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Barack Obama Snubs “The Color Purple,” Produced by Pal Oprah Winfrey, On His Annual Top 10 List of Best Films

Roger Friedman
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Barack Obama Snubs “The Color Purple,” Produced by Pal Oprah Winfrey, On His Annual Top 10 List of Best Films

You can’t count on anyone being loyal nowadays.

Former President Barack Obama has snubbed “The Color Purple” on his annual top 10 list of best movies.

That’s not really nice since his best pal and supporter, Oprah Winfrey, produced it and has been touting it all over the place.

Obama chose three movies he and his wife, Michelle, produced. They are “Rustin,” “American Symphony,” and “Leave the World Behind.” The third is kind of ridiculous, but alright. These were just appetizers.

The Top 10 are The Holdovers, American Fiction, Blackberry, Oppenheimer, Anatomy of a Fall, Oppenheimer, Monster, Past Lives, Air, Polite Society, and A Thousand and One.

Obama had no love for “Barbie” or “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Leaving out “The Color Purple” may sting a little for Oprah. Also the movie has gotten rave reviews and is making money like crazy. It’s headed to the Oscars. Oprah has knocked herself out for Obama over the last 15 years. But that’s Hollywood — it’s a tough town!

Taylor Swift Sells Albums, But Doesn’t Stream Singles: Here’s the Top 50 for 2023, Starting with Morgan Wallen

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Sells Albums, But Doesn’t Stream Singles: Here’s the Top 50 for 2023, Starting with Morgan Wallen

Taylor Swift may have sold a million albums this year. She’s an album machine.

But when it comes to streaming, Taylor didn’t make the top 10, according to hitsdailydouble.com. Her songs are scattered through the top 50 chart, but they aren’t on a pair with some other acts.

Morgan Wallen was number 1 in streaming with the song, “Last Night.” It had over 963 million streams. Wallen also had the number 9 song with “You Proof,” at over 488 million. Wallen has been forgiven by the country crowd for being caught using the N word on video tape. I prefer Sturgill Simpson.

Wallen also had three more on the top 50. Taylor had four altogether, but none in the top 50.

SZA was number 2 with “Kill Bill,” and number 7 with “Snoose.” Miley Cyrus was number 3 with “Flowers.” The top 5 is rounded out by Zach Bryan, and The Weeknd with Ariana Grande.

Just based on these numbers, it feels like SZA is headed for Album of the Year at the Grammys, “Flowers” will be Best Record, and Taylor will get Best Song for “Anti-Hero.”

Melania Trump MIA from Xmas Photo Because Mother is Very Ill: I Told You This in 2018, After Ivana Trump Told Me

Roger Friedman
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Melania Trump MIA from Xmas Photo Because Mother is Very Ill: I Told You This in 2018, After Ivana Trump Told Me

EXCLUSIVE Melania Trump is getting all kinds of grief for not appearing with Donald in their Christmas photo.

Personally, I don’t care, and no one blames her for keeping her distance from a man who tells his enemies to ‘rot in hell’ on Christmas Day.

But Melania, I can tell you, was with her mother and that’s why she’s not in the picture.

I first told you about Melania’s mother being sick back in 2018. Now I can tell you who told me, because she’s gone: Ivana Trump.

The late Ivana, now buried in an unmarked, overgrown grave at Donald’s Bedminster, New Jersey Golf Club, told me that Amalija Knauss had cancer, was very ill then, and that Melania was spending most of her time with her in Bedminster.

Ivana told me that Knauss’s basically lived there in their own house on the golf course, Melania and Barron, in 2018, lived there, too.

Before Trump was erroneously elected president in 2016, Barron spent most of his time with his grandparents on a separate floor of Trump Tower.

If you look at the full Christmas photo taken at Mar-a-Lago, off to the left is Melania’s father. He’s smiling, too. But I’m sure he’s not happy that his wife and daughter are not present.

As much as everyone hates the Trumps, and likes to make fun of Melania, why would she be absent if her father was there? And why would he be alone?

As for Ivana she told me all this privately at a dinner party, but “off the record.” It was just a conversation we had, and I left her name out of it in 2018 so as to not to cause her grief with that lousy family. But now that she’s gone, and they’ve disrespected her memory so shamefully, I felt it was okay to explain the whole situation.

Let’s hope Melania’s mother is on the mend and will make a full recovery.

Ariana Grande Announces New Album for 2024, I Told You Weeks Ago Max Martin Is Helping

Roger Friedman
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Ariana Grande Announces New Album for 2024, I Told You Weeks Ago Max Martin Is Helping

I told you weeks ago that Ariana Grande was making a new album with help from famed songwriter Max Martin.

Now she’s announced it unofficially on Instagram. She’s also got two “Wicked” movies coming out in 2024 and 2025.

Ariana has a beautiful voice that still has potential to further past her hits. This coming year is going to be hers.

RIP Tommy Smothers, 86, One Half of the Subversive Banjo Playing Brothers Comedy Duo, Had Mid 80s Renaissance

Roger Friedman
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RIP Tommy Smothers, 86, One Half of the Subversive Banjo Playing Brothers Comedy Duo, Had Mid 80s Renaissance

Sorry to report the death of Tommy Smothers, age 86. The report says he died from a recent bout with cancer.

Tommy and Dickie Smothers will always be the subversive, banjo playing comedy duo who burst onto the scene in the 60s. Their CBS variety show in the later 60s launched the careers of people like Glen Campbell, Steve Martin, and musician Mason Williams. It also instigated the career of dry- witted comedian Pat Paulsen, who ran for president in 1968 and many times after.

But the CBS show was also vehemently anti war as the Vietnam War became the hottest topic in the world. Even with tremendous ratings, CBS cancelled it, causing an uproar that went on for a long time. Ironically the show returned in 1988 for two seasons and was a big success.

Here are some clips. The Times has a fuller obit. Condolences.

Boxing Day Box Office: Warner Bros. Holds the Top 3, “Color Purple” Adds $7 Mil, “Wonka” Rises to Top

Roger Friedman
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0
Boxing Day Box Office: Warner Bros. Holds the Top 3, “Color Purple” Adds $7 Mil, “Wonka” Rises to Top

The day after Christmas and all through the country…

Warner Bros. held onto the top 3 for a second day. “Wonka” and “The Color Purple” switched spots with the former rising to number 1 — kids are in the house. “The Color Purple” dropped to number 3 with a very healthy $7 million. It’s up to $25 million, which is amazing. Go see it — one of the most joyous and wonderful films of the last few years.

George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat” from MGM is the family film of the holiday. It’s Clooney’s best work in years. If you love sports movies, it’s for you. Extremely well made and very entertaining. “The Boys” added $3 million last night.

Really not doing well: A24’s “The Iron Claw,” which has good reviews and Zac Efron but is a total downer of a movie for Christmas. Also, the studio’s “Zone of Interest” is of little interest considering its subject matter. Who wants to see a movie about the Nazis who lived outside a concentration camp ignoring what’s going on inside? Also, the sounds of the killings is constant on the soundtrack. Not a long film by today’s standards, but repetitive and off putting.

Rolling Stone Gets Credit for 3 Year Old Business Insider Scoop About Trump Appearing in “Home Alone 2”

Roger Friedman
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Rolling Stone Gets Credit for 3 Year Old Business Insider Scoop About Trump Appearing in “Home Alone 2”

What’s going on here?

Three years ago, Business Insider interviewed Chris Columbus, director of “Home Alone 2.” He told them that Donald Trump bullied his way into the movie because he owned the Plaza Hotel, where a scene was shot.

I’m not even sure that was the first time Columbus told that story.

Anyway, this week Rolling Stone is running the same story, with recycled Columbus quotes, using the word “bullied” in the headline.

And everyone is picking it up like it’s new.

I thought I was having a deja vu. Hadn’t I already read this story? I guess Rolling Stone didn’t.

Here’s the link to Business Insider’s story by Jason Guerrasio. I’m told the anecdote may have originated in The Hollywood Reporter in 2017. If you don’t have a BI subscription, you can read it here.

And here’s the link to Rolling Stone’s scoop.

In Canada, CBC TV has apparently cut the scene from the broadcasts. In the US, star Macaulay Culkin is among those who’ve asked for it to be removed from the film now.

Korean Movie World Scandal As “Parasite” Actor Lee Sun-Kyun, 48, Takes His Own Life After Intense Year of Investigations Over Drug Use

Roger Friedman
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Korean Movie World Scandal As “Parasite” Actor Lee Sun-Kyun, 48, Takes His Own Life After Intense Year of Investigations Over Drug Use

Lee Sun Kyun is dead. The famed Korean actor played the father of the affluent family in the recent movie, “Parasite,” winner of the 2020 Academy for Best Motion Picture.

Kyun is reported to have taken his own life after nearly a year of investigations concerning drug use and the actor’s participation in a strip club or some other kind of “adult entertainment” club.

The actor was found dead in a car in a park in central Seoul, according to the AP. Police had been looking for Lee after his family claimed he wrote a suicide note and left home early on Wednesday.

The story has been a scandal in South Korea because Kyun was always portrayed in real life as a family man married to another South Korean star. They had a “perfect life.” This would be here as if Tom Hanks lost his mind and were living a double life.

A lot of this is unclear but for background here’s a helpful video explaining what has happened up to this point.

What a shame. It’s totally unclear if this man was guilty of anything. You can hear in this report that marijuana is discussed as if it’s crack cocaine or heroin. Also as the video points out, the evidence against Kyun was shaky. Was he railroaded? What a terrible story. If anyone knows more about this, please email me at showbiz411@gmail.com.

Apple Watches Pulled Off Shelves Over Patent: In 2006, They Paid $100 Million to Settle A Patent Crisis Over the iPod Touch

Roger Friedman
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0
Apple Watches Pulled Off Shelves Over Patent: In 2006, They Paid $100 Million to Settle A Patent Crisis Over the iPod Touch

You’re probably aware that Apple is in hot water over its watches.

The ITC — Intermational Trade Commission — has ruled that Apple must cease selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, among other newer models, because they violate patents registered to Masimo, a medical device company. The patent involves a pulse oximeter light that Masimo holds the patent on.

The whole era of the Apple watch is now in doubt. The company can only sell their older, lower tech Watch SE. But this isn’t want people want now. They want the Ultra 2 and Series 9, which might tell them if they’re dead or alive.

So this is not the first time Apple got in trouble for helping themselves to another company’s patent.

Back in 2006, Apple had to pony up $100 million to Creative Labs, of Singapore. You see, the whole iPod and Nano line of music devices was derived from Creative’s Zen music jukebox system. It was Creative that gave us what we now think of the iTunes system. Apple liked it, so they took it. At the time, Creative had several portable MP3 players out, all reasonably priced and marketed well. But they couldn’t fight off Apple, which bigfooted them. The result was the $100 million license fee.

Creative took the $100 million, got out of the MP3 player business and because better known for its excellent sound systems for computers. After a long lull, they’re finally back with highly regarded headphones, soundbars, small speakers, and so on. The company’s creator has since passed away, but they are forging ahead.

I miss the Zen players. They were far easier to use than iPods or iPod Touch, etc. You didn’t have to get mixed up in the iTunes system. But the Goliath beat David, not a new story by any means.

The price of Apple stock has fallen a little bit since last week when this was all announced about the watches. But year to date, Apple is up around $70. If they can’t come up with a new design for their Watch, approved by the ITC, maybe there will be consequences. But probably not. Masimo’s stock has fluctuated all year, but it’s up a little bit on this news. They’ve got their own smart watch with their own patent.

It Was 60 Years Ago Today: The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” Was Released in the US and Changed Everything

Roger Friedman
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0
It Was 60 Years Ago Today: The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” Was Released in the US and Changed Everything

It was 60 years ago today: the Beatles released “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” It would soon be number 1, pulling with it a half dozen Beatles singles into the top 10.

Everything in music was changed forever.

Kenneth Womack observed in his essay series, “50 Years of Beatles,” John Lennon’s recollection of writing the song.

“We wrote a lot of stuff together, one on one, eyeball to eyeball. Like in ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand,’ I remember when we got the chord that made the song. We were in Jane Asher’s house, downstairs in the cellar playing on the piano at the same time. And we had, ‘Oh you-u-u/got that something …’ and Paul hits this chord, and I turn to him and say, ‘That’s it!’ I said, ‘Do that again!’ In those days, we really used to absolutely write like that — both playing into each other’s noses.”

When the Beatles played the song on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, that pushed it over the edge.

Womack writes: “At one point, the single was selling a phenomenal 10,000 copies an hour in New York City alone; by March 1964, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” had sold an astounding 3.4 million copies in the U.S.”

I still remember walking home from school on the Monday afternoon after the Sullivan appearance, and it was all anyone could talk about. Six decades later, the Beatles are bigger than ever, considered the “classical music” of our time.

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