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Lindsay's Wariness
I interviewed Lindsay Lohan on Friday afternoon. She was very late as
usual, but I'm used to that with her. I had nothing important to race to so
I hung out in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel talking to a wise man in
TV. He's a very popular personality, someone I consider a friend, and we
had a great discussion.
When people think they know how much money somebody makes, especially in TV where it's our job to make it look easy and it turns out to be a lot... it's harmful to
said personality. It has been widely reported and people think they know how much Katie Couric made at "The Today Show," give or take a few million (15 mil per year),
they know how much Meredith Vieira is getting to replace her (10 mil); they think they
know Matt Lauer's contract was adjusted to reflect his seniority (13 mil per
year).
Nobody knows what Regis makes; nor Diane Sawyer, or Nancy O'Dell. The guy I was talking to recently finished a new contract - he did very well. But nobody
will know the terms of the deal and how much is involved, because peoples'
perceptions of you can and likely will change.
I do believe women on TV stand to suffer more grief from people knowing how
rich they are, and men less, because of traditional, imbedded sexism. But
still, while it may pump a certain person's ego (do not discount the agent
who orchestrated the deal) it turns people off.
So, in summation, I will work hard to ensure nobody ever knows how much I
make.... (Note: if it's embarrassingly low compared to others, I will be
covered under this valued principle).
After a shake and a hug with my mystery friend, it was back to my interview
room for Lindsay. She came, the interview went decently, and I left
realizing this about her: She is very tainted by press interviews and now instinctively feels like everybody's out to get her. She's been through a lot for a 19-year-
old... one who made almost 8 million dollars for her current film, 'Just My
Luck.'
One step towards getting press people to lay off might be to keep
them in the dark about how much money you're making - it only makes you less
real and harder to truly accept.
Finally, how about this new Web site... sweet, huh?
Congrats and thanks to our IT and Web Masters - Jeremy, Eric and Jenna - we
now dominate online as well.
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