LeAnn Rimes and her unemployed actor husband Eddie Cibrian spent the holidays in Mexico. How do I know this? I saw the pictures of LeAnn celebrating the birth of Christ and the New Year on a yacht in a white string bikini. Her hair, as you can imagine, is perfectly tousled and her makeup applied by angels. Somehow the paparazzi that normally follow celebrities around New York and Los Angeles also decided to spend some R&R in the same vicinity of two fame seekers in a foreign country known for kidnapping tourists?
Remember those pictures of Blake Lively's family Thanksgiving celebration in Utah? Somehow a photographer was able to track down her whereabouts during her very private family affair? You know, the one held at a lovely Bed and Breakfast that her sister just happens to own? Somehow this rouge photog got access to a balcony overlooking the dining room so he could capture her next to Ryan Reynolds and seated between the mashed yam soufflé and the cranberry relish?
Crawl out from under your rock, Pollyanna. These celebrities are making money off all these staged photos. Don't believe me?
I am reading Jo Piazza's Celebrity Inc. (a great read for the weekend), where she discusses how famous people make money. In the chapter on Spencer Pratt and famewhoring she touches on the business of staged photos, which is one of "Hollywood's dirty secrets and a revenue stream that even A-list celebrities take advantage of."
Here is how it works.
Celebrities, our their representatives, strike a deal (typically a year-long contract) with a photo agency to broker the sales of staged photos to tabloid magazines, TV shows, and websites around the world. Profits from the sale are split down the middle, the celebrity, and the agency receiving 50 percent. The checks come in on a monthly basis. If an agent or publicist brokers the deal, they take a 10-15 percent cut off the top.
So Eddie Cibrian finds other ways to contribute to the couple’s joint back account. (Since Mama is the one really bringing home any bacon in that house). Blake Lively continues to get the press she craves in order to move up the fame ladder. (And throw her sister a few bones while she is at it).
-Kate Casey
Kate Casey is a Pop Culture Lover. PR Pro. New mom. Comedy nerd. Celebrity gossip fan. Follow her on Twitter
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