Comments on: Big Media Gluttony: Moonves' New CBS Contract Pays 200% Above Other CEOs

By: been there

been there — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 06:35:21 +0000

A production assistant makes just a little more than minimum wage without benefits. They can never organize and if they tried, they would easily lose their jobs. Everyone abuses them and no one cares about them until lunch isn’t on time, then there is all hell to pay. If you want to talk about pay inequality, let’s start here.

By: Ruby Redlips

Ruby Redlips — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 22:57:55 +0000

The money in Hollywood just flows from one member of the tribe to the next, doesn’t it?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:55:12 +0000

BlesstheAMPTP wrote:
Y’know, somebody should be putting together the latest list of all the CEO’s current pay, along with Nick Counter’s salary, plus the last recorded earnings of the AMPTP’s PR guys.

And then *that* should be at the top of the page on United Hollywood.com

Comment by BlesstheAMPTP — December 13, 2007 @ 3:27 am

OK. And then lets put together a list of all the showrunners and their salaries, and all the hypenate producer/writers on those shows and their salaries and then let’s see if suddenly middle america sees your fight as a worthy cause.

By: BlesstheAMPTP

BlesstheAMPTP — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:27:00 +0000

Y’know, somebody should be putting together the latest list of all the CEO’s current pay, along with Nick Counter’s salary, plus the last recorded earnings of the AMPTP’s PR guys.

And then *that* should be at the top of the page on United Hollywood.com

By: Steve S

Steve S — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:22:41 +0000

Most of the shareholders’ lawsuits I’ve read about are baseless, and designed more to put money in the pockets of class action lawyers’ pockets than protect the interests of shareholders. But in this case, if I were a CBS shareholder, I think I’d be looking up names of shareholders’ lawsuit specialists right about now.

Occasionally, bosses of under-performing companies might have a case to argue, “If not for my brilliant leadership, this company would be in a lot worse shape than it is.” But I think Moonves would have a hard time selling that, given this contract.

If shareholders’ lawyers went after his contract, Moonves would likely win in court, or lose at no cost because his contract probably puts the company on the hook for any legal expenses charged against him as part of his boss job. But he’d look bad in public, which might make him think about playing nice with the WGA to grab a little good press. Or so one can wish.

By: DA in LA

DA in LA — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:15:44 +0000

Failing up. Way up.

By: BBa

BBa — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:14:30 +0000

Just one more reason why the WGA should spend every minute the AMPTP spends stonewalling negotiating directly with new media giants like Google, Apple, Yahoo, etc. Let’s cut out these overstuffed, 20th century robber barons and claim the future for ourselves. In an era when any college kid with talent and a digital camera can make make a pretty damn good webisode, we really don’t need these greedy thugs.

By: WGA Writer with Business Sense

WGA Writer with Business Sense — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:48:49 +0000

Everyone is being so harsh about this so-called excessive compensation, but has anyone considered what kind (legitmate and yet probably not deductable) expenses Les is incuring in terms of tanning bed rental and/or spray tan applications?

How is he expected to be “the face” of CBS if that face isn’t tanned like a desert iguana?

Perhaps the excessive tanning is an attempt to level the facial playing field between himself and Sumner “Crypt Keeper” Redstone.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:55:15 +0000

What I would really love to see is Leslie’s prenup.

By: outside the gates

outside the gates — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:54:21 +0000

What’s he make for doing his “More With Les” segments on Letterman? Probably not enough. I hope this makes up for it!

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:34:18 +0000

Follow the money! Moonves is being paid for something that doesn’t show up on the P&L Statement.

Follow the money!

By: ReelBusy

ReelBusy — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:37:58 +0000

Nice timing on this news Les. Yet again the studios and moguls show us what lousy PR skills and timing they have. Can’t someone bring them news of the real world to their Ivory Towers? I just had a thought, is this why the marketing of so many movies is so bad? Same teams writing up the press releases right? Maybe with better studio PR and marketing every movie would be successful.

By: A L Katz

A L Katz — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:25:55 +0000

Anoynymous —

I wish I knew who ya were — I’d buy ya a beer for putting it so beautifully. C’mon out of the shadows, dude (or dudette). To parapharase Butch Cassidy (William Goldman actually of course) You see it all with twenty-twenty vision while the rest of the world wears bi-focals…

By: Frustrated Bystander

Frustrated Bystander — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:18:09 +0000

ROTFLMAO Anonymous at 5:32pm. That was GREAT! And remember they should be allowed to deem anything that Les does as “promotional” work and not pay him anything at all.

By: John Brownlow

John Brownlow — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:12:33 +0000

I think both Sumner Redstone and Les Moonves are smart, smart people. Moonves is one of the most gifted TV schedulers there’s ever been. But this package is gonna like pretty stinky in February when CBS has three strains of CSI in reruns (it does horribly in reruns) and Fox has American Idol plastered over the schedule.