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Alec Baldwin “Rust” Manslaughter Case Dismissed, A Real Life “My Cousin Vinny” (See Video)

Roger Friedman
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Alec Baldwin “Rust” Manslaughter Case Dismissed, A Real Life “My Cousin Vinny” (See Video)

Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter case in Santa Fe was dismissed earlier today. The grounds were that the overzealous prosecutor, determined to make Baldwin suffer because he’s movie star and from New York, didn’t share evidence with defense attorneys.

Luckily, the judge got the picture.

The whole thing sounds like a movie, doesn’t it? “My Cousin Vinny” was about crackerjacks in a small Southern town trying to make an example of New Yorkers. And you know what happened there: Marisa Tomei got an Oscar.

Alec Baldwin is a lightning rod figure. He has a short temper that’s gotten him in trouble a lot in New York. But we get it, we can take it. The people in Santa Fe showed their true colors, their lack of sophistication, and their unfounded desire to make a point. They lose.

Good for Alec. Some time ago, Baldwin’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, told a friend of mine he was going to get Baldwin off. “It’s definitely happening,” they said. I was skeptical because Hannah Gutierrez Reed was sent to jail, and every time Spiro tried to get the case dismissed, he failed.

But that’s a good lawyer. Spiro must have known this was going to be the result if he was just patient. I hope they sue the city of Santa Fe. They put the Baldwins — who were already mourning the death of Halyna Hutchins — through all this for nothing.

Of course, this a great plot twist for the Baldwins’ reality show, currently filming.

Box Office: “Longlegs” Has Legs, Channing Tatum-Scarlett Johansson Romcom Crashes, “Horizon” Loses 740 Theaters

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Longlegs” Has Legs, Channing Tatum-Scarlett Johansson Romcom Crashes, “Horizon” Loses 740 Theaters

Box office Thursday previews:

Neon’s “Longlegs” with Nicholas Cage has the studio’s biggest opening night ever.

The horror thriller made $3 million on Thursday night. This pic has a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Is it scary? Only for the other studios.

What happened to Sony’s “Fly Me to the Moon”? Just $875,000 in previews. This does not bode well for the Channing Tatum-Scarlett Johansson romcom. Sony thought it would be another “Anyone But You.” Maybe word of mouth will pick it up.

Kevin Costner’s “Horizon” goes into week three, dropping 740 theaters. You can’t say this movie didn’t get a lot of publicity. Costner was all over the place. But now that Warner Bros. has killed off the 9 other hours of this miniseries, “Horizon” is just going to drain out this weekend.

At Last! Anthony Mackie as Captain America Coming Next Winter in “Brave New World” (Watch Trailer)

Roger Friedman
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At Last! Anthony Mackie as Captain America Coming Next Winter in “Brave New World” (Watch Trailer)

Anthony Mackie finally gets to star in his own Marvel film!

In “Captain America: Brave New World,” Sam Wilson takes over the role from Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. It’s about time Mackie got to be the lead in a Marvel movie. The trailer looks excellent. Release date is February.

Harrison Ford also stars, and Liv Tyler comes back to movies after a break. Where is Sebastian Stan’s Bucky? I’m sure we’ll see him get Easter-egged in there somewhere!

Pop: The Zombies, of “Time of the Season” Fame, Retire as Leader Rod Argent Suffers Stroke

Roger Friedman
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Pop: The Zombies, of “Time of the Season” Fame, Retire as Leader Rod Argent Suffers Stroke

I am sad to report that Rod Argent, who has performed with Colin Blunstone as the Zombies for 60 years, has had a stroke.

I am such a fan of the Zombies and Argent. Their music has left an indelible impression on the pop world since the 60s. Their hits — “Time of the Season,” “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” — have lasted and grown. I’ve used Rod Argent’s solo hit, “Hold Your Head Up,” as my ring tone forever.

Argent is 79 will now go into rehab and therapy. But the Zombies’ touring days are over. His managers say in an email:

“Rod has asked us to convey that he has made the very difficult decision to immediately retire from touring in order to protect his health. He was already preparing to wind down his live performance schedule after health scares on recent tours (a Fall 2024 USA run was in the works that was intended to be his final overseas tour, and a farewell to the country that launched The Zombies’ career in 1964). However, the stroke was an unmistakable warning sign that the risks are too great. Rod still firmly intends to continue his other creative joy of writing and recording with The Zombies, and has already been back at his piano for some much-needed “Bach therapy”.”

Argent was the writer, Blunstone was the singer. They split up, got back together, and went on. I saw them perform about 20 years ago and they still had it, combining classical and jazz elements into their contagious rock.

One of Rod’s lasting songs is “She’s Not There.” Years ago, Santana re-arranged and recorded it, and gave the song a whole new life. If you watch CBS, the network uses the opening notes as its music cues for station identification. Whenever I ever hear, I feel like Pavlov’s dog!

“Time of the Season” will outlast all of us. I do hope Rod has made a lot of money from his publishing so he can recover from this stumble. He and Colin deserve a cushy retirement. Colin will continue to perform solo.

Managers Chris Tuthill & Cindy da Silva have an important message to fans: “if a classic artist that has made music you love is performing nearby, don’t miss the opportunity to see them. You can sit on the couch and binge Netflix another day. The communal experience of a live performance by a veteran artist is a singular and joyous moment. These artists are treasures who have stood the test of time and are giving their all, but they are fragile human beings like all of us. Don’t miss out.:

How right they are!

I hope Rod gets paid for this, too:

Katy Perry New Single “Woman’s World” Courts Trouble With Co-Writer, Producer Dr. Luke Who Settled Kesha Rape, Sex Harassment Case

Roger Friedman
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Katy Perry New Single “Woman’s World” Courts Trouble With Co-Writer, Producer Dr. Luke Who Settled Kesha Rape, Sex Harassment Case

Katy Perry is dropping a new single today called “Woman’s World.”

It’s a high spirited anthem, like her “Roar,” and could bring her a much needed hit.

But “Woman’s World” is already getting pelted by critics. For one thing, Katy is shimmying around in scant clothing, pushing sex, which might seem counter to women’s empowerment. Or maybe that’s the point.

More important: a co-writer and producer on the track is Dr. Luke, aka Lukasz Gottwald, who was accused of rape and sexual harassment by singer Kesha. Perry stood up for Dr. Luke in court, but dozens of other female stars like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, went to bat for Kesha.

The Dr. Luke-Kesha case went on for a decade, and was finally settled right before a trial. But if you’re releasing a song called “Woman’s World,” is Dr. Luke the right look as producer? It’s not like Gottwald’s participation would make or break the record’s success. Perry — despite even liking or believing Gottwald — could have easily had a different production team.

How much Dr. Luke appears on Perry’s album, called “143,” won’t be known until it’s released on September 20th. But tonight, “Woman’s World” will set the tone for the whole project.

Eminem Warns Fans: New Album is Conceptual, Listen in Order or Or It Won’t Make Sense

Roger Friedman
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Eminem Warns Fans: New Album is Conceptual, Listen in Order or Or It Won’t Make Sense

Eminem is dropping his new album tonight. It’s called “The Death of Slim Shady,” and it should wake up the sleeping record biz.

It will be a nice antidote to Taylor Swift — who’s been number 1 for three months!

But Marshall Mathers has a warning for his fans: “Public service announcement: the “death of slim shady” is a conceptual album,” he says on Twitter, “therefore, if you listen to songs out of order they might not make sense. Enjoy.”

Ratings: “House of the Dragon” Finally Picks Up Steam with 4th Episode, Sees Small Rise

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: “House of the Dragon” Finally Picks Up Steam with 4th Episode, Sees Small Rise

It’s taking “House of the Dragon” fans a long time to warm up to the series’ second season.

This Sunday, “HOTD” ratings rose for the first time in four weeks. They were up 6.8% in total viewers, and 22.22% in the key age demo.

That said, episode 4 is ranked only the 3rd highest of the four that have been shown so far at 1.2 million.

These numbers are all from HBO’s cable channel, and don’t include streaming on MAX.

What’s going on here? Insiders tell me that they’re seeing increased numbers for Season 1, as viewers are going back and watching the series in order. So they say there will be a lot of delayed viewing of Season 2.

That sounds plausible, I guess. And maybe by this past week, viewers are catching up and joining the show in progress.

We’ll see if episode 5 has a big increase as the newbies join in.

RIP Shelley Duvall, Gifted Actress, Burned Bright in 7 Robert Altman Movies, and The Shining

Roger Friedman
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RIP Shelley Duvall, Gifted Actress, Burned Bright in 7 Robert Altman Movies, and The Shining

So sorry to hear about Shelley Duvall’s death at 75.

There was a time in the 1970s when certain actors worked so much and were so unusually gifted you looked forward to seeing them in movies. That was the case with Shelley Duvall.

She appeared in seven Robert Altman movies, most memorably in “3 Women.” She won Best Actress at Cannes for her unique style. She starred with Keith Carradine in “Thieves Like Us,” and was also in “Nashville.” Altman really loved her, as did everyone in his repertory.

Their last film, “Popeye,” with Robin Williams, was a flop, although Duvall as Olive Oyl was pretty great.

Duvall became part of film lore when she co-starred with Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Her last part in a good film was in Steve Martin’s “Roxanne,” in 1987.

Quirky was one way to describe Duvall. She could make goofy seem sexy and bright at the same time. But she didn’t play the Hollywood game, despite dating Paul Simon in the 70s (they’re each in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall”). She lived with Dan Gliroy, a musician who’d been an early boyfriend of Madonna, since 1989.

Duvall, sadly, suffered from declining mental illness. Reports say she died from diabetes. She was “only” 75, younger than almost anyone in her generation, because Altman gave her her big break when she was just 20. She has a cinematic legacy that no one will forget.

Trump Attacks George Clooney on Social Media Calls Him “A Fake Movie Actor” Who Never “Made a Great Movie”

Roger Friedman
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Trump Attacks George Clooney on Social Media Calls Him “A Fake Movie Actor” Who Never “Made a Great Movie”

So see if you can follow this.

Donald Trump is now attacking actor George Clooney on social media.

Trump is mad that Clooney wrote a long letter in the NY Times asking Joe Biden to step aside from running from president.

Why? Trump hates Biden. But he also can’t stand the fact that Clooney praised Biden in his letter. That’s confusing, isn’t it?

Trump calls Clooney a “Fake movie actor” — which he clearly isn’t. He also says Clooney has never made a good movie. So he’s forgotten “The Perfect Storm,” “Michael Clayton,” “Up in the Air,” “O Brother Where Art Thou?”, “Oceans’s 11” and “13,” and quite a few more.

I wasn’t happy with Clooney’s letter. I felt he could have sent it privately. The need to grandstand in the Times was off putting since Clooney just co-hosted a huge fundraiser in Hollywood. Plus, Clooney’s wife, Amal, was part of the International Criminal Court’s condemination of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump is having trouble finding decent targets on his Truth Social. He’s been gagged from attacking the lawyers, judges, and witnesses in his trials. He did go after Nancy Pelosi today, but it seemed tired, like a dog losing interest pawing at a door to gain entry.

As for Clooney, thanks, George, that wasn’t necessary or gracious. Send a letter, don’t take out a page in the New York Times from you villa in Provence telling the president of the United States you don’t like him anymore. We can figure this out for ourselves.

(Bangs gavel.)

Order in the f***ing court!

Kevin Costner’s Lost “Horizon”: Entire Project in Limbo Now, with No Deal for Parts 3 and 4 (Exclusive)

Roger Friedman
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Kevin Costner’s Lost “Horizon”: Entire Project in Limbo Now, with No Deal for Parts 3 and 4 (Exclusive)

EXCLUSIVE It used to be people joked about the movie “Lost Horizon.” Produced by Ross Hunter, the extravaganza — starring Peter Finch — was one of the first mega flops in movie history.

Just the word “Horizon” should have tipped off Kevin Costner. His 12 hour “Horizon” project — originally intended for TV — has become a costly mistake.

Today Warner Bros. announced they would not be releasing “Horizon, Pt 2” to theaters on August 16th. Part 1 has been disaster. It will be put on Warner Bros. streaming service, Max, next month. Eventually, Part 2 will premiere on Max, as well.

Then what? I’m told exclusively that Warner Bros. has no contractual obligation for anything beyond Part 2. That film may also make it to MAX. But beyond that, Warner’s is done.

Costner says he’s going to start shooting Part 3 this summer. It may already be underway. But he has no one to distribute it. Forget about Part 4. It’s hard to imagine who would want to get involved in this project considering what’s occurred.

Costner would have to convince someone like Lions Gate to put the film in theaters for a distribution fee. Otherwise, Costner and his producers would be on the hook for everything. It’s unclear what investor would feel enthusiasm for “Horizon.” It’s lost, truly lost.

Is there any chance Costner can go back to “Yellowstone”? His character, John Dutton, has supposedly readily been killed off. Maybe Kevin could play his long lost nice twin, or an ancestor in a “Yellowstone” prequel.

If Costner’s smart, he’ll rewrite part 3 so it wraps up the whole story, and try it sell that one to MAX or whoever will take it.

I hate to say, as I said it before: “The Postman” always rings twice.

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