The Wall Street Journal reports that Jennifer Lopez is close to signing a new deal as judge with American Idol.
After months of negotiations, Fox Broadcasting Co. and Jennifer Lopez are close to brokering a deal to bring the singer and actress back to the “American Idol” judging panel for at least one more season, according to people familiar with the talks.
That’s pretty much the news bulletin. Not much to report beyond that. All parties are keeping mum on the issue. Producer Cécile Frot-Coutaz, declined to comment on the negotiations when contacted by WSJ, only to say, “We’re in good shape. No worries. No dark clouds on the horizon.”
And Jennifer’s people say, “There is nothing to announce”. FOX won’t comment at all.
The Hollywood Reporter speculates (and I tend to agree) that Jennifer, who made 12 million last year, is holding out for a more Simon Cowell-like salary. He earned 35 million a year. Will she get it? She might. Those in the Idol bubble complained about Jennifer’s bland judging style, but your average viewer seemed to like her just fine. TPTB won’t upset the apple cart if they can help it.
Poor Jennifer is going to need a steady job to distract her from her impending divorce from Marc Anthony. She’ll also have to shore up all her courage to work along side him in the Simon Fuller produced project, Q’Viva!, which is scheduled to begin shooting in the fall.
