Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake has made a $100 donation to the campaign of Democrat Doug Jones, running against accused pedophile Roy Moore in Alabama. Moore– a vile choice for the US Senate– is now being funded by the Republican National Committee and endorsed by Donald Trump despite evidence that he is a criminal and pervert.
Flake wrote on his check: “Country over party.” Bravo!
Country over Party pic.twitter.com/JZMTaEYdxQ
— Jeff Flake (@JeffFlake) December 5, 2017
Lots going on this morning…
Danny Masterson, a lifetime Scientologist from a family of Scientologists, is best known for being on “That 70s Show.” Now he’s on Netflix’s “The Ranch” with “70s” pal Ashton Kutcher. But this morning, Masterson is fired from “The Ranch” and being written out as rape accusations pile up around him.
This is especially disturbing since Masterson is married to Bijou Phillips, the troubled youngest daughter of late Mamas and Papas founder John Phillips, and is plugged into LA’s tech world.
But Masterson has been accused of sexual assault by four different women. At the same time, the “Churh” of Scientology has gone to great lengths to protect him from prosecution, according to reports.
The breaking point with Netflix came apparently when one of Masterson’s accusers approached a Netflix exec after hours at a kids’ soccer game. She didn’t say she was an accuser, but asked the exec about Masterson. Andy Yeatman told the woman he didn’t believe the accusations. The story went viral quickly.
No one really watches “The Ranch” or knows what it is, so replacing Masterson isn’t a big deal. But Netflix finally taking action against him is, and the Scientology component doesn’t help since there have been many reports of violence against women in that cult….
MURDOCHS GETTING OUT OF MOVIE AND TV BUSINESS…
Seems from reports that Rupert Murdoch is finally getting of the movie and TV business. CNBC is reporting that negotiations are moving forward for Disney to buy Fox, or at least the entertainment part. When it’s done, the Murdochs will just be left with Fox News, Business and Sports. All the rest of it– your local Fox 5 channel, plus the “X Men” and even the current Oscar front runner, “The Post,” will be part of the Mouse House. Unclear how this affects the Fox lot in Century City, a very prime piece of real estate, since Disney has its own lot in Burbank…For Marvel, this will mean the repatriating of “X Men” to the fold. Fox also has its animation studio. Yesterday, the studio announced it was shutting down Fox International. Fox’s Stacey Snider could be out of a job, but she could also be heading to Disney for a bigger one…
Director Bryan Singer– sued and publicly shamed in the past with charges of pedophilia and sexual misconduct– is off the 20th Century Fox lot for good. He cleared out his offices this week after disappearing from the London set of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Singer claims he returned to the US to take care of an ailing parent. He says Fox knew this and wouldn’t give him the time. This doesn’t ring true.
Singer has made four blockbusters for Fox since 2003, all “X Men” movies. Worldwide they grossed almost $2 billion. If he’d needed time off for a family emergency, the studio would have agreed.
But that’s not it, is it? Singer was already involved in a high profile sexual harassment case in 2014. Although it was withdrawn and dismissed, the stench lingers on. Singer is also the subject of what we call a Hollywood legend from the movie “The Usual Suspects.” Now actor Gabriel Byrne has alluded to trouble on that set because of star Kevin Spacey’s misconduct. The dots are all about to connect.
Singer and Spacey aren’t alone. More stories are coming and they won’t be pretty. Some, like theirs, are hiding in plain sight. It’s just a matter of time. Hollywood, as a friend says, is eating itself. And it won’t be done until everything has been vomited up. It’s going to be a long winter. Even Wolverine won’t be able to help.
Thanks to Steve Zeitchik of the Washington Post and others who are down at an anniversary screening of Barry Levinson’s “Wag the Dog.” This is happening in NY right now at the Tribeca Film Center.
At a panel discussion moderated by John Oliver with Levinson, Robert DeNiro and Dustin Hoffman, Oliver has apparently broken the conversation to attack Hoffman over sexual misconduct charges. It sounds wild. Zeitchik and some others are Tweeting out the extraordinary story as it unravels in real time.
Newest:
Oliver cited Hoffman’s response to an accuser that his behavior on set was “not reflective” of who Hoffman is. “It’s that kind of statement that pisses me off,” Oliver said. “It’s ‘not reflective of who I am.’ But it IS reflective of who you were.”
— Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikWaPo) December 5, 2017
All hell has now broken loose on this Wag The Dog panel. The subject seemed over after seven minutes but Hoffman brought it up again, saying Oliver is not keeping an “open mind” and is unquestionably believing accusers, and a testy five minutes followed.
— Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikWaPo) December 5, 2017
Oliver just asked people to stop recording his argument with Hoffman on their phone. “That’s what I hate about the Internet.” But i mean, isn’t that why he brought it up? To have a public conversation?
— Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikWaPo) December 5, 2017
“You’ve made this incredible assumption about me, sir.” Hoffman said to Oliver. Oliver says it’s something he had to bring it up before we watch the film #wagthedog
— Laura Podesta (@LauraPodestaTV) December 5, 2017
Broadcast TV roared back to life last night with huge ratings for the nostalgia-oriented.
The 50th anniversary special for “The Carol Burnett Show” scored 15.2 million viewers. She did numbers as good as NFL Football. The show was so well produced and had just the right guests– Harry Connick Jr., Bernadette Peter, etc — that you couldn’t not watch it even if it was corny.
“Burnett” followed a big “60 Minutes” 50th anniversary with 11.3 million viewers. “60 Minutes” featured everyone who’d ever hosted a segment except for Charlie Rose. He was erased from the history. They even included Dan Rather! And Katie Couric!
Carol Burnett has been a class act for decades. How nice to see her looking so great, and thriving despite al her personal losses. It was a little unnerving to see Lionel Waggoner so aged, he was so robust as a young man. Harvey Korman is much missed. But I wonder where Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence were?
Tomorrow we’ll get the Sunday cable numbers for “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with Lin Manuel Miranda. It was a classic, a great episode featuring the musical “Fatwa!” It all ends badly, course. Kudos to Larry and his team!
UPDATE Singer issued a statement saying he was treating an ill parent and that they wouldn’t give him time off. Doesn’t sound right since Singer had made millions for Fox with “X Men” movies. Something else is going on. Here’s his statement:
“With fewer than three weeks to shoot remaining, I asked Fox for some time off so I could return to the U.S. to deal with pressing health matters concerning one of my parents. This was a very taxing experience, which ultimately took a serious toll on my own health. Unfortunately, the studio was unwilling to accommodate me and terminated my services. This was not my decision and it was beyond my control,” Singer said in the statement. “Rumors that my unexpected departure from the film was sparked by a dispute I had with Rami Malek are not true. While, at times, we did have creative differences on set, Rami and I successfully put those differences behind us and continued to work on the film together until just prior to Thanksgiving. I wanted nothing more than to be able to finish this project and help honor the legacy of Freddie Mercury and Queen, but Fox would not permit me to do so because I needed to temporarily put my health, and the health of my loved ones, first.”
EARLIER Where oh where is Bryan Singer? Is he trolling junior high schools for pals? He’s certainly not in London directing “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the Fox film about Freddie Mercury and Queen.
No, Singer has gone AWOL and Fox has fired him. That’s it. Two weeks before finish, Singer– who has still not shown up with an explanation — is out. His cinematographer, Thomas Newton Sigel, has been filling in for him.
Singer– who’s made plenty of movies– is telling someone that he has PTSD from the stress of shooting a movie about rockers and fat bottomed ladies. My guess is he’s given the people on set PTSD.
The word around town is that one of the major publications– Times, Post, Variety, etc– is about to spring a big story about Singer’s sexual malfeasance. He’s been the subject of lawsuits and stories in the past.
For Fox to fire him is a big deal since Singer is closely associated with their “X Men” movies. But enough’s enough. Someone will replace him immediately. The Directors Guild will have to come in and see what’s going on and who gets final credit.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” stars Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury and Anthony Scaramucci– no just kidding.
The Kennedy Center Honors went on just fine without Donald Trump sitting in the presidential box. Honorees Norman Lear, Lionel Richie, Gloria Estefan, LLCoolJ and Carmen deLavallade got the full star treatment from famous friends and relatives.
None other than Meryl Streep spoke for deLavallade, who was once her teacher at Yale. Famed ballerina Misty Copeland also gave deLavallade, a famed teacher and performer and widow of Geoffrey Holder, a toast.
Lionel Richie was given a tribute by his daughter Nicole Richie. (Brenda Richie, Nicole’s mother and Lionel’s ex, who famous beat up Lionel and one of girlfriends after finding them in bed together, was spotted. Nice to see they made up.) Stevie Wonder, Leona Lewis, and Luke Bryan performed for Lionel. Stevie sang “Easy,” Luke did “Hello,” and Leona finished it off with “All Night Long.”
Chaka Khan sang for Gloria Estefan, as did her talented daughter, Emily Estefan. Run DMC did the honors for LL Cool J, as did Queen Latifah. Rob Reiner spoke for Norman Lear, and there were clips from Lear’s shows like “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.”
Also seen at the KC tonight: Kenny Rogers, who had one of his biggest hits with “Lady,” written by Richie. Some local politico types like Rand Paul, Steny Hoyer, and Valerie Jarrett were on hand as well.
The Kennedy Center Honors airs on CBS later this month.
UPDATE: Sunday night’s opening for the “60 Minutes” 50th anniversary featured just about anyone who’d done a segment for the show from Mike Wallace, Morley Safer et al through Katie Couric and Dan Rather. But no mention of Charlie Rose. He’s been erased. Sad.
EXCLUSIVE So what happens to Charlie Rose’s staff? The people who work for Rose at his PBS/Bloomberg show were blindsided last month as the New York Times incinerated Rose’s career with stories of his sexual misconduct. Within minutes, it seemed, The Charlie Rose Show, which aired on PBS and produced by Bloomberg, was over, pulled from the air for good.
The good news, if there is any, I am told, is that the staff is being paid through December 31st. Whatever happens next, at least they get that. Some may even continue to be paid, and this is why: Rose owns the show and the archives. And the archives, with more than 20 years of clips of interviews with celebrities, financial wizards, government leaders and so on are worth a fortune in licensing fees.
Not only that: Rose, who’s probably finished with the networks, can repurpose the material any way he likes. Right now, I’m told, he’s focusing on how best to maintain his website, www.charlierose.com. The website’s traffic has been on straight increase in traffic since October, now ranking at around 12,775 on Alexa.com. Rose could turn the site into even more of a media destination, or sell the archives for a decent price.
Whatever happens, Rose is down but not out, that’s for sure. Last week he was seen dining late at night at Bilboquet, the Upper East Side hot spot. Diners did not shun him, but crowded his table for pictures and autographs.
The LA Film Critics’ votes are in. So interesting: they completely ignored “Get Out” and threw “Mudbound” a bone. They also snubbed “The Post” and “Phantom Thread.”
They tell you who the runners up are, just to make those people feel bad. And here’s the things with critics’ awards. They don’t affect the Oscars one iota. Nothing. So don’t get excited.
Best Picture— “Call Me By Your Name”
Best Director— tie- Luca Guadagnino “Call Me,” Guillermo del Toro, “The Shape of Water”
Best Actor— Timothee Chalamet, “Call Me”
Best Actress– Sally Hawkins, “The Shape of Water”
So runners up in Best Supporting Actor/Actress are Sam Rockwell, for Three Billboards, and Mary J. Blige for Mudbound. There was too much drama for Mary J. apparently.
The winners are William Dafoe for The Florida Project, just like the New York Film Critics; and Laurie Metcalf for Lady Bird, the likely Oscar winner.
Roger Deakins, the great cinematographer, was the runner up for Blade Runner 2049. They couldn’t just give him the top spot. The winner was Dan Laustsen for The Shape of Water.
Documentary winner: Agnes Varda for “Faces Places”; runner up “Jane” by Brett Morgen.
The whole runner up thing is very Los Angeles/Hollywood. They’re going to make you feel bad for doing something great.
U2 released “Songs of Experience” on Friday. It’s number 2 this morning on iTunes despite two great performances last night on “SNL.” The problem is that country star Chris Stapleton released two different collections on Friday, a Volume 1 and Volume 2 called “From a Room.” Each set has just 9 songs, so I call BS on that. The U2 album has 17 tracks and the deluxe version, which is also in the top 20, has 13. So I declare U2 the winner. (In Trumpland, you can do that.) Saoirse Ronan was a very good host. But ratings were meh last night. “SNL” doesn’t sell albums. Isn’t that interesting?
Get Out of Your Own Way
American Soul