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Charlie Rose Accused of Sexual Misconduct Portending a Huge Blow to CBS News, PBS, Bloomberg

Roger Friedman
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Charlie Rose Accused of Sexual Misconduct Portending a Huge Blow to CBS News, PBS, Bloomberg

The Washington Post has just broken today’s sexual misconduct story, or should I say this afternoon’s disappointing revelation of 8 women who are accusing Charlie Rose of surprising and upsetting behavior.

As with Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein, Mark Halperin and so on, it would seem very difficult for Rose to remain on the air given this story. It’s utterly crazy– more claims of abuse of power, walking around naked in front of employees and young women, making passes, in appropriate to say the least.

It’s heartbreaking, coming right on the heels of Al Franken, for example. Smart men doing stupid things– not just stupid but insane things, not imaginable. Talented men who assumed they could get away with anything.

Each revelation brings the end to a career, a respected and heralded career, media institutions whom we relied on. I’ve known Charlie Rose for 25 years. How could this be?

Rose’s producer, Yvette Vega, one of the best people I know in media, apparently knew what was going on. She admits as much to the Post. She was between her own rock and a hard place, so to speak. What do you do and still keep your job?

This isn’t over, the so-called Weinstein Effect. Women and men are feeling empowered to tell their stories. The only upside is that the victims can sleep better at night.

For CBS the Rose story is a blow. He hosts “CBS Morning News” with Gayle King. He also contributes to “60 Minutes” and to other news shows. PBS and Bloomberg rely on “The Charlie Rose” show as a staple. Rose’s absence– temporary or permanent– is huge. This is tragic on a Shakespearean level.

UPDATE: SAG-AFTRA Member Selling Unreleased Louis CK Movie on eBay for $865

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE: SAG-AFTRA Member Selling Unreleased Louis CK Movie on eBay for $865

UPDATE The disc is now up to $855 with 30 bids.

EARLIER Well, well. A copy of Louis CK’s “I Love You, Daddy” has hit eBay and garnered 21 bids. The current bid is for $560. The Hollywood Reporter says another copy sold for over $1000 on November 15th. UPDATE A source says that the DVD comes from SAG-AFTRA.

“I Love You Daddy” is the unreleased film from Louis CK, owned by The Orchard distribution company. They printed up and mailed 12,000 copies just as Louis’s sex scandal broke. They recalled the DVDs but most of them arrived a their destinations. I have one and now (joking) I’m considering selling it so I can buy a ticket to see Bruce Springsteen again!

Kidding aside, it’s a new world, ain’t it? I’m putting my copy in a vault. If you buy it on ebay, you’ll receive an unwatchable film. And there may be some Academy repercussions for the seller.

PS I’ve heard they’re going to cut Louis out of the movie and replace him with Christopher Plummer!

_SUPER_RARE_I_Love_You_Daddy_FYC_Screener_DVD_-_Louis_CK_eBay_-_2017-11-20_16.50.22

RIP Della Reese, From R&B Star to Television Icon on “Touched by An Angel”

Roger Friedman
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RIP Della Reese, From R&B Star to Television Icon on “Touched by An Angel”

Della Reese, star of TV’s “Touched by An Angel,” has died at age 86. Before she was a TV icon she was a singing sensation. I met her a few times and she was just great. She had a real friendship too with Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. Fly high, Della!

Highest chart hit, 1959, number 2:

New York Times White House Reporter Glenn Thrush Suspended Over Sexual Harassment Charges, Parodied on “SNL” Last Season

Roger Friedman
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New York Times White House Reporter Glenn Thrush Suspended Over Sexual Harassment Charges, Parodied on “SNL” Last Season

Remember Glenn Thrush? In Melissa McCarthy’s famous Emmy winning “SNL” sketch as Sean Spicer, McCarthy– as the then White House press secretary– cried: “Everyone here hates Glenn Thrush.”

Now Vox has broken a story about charges of sexual harassment against Thrush, and the Times has suspended him pending review. Thrush may have known this was in the works. He ignominiously closed his Twitter account two months ago, on September 19th, after running to a lot of flack.

Thrush is also best known as the best friend at the Times of Maggie Haberman, who is often a Trump apologist to get in the president’s good graces.

Spicer, Sarah Huckster Sanders, and Trump himself, maybe even The Mooch are probably raising a glass of Champagne right now. This is a black eye for the Times at the moment it’s least needed.

Take a look back at Melissa McCarthy and Bobby Moynihan. Prescient, no?

 

Steven Spielberg’s Streep-Hanks Pentagon Papers Movie “The Post” Enters Oscar Race with a Bang

Roger Friedman
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Steven Spielberg’s Streep-Hanks Pentagon Papers Movie “The Post” Enters Oscar Race with a Bang

I can’t give you a review yet because of an embargo. But Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” has just screened in New York. It’s the first screening of the film about The Washington Post publishing the Pentagon Papers. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep star in a movie so timely and patriotic that it’s sure to make its own headlines. The movie was made in just a few months which is extraordinary in itself.

“The Post” is dedicated to the memory of Nora Ephron, who was a friend of both Streep and Hanks. It’s one of many nice touches in the film and it comes at the end.

After the screening tonight, Spielberg, Hanks, Streep, as well as Matthew Rhys (plays Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers) and Bob Odenkirk (as a Wash Post reporter Ben Bagdikian) turned up for a Q&A and a standing ovation. Also on stage was famed costume designer Ann Roth. I’m not supposed to say yet whether the movie or the actors or the costumes are any good, but I think you know I wouldn’t be writing all this if “The Post” had been a stinker.

Many people Tweeted from the Q&A moderated by journalist Mark Harris. You can look around and see what they had to say.

My one spoiler: Spielberg has made the prequel to “All the President’s Men.” It’s like his own “Rogue One.”  I kind of guessed it would end that way from the beginning, but it’s totally clever.

Great number of wonderful supporting actors including Bruce Greenwood, Alison Brie, Bradley Whitford, Tracey Letts, Carrie Coon, David Cross, and, naturally, the amazing Sarah Paulson.

More to come.

 

Photo c2017 Showbiz411 by Paula Schwartz

NYC Wrap Up: Avett Brothers Rock, Paging Julie Chen or Whoopi Goldberg, Morocco Race Rallye Preps

Roger Friedman
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NYC Wrap Up: Avett Brothers Rock, Paging Julie Chen or Whoopi Goldberg, Morocco Race Rallye Preps

lola 6How was this past week in NYC? In a word: busy. Despite Hollywood falling apart, everyone soldiered on. It’s also charity season, which means lots of parties and entertainment.

Let’s start with paging Whoopi Goldberg or Julie Chen. Ladies, you’re missing the best potential host to join The View or The Talk. I am speaking of Lola Ogunnaike, senior writer for Entertainment Weekly. I knew Lola when she was scoring scoops for the New York Times. So we know she’s smart. She’s also like a movie star. This week she moderated a discussion at Lincoln Restaurant for the Oscar buzzed movie “Get Out.” The panel included director Jordan Peele, stars Daniel Kaluuya, and Allison Williams, and producer Jason Blum. The very discerning A list audience chowed on delicious Lincoln lunch. Later, everyone agreed Lola was the best moderator we’ve heard in years. What’s going on here? Someone–Julie, Whoopi– get on this…

JUDD APATOW has made is or is making a documentary on The Avett Brothers, one of the most unique and popular groups that make their own American new-country music a la The Eagles or Mumford and Sons. Apatow wasn’t there this week, but the Avetts played Cipriani Wall Street for the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation‘s 20th anniversary. The evening was hosted by WCBS2’s Chris Wragge honoring Elin and Michael Nierenberg, and in memory of William S. Gorin. The Waxman Foundation is a leader in funding cancer research. They also have great music at every event, so it’s always worth showing up to their events! During the summer they featured Rufus Wainwright. Anyway, the Avetts blew everyone away, as usual. If this were 1977, and real music was still a commodity, both the Avetts and the Punch Brothers would be huge stars. Check them out.

…Lots of interesting people showed up this week at Bobby Van’s Central Park South steakhouse to help launch the Rallye Aïcha Des Gazelles Du Maroc. To those of us driving 8 year old cars, that’s a big fancy auto race in Morocco. Their Twitter handle is @USGazelles. The glitzy race is run under under the patronage of His Majesty The King Mohammed V. It’s all very James Bond. Among the US fans I ran into: broadcaster Felicia Taylor (her father was the great actor Rod Taylor) who’s making a documentary in Africa, and Studio 54 party hostess and legend Carmen D’Alessio, who seems not to have aged (in a good way– the good life has kept her young!)

 

Ryan Seacrest– Under Fire with Sex Harassment Charges– Uses Personal Tax Free Foundation to Pay Family Members

Roger Friedman
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Ryan Seacrest– Under Fire with Sex Harassment Charges– Uses Personal Tax Free Foundation to Pay Family Members

EXCLUSIVE In 2014, I wrote that Ryan Seacrest used his personal foundation to pay nice salaries to his father and sister. I wrote, Please, Ryan, clean this up.

He hasn’t.

The 2015 Form 990 for the Ryan Seacrest Foundation shows that he paid his sister, Meredith, $193,577 to run the foundation. Their dad, Gary, an attorney, received $96,000.

That’s a total of $295,200 in salaries to two family members.

So what did the Foundation do to help people? They donated $264,266 in equipment to a bunch of schools for media equipment. This was the value of the equipment. No money was donated to the schools, no scholarships. No, this was media equipment that the Foundation horse traded for and then re-gifted.

The total value of the equipment– $264,266– is less than salaries Seacrest paid his father and sister. (There’s also another $144,000 in unspecified salaries.)

Even though Ryan Seacrest’s travel is expensed to all his businesses and bosses– ABC/Disney, the E Channel, I Heart Music radio, the Foundation still had a travel bill of $34,423 and a expense line of $16,197 for attending conferences and meetings. This is hilarious.

What else? Ryan’s dad, Gary Seacrest, is a personal injury lawyer who made $96,000 from the foundation. But the foundation still lists a legal expense of $1,868. Another $30,862 was spent on “advertising and promotion.” Advertising what? Promoting what?

This thing is a total boondoggle.

And it comes on top of news that a stylist for the E! Channel is accusing Seacrest of improper behavior. Seacrest is very tied to E! where he does award show hosting and also executive produces the Kardashians’ TV shows. The stylist hasn’t been named, but on Twitter a woman named Laura Lane cited a piece she wrote for her college newspaper with the stylist featured.

I never get it with celebrities using tax free foundations to pay family members. The celebs are so rich, why not just put the fam on staff? Is it just to beat the taxes? Doesn’t work.

 

“Justice League” Posts Worst Showing of All Five Warner Bros/DC Comics Movies

Roger Friedman
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“Justice League” Posts Worst Showing of All Five Warner Bros/DC Comics Movies

“Justice League” has crashed and burned. The weekend box office take is hoped to be $96.8 million but that may be optimistic. It’s way off the $110 million Warner Bros. started predicting a week ago.

This installment of the DC movies now ranks lowest among “Wonder Woman” (an actual hit), “Man of Steel,” “Batman vs. Superman,” and “Suicide Squad.”

“Justice League” also has the weirdest bad luck of any of them. The director, Zack Snyder, dropped out during the filming and editing because of a personal tragedy. He was replaced by Joss Whedon.

The shooting went on so long that Henry Cavill, who plays Superman, was already growing a mustache for “Mission Impossible 6.” Not only were many of his scenes re shot anyway by Whedon, but then the mustache had to be digitally removed. Talk about paying lip service. It doesn’t look good.

Since the Batman movies began in 1989, no one has really played him well. All the different actors– from Michael Keaton to George Clooney, Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, and now Ben Affleck– have made me yearn for Adam West. Batman in all these movies seems like he needs a high colonic.

Superman was best played by Christopher Reeve, and best made by Richard Donner. Go back and look at Donner’s first two Superman movies. They were alive. “Man of Steel” is torture. “Batman vs. Superman” made no sense.

It’s pretty obvious that Patty Jenkins brought Donner’s sensibility to “Wonder Woman.” But the difference between DC and Marvel movies is simply one of light. The latter films are bright and colorful. The former are like sludge. The latter everyone looks forward to with excitement. The latter are dreaded.

Now what? I’d do a full recast except for Gal Gadot. Cavill and Ben Affleck have run their course. It’s time for a re-think.

RIP Tony Winner Ann Wedgeworth, Famous Also for “Three’s Company” and NYC Based Soap Operas

Roger Friedman
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RIP Tony Winner Ann Wedgeworth, Famous Also for “Three’s Company” and NYC Based Soap Operas

Ann Wedgeworth has passed away. She won a Tony Award in 1978 for Neil Simon’s “Chapter Two” on Broadway. Four years later she was part of the original cast of the TV hit, “Three’s Company.” She was featured in Burt Reynold’s hit TV series, “Evening Shade.” She had a long list of credits over 40 years of acting, and was even married Rip Torn before he married Geraldine Page. Ann Wedgeworth had great reviews and some awards attention for two more movies, “Handle with Care” and “Sweet Dreams.”

I remember her because from 1967 to 1974 she played Lahoma Lucas on the soap opera “Another World.” That’s seven years of afternoon homework with Lahoma’s southern drawl and wild hair a stark contrast to the staid ladies of soaps. She played a great floozy. Wedgeworth was one of many actors on New York soaps who also worked on Broadway in serious stuff. The New York soaps, especially the ones produced by the dreadful Procter and Gamble, were full of these people, almost all gone now.

I couldn’t find a clip of Wedgeworth on the soaps, but here she is accepted her Tony Award in 1978. She looks like she was quite a handful and a lot of fun. RIP.

 

David Cassidy in Critical Condition, Organ Failure: Remembering Him as Pop Idol

Roger Friedman
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David Cassidy in Critical Condition, Organ Failure: Remembering Him as Pop Idol

It looks like David Cassidy isn’t long for this world which is too bad. He was the Justin Bieber of his day, only smarter and more talented. At 64, his family– including brother Shaun Cassidy, who was also a pop idol, and Oscar winning stepmother Shirley Jones– says he’s in critical condition with organ failure. What a shame.

David Cassidy became an international sensation in 1970 starring as older brother Keith in “The Partridge Family.” The Partridges were supposed to be a fake TV version of the real life Cowsill family, who were a group of brothers and sisters who had a lot of hit singles like “Indian Lake” and “The Rain, Park and Other Things.”

But because Cassidy really sang and played the guitar, and his real life step mother was a famous singer who played his mother in the show, the Partridge Family had chart hits, too. Their biggest one, sung by David with a studio group, was “I Think I Love You.” They had a few others including “Meet Me Halfway.”

Then David went out on his own and, covering two hits from the 60s– “Never My Love” and Cherish”–he had hits under his own name.

But by the late 70s, the party was over. David Cassidy was another pop star on the wane. I guess he never quite got over that. Drugs followed. This last year he admitted to having onset dementia, among other things.

David’s other famous relative was his father, the actor Jack Cassidy, who was married to Shirley Jones in the 60s. He was a very popular actor on TV, on Broadway and in films, but he was also an alcoholic, suffered from bi polar disease, and was bi-sexual. He died in a fire in 1974 at age 49.

Shirley Jones is still very much alive. A child star on Broadway, an Oscar winning actress on film, a TV star thanks to the Partridge Family, she’s only 83 and still kicking. I’m sure the deterioration of her famous stepson is a terrible blow.

“I Think I Love You” was considered kind of a joke in 1970 if you were serious about music. But it was recorded by The Wrecking Crew, Phil Spector’s crack band that made hundreds of pop hits for great singers from the Fifth Dimension to the Monkees, the Association, and on and on. The musicians on it included the great Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, and Tommy Tedesco. In time, the Wes Ferrell-produced record– on Bell, which later became Arista Records– has found a place in pop history.

Here it is:

and

and David Cassidy’s top 10 cover of “Cherish”:

 

 

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