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Tesla Stock Drops to New Low as Musk Follows Kanye West Path of Public Disruption With Impunity

Roger Friedman
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Tesla Stock Drops to New Low as Musk Follows Kanye West Path of Public Disruption With Impunity

Elon Musk has literally taken the place of Kanye West as a public figure making daily outbursts and odd appearances.

Musk doesn’t seem to care that his company’s stock has dropped to a new year to year low because of it. Tesla closed at $167 today.

Musk, as you’ve heard, was booed at a Dave Chappelle comedy performance in San Francisco after he was introduced. He also proposed on Twitter prosecuting Dr. Anthony Fauci — for what, it’s unclear since Dr. Fauci is a hero in most right thinking people’s minds.

In attacking Dr. Fauci, Musk also upset a big group of people who are adamant about using gender identifying pronouns. His claim on Fauci came in form of a Tweet that read: “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”

All together no good news for Musk who doesn’t appear to understand the parallels between him and Kanye. This is going to end badly for him, Tesla, and probably Twitter.

Apple Paid a Record $15 Mil for “Cha Cha Real Smooth” Last January — And then It Disappeared

Roger Friedman
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Apple Paid a Record $15 Mil for “Cha Cha Real Smooth” Last January — And then It Disappeared

Today the Golden Globe nominations were announced. Last week the National Bored of Review put out their list, so did the American Film Institute. Many critics groups around the country have published their lists.

None of these lists included Cooper Raiff’s charming, smart comedy “Cha Cha Real Smooth.”

Last January, at the Sundance Film Festival, Apple paid a record $15 for “Cha Cha,” which starred the filmmaker, Dakota Johnson and Leslie Mann. At some point last spring, “Cha Cha” — which has a robust 86% on Rotten Tomatoes — appeared on the platform with little fanfare. And then it faded away.

Now we’re in awards season, and “Cha Cha” has been ignored even by the Gotham Awards and the Spirit Awards. The critics have just not thought about it. And today I received an email from GoldDerby promoting three Apple films. None was them was “Cha Cha.”

What a shame. This was truly a missed opportunity. Raiff must be disappointed — and surprised, since so much money was involved. This should also teach festival watchers a thing or two. Over spending at Sundance is no guarantee of anything.

James Cameron Needs His Own Avatar for Tonight’s Hollywood Premiere: He Has COVID

Roger Friedman
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James Cameron Needs His Own Avatar for Tonight’s Hollywood Premiere: He Has COVID

The big Hollywood premiere for “Avatar: The Way of Water” may be missing the most important guest: director James Cameron.

The director tested positive yesterday for COVID. He missed a screening for a documentary about his career as well as an Academy screening of the new movie.

Sources say Cameron tested negative, then positive. And now his presence at the movie’s premiere is in jeopardy. He may have to Zoom in. What a shame– after waiting 13 years since first film.

On the “positive” side, at least he hasn’t turned blue!

Golden Globe Noms: UPDATING Winners, Snubs The Whale, Till Actress, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Emancipation, She Said, Few Black Nominees

Roger Friedman
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Golden Globe Noms: UPDATING Winners, Snubs The Whale, Till Actress, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Emancipation, She Said, Few Black Nominees

LIST UPDATING

Many omissions, for better or worse including anything in comedy for Ticket to Paradise or George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Also missing: Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Danielle Deadwyler, plus film noms for The Whale, Till, or Emancipation.

Big omission: Judd Hirsch for Supporting Actor in “The Fabelmans”

There were few nominations among Black actors. Just Jeremy Pope, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett.

BEST PICTURE DRAMA: Avatar 2, Elvis, Fabelmans, Tar, Top Gun Maverick

BEST PICTURE COMEDY “Babylon” (Paramount Pictures) “The Banshees of Inisherin” (Searchlight) “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24) “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Netflix) “Triangle of Sadness” (Neon)

BEST ACTOR DRAMA Austin Butler, Brendan Fraser, Hugh Jackman, Bill Nighy, Jeremy Pope

BEST ACTRESS DRAMA Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) Olivia Colman (“Empire of Light”) Viola Davis (“The Woman King”) Ana de Armas (“Blonde”) Michelle Williams (“The Fabelmans”)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Brendan Gleeson “The Banshees of Inisherin”  Barry Keoghan “The Banshees of Inisherin”  Brad Pitt “Babylon” Eddie Redmayne “The Good Nurse”  Ke Huy Quan “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

BEST ACTRESS COMEDY

Anya Taylor-Joy, Emma Thompson, Michelle Yeoh, Lesley Manville, Margot Robbie

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Angela Bassett, Wakanda Forever

Kerry Condon, Banshees of Inisherin

Jamie Lee Curtis, Glass Onion

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Dolly De Leon, Triangle of Sadness

Carey Mulligan, She Said

BEST DIRECTOR

James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water

The Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Baz Luhrmann, Elvis

Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin

Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Comedy

Diego Calva, Babylon

Daniel Craig, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Adam Driver, White Noise

Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Ralph Fiennes, The Menu

Broadway Review: Everyone’s Favorite Movie “Some Like It Hot” Finally Becomes a Terrific Musical

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Review: Everyone’s Favorite Movie “Some Like It Hot” Finally Becomes a Terrific Musical

The Shubert Theater was ringing with ovations and applause Sunday night.

That’s because everyone’s favorite comedy, Billy Wilder’s 1959 hit, “Some Like it Hot,” finally became a hit musical. Directed by Casey Nicholaw, with a book by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin, songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, “Some Like it Hot” hearkens back to really great American musicals. Every number is full of inventive dancing, the sets and costumes are original and fun, and the whole thing is cohesive in a way we don’t see anymore.

Bravo!

And what a list of celebrities in the audience, starting with Bette Midler, and Martin Short, Tovah Feldshuh, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker with their three kids, Alessandro Nivola and Emily Mortimer, “Succession” star J. Smith-Cameron and playwright husband Kenneth Lonergan, Jane Krakowski, Nathan Lane, John Stamos, Matthew Morrison, Uma Thurman with her youngest daughter. They all knew something good was going to happen, and they were right.

This is not exactly like the musical. It is to a point, but that wouldn’t have filled two hours nor would it have felt fleshed out. Instead, this is a very contemporary take on the old story of two band members in 1933 who witness a mob murder and — putting on women’s clothes — join an all girl band on the road to escape a rub out.

Now Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis’s Daphne and Josephine are played by J. Harrison Ghee and Christian Borle. But Daphne makes a surprising discovery in the second act that changes everything we know about “Some Like it Hot” — and it works. J. Harrison Ghee, who’s appeared in other shows, like “Kinky Boots,” is a breakout star because of it.

The rest of the cast is wonderful. I especially loved NaTasha Yvette Williams as the bandleader. Her voice and heft announce a new star from the first minute of the show. She’s like her own show! Adrianna Hicks soars as Sugar Kane, the Marilyn Monroe character from the movie. Again, the voice! It’s heaven singing the Shaiman-Scott Wittman songs.

And then there’s Christian Borle, who’s literally the straight man in this circus, dancing and tapping up a storm. He’s got to keep this gang grounded, and still make us care that his Josephine-Joe will somehow win the love of Sugar Kane. He does it with aplomb.

But “Some Like it Hot” is bigger than just its parts. Nicholaw is the captain of this ship, and he is dedicated to making it run smoothly and smartly. The newly imagined book by Lopez and Ruffin (yes, that cute Amber Ruffin from Seth Meyers’ show) is like a piece of architecture. They’ve updated a landmark building in the classiest way possible, including all the best elements and making it modern. Everything works once that foundation is solid.

The songs, by the way, are really good. They are actual songs. There’s even a title song at the end of the first act. Shaiman and Wittman have made them standalone hits. There’s none of the annoying singing of dialogue so prevalent now in musicals. These songs are seamlessly woven into the story, and they’re very catchy. I can’t wait to hear them again. (They’ve even made a terrific song from the movie’s famous last line, “Nobody’s perfect.)

So get online at Telecharge, or the box office, or however you get Broadway tickets. We have a multiple Tony nominee here, and maybe even the winner in 2023.

UPDATE “White Lotus” Season 2 Comes to a Tragic, Unsatisfying End, Killing Off Major Character

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE “White Lotus” Season 2 Comes to a Tragic, Unsatisfying End, Killing Off Major Character

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT BELOW

EARLIER Tonight a lot of attention will be focused on the season two finale of “The White Lotus” on HBO. Who dies? Who killed them?

At the start of the series, we saw one dead body floating in the water. There was an illusion to others who were dead.

In season one, Murray Bartlett’s very bad guy, Armond, was the loser. He deserved to be killed. Everyone else walked, especially Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya.

I do think Tanya will escape the Grim Reaper this time, too. She and show creator Mike White are very close, she’s very popular and we’ll probably see Tanya through all the seasons.

Tanya’s assistant, Portia, is likely safe, too. She’s the Good Girl. Somehow she’ll blow the whistle on “the high end gays” who want Tanya dead. My guess is, one or more of the high end gays is a floater.

Cameron, played by Theo James, is a walking target. He will either be killed by his wife, Daphne, or his best friend, Ethan. Even Harper, Ethan’s wife, could be his killer. He’s been set up for doom since day 1.

It’s unclear what will happen with the prostitutes– Lucia and Mia– and the DeGrasso’s — Michael Imperioli, F. Murray Abraham, and Adam Di Marco. Will Lucia’s pimp (or brother) get it? Could be. And in the lobby, I’m betting on the manager killing either that woman she has a crush on or her fiancee, even though we see them both alive in the prologue.

Whatever happens, it’s all fun! And then we move on to the White Lotus anywhere there’s a Four Seasons Hotel. (The next one should be set at the one in West Hollywood during Golden Globes week!)

WITH SPOILERS

Well I was wrong. I guess some people did know that Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya would die in the final episode. She did, which is surprising since I thought she would carry over to other episodes. Did Coolidge ask for too much money? Have a fight with Mike White? Her death makes no sense.

But little about this season made any sense. Two couples who didn’t like each other traveled together. They had ambiguous sexual encounters. Did Daphne have sex with Ethan on the island to get back at Cameron and Harper? We’ll never know.

Most disappointing character was Portia, who could have called the police when she got to the airport. She didn’t. She just took her flight home. She could have saved Tanya after the “nephew” dropped her off. Tanya’s blood is on her hands.

And the people at the hotel? Who cares? Lucia scammed Albie, Mia slept with the hotel manager and got the piano playing job. The piano player was furious but did nothing. And the DeGrasso’s learned nothing and returned home just as they’d arrived.

This was inferior season to the original. In the first season, the characters were richly drawn, their plots crossed over one another, and there were plenty of people to root for. Here, everyone was rotten. And the show killed off its one continuing character. I don’t get it. Grade: F.

Sunday Poll: Did The Doors Swing? David Crosby Says “Not ever,” I Say Yes — Were They a Wooden Ship? (No!)

Roger Friedman
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Sunday Poll: Did The Doors Swing? David Crosby Says “Not ever,” I Say Yes — Were They a Wooden Ship? (No!)

Here’s a Sunday debate: did The Doors swing? I don’t mean like at a western saloon, I mean as a great Sixties band?

I say Yes. David Crosby says no. I’m a big Crosby fan, so I’m disappointed he feels that way. But I love The Doors to this day.

You decide, :

Is this a Wooden Ship?

Only Stars in the Building: “SNL” Like Great Old Days with Steve Martin, Martin Short, Brandi Carlile

Roger Friedman
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Only Stars in the Building: “SNL” Like Great Old Days with Steve Martin, Martin Short, Brandi Carlile

To say last night’s installment of “Saturday Night Live” was a relief is an understatement. It came off like real show, with top notch writing and acting, and singing. It was funny, it was messy, it had authority.

Steve Martin and Martin Short, two “SNL” alumnus superstars, hosted. Brandi Carlile, a consummate singer, was musical guest. Selena Gomez, who co-stars with the Martins in “Only Murders in the Building,” dropped in for the monologue and a cameo. Everyone’s game was upped. Cecily Strong really rose to the occasion, so did Kenan Thompson. Mikey Day seemed enthused. All the new people were good. “Weekend Update” was jaunty.

At the end, Marty Short thanked Lorne Michaels. My guess is this show will win an Emmy and so will the hosts. It was that good. The “Father of the Bride” sketch was hilarious, with everyone chiming in. I’m just sorry Short’s Ed Grimley didn’t show up. He could have since Short never ages!

We have one show to go in 2022. “Elvis” star Austin Butler is coming and he’d better turn the studio into Heartbreak Hotel. The Yeah Yeahs Yeahs as No No No because of COVID, they say, so Lizzo– who pulled double duty last spring — is returning as musical guest. She can play the flute. (Why don’t they do a Pied Piper number with her?)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CpNqR-ff_TQ

Sad News: Cher Announces the Passing of Her Mother, Georgia Holt, at Age 96

Roger Friedman
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Sad News: Cher Announces the Passing of Her Mother, Georgia Holt, at Age 96

Sad to report, Cher has announced the passing of her mother, Georgia Holt, at age 96. Late tonight the singer tweeted: “Mom’s gone.”

Georgia Holt was married and divorced six times. She gave Cher a half sister in Georganne LaPiere. Show business was in this family’s blood. Holt has a career as a country singer and model. Georgeanne has also acted.

The closeness of mother and daughters was always emphasized since Cher became famous with Sonny Bono in the mid 1960s.

Rest in peace. Condolences to the family.

Mark Wahlberg-Mel Gibson “Father Stu Reborn” Bombs in PG-13 Re-release with $108K

Roger Friedman
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Mark Wahlberg-Mel Gibson “Father Stu Reborn” Bombs in PG-13 Re-release with $108K

No one wanted to see “Father Stu” back at Easter time. No one wants to see it now.

The original R related release of the Mark Wahlberg-Mel Gibson dramedy made around $20 million. It went away quickly.

Sony thought they’d re-cut it and send it out for the holidays. Now the studio estimates that in wide release, “Father Stu Reborn” will make just $108K this weekend. Even cutting it a PG-13 edition didn’t help. Now the cursing comes from the audience instead of the screen.

#RIP Father Stu. If anyone’s contemplating a TV series, just forget it.

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