Donald Trump’s older sister, Judge Maryann Trump Barry, died this morning. According to reports, she was found dead in her apartment at 4:30 this morning.
At around 11:30am, this is what Donald Trump posted on social media. Not a word about his dead sister. He never fails to fall lower and lower.
Here’s the link to the death of Maryanne Trump. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/maryanne-trump-barry-donald-trumps-sister-dies-86-rcna124906
Adidas has a new antisemitism problem following Kanye West’s massive scandal from last year.
A Twitter account called @Stopantisemitism has uncovered a violent from an Adidas event producer named
Amaury Letort. With his firm SuperBien, Letort worked for Adidas in 2021. He’s currently working for Punchbot.com, a design firm.
He wrote in a post: “I hope your ancestors died in ovens and it will be the same for you and your family soon during a 2nd Shoah (fingers crossed). When that happens, I’m going to sh*t on Israeli flags while dancing.”
This is unacceptable, of course, and disgusting. It’s also alarming because the more Americans — and especially New Yorkers — call what’s happening in Gaza “genocide,” and demanding a ceasefire, they are creating a fervent level of antisemitism that will take decades to undo — if that’s even possible. This is the result, as well as hundreds of antisemitic attacks around the country, such as swasikas spray painted in places like Montauk on Long Island.
Stop the rhetoric now.
“Still,” a documentary about Michael J. Fox’s battle with Parkinson’s Disease, and “American Symphony,” about musician Jon Batiste and his wife’s leukemia, were the big winners at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards last night in New York.
The evening, which was streamed from the Edison Hotel Ballroom, marked the return of Hollywood promotional activities following the end of the actors’ strike. Several SAG members showed up and expressed their relief about including Natasha Lyonne and Erich Bergen, among others. Director-actor Benny Safdie — wearing a dazzling chartreuse suit — turned up as a guest to support his friends who made HBO’s, “Telemarketers,” which tied for True Crime Documentary with “John Lennon: Murder without a Trial.”
“Still” and “American Symphony,” as well as “20 Days in Mariupol,” broke out of the crowd of documentaries that the CCA list and could be headed to the Oscars.
Jon Batiste is Golden right now: he won Best Score for his work on American Symphony and the film also took home the award for Best Music Documentary. This is on top of the Grammy nominations he picked up a few days ago for his latest album.
Among the winners was top young composer Kris Bowers, who was discovered at Julliard Music School by Aretha Franklin. Bowers won Best Short Documentary for “The Last Repair Shop,” a film he produced and scored and is also headed to the Oscars.
At the ceremony, the Pennebaker Award was presented to acclaimed documentary film maker Ross McElwee, whose many credits include the classic film, “Sherman’s March.” The award, formerly known as the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award, is named in memory of legendary filmmaker D A Pennebaker, who had previously won the award.
National Geographic Documentary Films sponsored the evening. Congrats to CCA president Joey Berlin and the show’s producers. The entire production was top notch, as was the after party at Bond 45. This is the classy way to put on an awards show!
Winners of the Eighth Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
BEST DIRECTOR
Davis Guggenheim – Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Mstyslav Chernov – 20 Days in Mariupol
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Tim Cragg – The Deepest Breath
BEST EDITING
Michael Harte – Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
BEST SCORE
Jon Batiste – American Symphony
BEST NARRATION
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – Written and Performed by Michael J. Fox
BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
Being Mary Tyler Moore
BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY
JFK: One Day in America
BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
American Symphony
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
20 Days in Mariupol
BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Secrets of the Elephants
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
The Deepest Breath
BEST TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY – TIE
Lennon: Murder Without a Trial
Telemarketers
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
The Last Repair Shop
The Critics Choice Awards ceremony will be held on January 14, 2024 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, CA, and will be broadcast live on The CW.
Movie superhero fatigue?
Bad marketing? The strike? Lack of publicity> Or just a bad movie?
“The Marvels” is now the lowest opening weekend for Marvel Pictures, including Universal’s “The Incredible Hulk,” with $47 million.
With a cost of at least $275 million, “The Marvels” will remain a stain on the company’s previous record of mega hit after hit.
“The Marvels” made $100 million less than its predecessor, “Captain Marvel.” That is a record for a sequel.
Is “The Marvels” so terrible that no one should see it? No. But it’s not an Event film. It doesn’t break new ground or have a plot twist or surprise for the Marvel audience that alters their fan world. It’s just…a nice film with good special effects. It hasn’t shaken up the world to get people into theaters in any massive way.
That may be the problem.
Now Marvel faces bigger problems as the whole next series of “Avengers” movies is imperiled by the upcoming trial of actor Jonathan Majors. Majors was supposed to anchor the next three films as the villainous Kang. But his trial for domestic abuse next month has sidelined the whole enterprise.
It’s unclear if Majors being found not guilty of the charges will make a difference. The damage may already be done. If he is innocent, and the Kang project is totally cancelled, it would be a shame for him. But it would also demonstrate that studios, having learned the lesson of Ezra Miller and “The Flash,” are going to protect themselves first.
Things are so grim in the world right now, we need a laugh, and some heart.
That’s what we get from Rob Reiner’s “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life,” an absolute tonic of a non fiction film playing HBO and MAX.
Reiner and Brooks have been friends, as they say, for almost 60 years. They met in high school, along with Richard Dreyfus and the kids of other stars. Their warmth and love for each other is palpable, with Reiner may unwittingly recreating the famous friendship his father, Carl Reiner, had with Mel Brooks.
The shared history of these two gifted filmmakers and comic actors makes it easy for them to take a walk down memory lane examining Brooks’s career. He was indeed born Albert Einstein by his father, a TV comedian in the 1950s, and changed his name (although for some reason. Reiner doesn’t say Albert was inspired by Mel Brooks and took his name). There’s a lot of examination of Albert’s family. One of his brothers speaks on camera, but again, a little oddly, there is no mention of their now deceased brother, Bob, aka Super Dave, and Funkhauser from “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Otherwise, “Defending My Life” is what they should play one day before Brooks gets an AFI or Academy Governors Award. He has no scandals, just lots of creativity as builds his career — coincidentally thanks to Carl Reiner, who gives him a shout out on TV age 16. Brooks takes off as a smart, edgy comedian on his own, and develops such a following that in 1974 Lorne Michaels asks him to host a weekly comedy show on Saturday nights. Brooks declines, recommends Michaels use revolving hosts, but Brooks will make videos for the show. Thus, “Saturday Night Live” is born.
There are many friends and fans who discuss Brooks’s career in the Reiner film including Steven Spielberg, Larry David, Sarah Silverman, James L. Brooks (no relation), Ben Stiller, and — I couldn’t figure this out — Brian Williams. Spielberg calls following Albert around with a camera, talking to people on the street a la Borat. Brooks discusses Albert’s famous turn in his “Broadcast News.”
All the other movies are checked off including my favorite, “Lost in America” (where is Julie Hagerty?), “Real Life,” “Modern Romance,” “Defending Your Life,” “Mother,” and the ill advised “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World.” We meet Albert’s wife and kids, a late in life experience, and get the passing information that he dated a young Linda Ronstadt. I kind of yearned for a Carrie Fisher-type pointer lesson of how all these cool people knew each other, but that’s not what Reiner wants. This is “My Dinner with Andre,” with punchlines.
In the end, the movie is just about these two Sunshine Boys giving the flavor of their lives in Hollywood being honorable, sane, well-intentioned mensches and observers of the human condition — next generation Woody Allens — or to use a Yiddish expression, Haimishe. I only wish HBO had put this in theaters for a week so it could be considered for an Oscar. But it’s good enough for a Critics Choice TV award and maybe an Emmy next fall.
Enjoy!
Donald Trump thinks Barack Obama is president. He’s said it before and he said it today.
This week in court he had to be reminded that he, Trump, was not president in 2021.
In the speech below, Trump also praises Hungarian dictator Viktor Orban. Trump has never met a dictator he didn’t love.
Thank God he’s not in charge of anything anymore. How stupid are the people in those bleachers anyway?
While gushing over Orbán, Trump once again gets confused and claims that Obama is the current president pic.twitter.com/7XCMAeuXNg
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 11, 2023
A new “Superman” is coming, like it or not.
New DC comics movies head James Gunn says on Twitter X that his version of the well worn tale is coming in July 2025.
The new take stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman and Rachel “Maisel” Brosnahan as Lois Lane. No word yet on Jimmy Olsen, but it worries me that Pete Davidson could get that role. Richard Kind should play Perry White. But no one asked me.
PS Why is Superman one word while Spider Man is two?
Thanks to the efforts of our talented crew, who never lost faith during the longest strikes in Hollywood history, and who never let their foot off the pedal, continuing to barrel forward, creating the most amazing character and set designs I’ve seen in my entire career,… pic.twitter.com/ntnEbA2fC0
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 11, 2023
This is what gossip columns used to be like when they were in the paper…
The charity circuit is hot as ever, and we get reports from all over about the money being raised.
Pat Monahan & the hit rock group TRAIN (Drops of Jupiter) helped raise over $3 million for ground-breaking research programs sponsored by Michael Milken‘s Prostate Cancer Foundation. The annual dinner at Restaurant Daniel was preceded by Master Mentalist Oz Perelman driving everyone crazy with his stunning tricks.
Denise Rich’s Angel Ball for Cancer Research deployed Mary J. Blige and Jermaine Dupri, and pulled in $2.8 million. Project ALS served up Ben Stiller and wife Christine Taylor, and made $1.3 million for their 25th anniversary.
New York Women’s Foundation attracted a sold out room to Gustavino’s on the East Side for their annual Radical Generosity dinner that featured a magnificent musical performance by .The Broadway Sinfonietta, a mini orchestra everyone should have at their events.
Honorees included Lorelei Williams, Molly Gochman, and Bisa Butler. Lorelei comes from the music biz. She runs the social justice fund at the Blavatnik Family Foundation, which is part of Len Blavatnik’s Warner Music Group. Ms. Williams is an executive vice president there, as well. What an extraordinary commitment she and all the women I met that night have to raising money and enacting programs. The whole night made me feel like there was a chance we’d survive everything going on now in the world. Everyone should know more about this group.
…Oscar winner Ariana DeBose helped NYC non-profit Teens for Food Justice raise over $900,000 at its gala last week. The Teens for Food Justice (TFFJ) 2023 Gala was held at the Lighthouse at Pier 61, Chelsea Piers in New York City, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the organization and support its ongoing efforts to make fresh food more accessible and improve nutritional health within New York City and Denver’s low-income communities through school-based, youth-led hydroponic farming…
…Condolences to Aretha Franklin’s family in Detroit. Earline Franklin, Aretha’s beloved sister in law (married to her late great brother Cecil) passed away this week at age 81. Earline was a stalwart in the family, I was honored to know Earline pretty well. She once cooked a five hour lunch for us in the Hamptons. Aretha depended on her friendship. Condolences to this amazing family…
Photo courtesy of Linda Solomon– Aretha, Barbara Henderson (wife of The Spinners’ Billy Henderson), Earline Franklin
Last night, Marvel Studios broke a record. It was one they didn’t want.
“The Marvels” opened to around $14.5 million, and had the lowest Thurs-Fri opening ever for a Disney-Marvel release with $21.3 million. (In 2008, “The Incredible Hulk” opened to $200K less, but it was at Universal and pre- the Disney MCU run.)
If the superhero sequel makes $50 million for the weekend, they’ll be lucky.
It’s an ironic turn of events since “Captain Marvel,” its predecessor, was the highest grossing female superhero action film.
But everything has gone wrong here, it seems, from the idea to the execution.
What’s really upsetting for Disney-Marvel is that “The Marvels” cost $200 million. It will never break even but it will lose a lot of money.
No one can blame star Brie Larson. The strike prevented her from doing any publicity until late this week. She appeared on the Tonight show and turned up at a theater last night to meet fans.
Disney should have held “The Marvels” until it could be properly promoted. Even if it wasn’t the best Marvel Universe film ever, it wouldn’t have bombed so precipitously.
Now Disney will get to feel the way DC/Warner’s has so many times. And that’s all, folks!
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The numbers are in for the week. The number 1 album? Taylor Swift’s redo of “1989.”
Swift’s album dropped 85% in sales from its stunning opening week at 1.5 million. But it still nosed out Jung Kook’s “Golden” album by 38,000 copies.
The BTS singer came in at 202K vs. Swift’s 240K.
All the hoopla about Jung Kook is just that, I’m afraid. If he were a real phenom, “Golden would have glowed.
One thing both acts have in common: their fans wanted CDs, LPs, and downloads more than they wanted to stream the albums. That’s good news since that’s where the real money is in the music biz (see my Beatles story).
Swift has 9 albums on the top 50 this week. Jimmy Buffet’s posthumous record, called “Equal Strain on All Parts,” sold around 53,000 copies — the average number for beloved legacy acts releasing late in career albums.