Washed Up at Age 14?
Southlake artist Olivia Bennett tries to cope when Oprah stops calling.
CURLED UP ON A PAIR OF BROWN sofas, overlooking the backyard pool at their Southlake home, 14-year-old Olivia Bennett and her mom Michele discuss business.
“I just want to get out,” Olivia says, meaning out of the contract with her California-based rep, Ben Valenty. “I’ve got a quota every month.”
Her mother says, “I just want to call him and say, ’It’s over.’ Nothing has been selling. He’s probably selling one or two paintings a month, whereas before he was selling four or five originals, plus prints.” The slowdown, she opined, had to do with a noticeable drop in media coverage. “You get media hits, you sell like crazy. Media dies down, nothing happens.”
A year ago, Olivia made national headlines when she painted a rose with American flag petals and vowed that the proceeds from sales of the $495 prints would go to Afghan children, the money funneled through the American Red Cross. The media loved the story of the little girl, then just 12—and a cancer survivor, to boot—who wanted to help others. She’d already raised $50,000 toward a $100,000 goal. The press coverage drove the price of some of her paintings to $15,000 apiece, and she appeared on Oprah, met President Bush, and was featured in Teen People and Southern Living. Valenty even published a book about Olivia’s life.
But now Michele says she can’t even get her daughter booked on Sharon Osbourne’s new talk show, even after Olivia offered to sell Osbourne a painting at a discount, just for the opportunity. The problem, says Michele, is that Valenty isn’t working hard enough.
“She can only paint and put the product out there, and if he can’t sell it, it’s not my fault. It’s his,” Michele says. “He was on a roll there, and somehow he let it go. Now he’s got Alexandra in the national media.”
Alexandra is California’s 18-year-old Alexandra Nechita, promoted since she was 8 as “the petite Picasso.” Valenty has also represented California’s Beso Kazaishvili (“the young Dali”), and another Dallas child artist, Amanda Dunbar, who now attends SMU. Valenty got her on Oprah, too, and said her work resembled Claude Monet’s. Both Kazaishvily and Dunbar have severed ties with Valenty; Nechita split with him briefly when her parents sued him in 1999 for, among other things, withholding an estimated $2.3 million in royalty payments. (They reached a $223,000 settlement in August 2001.)
Valenty, in fact, has an interesting resume. In 1986, he was sued by investors for $5.3 million after three precious-metals businesses of his went bankrupt. Then a rare-coin company of his went bust, leaving $5.1 million in debts. His next two ventures—selling old movie posters and, then, Disney memorabilia over the phone—were shut down by the Federal Trade Commission for fraudulent pricing. Each time, Valenty was fined $150,000 and banned from telemarketing for life. He was also sued for sexual harassment by a former employee and lost a $340,000 judgment. He changed the spelling of his name, from “Valenti” to “Valenty.” Then he got into the business of child prodigies.
Now, less than two years into their six-year contract with Valenty, the Bennetts want out. Michele says that her royalty statements are often late and filled with accounting errors. She doesn’t know exactly how many paintings Valenty has sold since their contract was signed, because she hasn’t kept track. She also doesn’t know how much each painting has actually sold for, because she doesn’t receive any sort of paperwork, like a copy of a check, to verify a painting’s sales price. In an effort find out, two months ago, she mailed letters to 30 buyers asking how much they’d paid for their Bennetts.
“There have been paintings that Olivia sold that have been awesome,” Michele says, “and I was like, ’You only got 10 [thousand] for that?’” Three years ago, her paintings sold for $25.
As for wanting to help Afghan children—the perfectly timed publicity hook that thrust Olivia into the national spotlight—that was a ploy. “I did those paintings because I wanted to do something for September 11, but Ben said Afghan children,” Olivia says. Both the Bennetts and Valenty said $50,000 had been raised for the cause, but now Olivia and her mother say they doubt the Red Cross ever received anything.
Calls to the American Red Cross bear this out. “We’ve checked under Ben Valenty’s name and variations of his company name, and we’ve checked under [Olivia’s] name. Nothing was found,” says Amber Allman, Red Cross spokesperson.
“I’m just sick of him,” says Olivia. “Before, I was painting because I loved it. Now I have to meet my quota. I want to get away from Ben and do what I want.”
So does Michele, who clearly appreciates that this means mother and daughter both have work to do. “The original story is awesome,” Michele says. “The story is there: Olivia, the package. But now we have to come up with a new idea. That’s why we did the book. Right? To get on some shows. But he dropped the ball on that. We told him Regis and Kelly was doing a show on talented kids, and he’s like, ’I’ll call them.’ I don’t think he’s gonna make it happen. Cosmo Girl is doing her, too. It would be good if Cosmo Girl came out before this [article].”
At press time, the Bennetts were awaiting response to their letter-writing campaign, and they had yet to break up with Valenty. And Sharon Osbourne still had not called. —Ellise Pierce
Photo Courtesy of Fort Worth Magazine
THE NEW GOSSIP
Can She Build It?
Some folks in Highland Park are atwitter over Angie Harmon’s new development deal. Word is that she plans to tear down an older home and build something a bit more spacious in its place. Harmon’s spokesperson confirms that the comely actress and her hard-tackling husband Jason Sehorn have purchased another home and plan to build on the lot. A girl’s gotta store her back issues of In Style somewhere.
12-Stepping Ferret
David Guthartz, a man obsessed with ferrets, was once told by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, “There’s something deranged about you.” Now Guthartz is after Dallas native Rich Hull, the creator of Showtime’s new adult animated series Free for All, which features a ferret named Angus who happens to be a sot (an addiction he picked up in a science lab before he was rescued). Guthartz, the director of Ferret’s Rights Advocacy, accuses the show of “promoting and condoning the abuse of alcohol and drugs by ferrets.” To which Hull replies: “Angus is an animated character, for goodness sake.” Showtime officials hastened to say that the network “supports proper respect for ferrets.” As do we.
A Dream Deferred
A while back we received an intriguing unlabeled manila envelope containing the proposal and specs for the Morning News’ new monthly style magazine called Get It. In the leaked documents, Get It’s target demo is described as “spoiled rotten teenagers” and “self-indulgent baby boomers.” The papers also indicated Get It was supposed to launch this month. Now, though, with the News having sunk a rumored million bucks into the project, the premiere has been pushed back to February.
TRENDSPOTTING: In light of the blockhead yakking away on his phone during the movie previews, Sprint has designated September “Cell Phone Courtesy Month.” We also heap shame on loud-talking louts in restaurants.
| RESTAURANT | RING TONE | OVERHEARD | HOLSTER? |
Highland Park | Mi Cocina | “chirp, chirp” | “You tell A-Rod times are tough.” | Never |
Addison | Champps | Nokia ring no. 2 | “Kick ass. I’ll meet you at Duke’s Roadhouse.” | Of course |
Oak Lawn | Hunky’s | Vibrate. Mmm …vibrate. | “Can you hear me now? Can you feel me later?” | You wish |
Downtown | Metropolitan | Theme from Beverly Hills Cop (meant ironically) | “I thought you were meeting us here. Where is everyone?” | Who Cares? |
Woman on Top
Last summer was tough for JENNA DEWAN. The 22-year-old Dallas native and Grapevine High School grad had endured the harsh spotlight before, as a backup dancer for P. Diddy and Janet Jackson. But this was different. Justin Timberlake had just broken up with Britney Spears and had fallen into Janet Jackson’s arms for a little solace. But he also—apparently and near simultaneously—took a fancy to Dewan, who was then backing *NSYNC. The New York Post’s Page Six reported that Timberlake and Dewan “tongue-wrestled” at a Planet Hollywood, and for months, Dewan’s boldface name appeared in gossip columns and hard-hitting news programs around the world. “It was really surprising, and I was irritated because most of the stories were not true,” she says from Los Angeles. “My mom started getting calls at 6 in the morning. It was kind of like, wow.” Things have settled down somewhat, and now the 5-foot-3 yoga addict is pursuing an acting career. She had a small part in the Rob Schneider vehicle The Hot Chick, and a new Adidas television campaign featuring her moves will run in the fall. Plus, no more tongue-wrestling at Planet Hollywood. —Lindsay Davis
Photo Courtesy of Roklin Management
THE LIST
Allen Questrom
Susan Byrne
Jim Estill
Ron Parker
Carol Glendenning
Sally Dunning
Elvis Mason
David Cossum
Cathy Moore
Lindsey Sanders
Curtis Fesser
Cece Fowler
Mimi Raymond
Maria Beikman
Phil Baker
Matt Dabney
Rita White
Colleen Taylor
Brian Nervey
Catherine Stone
Neil O’Brien
Christof Syré
Mark Frankhauser
Sally Berry
Lou Faulstich
Nelda Cain Pickens
Rebecca Dugger
Norma Smith
QUESTION & ANSWER |
| Dallas’ PENNY LYNN was featured in Playboy’s September cover pictorial, “The Women of Starbucks” (which followed August’s “Women of Enron”). Lynn, 32, told Playboy that she lives to shop and that she’s proud of her paternal grandmother, a Sioux princess. D Magazine: I’m just spitballing here, but what are your feelings about the “Women of Kinko’s”? Penny Lynn: [Laughs] I haven’t heard about that one. Are they going to do a “Girls of Kinko’s”? I’m sure they have some hotties there. |
You’ve Got Junk
A new state law introduced by a Plano rep makes junk mail in Texas Illegal. But so what?
Subject: “Want a bigger package?” “Reduce Your Mortgage.” “Free Golf Wedge—Best In The World!” “Fioricet, Soma, Buspar, Prozac, and More Prescribed Online and Shipped to Your Door.” “Fit In Your Bikini.”
On September 1, sending these e-mails in the state of Texas becomes illegal, thanks to a bill introduced by Rep. Brian McCall (R-Plano). We join 35 other states that ban spam. But if you think it’s going to make a bit difference to the amount of junk e-mail you get every day, then we’d like to tell you how you can dramatically enhance your orgasms!
First, how the new law works: we Texans can sue spammers each time an unwanted advertisement lands in our inboxes. If you find the offending spammer, and it is indeed in Texas, you can seek the lesser of $10 in damages for each “unlawful message” received or $25,000 per each violation day. Spammers, however, can operate legally so long as they tag the subject line of e-mail with “ADV,” for regular spam, and “ADV: ADULT ADVERTISEMENT,” for spam featuring naughty bits. Each message is required to provide recipients with a way to opt out of mailing lists. If the state finds a spammer breaking the law, there’s no criminal penalty unless the content is sexually explicit—in which case the spammer faces a fine not to exceed $2,000 and/or 180 days or less in jail. If a citizen tries to collect spam damages, he’ll need to send a copy of his petition to the attorney general via certified or registered mail within 30 days of filing a lawsuit. Any later and he—the spamming victim—will be fined up to $200.
Is that all clear?
The most obvious problem, of course, is that much of the world lies beyond the borders of Texas. Brian McCall acknowledges this. “The intent is to both provide a legal penalty for those sending unsolicited e-mail and to coordinate state law with recent technological advances,” he says. “I acknowledge that … our new spam law has jurisdictional limitations.”
Diane Lettelleir, a technology lawyer with Winstead Sechrest & Minick, puts it in plainer language: “I think it’s a political ‘see what we’ve done for the citizens’ type of thing. I don’t think most spam originates in Texas.”
But even if that “Hot Teenagers!” message were coming from your next-door neighbor, you’d still have another problem if you tried to get him to stop.
“Maybe this will be helpful against egregious violators who can be found,” says Thomas Kulik, an attorney at Patton Boggs. “But the time spent seeking a civil judgment might be greater than the time spent deleting annoying messages.”
Delete, delete, delete, delete.
-Phil Harvey
The Price of Spam
Technology experts say that anywhere from 35 percent to half of all e-mail traversing the Internet today is spam. It costs companies and governments thousands of dollars a day in lost productivity—not to mention wasted bandwidth and storage space.
So what does spam really cost? Perot Systems just started blocking spam in January and now turns away some 65 percent of the messages that come to its e-mail systems. Chief information officer Mike McClaskey says, “If we assume it takes only one second to deal with a piece of spam, based on our e-mail volume today, if we didn’t have spam filtering, it would probably take the equivalent of four full-time employees’ time each day just to delete all the spam.” Here’s what spam probably costs four local organizations:
ORGANIZATION | ANNUAL SPAM COST |
