Brangelina Baby Pix Still Up For Grabs?
The rights to photograph Angelina Jolie's newborn twins are rumored to have been sold to a U.S. magazine for millions, but People magazine executive editor and Early Show entertainment contributor Jess Cagle said Monday that no deal has been made yet.
"I have to say nobody has these twins yet," Cagle told co-anchor Julie Chen. "There have been a lot of reports they've been sold to a magazine. Figures from $10 million to $20 million. All of that is wrong. There is no deal. Nobody has the pictures yet."
Cagle added that People definitely would like to have the photos, but would not say how much the magazine is willing to pay.
"Well, I can't comment on the millions," he said. "I would say we want them very badly. The nice thing about Angelina Jolie, the money does go to charity. It's nice working with Angelina."
There were reports and rumors that People paid $4 million for pictures of Jolie and Pitt's baby Shiloh two years ago.
Photos: Brangelina's Babies
"I can confirm there were reports," said Cagle. "I think that figure is a little wrong or maybe a lot wrong."
According to Cagle, publishers don't expect to make money back in magazine sales from paying outrageous amounts for celebrity photos. Their motivation is something entirely different.
"Whether it's a wedding or baby or any kind of big thing, nobody makes money on that," he said. "It is sort of like the couture of magazine, a loss leader. Any huge price like that you do it to stake a claim."
Jolie gave birth to a boy, Knox Leon, and a girl, Vivienne Marcheline, by Cesarean section on Saturday night in southern France.
The obstetrician who delivered the twins, Dr. Michel Sussmann, told The Associated Press that the actress, the babies and Jolie's partner, actor Brad Pitt, "are doing marvelously well."
He told the AP on Sunday morning that the boy weighed 2.28 kilograms (5.03 pounds) and the girl 2.27 kilograms (5 pounds). The 33-year-old actress gave birth at around 8 p.m on Saturday night, the doctor told the AP by telephone.
Pitt was there during the operation, said the doctor, who delivered the twins at the seaside Lenval hospital in Nice.
"Everything is going well," said Sussmann. "The mother, the babies, the father are doing marvelously well."
He said the Cesarean was moved forward from its originally planned date "for medical reasons" so that the babies could be born "in the best conditions." The doctor did not give details.
He said Jolie is expected to stay in the hospital for a few more days. The doctor said he believed that the baby girl's middle name was chosen in honor of Jolie's mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, who died in January 2007 after a 7 1/2-year battle with cancer.
Jolie and Pitt have four other children: Maddox, 6; Pax, 4; Zahara, 3; and Shiloh, 2.
Jolie had checked into the hospital late last month to rest and be monitored by her doctor before the birth.
Local newspaper Nice Matin, which first broke news of the birth, reported Sunday that the couple have sold rights for the first photo of their newly enlarged family to a U.S. publication, which it did not name, and that the proceeds would go to charity.