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Who is Ariel Zilber and Why Is He Obsessed with Writing About Megyn Kelly — 20 NY Post Articles Already This Year

Roger Friedman
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Who is Ariel Zilber and Why Is He Obsessed with Writing About Megyn Kelly — 20 NY Post Articles Already This Year

You remember Megyn Kelly? She was bounced from Fox News, and then NBC — where she had no ratings — let her go and bought out her contract. She has not been on network TV since then, instead carping and blabbering without any sense on social media.

No one cares what Kelly thinks, anywhere as far as I can tell, except for the New York Post. So far this year they’ve run about 20 articles on her already. All them have been written by the same person, a reporter named Ariel Zilber. If Kelly blows her nose, Zilber files a story. If she gets a Cheerio stuck in her teeth, Ariel Zilber is there. There are no interviews and no reporting. They’re just puff pieces promoting her SiriusXM podcast– not a show, a podcast.

Last year, in 2022, Zilber wrote about 50 stories that included Kelly’s name. Again, Kelly doesn’t like something, or goes after someone, and this, Zilber feels, is news. It must also be felt by Rupert Murdoch’s Post, even though Murdoch’s Fox News kicked her out of the building.

Before the Post, Zilber filed Kelly stories at the Daily Mail.

Many reporters have beats. I certainly do, people we write about on a regular basis because they’re of public interest, or notorious enough to require following. But Megyn Kelly? The only thing she and Zilber seem to have in common is they are rabid right wingers. That’s it.

And yet today we are 20 stories in for 2023. No one else in the world writes about Megyn Kelly, or cares about her. If Zilber weren’t carrying her water four times a month, no one would remember she was still around. We wouldn’t know, as Zilber told us in October 22, that Megyn Kelly dunks on Kim Kardashian’s ‘enormous fake ass’. We wouldn’t be aware — we were told today that ” ‘They’re not going away’: Megyn Kelly ‘f–king sick’ of calls to ban guns after Nashville shooting“

I was losing sleep over her opinion on these matters.

Where does Kelly deliver these bon mots? Apparently, she does have that podcast onSiriusXM. Not a show–a podcast– a vanity project that I’m dozens of people race to hear every day. Me? I’d rather listen to Little Steven’s Underground Garage or Soul Town on Sirius XM when I’m in the car. If I want hot blown in my face, I can just roll down the window!

As for Zilber, his LinkedIn page says he’s a business reporter for the New York Post, although so far it’s unclear what business he has writing Megyn Kelly pieces every week– that is, unless he’s in some kind of business with her that hasn’t been made clear yet. Otherwise he’s just giving her publicity out of the goodness of his heart.

Exclusive: Curb Your Anxiety, Larry David Comedy is Not Over Yet, Ignore Strange Tweets, No Sign of “Ending”

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Curb Your Anxiety, Larry David Comedy is Not Over Yet, Ignore Strange Tweets, No Sign of “Ending”

Everyone, hold on. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” is not over.

The show just wrapped over the weekend, and Larry David is in the editing room. A wrap party was held on Saturday night. According to my sources, there was NO talk of this being the series finale, or that “Curb” would not return for a 13th season. (Who can keep count after 20 years plus?)

The season final episode wrapped up plot points from the season. There was no big farewell.

I’m told the two people who posted strange Tweets about this being the “series finale” quote “would not know anyway and it wouldn’t come from them.”

So this is all pretty, pretty premature.

Indeed, as one source with the show told me: “There have been other times when we thought it was over, then Larry says come back. We had a six year hiatus once. Anything is possible.”

It’s also possible that those Tweets were sent as contract negotiations. Everyone in TV is belt tightening. “Blue Bloods” just agreed to pay cuts to return for a 14th season on CBS. “Curb” is not a blockbuster in the ratings. But it has a loyal following, it’s good stuff for HBO, and gets awards attention. It could go on for years, frankly.

“Is it over?” says a source, “I don’t think so and there’s been no hint of it. But if it, we had a good run.”

My money is on Season 12.

Alec Baldwin DA Appoints Special Prosecutors But Is Made to Step Away from “Rust” Case by Judge

Roger Friedman
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Alec Baldwin DA Appoints Special Prosecutors But Is Made to Step Away from “Rust” Case by Judge

The Alec Baldwin “Rust” case lurches forward despite many setbacks for the prosecution.

Now New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies finally got the budget and ok to hire special prosecutors. Carmack-Altwies will now step down from the case. The new prosecutors are described as long-time New Mexico attorneys Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis. The press statement says “Morrissey’s and Lewis’ extensive experience and trial expertise will allow the state to pursue justice for Halyna Hutchins and ensure that in New Mexico everyone is held accountable under the law. “

Carmack-Altweis had been complaining that she didn’t have the resources to handle the case properly and had been turned down when she asked for help. Two days ago she argued that a new special prosecutor was necessary as her office was suffering from staffing shortages. They’d already received $360,000 from the New Mexico state legislature earmarked specifically for forensic investigation and outside counsel related to the “Rust” case.

That request was denied by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who said that the DA’s office had to either prosecute the “Rust” case itself or delegate it to a special prosecutor and recuse itself completely from the case.

“You cannot use [a special prosecutor] unless you’re not going to prosecute,” the judge said. You may not co-counsel …you stay the course and not use a special prosecutor and prosecuted on your own. It’s an either or.”

The press statement reads: “With the appointment of new special prosecutors, Carmack-Altwies will step aside from personally prosecuting the ‘Rust’ case, allowing her to focus on the broader public safety needs in New Mexico’s First Judicial District. Carmack-Altwies will continue her record of prosecuting drunken drivers, collaborating with local law enforcement, increasing diversion efforts and securing convictions against the most dangerous and prolific offenders.” 

Disney Finally Ousts Ike Perlmutter, Major Financial Backer for DeSantis, Company’s Mortal Enemy

Roger Friedman
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Disney Finally Ousts Ike Perlmutter, Major Financial Backer for DeSantis, Company’s Mortal Enemy

Bob Iger is certainly happy this morning. The head of Disney was finally able to oust the right wing nutjob who brought Marvel to the company– and was then a big pain in his side.

Ike Perlmutter, 80, is finally excised from the company under the ruse of the new layoffs. Perlmutter is a huge Republican donor and a big backer of Florida’s evil governor Ron DeSantis.

I wrote about Perlmutter and the GOP a couple of years ago.

Since then, Perlmutter has lavished millions on DeSantis, even loaning him his private plane. Meanwhile, DeSantis has attacked Disney on every front, from his anti-LGBTQ stances to his efforts to strip the company of their tax breaks,

For some reason, the New York Times just ignored all this today in their report on Perlmutter’s exit.

For Marvel getting rid of Perlmutter is like taking out Thanos for good. But no one will ever forget him, unfortunately.

Good News: Trailer for Wes Anderson’s All-Star “Asteroid City” Is Dry Humor at Its Best, And a Return to Form

Roger Friedman
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Good News: Trailer for Wes Anderson’s All-Star “Asteroid City” Is Dry Humor at Its Best, And a Return to Form

“Asteroid City” looks pretty great from this trailer, which just dropped from Focus Features.

Wes Anderson is in a return to tongue in cheek form, very dry humor, as he sends up space movies, aliens, and a kind of stylized 50s culture. It’s set in a desert, filmed in Spain. There are nearly two dozen stars. In this trailer we see mostly Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwarzman, and Tom Hanks.

“Asteroid City” will open in Cannes in May, then in June in theaters.

Reality: “Succession” Scores 600K Viewers on HBO, Cabler Says 2.3 Mil Total Including Streaming

Roger Friedman
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Reality: “Succession” Scores 600K Viewers on HBO, Cabler Says 2.3 Mil Total Including Streaming

It’s hard to deal with HBO’s ratings announcements these days. There are now two ratings: the measured ones on HBO and the streaming ones announced by HBO Max which are unmonitored. From latter stats, we can surmise that more people are watching HBO Max either on TVs or phones or computers than those who just watch HBO on cable.

So: the hard numbers show that “Succession” returned for its fourth and final season Sunday night to a number lower than its season 3 finale. That’s 598,000 this past Sunday vs. 634,000 in December 2021. That would be weird and disappointing.

However, HBO says including HBO Max and “other platforms” their total was 2.3 million, up 33% from the December 2021 numbers that included HBO Max and other platforms.

God bless, I say. Take the higher numbers even though we have no way of knowing bupkis about them. But the Nielsen rating is like the measurement in the music biz of CDs and paid downloads. It’s a hard, physical statistic. And that means that the Roys– I love them, I love the show, it should win all awards, etc — have a niche audience that more or less returned on Sunday. More will catch up during the week.

SPOILERS In this week’s episode, the kids out bid their father on a media property that will probably wreck them. Logan Roy is furious, but he knows he’ll be back to sweep up the trash later. Cousin Greg’s odd sex life invaded Logan’s lavish apartment, and it may be on tape. The big story was the incredible end sequence between Shiv and Roy, who want a divorce, don’t want it, love each other, are children who don’t know how to operate a relationship. It was heartbreaking work from Sarah Snook and Matthew MacFadyen.

And so we wait for next Sunday.

Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider Declares “We’re Not Gonna Take It” Can Be Used As Anti-Assault Rifle Anthem Even Though He’s a Gun Owner

Roger Friedman
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Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider Declares “We’re Not Gonna Take It” Can Be Used As Anti-Assault Rifle Anthem Even Though He’s a Gun Owner

Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider has come out of the closet…as a gun owner who’s against people owning assault rifles.

This evening he declared on Twitter: “I am a gun owner.. That said, HELL YEAH YOU CAN USE “WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT AS YOUR ANTHEM! Assault weapons were never meant for anything but combat!”

This was in response to a Tweet from a fan that reads: “Dee: If we organize and demand an assault weapons ban, may we use your anthem? #notgonnatakeit Yours in rock and the right not to be gunned down..”

And that should tell us a lot. The Twisted Sister fan base definitely owns guns. But it’s time to end these daily mass assassinations. Marjorie Taylor Greene is as wrong as she can be. “Guns kill.” It’s the guns, nothing else.

The two stupidest people I’ve heard in this conversation are Tennessee congressman Ogles and Burchett. How were they elected? I’ve been to Memphis and Nashville, the former a lot of times. No one I met seemed to be this backwards.

Now comes sense from Dee Snider speaking some sense. Listen to him. “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

Monday Ratings: “The Voice” Stomps All Over “The Bachelor” Finale, Which Was Down from 2022, Producer Exiting After 21 Years, Y&R Snubs Aretha

Roger Friedman
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Monday Ratings: “The Voice” Stomps All Over “The Bachelor” Finale, Which Was Down from 2022, Producer Exiting After 21 Years, Y&R Snubs Aretha

The big news from last night is Mike Fleiss is leaving “The Bachelor” world. After 21 years of enduring hundreds of low IQ contestants, Fleiss is taking flight. Last night’s show was his last.

Fleiss invented “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” He stopped overseeing them on a day to day business about 10 years ago, but he’s still been very involved. He survived the Chris Harrison-Rachel Lindsay racism debacle, too. But now is time to say goodbye.

He’s right on time. Last night’s series finale of “The Bachelor” was down from last year’s by 250,000 viewers. Zach Shallcross, no genius, led one girl on and then popped the question with another. The high point of his series was when he got COVID in London and no one cared. The low point was when he slept with the girl he didn’t marry, then told everyone. Classy!

Over on NBC, “The Voice” trampled “The Bachelor” by 2 million viewers with 6.1 total overnight ratings.

Meantime, CBS aired an Entertainment Tonight special (they own that show) on the 50th anniversary of their soap “The Young and the Restless.” I fast forwarded through it this morning. There was a segment about celebrities who’d been on the show but nothing about their biggest fan, Aretha Franklin. She loved this show, and even presented a Daytime Emmy in 2005 with star Eric Braeden. What a shame ET didn’t do its homework!

Donald Trump Says He’s Like Elvis Now, But His “Hit” Record Has Sold a Measly 49,000 Copies

Roger Friedman
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Donald Trump Says He’s Like Elvis Now, But His “Hit” Record Has Sold a Measly 49,000 Copies

Below is an interview with lying liar Donald Trump and Fox News stooge Sean Hannity. Trump — about to be indicted — says he feels like Elvis now that the “hit” record he made with a bunch of January 6th criminals is “number 1.”

According to Luminate, which measures sales and streaming, Trump’s “Justice for All” has sold a total of 48,945 copies since its release on March 3rd. That includes all iTunes, Spotify, etc.

The number of streams alone is 1.1 million, which translates into like 10,000 in actual sales. It means that between Trump’s lunatic base and press people who had to play the record at least once, “Justice for All” has been heard fewer times than a My Pillow commercial.

For a single to be certified Gold it needs 75 million streams. So that’s just 74 million more. It’s possible that Trump and his cohorts have earned $4,000. It won’t pay their bail.

Contrary to Trump’s daft assertion, he’s not beating Taylor Swift or Elvis. Swift’s “Anti Hero” has sold a total of 3.5 million.

Of course, Trump may indeed identify with fat Elvis in his twilight years. And Trump may soon be singing “Jailhouse Rock.”

UPDATED See Trailer– Wes Anderson’s 21 Star “Asteroid City” Coming in June to Theaters, and in May Probably to Cannes– Here’s the Poster

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED See Trailer– Wes Anderson’s 21 Star “Asteroid City” Coming in June to Theaters, and in May Probably to Cannes– Here’s the Poster

UPDATED WEDNESDAY SEE THE TRAILER HERE

It’s not that Wes Anderson won’t cast unknowns in his movies. He just can’t, apparently, under doctor’s orders.

His new “Asteroid City” has 21 bold faced names, many of which have been in his previous films. The names are below.

“Asteroid City” drops in limited release on June 16th and wide on June 23rd. It’s also probably getting a screening in Cannes a month earlier. The trailer comes tomorrow.

The prolific Anderson, with many beloved movies, got a little too convoluted with “The French Dispatch,” a couple of years ago. Here’s hoping “Asteroid City” brings him back to his one-two punch of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” The new movie also brings him to Focus Features after a string of releases for (Fox) Searchlight.

The cast features this cavalcade of stars: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, and Jeff Goldblum.

Logline:

ASTEROID CITY takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955.

Synopsis:

The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.

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