Mark Knopfler, leader of the Dire Straits, established himself a long time ago as a Sultan of Swing.
The good news is, he’s not done. Knopfler has a new single, “Ahead of the Game,” from a solo album called “One Deep River.” If the rest of the album is this good, we’re in for a real treat!
And talk about ‘no one can write a new song.’ Knopfler has found a haunting riff with a strong beat that will stick in your head for a long time. I love this record!
E. Jean Carroll has landed on Monday night’s biggest news show.
Carroll, the $83 million woman, will be interviewed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow at 9pm.
Literally, stop the presses! Maddow’s Monday shows are typically the highest rated cable show of the week.
Carroll is the Person of the Moment having taken Donald Trump to the cleaners yesterday. A New York jury awarded her $83.3 million in the defamation case that resulted from her lawsuit against Trump in which he was found guilty of sexual assault.
Carroll had already won a judgement of $5 million against Trump. So that makes the total $88 million.
Look for Maddow to score her highest ever ratings on Monday. All eyes will be on this conversation!
If you’re looking at real revenue, congratulate Green Day.
The punk rock band’s exceptional new album. “Saviors,” sold 40,000 copies of CDs and paid downloads.
The album swamped all the competition in hard sales per individual album. But overall, with streaming, it finished fourth behind the new 21 Savages album, “American Dream.”
Curiously Green Day, fare more insightful, has a new song called “The Death of the American Dream.” 21 Savage should listen to it.
“Saviors” sold a total of 51,000 copies including specious streaming. 21 Savage sold 74,000 streaming equivalent copies, but only 1.500 CDs or downloads.
I’d say “Saviors” was number 1.
The total sales for the whole top 50 was very low and Christmas is over and the Taylor Swift onslaught has cooled finally. Now we’re waiting for new albums from Justin Timberlake and Ariana Grande, and made a bump from the Grammy Awards for a couple of winners.
As for Taylor, she sold around 160,000 copies in the top 50. Some “cooling off”! Her album, “Midnights,” is the likely Album of the Year winner, too, unless SZA can stop her.
How could any Republicans — or anyone at all –vote for Donald Trump after today?
This supercilious piece of trembling lard was told by a New York jury today to pay E. Jean Carroll $83 million. Of that $18 million was damages. The rest of it was just punishment for defaming the woman he’d already been convicted of sexually assaulting, for a second time.
Do you need to be painted a picture?
Trump already owes Carroll $5 million from the first round. He refused to offer any contrition. Instead, he tried to re-litigate the case he’d already lost. In the process, he insulted the judge and the jury. This morning he stormed out of court after speaking for a few minutes and completely turned off the jury, reminding them that he has respect for no one.
Trump will appeal the verdict, but as every legal expert has weighed in this afternoon, it will be futile. The amount could be cut, but even if it’s half it’s still a huge amount and one that will follow Trump to the grave.
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.
Accomplished director Doug Liman will not attend the opening of South by Southwest this year, even though his own film is the premiere.
Liman directed the remake of the Patrick Swazye movie “Road House,” starring a very buff Jake Gyllenhaal. The trailer’s out today and it looks like a box office winner.
But “Road House” will not be going to theaters, and Liman is pissed. He says the movie was made for MGM before Amazon bought them. Then he says he was told it was likely the new Amazon and MGM would release it to theaters. But now “Road House” is going to Amazon Prime.
Liman wrote a piece for Deadline.com explaining his position. You can find it here. I’m a little surprised this has gone public. Liman is in demand, and works with Tom Cruise a lot. (See “American Made,” “Edge of Tomorrow.” They’re also going to film in space.) The people at Amazon are smart and nice. What a situation!
From the looks of the trailer, “Road House” would score a knockout punch in theaters. Why not give it a two week window?
The NAACP Image Awards nominees have been announced.
The Color Purple, American Fiction, Rustin, Origin, and
They Cloned Tyrone are nominated for Best Picture.
All the nominees are below. Great list! Congrats to all!
Special mention to Erika Alexander — so glad this has happened for her.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR NOMINEES
MOTION PICTURE CATEGORIES
Outstanding Motion Picture
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
Outstanding International Motion Picture
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Animated Motion Picture
Outstanding Character Voice–Over Performance – Motion Picture
Outstanding Short–Form (Live Action)
Outstanding Short–Form (Animated)
Outstanding Breakthrough Creative (Motion Picture)
Outstanding Youth Performance in a Motion Picture
Outstanding Cinematography in a Feature Film
TELEVISION + STREAMING CATEGORIES
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Outstanding Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special
Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special
Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited–Series or Dramatic Special
The 55th NAACP Awards airs on Sat, Mar 16, 2024 at 8:00 p.m. ET on BET and CBS.
Forbes Magazine is staging a three day walkout beginning today. It’s their first strike in 160 years.
This is just the latest demonstration of anger by journalists who see the media business being destroyed by corporate greed. This week, the Los Angeles Times lost 115 editorial staffers including big name bylines. Last week Sports Illustrated was gutted by almost the whole staff getting fired.
“We are taking this unprecedented step to show that we will not allow such disrespectful behavior towards our negotiations to continue,” the Forbes union said in a statement. They won’t go back to work until Monday.
The New York Daily News is also set for a walkout today, says Axios online and the New York Times.. The News doesn’t even have a newsroom anymore. They’ve been whittled down to nothing by their owners. The News was once the most popular newspaper in the country. But owner Mort Zuckerman, hobbled by Alzheimer’s, could do very little as the newspaper was hit by the internet’s arrival and his inability to change with the times. The newspaper was sold to Alden Global Capital and run by the penny pinching Tribune Company.
There are reportedly layoffs coming today at Business Insider.com. And the owner of websites like Deadspin and Gizmodo is said to be looking for a buyer.
Grim stuff…
Keep refreshing…
The amazing thing about Justin Timberlake’s new single, “Selfish” (which I keep calling Shellfish) is not the song — even though it’s pretty good. It’s like a piece of pop candy for the ears. “Selfish” is very catchy, and Timberlake’s vocal phrasing propels the song so much that you want to listen to it again, right away.
The marketing has to be congratulated. They’ve built up suspense and turned his release into an Event. Tonight JT will be on the Tonight show. Saturday he’s on “SNL.” Next week surprise show in NY at Irving Plaza. RCA Records has I Heart Radio all lined up, too.
Why? Because we are starved anything halfway decent.
And now, here it is: