Yes, we’re going to learn the reason this happened TONIGHT– FRIDAY– on TCM during a special evening devoted to writer-director-actress-comic genius Elaine May, who is closing in on 92 years young. This is a gift, the kind cinemaniacs and film buffs are going to revel in.

Elaine’s long time friend, Julian Schlossberg, has recorded a rare interview with this living legend. May — recent recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Oscar and also a Tony Award — just does not do this kind of thing. But Schlossberg convinced her to sit down and do wrap arounds for four of her movies tonight beginning at 8pm.

The night begins with a 75 minute documentary called “Take Two: Nichols and May.” which chronicles Elaine’s early comic career with Mike Nichols. That’s followed by the great comedy, “A New Leaf,” which Elaine wrote, directed, and stars in with Walter Matthau and Jack Weston.

After “A New Leaf” comes “Mikey and Nicky,” written and directed by May with John Cassavetes, Peter Falk, and Ned Beatty. At that point, I presume, we will have learned the answer to our headline question: why didn’t Elaine May cast Hollywood legend Cary Grant in her 1971 classic? (Answer: Grant wouldn’t get in the water at the end of the film.)

“Mikey and Nicky” starts at 11:15pm.

And then, you will DVR “Ishtar” starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman, a movie that made the entire film world gossip for weeks on end because it was either The Worst Ever or a Hidden Gem. Parts of this movie are beyond hilarious and show these two monumental actors at the top of their respective games.

My only regret is that they didn’t have enough time to show my favorite film, “The Heartbreak Kid.” You’ll have to find that on your own. Elaine May and Mike Nichols are considered the platinum standard in sophisticated contemporary humor. They had to break up their act so that each one of them could be Stars with a capital S. In the 60s, eventually Woody Allen joined them in this oeuvre. This was a time when being funny didn’t mean being crude. It’s intellectual humor, and it resonates so much even now you could bathe in it. (But not the “Saltburn” way.)

PS This exclusive picture (c2024), Julian says, is what Elaine looked like before — apprehensive — and then after the interview. She had a good time. We will, too!

You can see Colman Domingo right now in two different movies. He’s a hero in one, and a villain in another.

Those would be, respectively, “Rustin,” and “The Color Purple.”

In the latter he plays Mister, the abusive man who takes Celie from her family, beats her and uses her for menial work.

Now Domingo has signed up to play Joseph Jackson in the movie about Michael Jackson. Michael’s nephew, Jaafar, is playing the King of Pop. Antoine Fuqua is directing. No other casting has been announced, although key roles will include Jaafar’s real life father, Jermaine, who was at odds with Michael his whole life. Another big part will be Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother.

Joseph Jackson is one of the great villains in music history. He worked his boys to exhaustion and was particularly abusive to Michael. After “Thriller” it it big, Joseph spent the next 30 years trading off of Michael’s good name, getting him involved with con men and charlatans, and constantly looking for handouts. Michael avoided him like the plague. A few days after Michael died, Joseph brought a Michael impersonator to the BET Awards in Los Angeles and did press interviews.

Now that this movie is coming together, I’ll be interested to see how all of the underhanded and shady stuff I reported on for years will be portrayed. Joseph was a philanderer with an illegitimate child. Katherine filed for divorce a couple of times. When she finally got him out of her house, he kept returning to ask for a slice of her allowance. Just before he died, Joseph went to Brazil to party with call girls. (He really needs his own movie.)

Another Oscar nom for Colman Domingo? Maybe. This guy was the bane of Michael’s existence, locking him in closets, beating him hair brushes. That’s a lot of backstory.