Sunday, October 6, 2024
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Melania Trump Book Set for October 1st Release During Presidential Campaign, Has Few Advance Orders on Amazon

EXCLUSIVE Melania Trump announced recently she was writing the story of her life in book form.

The book is now set for publication on October 1st from Skyhorse Books, which publishes marginal celebrities who can’t get a real publisher.

The public, so far, doesn’t seem excited. “Melania” is number 9,302 on amazon.com.

The book will come out a month away from the presidential election. It could help her hand’s campaign or hurt it depending on how it holds up to fact checking scrutiny.

Advance quotes on the amazon order page come from a rogue’s gallery of nitwits including Kellyanne Conway, Dana Perino, and Nikki Haley. There’s also a quote from Brigitte Macron, First Lady of France, that looks unauthorized and has nothing to do with the book.

Melania will likely not be telling the story of how her husband cheated on her when she was pregnant, with an adult porn star, or that Trump lost a hush money to case to that woman. She will not be addressing his consequent 34 count felony convictions, or how she started modeling in Slovenia and met Trump while he was married to Marla Maples. She will not talk about where she lives, why she has nothing to do with Trump’s campaign, or where her son is going to college.

Can’t wait!

Ryan Reynolds Pitches in with Strangely Humorous Video to Promote Wife Blake Lively’s New Film (Watch)

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Ryan Reynolds, his mother, and Hugh Jackman have made a strangely humorous video plug for Blake Lively’s new movie.

Lively is star of “It Ends with Us,” releasing Thursday night. It co-stars Brandon Sklenar. Ryan and co have a lot of fun with him as faux interviewers on a movie junket.

Reynolds — who knows how to market a movie — is very nice to Lively since his own “Deadpool and Wolverine” will eat “It Ends with Us” at the box office this weekend. But at least they’re all having fun. Mrs. Reynolds is a good sport!

PS Do Jackman and Reynolds live together? They’re in promos 24/7 for something or anything!

Grammy Awards Get the Squeeze on CBS as Network Adds American Music Awards for May 2025

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The endless procession of awards shows on CBS just got longer.

The network has now added the return of the American Music Awards to its schedule for May 2025. This is will be just a few months after the Grammy Awards, considered the main legit show for the music biz, in late January.

There won’t be an AMA this year. Instead, CBS will air a two hour special about them in October, celebrating their 50th anniversary.

The AMAs come from Dick Clark Productions, which now also give us the revived Golden Globes on CBS. Dick Clark Productions also has the Billboard Music Awards, which are set for November on streaming.

The announcement was made via The Hollywood Reporter, whose company owns Dick Clark Productions, as well as Variety, Billboard and other publications.

For all time, the Grammys were considered the crown jewel equivalent of the Oscars, Tonys, and Emmys — hence the acronym EGOT. They’ve always been on CBS, and in the past an artist who performed on the AMAS– which used to be in November on ABC –was not allowed to sing or play on the Grammys.

But that was all under executive producer Pierre Cossette, who had very high standards and made the Grammys into a legacy. But now CBS has turned the Kennedy Center Awards, which air in December, into their kind of Grammys, stuffing them with music acts. CBS also broadcasts the Tony Awards in June, and this year they started to make the turn toward the Grammys as well.

If only there was enough new music to support all this Grammyfication. But there isn’t. Music sales this month, for example, are the lowest ever. The charts are crowded with multiple releases by just a few acts: Taylor Swift and Zach Bryan top the list with six and three of the top 50 right now, and Morgan Wallen with two albums. At least half of the top 50 is composed of albums more than a year old.

Federal Judge Rules: “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly”

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Google has made life so difficult for anyone with a website that today’s ruling will not get any sympathy.

Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said in a 277-page ruling that Google monopolized internet search and online advertising.

The party is over.

“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Judge Mehta said in his ruling.

The judge did not come up with a solution to this dire situation, so there will be another trial to determine what punishment they deserve — and how the internet will change.

You can read the stories on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other sites. But what they lack is the personal aspect of what’s been going on. Google has made it impossible for businesses to thrive. They’ve operated capriciously, and to detriment of readers and consumers.

This is just the beginning.

“House of the Dragon,” Ratings Deprived, Flames Out at HBO, Will End with 4th Season in 2026

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HBO’s “House of the Dragon” will end with season 4 in 2026.

The network announced today that season 3 will be filmed shortly for 2025, followed by a quick ending.

Last night season 2 ended with a whimper despite all the dragons breathing heavy and promising to wreck Westeros.

“House of the Dragon” has had anemic ratings and reviews all this season. It’s averaged 1.2 million viewers a week on HBO, which has stopped sending out ratings reports.

The show simply has no traction. I’m surprised they’re actually doing a third and fourth season. They could have stopped last night and no one would have noticed. Instead of a big cliff hanger, the episode just fizzled.

There are many problems with the “Game of Thrones” spin off. It’s almost impossible to follow, and nothing happens. Unlike “Thrones,” there are no relationships, no sex, nothing compelling. The dragons are more interesting than the people.

HBO has plans for more “Thrones” spin offs. But they’re expensive, and without huge numbers, they can’t be done.

Not a surprise.

Meanwhile, HBO came roaring back today with 6 second teasers for “The White Lotus,” “The Last of Us,” and “Sex and the City.” They’re all hits, Time to get back on track!

Lucille Ball Son Desi Arnaz Jr. Surfaces in Rare Picture Posted by Sister Lucie

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Desi Arnaz Jr was once a white hot supermarket tabloid subject.

He starred with his mom, Lucille Ball, in a TV show. (His dad was the great actor singer producer Desi Arnaz, creator of “I Love Lucy.”)

Desi Jr. had affairs with loads of starlets including Patti Duke. For a while he and Patti thought he was her son’s father (Sean Astin).

Desi was even part of a chart topping boy band called Dino, Desi, and Billy.

But he’s been largely MIA for decades.Now sister Lucie has posted a couple of pictures of him on her Instagram. If it weren’t for the Methuselah beard, Desi would look pretty good for being only 71. He looks 91 instead.

I guess Desi had a wild life and likes being “recalcitrant,” as Lucie describes him. Lucie, meantime, continues to tour, sing, and perform.

Baba-loo!

Jon Stewart Has COVID, Not Hosting “The Daily Show” Tonight, Will Return Next Week

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Fans of Jon Stewart will be disappointed tonight.

Stewart has COVID and won’t be hosting The Daily Show. He only hosts on Mondays. He’ll be back next week.

Tonight’s host is Michael Kosta, who’s picking up a second night this week.

Other reports say Stewart won’t be hosting “this week.” But he only hosts on Mondays, so calm down.

Speedy recovery!

Famed Director David Lynch Indicates End of Career Because of Emphysema: “I’m homebound whether I like it or not”

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The great director David Lynch may be calling a wrap on his career.

Lynch, 78, responded to Sight & Sound Magazine’s question if he’ll ever direct again.

Lynch answered: “No. I’ll tell you, I’ve gotten emphysema from smoking for so long, and so I’m homebound whether I like it or not. I can’t go out. And I can only walk a short distance before I’m out of oxygen.

“Smoking was something that I absolutely loved but, in the end, it bit me. It was part of the art life for me: the tobacco and the smell of it and lighting things and smoking and going back and sitting back and having a smoke and looking at your work, or thinking about things; nothing like it in this world is so beautiful.

“Meanwhile, it’s killing me. So I had to quit it. And now, because of Covid, it would be very bad for me to get sick, even with a cold. So I probably would be directing from my house. And because of Covid, they’ve now invented ways where you can direct from home. I wouldn’t like that so much. I like to be there amongst the thing and get ideas there. But I would try to do it remotely, if it comes to it.”

Lynch has been nominated four times for Oscars. His last movie was “Inland Empire” in 2006, although he was responsible for the third season of “Twin Peaks” — in which he appeared — and also had a successful cameo as director John Ford in Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans.” In recent years, Lynch has been busy directing videos an commercials.

What a career he’s had, though! From “Blue Velvet” to “Mullholland Drive,” “Eraserhead,” “Wild at Heart,” “Twin Peaks” and more. Lynch received an honorary Oscar in 2020. Let’s hope he will still work remotely.

Kennedy Campaign Website Offers Teddy Bear to Buy, Not to Kill and Leave in Central Park

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The website for Robert Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign includes the usual posters, buttons, and so on.

But you can also buy a stuffed teddy bear for $32.

This is unfortunate considering Kennedy has just admitting leaving a dead bear cub in Central Park, then making it look like a cyclist hit it.

Kennedy released a video of himself admitting this to, of all people, Roseanne Barr. Considering Barr’s mental health, she looks shocked.

Kennedy was trying to get ahead of a New Yorker story that broke this morning about the 2011 incident. At the time and until this week no one knew Kennedy came up with this scheme. The only person who might have known was his cousin, Tatiana Schlossberg, who wrote the story for the New York Times.

Want the bear? I’d hurry. It’s a collector’s item!

No, Chef! New Yorker Take Down of Robert Kennedy Doesn’t Go Far Enough, Including the Dead Bear Story

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The New Yorker’s excellent take down of Robert Kennedy Jr. doesn’t go far enough.

But Clare Malone’s excellent reporting at least reveals the dreadful and disgusting story of Kennedy — at age 57 — putting a dead bear cub in Central Park and making it seem like a cyclist hit it.

Malone also reveals that the New York Times story about the bear was written by Kennedy’s cousin, Tatianna Schlossberg, who then worked for the paper. She didn’t know he was responsible? Malone says that it was a coincidence.

Malone also reveals, if you didn’t know, that Kennedy started an affair with Mary Richardson while he was married to his first wife. Richardson got pregnant, which ended the first marriage. Later, as we all know, Richardson — after having four children — committed suicide.

What Malone doesn’t say is that Kennedy — whom she does identify as a serial philanderer — had an affair during the Richardson marriage with a then famous TV star. (Their friendship endures.) Kennedy’s children have not fared particularly well as adults. One of them, Kick, was written out of the HBO series, “Newsroom,” before she even started.

There’s a lot more. Nearly everyone in New York circles has a bad story about Bobby Kennedy. I was friends with Peter Kaplan, Kennedy’s Harvard roommate, in the 80s and 90s until his death from cancer. He was regularly negative about Kennedy in our conversations. If he were alive, he’d be livid at how Kennedy turned out.

The bear story is disgusting, and seems like a crime that will go unpunished. It’s just part of Kennedy’s horrible story. Malone almost makes a point that Kennedy’s psychosis stems from his father’s tragic death. But his other siblings — Kathleen, Rory, Kerry — have managed to rise above it and make lives for themselves of value. They’ve all disowned his presidential candidacy, along with other members of the family.

Here’s the link to the New Yorker story. And a picture below from it.