There is an order to the universe after all.
The tragic death of Matthew Perry has sent his autobiography, “Friends, and Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” to number 1 on amazon.
The “Friends” star’s book has knocked Britney Spears’ tell all off its perch to number 2. That part is a relief.
Perry’s book was a huge hit when it was released in 2022. I wrote about it a couple of times, here and here .
Well, this is good news.
We knew that Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford were leaving “Sweeney Todd” on January 14, 2024. It’s a shame, but they’re probably exhausted.
Now comes word that Tony winners Sutton Foster and Aaron Tveit are coming in to play Mrs. Lovett and Benjamin Barker, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
The producers pulled off a coup because usually big stars don’t want to take over parts if they can’t get Tony nominations. But these two probably just wanted to be in “Sweeney Todd.” I mean, who doesn’t?
The new duo starts February 9th after Foster finishes up an Encores! at City Center of “Once Upon a Mattress.” I guess the understudies will hold forth through January. No word yet on who will play Tobias. Gaten Matarazzo has to get back to “Stranger Things” and is leaving soon.
I could see “Sweeney Todd” once a month and be happy. Keep going, guys!
Peter Jackson has directed his first actual music video, for the Beatles’ about to be released final single, “Now and Then.”
The song comes out Thursday morning. The video arrives Friday morning.
But Jackson says Paul and Ringo didn’t film anything when they worked on the song last year. This seems very weird since both of them have chronicled everything they’ve done since the 60s. But hey–
Jackson says: “I told Apple how the lack of suitable footage worried me. We’d need to use a lot of rare and unseen film, but there’s very little … Nothing at all seemed to exist showing Paul, George and Ringo working on Now And Then in 1995 … There’s not much footage of John in the mid-seventies when he wrote the demo … I grizzled about the lack of unseen Beatles footage from the ’60s … And they didn’t even shoot any footage showing Paul and Ringo working on the song last year.“
So how did Jackson do it?
He says: “I really had no idea how anyone could make a Now And Then music video if they didn’t have decent footage to work with, and this was far from being a lame excuse. My fear and insecurity now had solid reasons why they should prevail and allow me to say no without looking too much like a chicken.“
He continues “Paul and Ringo shot footage of themselves performing and sent that to me. Apple unearthed over 14 hours of long forgotten film shot during the 1995 recording sessions, including several hours of Paul, George and Ringo working on Now And Then, and gave all that to me. Sean and Olivia found some great unseen home movie footage and sent that. To cap things off, a few precious seconds of The Beatles performing in their leather suits, the earliest known film of The Beatles and never seen before, was kindly supplied by Pete Best.“
Jackson further says that after he constructed a beginning and middle, Dhani Harrison turned up in New Zealand. “I discussed the ending with him, and described one vague idea I’d been toying with. His eyes immediately filled with tears – so that is the way we went.“
To be continued on Thursday at 10am Eastern.
Here’s John’s demo:
It’s not so long since Justin Bieber’s spiritual adviser, Carl Lentz, was exposed as an adulterer and drug user at Hillsong Church. Bieber had treated Lentz like a best friend and bought into the whole fraud of Hillsong. The church, based in Australia but with outlets in New York and Los Angeles, has been under investigations of different kinds ever since 2022 for financial malfeasance including accusations of tax fraud and money laundering by a member of the Australian parliament.
Bieber, who’s not terribly bright, still doesn’t get it. Today he posted a video made by Judah Smith, who runs Churchome, another organization like Hillsong. Bieber was actually introduced to Lentz by Bieber, according to reports. You’d think after everything that happened with Hillsong, Lentz, et al Bieber would have cut ties and never looked back,
Guess again. Bieber is more involved than ever with Smith and Churchome. And now it turns out a class action suit was filed last spring against Churchome by its employees. Smith, the suit alleged, requires all staff to kick back 10% of their earnings to run his religious institution. The case is now in arbitration.
Imagine how happy Smith is when he lands a celebrity like Bieber, whose annual income is in the millions. Some of Smith’s other members include Russell Wilson, TD Jakes, Devon Franklin on his boards — and his website — pushing his agenda.
More alarming: Smith, his wife Chelsea, and his COO David Kroll have also got Lou Taylor in league with them. Her picture is on their website. She’s on the Board of Directors. Taylor is a linchpin here. She was Britney Spears’ business manager and is said to have been in partnership with Spears’s father, Jamie, in executing the famous (now ended) conservatorship. She’s now thought to be involved with Justin Bieber.
Taylor is infamous in the Britney Spears saga. In 2021, the New York Times called her “a deeply religious former bookkeeper who had few notable clients before Ms. Spears.” According to the Times, in 2008 Taylor (whose husband, Rob, is a pastor in a local Tennessee church) loaned money to Britney’s father, Jamie, then created a management company and helped Jamie Spears put Britney into the conservatorship. When Britney broke with her father in 2020, she fired Taylor as the #freeBritney campaign began.
Taylor is said to now be working with Bieber since his breakup with Scooter Braun. It’s unclear now what Lou Taylor is doing for, or to, Bieber, who has suddenly seen his career — like Britney’s — put on ice. He sold his song catalog this year for $200 million, which is unusual for a recording artist under 60, let alone 30. He’s stopped touring altogether and has no plans for a new record.
What is clear is that Judah Smith — on whose board Lou Taylor sits — is so important to Justin Bieber that the singer is posting his sermons on Instagram. And it’s possible the price for Bieber’s friendship with Smith is huge– like 10% of his income.
PS If you know more about this, email me at showbiz411@gmail.com
The last time Justin Bieber preached the gospel his spiritual leader was disgraced with multiple adulteries and had to resign from Hillsong Church.
Now Bieber is citing Judah Smith and his Churchome organization. Bieber posted a message that needs copy editing.
It doesn’t scan — there’s a word missing — or he wrote it stoned.
Anyway, it comes with a video of gobbledygook. Just flip through it. It’s 90 minutes of nonsense. Also on Bieber’s Insta page are pics of him shirtess, tattooed from head to toe, hanging with a deejay.
What does it all mean? Nothing.
Also, on the Churchome board: Lou Taylor, Britney Spears’ former business manager, Public Enemy Number 1 among Spears fans, who may be Justin’s new manager.
And way below, see a photo of David Kroll, the financier-pastor of Churchome. He’s delight!
Sometime while his album “The Love Album: Off the Grid,” wasn’t selling, Diddy made a movie to go with it.
He debuted the trailer today with a description below.
My guess is this is something he’ll show on RevoltTV, which is available somewhere. These are vanity projects, but he time to kill and money to burn. The “Off the Grid” album has sold fewer than 400,000 copies so far. The Justin Bieber and Weeknd singles failed to gain traction, there’s been no radio play.
Why make a movie? Everyone has to keep busy!
PS He may want to change the title as there a dozen or so movies and TV shows called “Off the Grid” on the imdb.
Directed by Combs, the cinematic love story captures the essence of a whirlwind romance set against the backdrop of his new album. Seamlessly weaving the music from “The Love Album: Off the Grid” into the narrative, this cinematic experience not only provides a visual spectacle but also takes viewers on a melodic journey. As the drama unfolds on screen, the music serves as a powerful emotional underscore, intensifying the impact of each scene. The short film, featuring Ugandan actress Eva Apio, masterfully blends drama and passion, exploring the turbulent journey of a budding romance and the enduring spirit of love.
“This movie is an extension of the album’s soul. It’s not just about the music but about the stories, emotions, and experiences behind each song. Working with Eva Apio was an incredible experience; her talent and energy brought my vision to life” -Diddy
Another triumph for Taylor Swift!
AMC says her Eras Tour movie actually did surpass $150 million yesterday, after initially saying it hadn’t.
Taylor no longer has to wait until tomorrow to hit the magic number.
Eras” will likely hit $200 million at this point. Go figure.
At the same time, Swift’s “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” is predicted to do about 1.4 million units by Thursday night.
It’s the stuff of folklore.
Whatever Jada Pinkett Smith was paid couldn;t have been worth it.
The total number of copies sold of “Worthy,” Jada’s tell all diatribe, sold just 21,611 copies last week. It finished at number 6, according to Circana BookScan.
Pinkett Smith laid waste to her marriage and family, created genuine hostility among readers and fans of Will Smith. She revealed everything, did every piece of media available, and sold a tiny number of books compared to other big names.
This week, Jada will be outsold by possibly 10 times by Britney Spears, who also threw everyone under the bus. The difference is– and believe me, I don’t know why — more people cared about Britney than Jada, who’s had it made for decades. One reason might be that Jada had already aired her dirty laundry on her talk show, so this was just a re-confirmation that she could humiliate everyone around her.
I’ve said it before but it does seem like Donald Trump wants to go to jail.
Judge Tanya Chutkan reimposed her gag order against him yesterday. This sent Trump into a frenzy overnight and this morning. He continues to attack her, testing the limit of her patience.
Maybe Trump thinks his base will riot if he’s imprisoned. But they’ve seen already all the January 6th players go to jail, and Trump didn’t help them. The base is not going to care what happens to Trump. No one will be visiting him with cake baked with a file inside. Not even Melania!
Here was an idea: Roger Waters, once part of Pink Floyd, decided to re-record Dark Side of the Moon.
The album by Pink Floyd was number 1 for most of 1973 and has remained a top 10 catalog item for 50 years.
Waters, long gone from Floyd, and a political pariah by choice, was part of the writing and recording of the original. He’s never had a solo hit. So why not just make a new version of the old hit?
Turns out, no one wanted it. Roger Waters’ “Dark Side of the Moon” has sold around 10,000 copies, with the equivalent in streaming of maybe 3,000 more. The original album has sold more than 13 million copies.
It’s a matter of Us vs. Him, to paraphrase a hit song from the record. Waters over the last decade has become a virulent and outspoken antisemite. He’s dressed up as Hitler on stage. He’s railed against Israel and caused his former bandmates to turn against him. They’re also angry because it’s Waters’ fault they can’t sell their song catalog, which was valued six months ago at $500 million.
Now, Waters is literally on the dark side of everything. He was banned from speaking at UPenn recently. He’s been denounced in Germany, where they tried stop one of his concerts. Once a popular rock star emeritus, Waters is now social poison.
So much for the remade “Dark Side.” Go back to the original.