Variety

Actor threats Eye-popping

In his first major news conference since being elevated to Viacom co-prexy/co-chief operating officer, Eye topper Leslie Moonves left little doubt that he and CBS Entertainment prexy Nancy Tellem had tired of the annual salary dance, in which thesps seeking more coin often call in sick to make a point.

Issue has come to a head in recent days following the Eye’s decision to ax “CSI” co-stars George Eads and Jorja Fox. Speculation over the weekend was that Fox may yet be allowed to return to the show, but at least on Sunday, CBS seemed intent on drawing a line in the sand.

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Exec alluded to “certain veiled threats” from Eads’ and Fox’s reps about the actors “not showing up”; Moonves suggested those threats led to the thesps’ dismissal. Both Moonves and Tellem seemed to indicate that asking for more coin is acceptable; threatening not to show up for work, on the other hand, is not. “A renegotiation without threats always works better for us,” Moonves said.

Moonves noted that CBS isn’t able to tell actors four months into a contract that their services are no longer wanted - and then decline to pay out the rest of the contract. By not showing up to work, or not returning a letter promising to keep working during a renegotiation, Eads and Fox essentially said, “They don’t want to work for us anymore,” Moonves said.