Eye hot for LL Cool J
Rapper-actor signs seven-figure deal with CBS
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Pact, worth just over seven figures, isn't specific to any studio, which means the multihyphenate will have access to the broadest possible list of potential scribes and producers. That's unusual in an era in which most talent deals go through a net's inhouse studio.
Deal also guarantees that LL Cool J, along with Alchemy Entertainment's Jason Barrett, will serve as producer on whatever project the rapper-actor ends up. Development is expected to focus on dramas.
CBS landed LL Cool J, aka Todd Smith, despite strong interest from at least two other networks. Webheads had been chasing him since last fall, when the thesp made a well-reviewed guest turn on "House."
Gig allowed him to show off his dramatic chops and resulted in a slew of pilot offers last spring. Commitment to launching his most recent album, "Todd Smith," prevented him from moving forward on any pilots, but the turn on "House" convinced him TV was worth pursuing.
Deal with CBS marks a return to television for the actor, whose last regular series role was as the star of the 1990s NBC/UPN laffer "In the House." He's since starred in features including "Any Given Sunday" and, most recently, "Last Holiday."
A year ago, LL Cool J and Alchemy inked a multipic, multiyear deal with Lionsgate Films to producer lower-budget pics. Duo's first project under the deal, romantic thriller "Overnight," is in development.
TV pact with CBS comes after LL Cool J signed with Endeavor.
