Rob Reiner throws his hat in the Oscar ring this November with “LBJ” starring Woody Harrelson as Lyndon Johnson and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lady Byrd. The film comes from Castle Rock and Electric Entertainment. I’m a little surprised it clocks in at an anemic sounding 98 minutes but maybe there’s wit in brevity. Of course Bryan Cranston covered this ground in “All the Way” and received a Tony, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe, so Woody has his work cut out for him. But it looks good, and fingers are crossed.
Pop Surprise! Mick Jagger Just Dropped Two Cool New Songs And Videos (Listen, Watch Here)
Looks like Mick Jagger just dropped two new songs with videos. He’s the lead singer of the Rolling Stones. The songs — “Gotta Get a Grip” and “England Lost” are crunchy indeed, funky, timely and sound like they refer back to Mick’s days at the London School of Economics. Listen, watch:
The notes supplied: “Turns out pairing up a septuagenarian rock icon with an incendiary grime star is a pretty good idea. “England Lost” is a (very literal) state-of-the-union anthem that serves up Skepta, some unashamedly big-beat stylings and the satisfying sound of an invigorated Mick Jagger. The crunching “Gotta Get a Grip”, meanwhile, scores a fleet of souped-up remixes.”
Mick writes on Twitter: “I started writing these two songs a few weeks back and wanted to get them out to you straight away .When I started writing England Lost I imagined a British rapper on the track @Skepta stepped in at a moments notice. “
Ringo Starr Releases “We’re on the Road Again” With Paul McCartney and Joe Walsh
It’s a reunion, but not a Beatles reunion. Just pals– Ringo with Paul, and Ringo’s brother in law, Joe Walsh. “We’re on the Road Again” is just a fun jam, but it rocks. And Ringo’s drumming like a fiend. One thing you really get from the Beatles SiriusXM Channel is Ringo hitting those tom toms. He’s really exceptional.
Legendary Friars Club — Raided Last February by Postal Inspectors — Waiting for Word from US Attorney’s Office
It was last October when I first reported there was trouble at the Friars Club. A former employee had filed a sex harassment lawsuit against a member who functioned as a defacto exec. There were many discrepancies in the famed club’s finances. Longtime members had been suspended. When I brought it up, no one had asked any questions about what was going on.
Then came the Valentine’s Day massacre. The FBI and Federal Postal inspectors descended on the club took all their records. Of course, that’s when everyone wrote the story like it was brand new. But readers of this column know we were first to report the Friars were going from the fire to the frying pan.
Now I’m told we’re about to hear from the US Attorney’s office, Southern district, any minute. Could be this week, could be next. But when it happens, my sources say, the Friars are going to have a lot of explaining to do in federal court. Large amounts of money are missing from the Friars books. Someone’s going to be held accountable.
The irony here is that if any case goes before a jury they will have confusion — the president of the Friars is named Michael Gyure, which rhymes with…You get it.
I’ve obtained the election ballot for this fall’s annual meeting on October 26th. One name conspicuously missing is Bruce Charet. He was the subject of the sex harassment suit. He used to be listed as Scribe. The role will now be filled by popular local host and actor Bill Boggs.
The Friars are definitely in trouble. A few weeks ago their “roast” of D list actor Gary Busey was such a bust that it was held at the club instead of a big hotel. You might ask why Busey, who’s a notorious failure in Hollywood. Friars Roasts used to be cool. Now they’re mildewy.
The US Attorney may be investigating this page from the Friars 2015 Form 990, which I first posted last October. Somehow their two events combined left them with MINUS $1.3 million. And the biggest drain, The Lincoln Awards, were like the Titanic of awards shows.
Sinatra Karma as Frank’s First Wife, Nancy, 100, Has Outlived His Widow and Three Exes
Here’s something that really speaks to karma: Frank’s first wife, and the mother of his children, Nancy senior, just celebrated her 100th birthday in March. She is alive and kicking, I’m told. And she outlived all of Frank’s other wives. Nancy, you make us feel so young!
Meanwhile, hear that sound? It’s crickets, and it’s coming from the children of Frank Sinatra upon news of their stepmother’s death.
Barbara Marx was not a favorite of Nancy or Tina Sinatra, and they haven’t uttered a sound about her death yesterday at age 90. Barbara Blakeley was Frank’s fourth wife, and Sinatra insiders remember her only as creating divisiveness among family members.
But now on the Sinatra website there is no mention of Barbara’s death. Nancy Sinatra, an inveterate Tweeter, posted several times yesterday but nothing about her stepmom.
“When she came in she cleaned house, got rid of Frank’s lawyer and all his closest associates,” a Sinatra expert tells me.
Luckily, all of Sinatra’s recordings and rights to his image, etc were left to his two daughters and late son Frank Jr.
Megyn Kelly’s Low Rated Sunday Show Done This Weekend, Morning Show Set for September 25th
Megyn Kelly’s low rated Sunday night news show will wrap up this weekend, at least four weeks ahead of schedule. (It was always set for a “summer” run, but summer has a ways to go.)
Every week since it began, Kelly’s show has dropped in the ratings from its original 6 million viewers. This past week was the worst, with only 2.71 million people tuning in. NBC is yanking it now rather than continue through August and watch things get worse.
Kelly’s daily morning show is now set for September 25th, three weeks later than previously announced. Airing at 9am, Kelly will face another Kelly– Ripa–and it’s going to be a bloodbath say TV insiders.
Indeed, “Live with Kelly and Ryan” has been averaging 2.2 million viewers daily all summer. That number will rise when its new season begins on Labor Day. When Megyn Kelly unrolls three weeks later, the odds are she’ll be run over with a steam roller.
NBC won’t wait long to pull the plug on Megyn if things go wrong, I’m told. They’re not going to jeopardize the main “Today” show from 7 to 9 am, or “Kathie Lee and Hoda” at 10am. “I think Andy Lack is really regretting this,” a seasoned TV insider tells me of the NBC News chief.
Superstar Producer Quincy Jones Wins $9.4 Mil Against Michael Jackson Estate in Jury Trial
Quincy Jones, the legendary producer who put Michael Jackson on the map with “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” and “Bad” albums won $9.4 million today against the singer’s estate in a jury trial.
Jones sued the estate, saying that since Jackson died and his executors turned things around, Jones was owed $30 million from licensing and other royalties. The jury gave him a little less than half what Jones asked for. But it was actually what Jones sued for in the first place– $10 million– before upping the amount.
Jones, who’s 84 and more active than a 54 year old, was already a legend when he produced Jackson’s three biggest selling albums. His contributions to them are almost incalculable. While Michael was certainly a superstar, it was Jones’s approach to the music, his arrangements and his long storied history in jazz and big band sounds that made the albums extra special.
“This lawsuit was never about Michael, it was about protecting the integrity of the work we all did in the recording studio and the legacy of what we created,” Jones wrote in a statement. “Although this (judgment) is not the full amount that I was seeking, I am very grateful that the jury decided in our favor in this matter. I view it not only as a victory for myself personally, but for artists’ rights overall.”
Jones claimed that for Jackson’s Cirque du Soleil shows and the movie “This is It,” the estate had cut up and reconfigured his work without permission, and then didn’t pay for it. Jones said he had a contractual right of refusal to work on all that material. The jury agreed.
The Jackson estate could have saved itself a lot of aggravation by just going to Jones, the way the Beatles have remained loyal to the late George Martin. But hubris undermined them, as the executors chose to use outsiders.
Angelina Jolie Says She’s Reconciled with Her Father, Actor Jon Voight, After a Long Estrangement
Angelina Jolie has really laid it on the line in a new cover story for Vanity Fair.
She says, very surprisingly, that she’s reconciled with her father, actor Jon Voight, after a long estrangement.
Jolie tells Evgenia Peretz: “He’s been very good at understanding they needed their grandfather at this time. I had to do a therapy meeting last night and he was just around. He knows kind of the rule—don’t make them play with you. Just be a cool grandpa who’s creative, and hang out and tell stories and read a book in the library.”
This is news because usually it’s Voight who tells the press he’s been in touch with Jolie. But they were truly estranged for many years, particularly during her relationship with and marriage to Brad Pitt. Voight rarely knew any personal info about Angelina unless he heard it from a reporter– adoptions, births, weddings, divorce, etc.
It’s also interesting because in talking about her divorce from Pitt and its effect on their six kids, Jolie references her parents’ divorce.
“I was very worried about my mother, growing up—a lot. I do not want my children to be worried about me. I think it’s very important to cry in the shower and not in front of them. They need to know that everything’s going to be all right even when you’re not sure it is.”
Jolie also tells Peretz that in addition to her other health issues with cancer, she’s suffered from both hypertension and Bell’s Palsy in the last year. “Sometimes women in families put themselves last,” she says, “until it manifests itself in their own health.”
Exclusive: Michael Moore’s “11/9” Likely Won’t Make it for 2017, As He Starts Broadway Previews on Friday
EXCLUSIVE I’m told that Michael Moore’s next doc, “11/9,” probably will not make a release date before the end of the year. We can cross it off the lists for potential awards this year.
A source says, “They’re not racing to any finish. It’s very hard lock a picture on Trump when things are changing every day, every hour.”
Moore named his new film as a twist on his Oscar winning “Fahrenheit 911.” The “11/9” here refers to the day after Election Day, 2016.
Meanwhile, Moore begins previews on Friday for his Broadway show, “The Terms of My Surrender.” It’s a one man show directed by Michael Mayer, but there will also be guest shots every night by a variety of celebrities.
Opening night is August 10th. The script, still evolving, is said to be hilarious. But the show will also take up enough of Moore’s time that “11/9” may have to wait a bit. Maybe Trump will be out of office, or under impeachment hearings, by the time Moore is ready to release the film.
Justin Bieber Mesmerized by Self-Made Pastor, Cult Church: They Shop (With Justin’s Credit Card) Together At Louis Vuitton, Bieber Says He “Loves” Him
Why did Justin Bieber cancel 14 stadium shows, leaving his fans, the promoters, and his manager out on a limb? Here’s what’s going on:
Justin Bieber is already a born again Christian. He’s also a bit of a rube with a lot of money and no actual education. He’s also prey to any cult that could find him. And so, as I reported a while ago, Bieber has been snatched by Hillsong Church and its self-made New York pastor Carl Lentz.
Back in March, Bieber attended Hillsong’s big conference in New Zealand with Lentz. They gave a lot of interviews that have just been sitting on YouTube. Here’s one in which Bieber declares his love for Lentz while brushing his teeth (I’m surprised he wasn’t also clipping his nails, too):
In July he participated in another interview with Lentz. Notice that he’s wearing aviator glasses similar to the ones Lentz sports. Also, Bieber is showing off a “What Would Jesus Do?” rubber bracelet
On YouTube, there’s an instructive video (courtesy of the DailyMail) of Lentz and Bieber shopping together, also from this month.
Watch at :31 when the bodyguard hands Bieber’s credit card to Lentz as they enter Louis Vuitton.
This started in July 2015, when Bieber told another interviewer about staying with Lentz in New York for three weeks:
But he wasn’t quite there yet with religion. He also told them about naming his penis: