Although it isn't possible to put a price on happiness, it is entirely possible to put a price on the exclusive photo rights to a sort-of famous television star's upcoming wedding to her sort-of less famous NBA star fiancé.
And OK! accomplishes just that by bidding a reported $2 million for the privilege of capturing Eva Longoria's "I do!" for posterity. Or at least, for one glorious tabloid cover.
Page Six reports:
June 25, 2007 — JUST as David beat Goliath, upstart OK! has given People a knuckle sandwich in the ongoing weekly-celebrity-magazine wars.
Sources said People "laid the groundwork" for landing exclusive photos of Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's July 7 wedding - but Page Six has learned that OK! won the frenzied bidding. Sources close to the negotiations said OK! paid more than $2 million.
Congratulations, OK! Shelling out $2 million for a washed-up soap star's nuptials is, indeed, a celebrity weekly coup of biblical proportions.
Now, all that's left to do is sit back and revel in your brand new purchase. Oh, and keep your fingers crossed that Britney's next breakdown, Angelina's next adoption and TomKat's next extra-terrestrial bundle of joy can all wait until after the pre-planned (and pre-paid for) "LONGORIA/PARKER TIE THE KNOT!" issue comes out.
Editorial Director
[...] By comparison, in 1999 OK! paid David and Victoria Beckham a measly £1 million ($1.45 million) for their wedding photos, but then got trumped by The Sun newspaper, which published five unauthorized photos before the magazine. Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar were paid an estimated £2 million by Hello!. The American OK!, meanwhile, is said to have paid $2 million for Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's wedding photos. [...]
[...] Eva Longoria (of Mexican descent) and Tony Parker (black) managed to sell their wedding photos to OK! for $2 million last year, but it's arguable Longoria has transcended her skin color (yes, that's as awful as [...]