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Bob Dylan Releasing “Shadow Kingdom,” Streaming-Only Pay Per View Event from July 2021 on CD, DVD, Everything Else

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Remember a couple of years ago? Bob Dylan had a pay per view streaming only event called “Shadow Kingdom.” It cost 25 bucks and included a bunch of newly recorded Dylan hits with black and white videos. It was very cool.

So now Bob is releasing it for everyone via Sony Legacy on June 2nd and June 6th. All of it — LP, CD, the full film, rent, keep, etcetera. It was worth the original 25 bucks and it’s worth it now.

The song list:

Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)

Queen Jane Approximately

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

Tombstone Blues

To Be Alone With You

What Was It You Wanted

Forever Young

Pledging My Time

The Wicked Messenger

Watching the River Flow

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

Sierra’s Theme

Cannes 2023 LIVE UPDATING Scorsese, Indiana Jones, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, The Weeknd, Wes Anderson, Julianne Moore & Natalie Portman

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LIVE UPDATING Selections of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival…already announced films by Martin Scorsese, James Mangold (Indiana Jones), Maiween (Johnny Depp in Jeanne DuBarry)…also Sam Levinson’s pilot for HBO’s “The Idol” with The Weeknd, a film produced by and starring Cate Blanchett called “The New Boy”…Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City”…Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman in Todd Haynes’ “May/December”…Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Eddie Marsan in “Firebrand”…

No sign of Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance…” Woody may be going to Venice Film Festival instead…we’ll see what he’s decided…

Here are the rest, live from the announcement…

Review: “Mrs. Maisel” Series Ends with A Bang, a Sensational Emmy Worthy Final Season Full of Precise Acting, Writing, and Directing

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I’m going to start backwards here.

The final episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” doesn’t come until the end of May. We’re not allowed to say much about it yet. Only you should know that the Emmy winning show comes to a glorious ending, the kind you hope for in every beloved TV series. The voices of both Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand are heard and the final thank you is to Kitty Bruce, daughter of Lenny. Amen.

On the 14th of April, first three episodes of the last season pick up where we left off: Midge, returning from walking around in a blizzard, comes home and has to make decisions about her career. She’s burned a lot of bridges. Nearly always self-destructive in her quest to become a famous female comic, she has to figure out a way to make it work.

This much I can tell you: each episode of this season begins with a flash forward. We learn what happens to all the characters in the future, a neat little device that tells its own story over nine installments. I won’t tell you their fates, but it;’s enough to say almost everyone gets what they want, which is nice. It’s not all perfect, and it’s kind of realistic in a Maisel-type way.

Throughout this season, as in the past, the writing and direction are superb. All the group scenes, musical numbers, and so on are like mini productions within “Mrs. Maisel.” They are choreographed with wit and intelligence, and designed to the nth degree. Every single below the line artisan deserves an award. Daniel Palladino’s direction if it were on Broadway would get a Tony Award. The precision of these executions is mind blowing.

The acting, though, and the writing that informs it what gives the show charm and heft. Rachel Brosnahan is like a combination of Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas from the 60s. She sails through her scenes, making the light and dark seem easy. Alex Borstein’s Susie is a wise cracking fluid Rhoda and Ethel Mertz. Tony Shalhoub — especially in an episode where he has a Woody Allen like sit down dinner with four colleagues — is wise and wonderful.

The rest of the cast deserves every ensemble award. The Maisels– Caroline Aaron and Kevin Pollack, Rose Weissman, played by Marin Hinkle, all the supporting people are so sharply drawn, each pulling out new unexpected textures. The Palladinos manage to give everyone something to do — Susie’s sister appears in a live industrial musical, the Maisel maid gets married in the Weissman living room.

Some info: Stephanie Hsu, who made and got nominated for an Oscar in “Everything Everywhere” between “Maisel” seasons, has a farewell scene and leaves Joel high and dry. It’s a little awkward to move on. Joel. who’s always a bit of a rat, acquits himself by making a life changing sacrifice for Midge. Other guest stars wander in and out, like Hank Azaria and Sutton Foster. The very good Reid Scott, from “Veep,” becomes Midge’s foil as Gordon Ford, a New York talk show host a la Jack Paar. Jane Lynch makes a cameo as Sophie Lennon. There are nods to pretty much everyone we’ve seen in the series. The whole enterprise is more than just satisfying.

RuPaul’s Ratings Are a Drag So Far This Season as Series Drops 38% Since January

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Maybe it’s because of its age — 15 seasons.

Or maybe all the trash talk about drag queens reading books to children has turned people off.

For some reason, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a show with a ton of awards, has taken a precipitous drop in the ratings.

The VH-1 show won Emmys for Best Reality Show in 2018, 2019, and 2020. But this year, Viacom moved the show from VH-1 to MTV, as they have done with other reality shows. Fans may be confused but at this rate, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” could be in trouble by the time its season ends.

Viacom, aka Paramount, announced last fall it was separating VH-1 from sister network MTV and moving it under BET Media Group. The idea is to spin off the latter– Tyler Perry and Byron Allen are those who’ve expressed interest — maybe taking VH-1 with them. Why? Because if you can screw something up, corporations will do it.

When MTV and VH-1 were in their heyday, the former played music videos for younger people. VH-1 was for an older generation. But as music has becoming increasingly bad, and videos are not in demand, the two networks have been programming a lot of reality TV and game shows. If VH-1 leaves with BET, Paramount will be down to just moribund channel instead of two.

Lethal Liability? Mel Gibson’s Face and Name Appear Nowhere in Trailer for Peacock Limited Series, Actor’s First TV Show

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This is pretty weird.

Of course, no one wants to be associated with Mel Gibson. So it should come as no surprise that neither Gibson’s face nor name appear in the teaser trailer for a new Peacock three part series called “The Continental.”

The show actually stars Colin Woodell. It’s set in the New York in the 70s where the only Continental was a gay bath house. It’s unlikely Mel is the proprietor. The Holocaust denying anti-Semite and racist doesn’t seem like he’d be doing that.

There’s plenty of gun play, as seen below, but no hint of Gibson, Hollywood’s most reviled Public Enemy Number 1. I can’t believe anyone agreed to work with him at all.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=S4GmiggFXRI

“Succession” First Post-Logan Episode: He’s Still Present, and the Talk Becomes Much More Brutal (Plus, Best Line)

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The biggest spoiler in “Succession” is from this past Sunday: Logan is dead.

Well, he’s still in the room and present as ever in Episode 4. All the talk is about him, good and bad. Mostly bad. The man is not in his grave yet but his memory and reputation are being used as ping pong balls and bargaining in chips at the board of Waystar comes to pay its respects in his lavish Park Avenue apartment.

The whole episode should be titled “Sitting Shiva, with Swords.”

Everyone who should be in this episode appears or is mentioned except for Logan’s brother, Greg’s father, played by James Cromwell.

There are many revelations and plot twists. The conversation seems more raw and brutal as characters appear to be telling each other off in more unguarded ways than ever. Tom and Greg are particular targets, which leads to Geri giving my favorite line of the show to Tom, who has just taken an hors d’oeuvres from a tray: “You might want to put down that fish taco. You’re getting your melancholy everywhere.”

Shiv gets a few surprises, Kendall gets one, and special kudos go to Peter Friedman, who is quite touching, and Zoe Winters, very moving work.

Much more cannot be said til Sunday. But if this is a foreshadowing, the funeral episode — presumably a week from Sunday — should be titled “Monster’s Ball.”

PS This year HBO should bring back their Emmy party. They’re going to have truckloads of them when you factor in “House of the Dragon,” “Hacks,” “Barry,” and “The Last of Us.”

Meghan Markle Not Invited to Prince Charles’s Coronation According to Buckingham Palace

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Families!

Meghan Markle is not going to Prince, er, King Charles’s coronation on May 6th.

Prince Harry is going, but Buckingham Palace says Meghan and the kids are staying home.

That’s just as well. Her presence would certainly take the focus off the coronation, and off the fact that Charles has dropped the “consort” part of her title and made her actual Queen. It’s laughable.

An announcement reads: “Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”

It’s not much of a surprise. After the crap leveled at his family by Harry it’s amazing they’re having him at all.

Meantime, Harry’s book, “Spare,” of which we tire, is still on the Amazon top 100.

National Public Radio is “Stepping Away” from Twitter After Fight with Elon Musk Over Status

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NPR, National Public Radio, is “stepping away” from Twitter after a dispute with Elon Musk. This includes NPR Politics. Misk branded NPR “government funded radio” even after they carefully described their support is mostly from listeners.

Read their statement here.

This is not okay. Twitter is deteriorating bit by bit, as expected since Musk’s $44 billion purchase.

Paul Simon Releasing 33 Minute Piece of Music, Sings for First Time with Wife Edie Brickell, See Trailer from Documentary

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Paul Simon is an extraordinary artist who never rests.

His new project, coming May 19th, is a 33 minute piece of music called Seven Psalms, in which he addresses his own mortality and religion. He says it all came to him in a dream that woke him up and he wrote it all down.

On the album he sings for the first time with wife Edie Brickell. (There are bits of the singing together, floating around the internet, but I believe this is their first official recorded collaboration.) Wynton Marsalis is also involved. There’s a lot of choral music, as well.

Also, the video below comes from a documentary Simon is making with Alex Gibney.

I told you last summer that Simon was making a new album in mid town New York.

Legal Emergency: Friars Club Sued Over $13 Million Mortgage Loan on Famed East 55th St. Headquarters

DEVELOPING EXCLUSIVE This is no joke. There are several lawsuits going on against the once fabled Friars Club.

The worst one by far is said to have been filed last Friday on behalf of Kairos Credit Strategies Operating Partnership, LP in the Southern District of New York.

According to an official description, the suit pursues claims against Friars National Association Inc. in connection with a $13 million mortgage loan, which encumbers real property located at 57 East 55th Street in New York. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants.

NEC Financial Services is also suing the Friars. And this is funny– Michael Gyure, who ran the Friars until he was convicted of personal tax fraud, is suing them as well. His name rhymes with “jury.”

The Friars Club was one of New York’s great institutions until it was destroyed by people who took it over out of ego and greed. They recently lost their trademark, as well. To see it ravaged in this way is tragic. The people running it have to let go and permit some group to come in and sort this out.

Click here for my past stories about the club.

More to come…