded the studio pay him, the cast and crew for the eight additional episodes that would have been shot this season. The studio has reportedly agreed to pay all for four of the episodes.
No decision has been made about next season of the series.
