More juicy details have emerged from the ongoing legal battle between NBC Universal and the Weinstein Company over the Project Runway franchise. Get this:
In testimony in N.Y. State Supreme Court this month, movie/TV mogul Harvey Weinstein told the judge that the fashion mentor (Tim Gunn)wasn't paid anything in the show's first season.
Thats right, Tim worked for Harvey free of charge! Season 2 may have brought him fame, but not much fortune:
The second season wasn't much better for Gunn: He got only $2,500 per episode, according to testimony in the court battle, which pits NBC/Universal against the Weinstein Co., which owns "Project Runway," over taking Heidi Klum's popular show from NBC's Bravo to Lifetime.
The Weinstein Company got Tim on the cheap. But wait, there's more...
NBC/Universal president/CEO Jeff Zucker also took the stand in the court session. Zucker, who is supposedly friends with Weinstein and attended his wedding to Marchese designer Georgina Chapman, was questioned under oath about an e-mail he'd sent telling Bravo execs to show marathon reruns of "Project Runway" in the same time slot that Lifetime plans to air the new show's season in November. He was proud of the plan, explaining, "I'm a competitive guy."
Ahh - the ruthless business of broadcasting. One day you're toasting the groom, the next you're planning his ratings demise. The bright side: we'll have plenty of Runway to choose from come November! Of course Harvey had to go and get personal:
Weinstein also testified that he "disliked Bravo management." That would surely mean Bravo/Oxygen/iVillage chief Lauren Zalaznick. More than one source used the H word in describing the relationship: "They hate each other."
Now, we've never met Harvey Weinstein and are pretty sure that we would cower and run if it did occur, but we have met Bravo's Lauren Zalaznick and can only state that she has been nothing but kind and supportive to the BPR community. How can you hate her?
Will NBC be successful in their lawsuit? Stay tuned for the next episode of Project Courtroom...
Previously on BPR: Project Courtroom, Act I
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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