Leibovitz Staves Off Foreclosure

(NEWSER) - Photographer to the stars Annie Leibovitz is in a widely reported financial pickle, but it really comes as no surprise to those close to her, New York reports. Leibovitz is now engaged in baroque legal wrangling over her catalog, but her troubles started earlier. Insiders say a suspected “contract for life” with Vanity Fair and a $250,000 day rate are hogwash, and that she has simply lived above her means for quite some time. “She wanted her life to be like a magazine spread,” an associate says. More»

(NEWSER) - A financial firm is suing Vanity Fair photographer Annie Leibovitz for failing to cooperate to repay a $24 million loan, reports the Telegraph. Leibovitz last year put up her photographs and two homes as collateral for the money to pay off debts. But now Art Capital Group said the 59-year-old photographer is engaging in "boldly deceptive" conduct to dodge selling some of that property to begin repaying the debt. More»

They can't afford $1,500 fees

(NEWSER) - Between 200,000 and 1 million Americans this year are so down-and-out they don't even have enough money to file for bankruptcy, a new study finds. The average cost of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection is about $1,500—$300 just for the paperwork fees in court and the rest to pay for a lawyer, reports Yahoo! Finance . Bankruptcy is considered a "last financial lifeline" and without it, destitute Americans are seeing their debt snowball. More»

Future looks bleak for photography pioneer's workers, retirees

(NEWSER) - The once-mighty Eastman Kodak company has filed for bankruptcy. The 131-year-old firm, unable to reinvent itself quickly enough for the digital age, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning after running out of cash to fund its turnaround, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company says it has secured a $950 million line of credit from Citigroup to allow it to keep operating during restructuring. More»

Photog owes fee for $40M loan: company

(NEWSER) - An investment firm that claims it saved celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz from financial ruin is now suing her for failure to pay the company $800,000 in service and finder fees. Brunswick Capital Partners wasn't paid after finding a private equity group to advance a $40 million loan to bail out the strapped Vanity Fair photog, according to court documents filed in Manhattan. Leibovitz, 60, nearly lost all of her art and the rest of her holdings last year after violating the terms of a $24 million loan, reports Reuters . More»