Friday, September 27, 2024
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Mario Batali Sex Scandal Makes ABC Spit Out “The Chew” for More “GMA”– “General Hospital” in Trouble

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ABC has cancelled “The Chew” after seven years. Don’t think this isn’t related to the scandals surrounding famed chef Mario Battali, who was just accused again in The New York Times of rape and sexual misconduct. Battali was one of the co-hosts of “The Chew” until news of his troubles popped up last winter. A “60 Minutes” piece this past Sunday caused Battali’s company to cut ties with him.

The whole thing has a left bad taste in the mouth of ABC.

So the network will yank “The Chew” and replace it with “Good Afternoon America,” an hour of news and entertainment cut off from “GMA” by four hours. (They can’t take the intervening time– it’s local or syndicated. Plus powerhouse “Live with Kelly and Ryan” at 9am is owned by ABC cousin Disney.)

But this is a warning to “General Hospital” fans. The show is in ratings decline. If ABC can make “GMA” work at 1pm, it will come for the soap’s time in many markets at 2pm. The news this past week that “GH” had fallen to fourth place out of four soaps on the air doesn’t help. It’s time to get “GH” into the emergency room or face the Grim Reaper. ABC would like nothing to better than to get rid of a high priced dramatic program and replace it with cheap, recycled stories from the morning “GMA.”

Woody Allen Exonerated by Adopted Son Moses: “I was there – in the house, in the room”

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Moses Farrow’s posting this afternoon is so extraordinary, I wanted to write a second piece about it.

For 25 years, Mia Farrow has carried out a vendetta against Woody Allen that had no fact behind it. But she was clever. She cast Woody as a child molester, and brainwashed her children into believing it.

But Moses Farrow, several years older than Ronan or Dylan, was a witness. He writes in his piece: I was there – in the house, in the room.”

Moses knows Woody did nothing wrong.

But Mia Farrow, he says, was abusive:

When I didn’t give the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying and directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. She made me rehearse it at least a half-dozen times.

Moses writes about his mother’s family:

But the fatal dysfunction within my childhood home had nothing to do with Woody. It began long before he entered the picture and came straight from a deep and persistent darkness within the Farrow family.

It was common knowledge in Hollywood that my grandfather, the director John Farrow, was a notorious drinker and serial philanderer. There were numerous alcohol-fueled arguments between her parents, and Mia told me that she was the victim of attempted molestation within her own family. Her brother, my uncle John, who visited us many times when we were young, is currently in prison on a conviction of multiple child molestation charges. (My mother has never publicly commented on this or expressed concern about his victims.) My uncle Patrick and his family would often come by, but those visits could end abruptly as Mia and Patrick would often wind up arguing. Patrick would commit suicide in 2009.

He also writes about the children whom Mia adopted: For all of us, life under my mother’s roof was impossible if you didn’t do exactly what you were told, no matter how questionable the demand…

Most media sources claim my sister Tam died of “heart failure” at the age of 21. In fact, Tam struggled with depression for much of her life, a situation exacerbated by my mother refusing to get her help, insisting that Tam was just “moody.” One afternoon in 2000, after one final fight with Mia, which ended with my mother leaving the house, Tam committed suicide by overdosing on pills. My mother would tell others that the drug overdose was accidental, saying that Tam, who was blind, didn’t know which pills she was taking. But Tam had both an ironclad memory and sense of spatial recognition. And, of course, blindness didn’t impair her ability to count.

The details of Tam’s overdose and the fight with Mia that precipitated it were relayed directly to me by my brother Thaddeus, a first-hand witness. Tragically, he is no longer able to confirm this account. Just two years ago, Thaddeus also committed suicide by shooting himself in his car, less than 10 minutes from my mother’s house.

My sister Lark was another fatality. She wound up on a path of self-destruction, struggled with addiction, and eventually died in poverty from AIDS-related causes in 2008 at age 35.

Woody Allen’s Adopted Son Moses Farrow Defends His Father in New Post: “It’s time for this retribution to end”

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Moses Farrow has defended his adoptive father, Woody Allen, in a new post to his own blog.

Moses writes:

“I’m a very private person and not at all interested in public attention. But, given the incredibly inaccurate and misleading attacks on my father, Woody Allen, I feel that I can no longer stay silent as he continues to be condemned for a crime he did not commit.

I was present for everything that transpired in our house before, during, and after the alleged event. Now that the public hysteria of earlier this year has died down a little and I have some hope that the truth can get a fair hearing, I want to share my story.”

He concludes after detailing the events in 1992 that led Mia Farrow to accuse Woody Allen of a vareity of crimes:

To the actors who have worked with my father and have voiced regret for doing so: You have rushed to join the chorus of condemnation based on a discredited accusation for fear of not being on the “right” side of a major social movement. But rather than accept the hysteria of Twitter mobs, mindlessly repeating a story examined and discredited 25 years ago, please consider what I have to say. After all, I was there – in the house, in the room – and I know both my father and mother and what each is capable of a whole lot better than you.

To my sister Dylan:  Like you, I believe in the power of speaking out. I have broken my silence about the abuse inflicted by our mother. My healing began only after getting away from her. And what she has done to you is unbearable. I wish you peace, and the wisdom to understand that devoting your life to helping our mother destroy our father’s reputation is unlikely to bring you closure in any kind of lasting way.

Finally, to my mother: One thing you always said you appreciated about me was my ability to listen. I listened to you for years and held your truth above all others. You once said to me, “It’s not healthy to hold onto anger.” Yet here we are, 26 years later. I’m guessing your next step will be to launch a campaign to discredit me for speaking out. I know it comes with the territory. And it’s a burden I am willing to bear.

But, after all this time, enough is enough. You and I both know the truth. And it’s time for this retribution to end.

Broadway Upset: For “Pretty Woman” Musical Tony Winner Steve Kazee Out, Andy Karl (“Groundhog Day”) In

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It’s a big surprise this afternoon: for the upcoming musical version of “Pretty Woman,” the role of Edward– the millionaire playboy businessman lead– one Tony winner is out, and a popular Broadway actor is in.

Steve Kazee, who won a Tony for “Once,” and played Edward in the Chicago tryout, is out.

In, replacing him, is Andy Karl, star of the “Groundhog Day” and “Rocky” musicals of seasons past. Karl’s wife, the singer Orfeh, is already in the show.

Samantha Barks stars as Vivian, the hooker with a heart to whom Edward offers $3,000 to be his arm candy for a weekend in New York.

Rock star Brian Adams wrote the songs with Jim Vallance, Jerry Mitchell directs.  The late great Garry Marshall directed the original movie which had a screenplay by J.F. Lawton.

No word has been given for Kazee’s departure, although he recently suffered a loss when his family home in Kentucky burned to the ground. He has since started a GoFundMe page to help pay for the mounting expenses.

“I always figured I’d be playing the part of ‘audience member’ for Pretty Woman,” said Karl in a statement.  “When Paula Wagner and my longtime friend, Jerry Mitchell, asked if I would take over the role of ‘Edward’ it was a total surprise.  I was already a fan of the show after watching my wife (Orfeh) in the pre-Broadway workshops and then during the run in Chicago. She’s part of a tremendously talented cast.  Also, I was lucky enough to be friends with the great Garry Marshall, having worked with him before, and he created one of the most romantic stories of the 20th Century, so it didn’t take much arm twisting to get me to agree.”

Trump Cannot Block Critics on Twitter Says US Southern District Court in Ruling “The Answer is No”

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US Southern District Court judge Naomi Reice Buchwald has ruled that Donald Trump as President of the United States cannot block critics on Twitter.

Judge Buchwald wrote in her decision:

“This case requires us to consider whether a public official may, consistent with the First Amendment, “block” a person from his Twitter account in response to the political views that person
has expressed, and whether the analysis differs because that public official is the President of the United States. The answer to both questions is no.”
The case was brought by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University against Trump, Hope Hicks, Sarah Sanders, and Daniel Scavino.
You can read the decision here.

One Week Later, amFAR Provides No Accounting for Cannes Gala, Refuses to Respond to Queries

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A week ago tonight, amFAR held its annual fundraiser in Cannes at the Hotel duCap Eden Roc. Since then, there has not been a word about how much the event made. In past years, amFAR has touted its total that night or the next morning. This year, despite queries to their PR director, there has been nothing. Almost.

The one statement made by the organization, mired in scandal, is that they made “more than last year.” Last year’s given number was $20 million. So far all we know about the 2018 Cinema Against AIDS is that roughly $5 million was reaped from three auction items. One of them was $1.5 million derived from a painting of Bob Dylan by former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan.

That last item is a curiosity. Brosnan paints for a hobby. He has no track record of sales. Even in the overheated international market, one million dollars is a lot of money. You can buy a name painter for less money. So I’d put a red circle around that one.

This year’s Cinema Against AIDS had far less star power than ever before thanks to scandals involving the ouster of Harvey Weinstein and the resignation of Kenneth Cole. Brosnan was the biggest star to attend the event. There was no Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, etc. Even Cate Blanchett, head of the jury, skipped the whole thing. Kristen Stewart stopped by for a photo op.

amFAR continues to be weighed down by its own hubris. CEO Kevin Frost makes $600,000 a year. The rest of the staff commands very high salaries. amFAR thrives on parties and celebrities, undercutting its original purpose.

So we wait to see if they will give a figure for this year’s event– or any event. All we can really trust is their annual tax filing. But the one for 2017 has yet to be published. For this year, it will be 18 months until we see what they tell the US government.

“Roseanne” Finale Beaten by “NCIS” But Stays Above 10 Million Total Viewers, Promotes Trump Again

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The finale of “Roseanne” scored 10.3 million viewers, which was fine and more or less stable with the show’s ratings the last few weeks.

But it was also beaten by “NCIS” by a million viewers. “Roseanne” — as I wrote last night– promoted the Trump agenda and wasn’t particularly funny. “NCIS” had 1.4 million more viewers from 8-9pm.

“Roseanne” returns in the fall, for better or worse, with a new executive producer as Whitney Cummings is leaving.

 

Famed Director Ridley Scott Attacked by Asia Argento for Defending Luc Besson on Rape Charge: “Wake the f up, be on the right side of history”

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Actress and director Asia Argento (pron. ah-zee-ah) is attacking Ridley Scott for defending Luc Besson.

Scott, she says, fired Kevin Spacey from “All the Money in the World” when allegations were leveled at him.

Now Scott is defending Luc Besson. Scott said in a Tweet that Besson did not rape his long time mistress Sand van Roy. Argento is furious. She was in a four year relationship with movie mogul Harvey Weinstein that she says began with a rape.

Argento says to Scott: “Where is the coherence? You are old, but you still got time to wake the fuck up”

It’s a crazy time.

Vanity Fair Publishes “Summer Issue,” Skips July for First Time, As Budget Cuts Force More Layoffs

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Vanity Fair is cutting the number of issues it releases, from 12 to 10 a year. They’ve just sent out news of their first first ever summer issue, covering June and July. I’m told the same will happen for December and January.

The cut back to 10 instead of 12 issues a year comes as the glossy also has sustained more layoffs this month, firing six more staffers from the editorial department after 15 were let go in February.

On top of that, for the third month in a row the cover of the magazine is quite odd. The wonderful Emilia Clarke of “Game of Thrones” and “Solo” is featured, but the photo is not particularly attractive and the layout is less so. It’s so utterly different from a Vanity Fair shoot that we’ve come to know and love, you must wonder what in the world is going on. Are they trying to kill themselves?

Additionally, the cover is not by Annie Leibovitz, the famed Vanity Fair photographer for 25 years, but by Craig McDean. There’s nothing wrong with using new photographers, of course. But McDean’s picture of Clarke follows the cover photo two issues ago of Lena Waithe (the intervening cover was a stock pick up of the Royals). It’s spare and realistic, a departure from VF’s three decades.

Ironically, both the Waite and Clarke photos are reminiscent of the pre-Tina Brown Vanity Fair, which had black and white covers that were stark. That iteration of VF nearly went out of business.

Vanity Fair has also introduced a pay wall, so it’s impossible to read the articles on line now unless you pony up. It’s only 10 bucks for the first year. I’ve just paid it. Who knows if there will be a second year!

It’s fair to say we are in a new world of austerity for glossy magazines– smaller staffs, fewer issues a year, slimmer books. It’s the reason Graydon Carter left, and it’s going to be why Anna Wintour exits soon from Vogue.

Decades of excess combined with the internet killing off new generations of readers of the physical product have done them in. All the town cars waiting around on Madison and 43rd are now Ubers circling a fake World Trade Center. And in one week, Philip Roth and Tom Wolfe are dead.

 

Great, Great Novelist and Writer Philip Roth is Dead at Age 85, End of An Era in Modern Literature

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Stunning: Philip Roth is dead at age 85. Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut, John Updike, Norman Mailer. It’s sort of incredible, but the titans of literature who I grew up worshiping, admiring, are all dead. William Styron, Richard Yates, John Cheever. All gone.

Roth was the winner of many prizes, including the Pulitzer and National Book Awards. His books were hilarious and provocative, from “Goodbye, Columbus” and “Portnoy’s Complaint” to “The Ghost Writer,” “The Counterlife,” and dozens more. Philip Roth was famous for revealing Jewish life for a generation of post-War kids. He was controversial and combative, and alarming.

It’s almost impossible to think that Philip Roth is dead, actually. (I see this right now as Twitter fills up with tributes.) He’s occupied so much of my mind for 40 or 50 years. Terrible. God bless. So weird– just yesterday someone on my plane home asked me who my favorite living writer was and I didn’t hesitate to say his name.

Here’s the New York Times obit.

Movies were made from Philip Roth’s books and stories. They’re all worth checking out, although the best is from the story “Goodbye, Columbus.” “Portnoy’s Complaint” was a feature film, so was “The Human Stain.” More recently, Barry Levinson made a very good movie out of “The Humbling.”

Part of the great sorrow of learning of this death is that you knew Roth was always aiming for perfection. This is what he did. It was a higher calling.

From “The Ghost Writer”:

“I turn sentences around. That’s my life. I write a sentence and then I turn it around. Then I look at it and I turn it around again. Then I have lunch. Then I come back in and write another sentence. Then I have tea and turn the new sentence around. Then I read the two sentences over and turn them both around. Then I lie down on my sofa and think. Then I get up and throw them out and start from the beginning. And if I knock off from this routine for as long as a day, I’m frantic with boredom and a sense of waste.”