TED CASABLANCA....5/11/00
"They're being real hard-asses." --Source close to the prickly (and pricey) negotiations between NBC and the six stars of the megahit that is Friends
Guess to which side of the talks I refer? (You might be surprised.)
According to my network and studio spies, NBC is not at all inclined to pay a cool mil to each of its Yuppie performers, those being Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer.
But they're grudgingly planning on okaying the gargantuan green anyway, say these sources.
One of my colleagues who is close to the cast of Friends confirms that the six-pack, en masse, is indeed requesting seven digits for its next raise--not, according to other reports, one cent less--and the demand has NBC in a snit.
Who can blame them?
Of course, what most network defenders in this little boob-tube showdown might be overlooking is the fact that Warners Television stands to make sizable profits in syndication from the show should the deal be worked out.
Just how sizable?
"Huge," said a Friends source, "so much so it makes what [the cast] is asking for look like the price of a Pottery Barn catalog."
Warners and NBC had no comment.
But who really cares about all that moolah messiness? Isn't it the stars' offscreen love lives that audiences ultimately enjoy the most? If you don't know the answer to that query, you do not have permission to read the next item--go pick up a nice Cokie Roberts essay, why doncha? * * * "He's down in Mexico, in the middle of nowhere, filming The Mexican with Julia Roberts--there's no way he'd find the time." --Brad Pitt's publicist, on the rumors that B.P. and Jennifer Aniston are marrying this month
Which is the gossip that's coming off the lot where Jen films (for the moment) Friends. And it's supposed to be a quiet ceremony, so say those who say they know what they're gabbing about.
Oh my, if this happens, will I ever be embarrassed. I'm the one who said all
along they'd never get married.
Well, I'm sure I've been wrong before. (I just can't think of when.) Perhaps this will be my comeuppance. I dare say I've noticed Brad mellow in the past few years. Apart from all those Woody Harrelson-esque activitites he's always pulling, I think Jen has actually tamed the boy a bit.
Plus, mutual friends say they are absolutely "adorable" at dinner parties. (Trust me, it's not an adjective I would have chosen.)
Listen, if they're happy, I'm happy. Contrary to what you may imagine, nobody's more for true love in this town than moi.
P.S. to B.P.: When the cameras aren't rolling, I'd say it's best to shy away from any prenuptial discussions with Julia. That chick doesn't exactly have the best record for showing up at the altar.