Tepid interest in Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt’s wedding might be a sign of tough economic times in the magazine world, according to sources. Even though the new season of “The Hills” was watched by nearly 3 million people and the couple has been a newsstand success in the past, no magazine snatched up exclusive rights to photos for their wedding this weekend.
Why? No one weekly was willing to spend the cash the couple wanted. In tough economic times, not just any celebrity can command big bucks, and the couple could theoretically make more money by offering the photos to all the weeklies instead of just one.
“The total number that (Montag and Pratt) used to get from exclusive photos is down. It’s sometimes better to go all round with the deal and ensure you make money and get exposure, particularly when television shows are involved,” said In Touch’s Editor in Chief Richard Spencer.
The couple didn’t comment on their strategy, but a source close to them said that now that everyone’s watching their bottom line, there was no bidding war to drive up the price, and this all-around deal was the best way to make a buck in tough times.
“They’d rather be on page 50 of Us, People, In Touch or Life & Style than be on the cover of a magazine like OK! that isn’t going to sell. They need to make money, and so does the magazine. The formula is changing,” said the source.
OK!’s Editor in Chief Katie Caperton said she couldn’t comment on the record about any deals, despite rumors that OK! made an offer the couple turned down.
‘Dirty Jobs’ needed in stimulus package “Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe thinks the nation’s unemployed should consider working with the sludge, muck and sewage he slings around on a regular basis.
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“Look, Obama doesn’t want to create 4 million lawyers or investment bankers or actuarial accountants or, sorry, writers,” he told Outside magazine.
Rowe wrote the president a letter offering his public relations services for connecting people to trade and infrastructure jobs. He describes his new Web site, MikeRoweWorks.com, as a “call to arms” for skilled labor that is meant to cast off the drudgery associated with, well, dirty jobs.
Weekend box office Four diverse offerings at the box office should be good for the overall 2009 bottom line, but will make it tough for any one release to be a runaway hit. In contention: “Earth,” a G-rated documentary from Buena Vista. It could have an impressive weekend if the success of “March of the Penguins” is any measure, but “March” had a vastly different rollout — it didn’t go wide until the buzz and momentum already existed.
At the other end of the spectrum is a “Fight Club” redux, “Fighting,” starring Channing Tatum. The weekend will prove whether he’s a box-office draw, but regardless of name recognition, it will help that the film targets a male demo, is PG-13 and opening in 2,100 theaters.
There’s also the Jamie Foxx-Robert Downey Jr. film “The Soloist,” which shouldn’t be a threat thanks to terrible reviews. And that leaves my pick for the No. 1 spot, “Obsessed.” The marketing machine behind this film has been doing a commendable job of getting its star, Beyonce Knowles, in front of audiences, there’s enough of a suspense element to draw a date crowd, and it has the magical rating of PG-13.
Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com. Follow Scoop on Twitter: @ courtneyatmsnbc.