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Yesterday I told you Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson shared a DM from his subject proposing a rehearsal fight with Mark Zuckerberg in his backyard. There was a proposal on the table for a mixed martial arts death cage match between the two billionaires.
Zuckerberg has replied with a “forget it.” He wants to move on to fighting “serious” opponents. He won’t meet Musk at Dusk.
Ah well. We all new this was never going to happen. And it’s just as well that it doesn’t. These two guys could do a lot more productive things with their minds and money.
What is da matter with “Demeter”? Who can say, really, except that critics hated it, do did bloggers. Universal knew and put nothing into it.
And now the $45 million Dracula on a cruise flick has died at sea. Total take for the weekend was $6.5 million, which is more than anyone would have predicted. It could be the air conditioning in the theaters was the attraction.
“The Last Voyage of the Demeter” finished in 5th place for its debut week, and will sink like the Titanic now. Best bet is get it over to streaming ASAP.
Otherwise, the box office was dominated by “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which continue to roll along steadily and strongly.
Paramount is actually having better luck with “Teenage Mutant Turtles” than with “Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1.” The latter continues to run $30 million behind the last “MI” movie, “Fallout,” and may never get near $200 million.
Watching Donald Trump circle the drain is mesmerizing. He’s panicking, knows a fourth indictment is coming this week in Georgia, and shows no contrition.
Does he want to tighten the noose around his neck? He seems willing.
Yesterday afternoon he quoted other posts attacking his judge in Washington, Tanya Chutkan. He couldn’t go 48 hours after the judge advised him to stop making inflammatory posts.
This morning, facing doom in Fulton County, Georgia, Trump attacks the grand jury and the former lieutenant governor of the state, Geoff Duncan (and spelled his name wrong). And it isn’t even 10am. It’s going to be a long week.
Meantime, and more shockingly, there are reports and photographs of the grave of Trump’s ex wife, Ivana. Her burial site at the Bedminster Golf Club still has no marker and is overgrown with weeds. It’s so disrespectful but it’s completely in keeping with her disgusting children and Trump himself. Ivana deserved better. I hope she haunts all of them!
If you bought 45 rpm singles in the early 1970s, Sussex Records was a label you could not avoid. It was the home of Bill Withers, who took off with “Ain’t No Sunshine,” followed by “Lean On Me,” “Use Me,” and “Lovely Day.” Sussex had many other hits at the same time including the instrumental “Scorpio” by Dennis Coffey, and “Sweet Mary” from Wadsworth Mansion.
They were all the work of Clarence Avant, who died yesterday at age 92. He liked to be known as the Godfather of the Music Business, and in a documentary made by his daughter, Nicole Avant, just a few years ago, we got to learn about all the deals he’d had a quiet hand in brokering in the record business and entertainment in general.
Clarence Avant was a powerful but quiet force in the industry, much respected and honored wherever he went. His wife, Jackie, was also soft spoken, and beautiful. Her violent death in a home invasion in Beverly Hills in 2021, at age 81, was tragic and monstrous.
Clive Davis says of his old friend: “Clarence Avant was truly one of a kind. His passing is a great loss of someone who is irreplaceable. Clarence’s extraordinary contribution to music and the barriers he broke throughout his career are unrivaled. He was the mentor to all Black executives in the music industry for decades, providing invaluable guidance and support while always standing up for equal rights. Clarence was humane and fair and inspired love and respect from all who knew him. I personally loved him and will miss him forever.”
Condolences to Nicole, her brother Alex, and the whole family. Clarence Avant was a living legend.
There was a lot going on in the Hamptons yesterday.
The main attraction was 80s pop star Paula Abdul. The effervescent former “American Idol” judge brought her dance troupe to the annual Summer Hamptons Evening for the Northwell Health Katz Institute for Women’s Health. The gala, a dazzling night from Lawrence Scott Events, raises millions for the incredible doctors at Northwell whose research breakthroughs are landmark.
Paula looks amazing at age 61, her dancer’s body makes her look around 31. She and her troupe blazed through her hits like “Straight Up,” “Rush Rush” and “Opposites Attract” like it was still 1989! The crowd loved it, too. All those well heeled donors were rocking along on the table tops and under a big gold disco ball. Victoria Moran Furman hosted as usual at her mansion on the water. Our pal, Rosanna Scotto, was the admirable emcee.
EARLIER, in the late afternoon, it was time for the East Hampton Library Authors Book Signing. This happens under a huge, and humid, tent pitched in Herrick Park where hundreds of readers crowded in to meet dozens and dozens of famous writers, buy their books, and get them signed.
The longest lines formed for Robert Caro, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Susan Isaacs, AM Holmes, Marie Brenner, even Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner. Ballerina Misty Copeland is gorgeous in person, CNN’s Jim Acosta was erudite, and there an appearance by Geraldo Rivera, proud as punch about his daughter, Sol, becoming a published poet age 18. A lot of Hamptons scenesters were schitzing and shmoozing including Bill McCuddy, Beverly Camhe, and Neil Rosen. So were Amy Zerner and Monte Farber, whose astrological new wave books are being turned into a documentary.
What book did I buy? “Everything/Nothing/Someone: A Memoir,” by the charming Alice Carrière, daughter of late great artist Jennifer Bartlett. It’s not even being published until August 29th, but Marie Brenner told me to buy it, so I did! Look up Jennifer Bartlett — one of our greatest contemporary artists. Alice looks like she has a winner.
Elon Musk is ready to rock and roll with Mark Zuckberg.
Musk biographer Walter Isaacson revealed in a Tweet this morning that the Tesla chief was ready to take on Zuck in their death cage match. There’s a proposed rehearsal for Monday (tomorrow?) in Palo Alto, California.
Zuckerberg has publicized that he’s in fighting shape. Unless Musk has had a miracle transformation, he looks a little like Michelin man or the Pillsbury Doughboy. Maybe the whole thing will be done with avatars.
Isaacson’s book will be published next month.
I got this text message from Elon Musk at 4:44am CT showing a screenshot of some text messages in which he tells Mark Zuckerberg they should fight this Monday at Zuckerberg’s home in Palo Alto. pic.twitter.com/krgRsH5P5G
Donald Trump is blowing his stack on social media.
Revelations this morning on CNN that tie emails and texts from him and his group of cronies to 2020 Georgia election manipulation are freaking him out.
He still thinks his famous phone call to the Georgia Secretary of State looking for extra votes for the 2020 election was a “perfect.” So he’s calling Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis a “phoney” — a juvenile play on the word phony — and screaming like a stuck pig.
The brilliant and determined Ms. Willis knows what she’s doing. This week she will indict Trump and his pals including Rudy Giuliani, and it will be worse than his three other indictments and all other lawsuits.
Last night, “Barbie” crossed the $500 million line and “Oppenheimer” hit $250 million. That’s just in 22 days of release. Cowabunga! The cross marketing of these films was absolute genius. The result is big bucks for everyone, especially the movie theaters. They’re no doubt selling popcorn and soda by the ton.
On the negative side, “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” which cost around $60 million, capsized last night with just $1.9 million. This will be a total write off for Universal. No one knows what a Demeter is, and apparently no one wants to.
“Asteroid City” meanwhile is still playing in 63 theaters despite starting on Peacock streaming. It made $10,000 last night, which can be added to its total of $27.8 million. Even if the entire A list cast was paid scale, just the cost of shooting in Spain and flying everyone around first class, plus the hotels and food etc, the P&L sheet on this movie must be fascinating. One actor who has no lines told me he was there for six weeks!
Now that Donald Trump is barred from attacking special prosecutor Jack Smith, he’s found a new target.
Trump has this morning gone after Atlanta DA Fani Willis, mocking her as “phoney.” Willis is about to bring charges against Trump and many of his cronies and associates over trying to steal the 2020 election.
Trump laughingly calls his famous phone call to Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia Secretary of State,
to find him 11,780 votes,
a “PERFECT PHONE CALL.” Raffensberger is just waiting to testify against Trump in court and has probably already done him in with grand jury testimony.
Soon Willis will be asking for a protective order also. As Judge Chutkan said to Trump yesterday in Washington, “Your First Amendment rights are not absolute.”
This will be the last voyage of the Demeter, whatever the heck that is.
Last night Universal unleashed “The Last Voyage of the Demeter” and it sank to the bottom of the ocean.
Previews brought in $750,000. Total budget is announced as $45 million, which means $60 million probably. No stars, no idea what it’s about, and terrible reviews. Rotten Tomatoes: 36%.
Universal is booming right now with “Oppeheimer,” closing in on $250 million, raves, and awards coming. So they can take on the chin. But this sounds pretty bad.
The movie is about Dracula at sea, chomping on people from Transylvania to London. I guess the ship is called the Demeter. It’s the worst title in movie history.
At least there will be no sequels.
Vampires — at least Dracula– are suddenly out of fashion. Who’d a-thunk it?
