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Thread: Annie Leibovitz About To Lose It All

  1. #1
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    Annie Leibovitz About To Lose It All

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...XuBVAD9AHAK601

    Annie Leibovitz's artsy, provocative portraits of celebrities regularly grace the covers of Vanity Fair and Vogue, images that have made her as famous as her subjects and earned her millions.
    Now Leibovitz risks losing the copyright to the images â?? and her entire life's work â?? if she doesn't pay back a $24 million loan by Tuesday. Art Capital Group, a New York company that issues short-term loans against fine and decorative arts and real estate, sued her in late July for breach of contract.
    "We have clear contractual rights and will protect them in any scenario," said ACG spokesman Montieth Illingworth on Friday. "Our preference is for this to be resolved."
    Some experts say filing for bankruptcy reorganization could be the best option for Leibovitz, 59, who has put up as collateral her three historic Greenwich Village townhouses, an upstate property and work. She bought two of the townhouses in 2002, embarking on extensive renovations to combine them into one property. That spurred protests from historic preservationists and a $15 million lawsuit by a neighbor.
    "Based on the magnitude of her obligations and the facts as they are publicly known, that would be the best option," said art lawyer Peter Stern.
    Leibovitz's images of musicians, presidents and Hollywood glitterati are cultural touchstones. One of her earliest photos is of John Lennon curled up naked in a fetal position with Yoko Ono, taken just hours before he was assassinated in 1980.
    So to many, her decision to gamble the rights to her work seems inexplicable. "Jaw-dropping," Stern said.
    Her editorial agent, Contact Press Images, has declined to comment on the case, saying it is a private matter.
    Her spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, has accused ACG of harassment.
    "There has been tension and dispute since the beginning ... For now, her attention remains on her photography and on continuing to organize her finances," Hiltzik said.
    A reorganization filing would suspend all litigation against Leibovitz and place her finances under the protection of a federal judge, said bankruptcy lawyer Paul Silverman, who works with Stern. Neither attorney is involved in the case.
    Last year, Leibovitz put up her homes and the copyright to every picture she has ever taken â?? or will take â?? as collateral to secure the loan to pay off her mounting debt: unpaid bills, mortgage payments and tax liens, ACG said.
    While no one has suggested publicly how Leibovitz got into such desperate financial straits, the mortgage debt on all her properties â?? including the townhouses in Greenwich Village and a sprawling estate in Rhinebeck, N.Y. â?? totaled about $15 million. This includes the $1.2 million loan she took out on two of the townhouses, and another $2.2 million three years later, according to New York magazine.
    In addition to her mortgages, court records show that she piled up years of federal, state and city liens and judgments from vendors for unpaid bills â?? all presumably now satisfied with the $24 million she borrowed. Federal records show that Leibovitz owed a total of $2.1 million in unpaid taxes for tax years 2004, 2006 and 2007. She also had New York state tax liens of $247,980 for six years, including $135,915 in 2007. And she owed New York City several thousand dollars for three years.
    In 2008, a design firm that did work on one of her Greenwich Village properties claimed that she owed it $51,000. Leibovitz was also accused that year of refusing to pay $386,000 to a photo stylist during a 2007 shoot Leibovitz did for the Disney Company in 2007.
    Her spokesman, Hiltzik, declined Thursday to discuss her finances.
    "Annie is working to resolve the situation so it would be inappropriate to comment," Hiltzik said.
    Art Capital Group, which consolidated all her loans in September 2008, charged in its lawsuit that Leibovitz breached the contract by refusing to allow real estate experts into her homes to appraise their value and by blocking ACG from selling her photographs.
    ACG has estimated the value of the Leibovitz portfolio at $40 million; real estate brokers say her New York properties are worth about $40 million.
    Manhattan luxury real estate broker Leonard Steinberg of Prudential Douglas Elliman estimated the two Greenwich Village townhouses would be worth $14 million to $18 million in today's market. Steinberg is not the broker on the property.
    Leibovitz also owned an apartment in Paris, which she bought for her longtime companion, writer and feminist Susan Sontag.
    Leibovitz gave birth at the age of 51 to her daughter Sara in 2001, and has twins, who were born to a surrogate in 2005.
    ACG, with art gallery-like offices on Madison Avenue, is in effect a high-end pawn shop and just like pawn shops, is just as happy to see a default, according to art and money experts.
    Under the sales agreement with Leibovitz, Illingworth said, the company would get 10 percent commission on the sale of Leibovitz' real estate and 15 percent on the sale of her portfolio. Leibovitz would get the remainder after paying off the $24 million loan, interest and other fees, he said. If she defaults, the company would get a net 12 percent commission, after paying approximately 13 percent for costs and fees.
    Leibovitz, 6 feet tall with long blond tresses, joined Vanity Fair in 1983. Over the years, her lens has captured the rich and famous: Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II and Bruce Springsteen among them. She gave the world its first glimpse of baby Suri, newborn daughter of Hollywood's superstar couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, on the cover of Vanity Fair.
    Her Vanity Fair salary has been reported to be about $2 million, according to New York magazine. She also has done work for Louis Vuitton and American Express; she charges $100,000 for private portraits.
    A meticulous and demanding artist designated a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, Leibovitz makes her photo shoots lavish, sometimes theatrical affairs. For a portrait of Kristin Dunst as Marie Antoinette, she flew the actress and a crew to Paris for a shoot at the Versailles. She put Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub of warm milk. Many of her images are provocative and controversial, including those last year of 15-year-old Miley Cyrus exposing bare shoulders and back, and a portrait of a very pregnant and nude Demi Moore in 1991.
    Her financial problems escalated in 2003, during the renovation of her Greenwich Village townhouses. A neighbor sued her for $15 million after a common wall between their buildings was damaged. Leibovitz eventually settled by buying the neighbor's property for $1.9 million.
    Silverman, a past president of the New York State Bar Association bankruptcy committee, is not familiar with Leibovitz's case. But he said a bankruptcy reorganization filing would give her control of what assets need to be sold and which to keep.
    "It would allow her to decide the manner and method of the disposition," he said.
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

  2. #2
    Xtine Guest
    this is so sad. she has taken some truly wonderful, memorable, and famous photos.

  3. #3
    Flowergrrl Guest
    Many rich people lose everything. I always wonder how. If I was fortunate enough to be them financially I wouldn't need to buy 3 houses, a bunch of expensive cars, boats, etc.

    There are numerous people with money issues... Welcome aboard to their lives.

    She had it and wasted it.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ratgrrl View Post
    Many rich people lose everything. I always wonder how. If I was fortunate enough to be them financially I wouldn't need to buy 3 houses, a bunch of expensive cars, boats, etc.

    There are numerous people with money issues... Welcome aboard to their lives.

    She had it and wasted it.
    This is true, and now the privacy of some of those photographs obtained but perhaps not all authorized for public viewing, will be out there for all to see. Perhaps Tom Cruise or people like him, who might not want every negative she has floating around to be seen by the world, will bail her out.

  5. #5
    RaRaRamona Guest
    I'm so sick of hearing these about people who throw their money down a gutter & weep when it doesn't fly right back out to them.

    Sheesh I can't imagine the Miley photos would leak we'd all be arrested.
    Last edited by RaRaRamona; 09-06-2009 at 06:16 PM.

  6. #6
    Cadence71 Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by RaRaRamona View Post
    I'm so sick of hearing this about people who throw their money down a gutter & weep when it doesn't fly right back out to them.

    Sheesh I can't imagine the Miley photos would leak we'd all be arrested.
    Amen, sister. Talented as she is, apparently she has thrown it away and over-leveraged herself.

  7. #7
    RaRaRamona Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Cadence71 View Post
    Amen, sister. Talented as she is, apparently she has thrown it away and over-leveraged herself.
    And double shame on her for ruining historic homes. That makes me mad too.

  8. #8
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    Really fucking stupid. How much is enough? Why gamble your entire lifes work and sign away all future rights to your own work? How many properties and possessions do you need? How can you not be safe and comfortable and satisfied when youre worth over 40 million dollars? How do you let that slide through your fingers? I really have no sympathy. Regardless the dumb cunt isnt gonna be on skid row if she cant scrounge up her loan payment by Tuesday. Im sure most of us would enjoy her living conditions shell end up with after defaulting.
    A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

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    I don't feel sorry for these celebrities, and high profile people that burn through their money. It's just ricockulous! (so mad that saying ridiculous is not enough)! LOL! I too get tired of hearing about them losing their mega mansions, their cars, blah blah blah.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    When life hands you tequila, make a margarita.

  10. #10
    SenorMuerto Guest
    Here is a suggestion for her next shoot:

    A self-portrait, with her standing, on a skid row street, in front of a shopping cart filled with photographs, holding the linings of her empty pockets out.

  11. #11
    pvezz Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ichabodius View Post
    Really fucking stupid. How much is enough? Why gamble your entire lifes work and sign away all future rights to your own work? How many properties and possessions do you need? How can you not be safe and comfortable and satisfied when youre worth over 40 million dollars? How do you let that slide through your fingers? I really have no sympathy. Regardless the dumb cunt isnt gonna be on skid row if she cant scrounge up her loan payment by Tuesday. Im sure most of us would enjoy her living conditions shell end up with after defaulting.
    \

    I'm not as eloquent as you - lol - but I seriously thought the same thing. How you do piss away that much money?????

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    Quote Originally Posted by Valentino009 View Post
    It's just ricockulous!
    Ricockulous. Great word. I always use "regoddamndiculous" but I may switch to your word.

    I, too, have no sympathy for these celebutards that burn through their millions, twice. That's right, twice. Burned through it once then took out a loan against what they had left and burned through that too.

    Tough shit, dumb ass. Maybe next time you'll live within your means. I doubt it but there's always a chance.

  13. #13
    John Connor Guest
    I had no idea she was Susan Sontag's girlfriend. Maybe she's just been around for a long time but her stuff kind of bores me.

  14. #14
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    I have never liked her, she seems very selfish and egotistical. I hate for anyone to lose everything, but sounds like she had her chances.


  15. #15
    RaRaRamona Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by SenorMuerto View Post
    Here is a suggestion for her next shoot:

    A self-portrait, with her standing, on a skid row street, in front of a shopping cart filled with photographs, holding the linings of her empty pockets out.
    heeeeee

    Quote Originally Posted by Fool Moon View Post
    Ricockulous. Great word. I always use "regoddamndiculous" but I may switch to your word.
    I use "ridonkulous" but it's tired.

    Quote Originally Posted by John Connor View Post
    I had no idea she was Susan Sontag's girlfriend. Maybe she's just been around for a long time but her stuff kind of bores me.
    Me too

  16. #16
    ChargerBill Guest





  17. #17
    Aylen Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by ChargerBill View Post



    Probably the best work she's ever done.

    And I love that the photo above isn't cropped and you can see John's jeans are on the sofa.

  18. #18
    radiojane Guest
    Another devotee of the Orson Welles school of financial prostitution. At least he sold his soul for his art, not 3 houses!

    You know, I can almost ( but not quite) understand cases where at least some of the extraordinary amounts of money being spent were dedicated to the art form, the life's work etc. But to piss away EVERYTHING on fancy houses, (and especially more than one!!) is especially galling. If you can't control yourself, get an accountant and go on an allowance.



    I could have gone my entire life without seeing John Lennon naked with no regrets....

  19. #19
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    Ricockulous. Great word. I always use "regoddamndiculous" but I may switch to your word.
    You are more than welcomed, I borrowed it from the Mr. Yeah she is pretty much an idiot for burning through the money twice. Greed gets you nowhere!

    I use "ridonkulous" but it's tired.
    I used to use that word too


    Well her day is coming up tomorrow! I doubt she could recover what she owes, if she does, she will end up owing someone that money.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    When life hands you tequila, make a margarita.

  20. #20
    Nicki Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Valentino009 View Post
    I don't feel sorry for these celebrities, and high profile people that burn through their money. It's just ricockulous! (so mad that saying ridiculous is not enough)! LOL! I too get tired of hearing about them losing their mega mansions, their cars, blah blah blah.
    Ditto....its amazing how they get themselves in a pickle like this? There are so many citizens out there struggling to keep a job and food on the table, with the economy the way it is. How does someone with millions just piss it away?
    Last edited by Nicki; 09-07-2009 at 11:28 AM.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by ichabodius View Post
    Really fucking stupid. How much is enough? Why gamble your entire lifes work and sign away all future rights to your own work? How many properties and possessions do you need? How can you not be safe and comfortable and satisfied when youre worth over 40 million dollars? How do you let that slide through your fingers? I really have no sympathy. Regardless the dumb cunt isnt gonna be on skid row if she cant scrounge up her loan payment by Tuesday. Im sure most of us would enjoy her living conditions shell end up with after defaulting.
    It boggles my mind. I'd be more than happy to own one home, have a nice car, and the money I need, and if I had millions I'd give it to charity. There's several foundations, such as the Salvation Army, the Cheyenne tribe at Lame Deer, the Sioux at Rosebud, plus others, that I would love to support, but I can't. And it disgusts me that some celebs have millions of dollars and they have to have 3 or 4 homes, a fleet of cars, and whatnot, and they just flush it. I have no sympathy for them.
    GOD IS NOT DEAD





  22. #22
    Aylen Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by cindyt View Post
    It boggles my mind. I'd be more than happy to own one home, have a nice car, and the money I need, and if I had millions I'd give it to charity. There's several foundations, such as the Salvation Army, the Cheyenne tribe at Lame Deer, the Sioux at Rosebud, plus others, that I would love to support, but I can't. And it disgusts me that some celebs have millions of dollars and they have to have 3 or 4 homes, a fleet of cars, and whatnot, and they just flush it. I have no sympathy for them.

    That's what I'd love, too -- to have enough to give away and to make other people's lives better with it.

  23. #23
    Jack-O-Lantern Guest
    I agree with you guys. I'm sitting here trying to figure out how I can spare the puny $50 I usually send to the MDA telethon every year, and this year even that will be a stretch. But I'll do it anyway.

    I'm finding it more difficult by the day to sympathize with greedy rich famous people. And more importantly, why do so many people care about their exploits, when really, many/most of them are the world's most accomplished bottom-feeders? My patience with them has expired.

  24. #24
    Misha Guest
    Wow!! That photo of John Lennon and Yoko is just plain gross! I'd forgotten about that one. I like some of her other work though. And I'm not at all surprised by her financial situation. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

    Misha

  25. 09-07-2009, 01:43 PM

  26. #25
    HBennett Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by RaRaRamona View Post
    I'm so sick of hearing these about people who throw their money down a gutter & weep when it doesn't fly right back out to them.
    Agreed. Sorry but I do not feel bad for her in the least!

    She should've paid her bills and lived within her means!

  27. #26
    STsFirstmate Guest
    This unfortunatly is not a new situation for Annie. I think she is brilliant but she has always been a disaster with money. She would rent cars for shoots and just leave then on the street, Rent and leave props and camera eqipt. She would fail to pay processing labs to the tune of 10s of thousands of dollars.
    She was working for Conde Nast and her credit was so bad she was carrying around huge envelopes of cash to pay expenses on shoots. She kept losing the envelopes. Conde which is or was owned by Amex tried to get her an Amex Corp Card and were turned down. The Pres of Conde Nast had to step in to get her a card.
    There was a sad but facinating article in the Fashion Week edition of New York Magazine. The real issue at this point is that print is on it's ass as a media and her primary wealth was real estate homes in several places including Paris and that has also tanked. The make it part of make it spend it has evaporated.
    Susan Sontag apparently had never really been wealthy and Annie was the primary financial contributor in the relationship.
    I do think she is a wonderful artist who should have realized her shortcomings in this area and hired a tough minded business manager to handle her money and intellectual property rights. I hope she gets back on keel. Just as surprising in the same edition the haute couture designer La Croix is equally broke and this may be his last collection. Tough to believe as popular as he was a few years ago. He also sold to a syndcate that mismanaged his design rights and failed miserably at marketing his collections, jewelry and fragrances. I can't imagine selling my illectual property rights unless I was ready to walk away and retire.
    Regards,
    Mary
    Last edited by STsFirstmate; 09-07-2009 at 07:06 PM.

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