People magazine is poised to pay Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony between $4 million and $6 million for exclusive U.S. rights to the first photos of their expected twins, people familiar with the negotiations said last week. At the high end, the payout would not only match box-office receipts for J.Lo’s “Gigli,” maybe a modest achievement even for newborns, but also set a stratospheric standard in the market for celebrity baby photos. Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, after all, only generated $4 million — if that.
People magazine and the stars’ representatives denied last week that any deals were complete. “I have no comment on these particular pictures,” said Larry Hackett, People’s managing editor. In the Lopez camp, Leslie Sloane Zelnick said she had heard inquiries, but declined to say more. Simon Fields, Ms. Lopez’s production partner at Nuyorican Productions, said no deal was done. Asked whether one would be, he said, “I don’t know.” Fran DeFeo, a rep for Mr. Anthony, did not respond to messages.
But the tentative arrangement that others described divvies the rights into domestic use for People and international use for OK magazine, whose many editions abroad now include a start-up in Spain, at a reputed $2 million. The Lopez camp declined to confirm a due date, but staffers at the publications are expecting the babies to be born in the next few weeks.
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