Big Tony @tonislapasc - Twitter Profile

about 9 hours ago

“Give or take $100,000,000.” That is how Merv Griffin answered when 60 Minutes asked how rich he was. February 1989 He said he had about $200 million in cash and over $1 billion on paper The cash came from three years earlier, when he sold his production company and two game shows, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, to Coca-Cola for $250 million The money trail: 1963: he wrote a lullaby for his young son. By his own account, it took about 30 seconds 1964: it became the Jeopardy! theme 1986: Coca-Cola paid $250 million for his company and both shows 1987: the company made $140 million in profit, and about $40 million of it was his 1989: he bid $300 million for Resorts International in a hostile fight with Donald Trump 2005: he told The New York Times the theme alone had earned him $70 to $80 million in royalties Do the math. $70-80 million is roughly 28% to 32% of the $250 million Coca-Cola paid for the whole company The tune is still on every Jeopardy! episode. More than 10,000 so far In the video below, Griffin himself explains how rich he is Take $250 million in cash today, or keep a piece of it forever?

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toniSlapasc retweeted

Leon Kessler

@GupaloVasyr7o4

about 16 hours ago

“I got nothing $175,000.” Orlando Bloom said this about The Lord of the Rings on the Howard Stern Show in 2019. He says he was a nobody when he signed. The host asks the obvious question: “How many billions for the three?” The trilogy grossed over $3 billion at the box office. He was not the only one who felt shortchanged. J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate got $62,500 upfront for the three films. In 2008 it sued New Line for about $150 million, saying it never received the 7.5% of gross receipts it was owed. The case settled in 2009. The terms are secret. Director Peter Jackson’s company sued New Line in 2005. The complaint said the studio took improper deductions for home video, used the wrong DVD royalty rate, and failed to audit its own affiliates. His lawyers said it could be as much as $100 million. In 2007 they settled. The deal cleared the way for The Hobbit. The terms were never disclosed. In the video below, Bloom still calls the role “the greatest gift of my life.” Fame or a share of the gross: which one would you take?

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Big Tony

@toniSlapasc

about 11 hours ago

He had one job: ask a normal question. “What’s your favorite position” was NOT it 😭

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Big Tony

@toniSlapasc

1 day ago

Meet my new neighbor. Did she just smile at me?

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Leon Kessler

@GupaloVasyr7o4

1 day ago

Taylor Swift spent years trying to get her original music back When she signed her first record deal at 15, she probably wasn’t thinking about what it would mean to lose control of those recordings one day. But that’s what happened. Her first six albums ended up in someone else’s hands, and she couldn’t simply buy them back. So she found another way. She re-recorded the albums, giving herself ownership of the new versions while continuing to work toward getting the originals back. In 2025, she finally did. The owner was Shamrock Capital. Instead of sending lawyers to negotiate, Taylor sent her mom and brother to explain why this mattered so much to her. When the deal was done, she said she cried on the floor. After a decade of disappointment, she’d almost stopped letting herself hope it would happen. I think there’s a bigger lesson here than just music rights. Sometimes making more money isn’t the same as building something you actually own. If you had to choose, would you rather earn more from your work or have full ownership of it?

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Leon Kessler

@GupaloVasyr7o4

3 days ago

“I just happen to be the most famous porn star in the world.” Jenna Jameson said it in the middle of a joke about bake sales. It was also true. But fame was not the part that paid her the most. By 2000 she had her own company, ClubJenna. In 2006 Playboy bought it. Her own deal came with service agreements, so the founder stayed on the buyer’s payroll. Playboy’s press release said one thing about the price: the terms were not disclosed. In the video below, years later, she tells the next generation what to do: “Own their own image, build their own company, produce their own movies, own their own name.” The face is rented. The company is owned. Fame or ownership: which one would you take?