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Posted on 06/15/2005 8:22:14 AM PDT by Jenya
RUNAWAY DEAL AT NBC NEWS
DID NBC News pay for an interview with "Runaway Bride" Jennifer Wilbanks in a roundabout way, and has publisher Judith Regan turned into a booker for the Peacock Network?
Regan — who runs ReganBooks, an imprint of HarperCollins, which is owned by News Corp. — is widely credited with brokering the deal Wilbanks made with NBC.
Wilbanks became a huge "get" when she ran away from her fiancé, John Mason, without a word and fled cross-country. She later falsely claimed to police she'd been kidnapped and is repaying her hometown of Gainesville, Ga., $13,000 — the amount the town spent looking for her.
It was speculated the NBC deal would involve a book, a TV movie, a "Dateline" special and a "Today" show appearance.
But word out of Georgia is that Wilbanks has no intention of writing a book about her marital misstep, and instead scored a whopping $500,000 for a mini-movie deal with NBC's entertainment division — with the unwritten agreement that she would appear on "Today" with Katie Couric and do a Couric special on "Dateline," which are both produced by the news division.
Couric's interview with Wilbanks was taped Monday and is set to air next Tuesday and Wednesday. Her "Dateline" show will air Tuesday.
A network spokeswoman said: "NBC News has not, did not and will not enter any deals or put forth any money for an interview — ever. It sounds to me that this is sour grapes from a competitor who's missed out on a huge get."
Wilbanks' friends say: "There is no book." But they hear she will get $500,000 for the rights to her life story."
Another industry source said: "It is well known that NBC likes to keep NBC projects on the NBC lot. If the entertainment side is doing something, it is often promoted on the NBC News programs."
A ReganBooks rep said: "$500,000 for a mini-movie and 'Dateline' is incorrect," and refused to comment on whether or not a book was in the works.
An NBC News-er denied Wilbanks got any consideration. "Oh, please. Sean Hannity at Fox News is also interviewing her" — albeit a day after Couric's interview airs.
Judith Regan snags Jennifer Wilbanks [book/movie deal for runaway bride]
Posted on 06/08/2005
What story??!
Wonder how this will shake out.
From some photos I have seen, she has the rack for it. As long as they are perky.
I thought there was some law in GA that said she couldn't get royalties from her crime since it was a felony? Maybe I'm wrong.
Oh for crying outloud. A TV movie or a book? I think I'll runnaway now so I can get my own TV movie or book.
I thought the town spent more.
So9
That may not be a disqualifier....some of their "celebrity" pictorials have had assets that were on a bit of a southward course. If she wants quick bucks, a nude pictorial would be an option for her, and as flaky as she seems to be (after all, the guy she was going to get hitched to is as big a goob as they come), I wouldn't put it past her.
She should endorse Nike's.
I expect a legion of runaway brides in the next few days.
I still don't understand why this was a story in the first place.
Well, the collective IQ of our beloved country has just staircased down - again.
Consider two of the leading stories in America in recent months: Michael "Jesus Juice" Jackson and Jennifer "I Don't Know Where I Am" Wilbanks.
500 large for a story about some ditzy numb-taco of a chick who wouldn't grow up.
Geezey-peezey. It makes you want to go out and become an un-indicted co-conspirator...or something.
He may have come across as a "goob" at the beginning, but he proved himself a faithful, loving and loyal man who any woman would be lucky to marry.
and is repaying her hometown of Gainesville, Ga., $13,000
It was Duluth, not Gainsville, that she settled with.
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