Farrah Fawcett Cashing in on Cancer Battle?
Actress stands to make a healthy sum from home video of her treatments.
June 11, 2008 — -- Farrah Fawcett will tell all about her battle with cancer in an upcoming documentary — and potentially make millions in the process.
The 61-year-old actress, who was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006, worked out a financial deal with "Entertainment Tonight" earlier this year to give the show exclusive video footage of her treatments. Now the footage will be sold to a broadcast network and turned into a documentary.
"It's called 'A Wing and a Prayer' and it's in post-production," Craig Nevius, the producer of the documentary, told ABCNEWS.com. "We're negotiating. We don't have a deal yet, but we've negotiated with several networks and we're down to one."
Nevius added that the documentary will likely air "within six months." He called the footage, which he shot along with the former "Charlie's Angels" star and her friends, "incredibly unique."
"Most of the footage was shot by Farrah or by Farrah's friends on her home video camera. Ryan O'Neal [Fawcett's boyfriend] shot some of it, Joan Dangerfield [widow of actor Rodney Dangerfield] shot some of it, I shot some of it. … It's a very personal exploration of her cancer fight and her fight to protect her privacy from the tabloids and paparazzi."
Asked how much the footage might sell for, Nevius said, "It's inappropriate for me to even comment on it. It's not why she did it, it's not why I'm doing it. But of course, we don't want to lose money on it."
But he called reports of Fawcett making more than $2 million "absolutely crazy."
However, if Fawcett did bank millions in the deal, it wouldn't be a surprise. Tabloids drop enormous sums of money for exclusive celebrity wedding and baby photos — People magazine reportedly paid up to $6 million for the first shots of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's twins. Rumors are brewing about a $10 million bidding war for the first photos of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins. It stands to reason that a broadcast network would cough up a similar amount of cash for home video of an actress as famous as Fawcett.
"Entertainment Tonight" has run dozens of "exclusives" on Fawcett's battle since 2006. Asked about the show's deal with Fawcett, a representative told ABCNEWS.com, "Entertainment Tonight often licenses footage, a common practice among media outlets."
ABCNEWS.com's calls to Fawcett's representative was not immediately returned.
Though doctors declared Fawcett cancer-free in February 2007, they discovered a few months later that her cancer had returned. In September, People magazine reported that Fawcett was in Germany undergoing alternative cancer treatments while being filmed.
Nevius said that while Fawcett's cancer is now undetectable, she's not rushing to declare herself cancer-free, again.
"She's receiving follow up treatment in terms of checking and maintenance," he said. "At the moment, she has no detectable cancer and she's cautiously optimistic. But we're not going to rush to judgement. Time is the test to know if she's cancer-free."