BILLING BATTLE
Touchstone Pics has finally managed to placate star Shelley Long over billing for “Outrageous Fortune,” upcoming in February. Bette Midler will have top billing in half of the country and Long is No. 1 in the other half. That means two sets of posters, lobby cards, trailers, etc.
According to a rep for Long, her top billing was guaranteed, since she was the first star signed for the film. But Midler, star of Touchstone’s two recent hits, “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” and “Ruthless People,” ain’t exactly chopped liver.
According to one source, agents for the two stars battled over the issue “for hours.” The end result, said Long’s rep: “Shelley has generously decided not to pursue the top billing as guaranteed in her contract.”
One insider called the truce “a very creative solution to the problem of having such big stars in the same film.”
Now, what about foreign territories, not to mention cassettes, cable showings, etc.?
“We will cross those bridges when we come to them,” said a harried studio exec.
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