Jon Gosselin: In search of large paydays

Jon Gosselin halted production on “Kate Plus Eight,” and his lawyer Mark Heller said the reason behind the sudden work stoppage is that “Jon is resolved not to allow the TLC corporate machine to devour his family and promote the monster’s best interests over those of his family.”

Standing up for family tends to be a good thing, but how will Jon pay the bills in the meantime? Gosselin will try to command big appearance fees, which would yield quick cash, according to several companies who have negotiated recently with Gosselin. The operative word there, is “try.”

“He wanted more than $30,000 dollars to show up for just a couple hours,” said one publicist who was dealing with Gosselin for an event. “The funny part was we didn’t even reach out to him. He called us asking to come. We didn’t pay him.”

Gosselin’s brazen request seems to have stemmed from the publicity he got after attending several parties associated with the VMAs.

1. More Entertainment stories
   1. Autistic ballerina dances her way into hearts
      

      In a popular YouTube video, the beaming little ballerina dances an entire four-minute routine seemingly perfectly, matchin...

   2. Every on-screen drink in 'Mad Men' in 5 minutes
   3. See the 'Dancing' stars' most memorable moves
   4. Emmy's biggest snubs? Cranston, Hamm, more
   5. 'Toy Story' toys burn up in prank on mom

Video: Attorney: Kate ‘wants to engage Jon’ “He wasn’t demanding big fees before the VMAs, but he wanted $20,000 to commit to another event right after,” said another source who recently dealt with Gosselin. “Sure, it’s publicity when he shows up, but we’re not all of the mindset that any publicity is good publicity, and I wouldn’t say he’s good publicity.”

Hudson doing better with A-Rod’s kids than teammates
Kate Hudson bonds quickly with her boyfriends, and apparently her relationships with their kids aren’t much different. Hudson is said to be quite close now with Alex Rodriguez’s daughters Natasha and Ella.

“The girls love Kate, and she’s especially bonded with Natasha,” reported In Touch.

Sounds like Hudson is doing better with Team Rodriguez that she is with Rodriguez’s team, the Yankees. According to a source close to several of the Yankee wives and girlfriends, Hudson hasn’t made many friends.

“Kate acts like she and Alex are married, and no one gets it,” said the source. “It strikes them as odd, and it seems suspicious. Kate’s not exactly part of the wives’ club.”

Liza Minnelli to cover ‘Single Ladies’
Slideshow: Celebrity Sightings This is perhaps the best spoiler to come from the “Sex and The City” sequel yet: Liza Minnelli is said to be performing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” during a wedding scene, according to Us Weekly.

Other scoop from Us: Miley Cyrus’ cameo will be during a scene that involves a red carpet for Samantha’s ex, Smith (Jason Lewis). Sarah Jessica Parker will be in the scene as well. The movie opens in May 2010.

Weekend box office
This is going to be an exciting weekend at the box office. The question of which film wins comes down to a battle of good versus evil. Will people want to flock to horror flick “Zombieland,” which opens in more than 3,000 theaters, or will they pay to see films that have been out for years, and see a double header of “Toy Story/Toy Story 2,” which opens in roughly 1,700 theaters, but has added 3-D scenes? Even with the ticket premium for 3-D, the chances that the “Toy” franchise will beat out a horror flick starring the eclectic cast of Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Abigail Breslin is slim. Also worth noting is “Capitalism: A Love Story,” which had a huge week last week — it only opened in four locations, yet grossed approximately $400,000, which bodes for its first weekend in wider release. I interviewed Michael Moore earlier; to see our full, unedited chat, click here.

Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter @courtneyatmsnbc