Disney and Duff may Make Up

June 13, 2003

A week after announcing it was ending negotiations with Tween Queen Hilary Duff, the Wall Street Journal reported Disney chairman Michael Eisner has requested the two sides reopened talks. This could prove a wise move as Disney has some economic setbacks recently. Their traditional cell animation department is not the guaranteed hit maker like it used to be, and they will soon be losing a large revenue source when they renegotiate their relationship with Pixar Studios. In addition, ABC, which is owned by Disney, suffered through another weak season finishing barely ahead of fourth placed Fox.

Meanwhile, Hilary Duff’s career is taking off. Before negotiations began, Hilary Duff was known almost exclusively as Lizzie McGuire having only starred in one theatrical release with Agent Cody Banks. However, since then she has finished filming on Cheaper by the Dozen and is preparing for her role in The Cinderella Story, starting next month. In addition, she is working on her first album, Metamorphosis, set to be released in September and has a new line of cosmetics coming out called Stuff by Hilary Duff. At this rate, the only thing Hilary Duff has to fear is over exposure.

Current demands from the Hilary Duff camp are for $5 million for the sequel and $100,000 per episode. This is on par with fellow Tween Sensation Frankie Muniz, but it is significantly higher than what Disney was willing to pay. How the negotiations go from here could be interesting, Hilary Duff was right when she said, ‘We might not have seen the last of Lizzie.’

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Filed under: Agent Cody Banks, The Lizzie McGuire Movie