Sheen: 'My efforts' helped get pay for 'Men' crew

[March 01, 2011]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Charlie Sheen is not done talking.

Amid high-profile interviews Monday that managed to upstage post-Oscars buzz, the "Two and a Half Men" star showed no signs of slowing his media blitz against the producers of his top-rated television comedy.

Television crews came and went from the actor's hilltop home -- which he dubbed "Sober Valley Lodge" -- the setting for segments scheduled to air on "Extra" and NBC's "Today" show.

Sheen told The Associated Press he wasn't satisfied with an agreement by Warner Bros. Television to pay the "Men" crew for only half of the eight episodes canceled when producers tired of their star's off-screen antics.

He called it "a start" and said his efforts "are paying off," but declared: "I won't sleep until I get all eight. I don't care about me right now."

He told the AP he planned to keep up his media blitz until the show's crew was paid for the rest of this season's shows. He also said getting compensation for series co-stars Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones was "next" on his to-do list.

Warner Bros. denied that anything Sheen had done -- which included threatening to sue the show's producers and extolling the virtues of his hard-partying ways -- contributed to the decision to pay the crew.

"False," said studio spokesman Paul McGuire.

Sheen's media appearances Monday included dueling morning show interviews with "Today" and "Good Morning America," a midday sit-down with celebrity website TMZ that was streamed online, and an evening chitchat with CNN's Piers Morgan.

Through it all, Sheen insisted that he was fine and trying to put back together the pieces of his show.

"I'm on a mission right now," Sheen told Morgan. "It's an operation right now to right some terrible wrongs."

Sheen was scheduled Tuesday to appear on ABC's "20/20," an interview that days ago the network considered an exclusive.

He has denied he was using drugs and produced a clean screening handled by celebrity website RadarOnline.com to bolster his case. He also rejected the notion that he was an addict, or that conventional rehabilitation treatments would work on him.

"I am on a drug," Sheen told ABC. "It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available because if you try it, you will die. Your face will melt off, and your children will weep over your exploded body."

Sheen's comments appeared to be alienating many of those around him, including the Hollywood honchos who sign his $1.8 million-per-episode paychecks, his co-stars and even his fans.

"The more he does, the more insane he looks," said Michele Cohen, a technical editor from Cary, N.C., an occasional viewer of the CBS sitcom who has been watching the offstage drama with interest.

Sheen, 45, told Morgan that he hasn't gotten support from his co-stars, or his father, actor Martin Sheen. Nor has he spoken to the producers of "Men," whom he has repeatedly derided.

CBS and Warner Bros. cited Sheen's statements against executive producer Chuck Lorre as one of the reasons it canceled the remainder of the eighth season of "Two and a Half Men."

Sheen's publicist, Stan Rosenfield, resigned shortly after the TMZ interview. He had been with Sheen through three hospitalizations in three months related to the star's wild behavior.

In that interview, Sheen implied that Rosenfield had lied to the media by saying he was hospitalized for an allergic reaction after trashing a room in New York's Plaza Hotel.

In his resignation, Rosenfield said he was "unable to work effectively as his publicist."

Sheen has left open the possibility for reconciliation with most of those he has attacked in recent days. But when it comes to getting "Two and a Half Men" back on the air, he has made clear he wants it on his terms.

He remained under contract for a ninth season of the show, and has demanded a pay raise of $3 million per episode for a 10th season.

"I've got a whole family to support and love," he told ABC. "People beyond me are relying on that. I'm here to collect. They're going to lose. They're going to lose in a courtroom, so I would recommend that they settle out of court."

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Online:

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[Associated Press; By ANTHONY McCARTNEY]

AP Television writers Lynn Elber in Los Angeles, and David Bauder and Frazier Moore in New York contributed to this report.

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