'Sopranos' star may be liable

LOS ANGELES -- HBO fired back Tuesday at "The Sopranos" star James Gandolfini in court, saying the actor must settle his contract dispute or risk being liable for more than $100 million in damages.\nIn a counterclaim filed in Superior Court, HBO is "seeking the damages that will result from his failure and refusal to perform his contract," said Bert Fields, the attorney for the cable channel.\n"Those damages are staggering. It would mean the loss of two years of 'The Sopranos' that is probably in excess of $100 million," Fields said Tuesday.\nGandolfini, who plays New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano in the hit HBO drama, had filed a Superior Court complaint claiming that HBO breached his contract.\nHBO missed a deadline for advising him that his services would be needed for a fifth season, scheduled to begin filming on March 24, the actor alleged. \nFields called Gandolfini's claims "frivolous" and "demonstrably false."\nThe complaint didn't mean that Gandolfini would fail to report for filming, Gandolfini's attorney, Martin Singer, said last week. A call to Singer seeking comment Tuesday was not immediately returned.\nFields said Gandolfini must do more than come to work.\n"We can't proceed if he doesn't affirm his contract," the lawyer for HBO said. "If he sticks with the position he's taking now, we won't have another season of 'The Sopranos.'"\nThe dispute is linked to Gandolfini's salary demands, Fields said. Although HBO offered him a "very generous increase, he asked for a massive one," he said.\nHe declined to give specifics. The Daily News of New York has reported that Gandolfini, who earns about $400,000 an episode, is seeking $1 million an episode, while HBO is offering $800,000.\nSunday, Gandolfini received a Screen Actors Guild award for his role in "The Sopranos." In his acceptance speech, he called HBO "a great place to work"