PS John Krasinski just quipped on Twitter: “Wait… Is this our movie?” Maybe he’s in it, too.
Ryan Reynolds announces Hugh Jackman will join him as Wolverine one more time in “Deadpool 3.”
Is Wolverine dead? I can’t remember. It doesn’t matter. This will be a massive Marvel hit, and very, very, funny.
View this post on Instagram
Bruce Willis’s family is cool with exploiting his image now that he can’t work.
In fact, Bruce hasn’t really been able to work for a long time. He has an official diagnosis of aphasia– he can’t speak — but really his problems with memory, speech, etc go back almost a decade.
His family has nonetheless allowed him to make dozens of cheap, bad movies in which he works a day or so, sometimes is second billed to D level actors. Bruce says a few lines fed to him through a hearing device.
Now comes word that his family has licensed his image to an artificial intelligence company that can take his likeness and stick it on another actor’s body. The company is called Deepcake because they do deepfakes. Horrified by this greed? You should be.
All of this began last year when Deepcake, according to the Daily Mail, grafted Bruce’s face onto understudy Konstantin Solovyov for a commercial for Russian telecoms giant MegaFon. More Willis deep fakes are coming, apparently.
Meantime there are still more really forgettable junk movies with Willis involved. There have already been eight — yes EIGHT– in 2022, with three more left. The last one, set for next year, co-stars the other D lister of note, John Travolta, in what should be the shit show of all time, “Paradise City.”
Sad what’s happened to Bruce. But no one close to him seems to care that they’ve ruined whatever there was of his legacy with all this crap.
The Global Citizen special on ABC was the lowest rated show network show Sunday night on the four main broadcast networks.
Only 1.2 million people tuned in to see whatever the heck Global Citizen was selling with music acts and vague promises of peace and love. No one knows what they’re doing but spending money on themselves.
For ABC that 7pm hour shook off around 3.6 million viewers who’d watched their ABC Evening News just before. Then oddly 3 million people returned at 8pm for Celebrity Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
Where’d they go at 7pm? To “60 Minutes.” The venerable news show scored 7.1 million viewers sandwiched between an NFL football game and “Big Brother.”
On YouTube, the Global Citizen fest found just 733,000 viewers.
Meantime, over on HBO, “House of the Dragon,” which is not a Chinese restaurant, brought in the same 1.86 million viewers on its main channel. Some people who watched the 9pm showing tuned in again because they didn’t understand it (maybe it was because football was on). Um, that was me.
Julian Lennon, 59, the oldest son of John Lennon, has a new album out called “Jude.” It’s excellent. The title is a reference to the song Paul McCartney wrote for him after a visit to Julian and his mom, Cynthia Lennon, in 1968. It’s called “Hey Jude.” You may remember it.
Julian has made a quite statement with the cover photo for “Jude.” It’s a picture taken of him circa 1973 by May Pang. May, an accomplished photographer and memoirist, was John Lennon’s girlfriend for 18 months around that time, a time referred to by Lennon and Beatles historians called “The Lost Weekend.” That period is also the subject of an amazing new documentary about May Pang and John Lennon that we’ll see soon.
That Julian chose this photo by May Pang makes quite a statement. Although he’s close to his half-brother, Sean Ono Lennon, Julian spent a lot of years locked in a financial battle with Yoko Ono. Because John died suddenly in 1980 — killed in cold blood by Mark David Chapman — Julian suddenly found himself odd man out in the ex-Beatle’s estate. It took many years to reach an agreement with her.
Both John and his mother Cynthia became great friends with May Pang as the years went on. Once John went back to Yoko, all three of them were out in the cold, so to speak, giving them common ground. I actually met Cynthia, who died in 2015 from cancer at 75, years ago through Pang. And the friendship with Julian has endured.
Even so, May noted on Facebook today she was surprised to see the photo on the cover of “Jude,” and used for the record label as well.
“Jude” is a surprise. In the 80s, Julian had a couple of big hits with the songs “Valotte” (also the name of his album) and “Too Late for Goodbyes.” He made some more records but drifted away from music, putting out releases sporadically. “Jude” obviously took a lot of thought and work. None of the songs are his sole compositions, but his stamp is strong all over them. The production work is sterling, and his voice rings out with the Lennon trademark. The album is on BMG Records, which did a good job of a stealth release ten days ago.
“Jude” benefits from a lot of great songs. “Lucky Ones” is co-written with Gregg Alexander from New Radicals fame. There are several haunting ballads, each of which could be radio hits. They’re as haunting as May Pang’s photo, a lovely tribute to a period Julian obviously remembers fondly.
This is serious– and why Alec Baldwin has been selling off his New York properties.
Last week the Santa Fe District Attorney participated in a Zoom meeting with the New Mexico State Board of Finance to get emergency funding for four possible murder trials in the “Rust” movie case.
D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies said she was waiting for the final report from the Sheriff’s Department, that could come in “weeks if not days.” She told the board there was the potential of charging between “1 and 4 people with criminal charges, homicide cases.”
Carmack-Altweis said, “One of the people we’re looking at has attorneys in New York and Los Angeles.” That would be Baldwin.
Last year, on October 21, 2021, Baldwin allegedly pulled the trigger on a prop gun that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza. Baldwin claimed that he never pulled the trigger. But a report that came out later stated it was impossible he didn’t. Baldwin and others from the set have been sued civilly over Hutchins’ death.
The D.A. asked for $635,000, saying that her office wasn’t big enough to handle the cases and needed to hire a full time attorney and more staff. The Board of Finance approved just half that amount, suggesting they’re not convinced about putting funds to the prosecution. Baldwin’s very expensive defense lawyers on both coasts definitely took notice of the Board of Finance’s ambivalence in pursuing the matter.
The D.A. definitely has an uphill battle to prosecute these cases they way she’d like.
You can fast forward to 1:35 to pick up this discussion.
At the end of Episode 5 of The House of the Dragon we kinda knew what happened and where everyone was. In any other series, it might be time to slow down and explore relationships, show something of Westeros, let everything settle down.
But no. Episode 6 begins and you have no idea who half the people are, or what’s happened to them. We only learn from listening that ten years have passed since the last episode. New actresses are playing Rhaenyra and Alicent, even though we loved the young women who were playing them. They’ve been aged — Rhaenyra’s case I’m not sure so successfully. They also each have children. Alicent had them earlier, by Viserys, Rhaenyra’s father.
When we start this episode, a now much older looking Rhaenyra has two kids and is giving birth to another. Their father is not her gay husband (also played by a new actor) or her lover Cristin Cole, but a guy we barely know and who is killed (along with his own father) by the end of the episode.
People are literally coming and going now faster than you can learn their names.
How and why did Rhaenyra hook up with Harwin “Breakbones” Strong? We have no idea. She really dug Ser Cole, but he turned out to be a little nuts. And why has the gay husband gone along with all this? He knows these three little boys aren’t his because Rhaenyra’s cousin (or is it her aunt?) — reminds me, snidely. (He’s Black, by the way.)
And what of Daemon, Rhaernyra’s uncle, who she slept with in Episode 5? He was evil, and married. But now he’s married to someone new — Laena, the grown up version of the 13 year old who almost married the King. They have kids, and she’s pregnant. But Laena, who we’re supposed to feel something for (I liked the actress) doesn’t make it out of the episode.
Daemon? He’s no longer the villain? That role has been transferred to a newish character, the brother of Harwin, Larys Strong, who seems to be the Rasputin of this gang, confidant of the Queen (now played perfectly by Olivia Cooke).
Confused? At least on “The Crown” they wait until a new season before introducing all new actors. Here we now have some leftovers, some new, and no real reason for anything that”s happened. I think getting rid of Milly Alcock as Rhaenyra was a mistake. Also, Paddy Considine has been made into a lame King Lear as Viserys. I’d have like to see him a little more before his nose started bleeding and he was asking for tissues.
No, I have not read this book. But “Game of Thrones” was fun. “House of the Dragon” is not. (I’m sure no one appreciated seeing the now teenish Aemon, son of the King and Queen, wildly pleasuring himself naked in a window — except his mother.)
Oh well, it’s fiction. But what happened to Steve Toussaint as Laena’s father? And Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower. DId they cost too much?
Lesson learned: don’t get attached to anyone in this series. They may be used for grilled cheese before the hour is up!
“What is a weekend?” asked the Dowager Countess on “Downton Abbey.”
I can tell you: The Weeknd, with the extra e, is a producer.
Abel Tesfaye has had such a good time producing an HBO series called “The Idol” that sources tell me he’s starting his own production company.
I’m told the company would include his good friend Reza Fahim, who’s been his writing and producing partner already on “The Idol” and smaller projects.
Tesfaye has already had many blockbuster successes in the music world. He co-stars as an actor in “The Idol” with Eli Roth, Lily Rose Depp, and the late Anne Heche.
A new production might be called XO., we’ll have to wait and see.
Stay tuned. Suddenly all the pop stars want to be in the movie business. Drake and the Future were involved in the coming “Amsterdam.” Taylor Swift brought her short film to Toronto. Joe Jonas is in a new film. And Harry Styles, you may have heard of him is in like two movies right now. Wow!
NBC thought they were very clever knocking “Days of our Lives” to Peacock and off the network after 57 years.
Well, they weren’t. When it left the air, “Days” was averaging around 1.6 million a day just on the linear network. That didn’t count Peacock or YouTube.
Now, the numbers are out for the new bland news hour they replaced “Days” with and they aren’t good. Around 935,000 people watched “NBC News Daily” at noon across the network last week. This means, NBC lost around 750,000 viewers.
“Days” fans are properly angry with NBC for the demotion to Peacock because it is just that, a demotion. If the network is using this Peacock move to end the soap opera next year, they should just say so. This certainly seems to be their attitude. But it’s a mistake. “Days” is already done on the cheap, and news sources are plentiful at all hours.
Get ready for movies, pasta and gelato…The Rome Film Festival is coming! Running from Oct 13th-23rd, The fest will host 130 titles on 28 screens across the city. Under new management and with top tier talent attending, the fest is boosting their profile to join the prestigious European film festival circuit.
James Ivory will be lauded with a career honor and the debut of his new documentary, “A Cooler Climate.” There will be a retrospective of his films, included “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge” starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. And Melissa Newman, their daughter, is coming to the fest for the Ethan Hawke directed “The Last Movie Stars” on HBO Max. Hawke is also in the Rodrigo Garcia’s Road trip film “Raymond & Ray” co-starring with Ewan McGregor. James Gray will be there for his” Armageddon Time.”
Russell Crowe will be going again to Rome, (not as a gladiator) to promote his second directorial effort “Poker Face.” Crowe plays a tech gambler billionaire in the world of high stakes betting, Liam Hemsworth co-stars. The film will debut at the Fest’s ‘Alice in the City’ section.
This is Italy after all, so the fest will open with an Italian film that premiered in Toronto, “The Hummingbird,” which won the Premio Strega 2020, Italy’s top literally prize. Other films are Stephen Frears “The Lost King” Abel Ferrara’s “Padre Pio” and fest fave “Bros.” The Fest is also inaugurating the launch of an international competition as well as their jury awards prizes for best director and screenplay, as well as the Monica Vitta award for best actress and the Vittorio Gassman award for best actor.
The Rome fest is now run by noted RAI Cinema executive Paola Malanga as the artistic director and Gian Luca Farinelli as president. Farinelli recently said in a press conference that “We tried to bring recognition to the festival on the international scene guided by a simple polar star. The festival is not Cannes, Venice or Berlin. So what is it? It’s a pluralist, international festival, which is also a party for Rome. The title of the competition is not by chance. The committee has looked for independent, international cinema, by new auteurs, who tomorrow will perhaps be at Cannes, Venice and Berlin.”
The Rome Fest has captured the cinematic attention of Hollywood and the beyond. Bravo!
Rihanna is back. It’s been six years or more since her last album. She had a baby, and became a fashion icon.
But now Rihanna has been confirmed as the star of the Super Bowl halftime show. Rumors of Taylor Swift doing it did not pan out.
This means that Jay Z and his Roc Nation management still have a firm hold on the SuperBowl despite the changeover from Pepsi to Apple Music as sponsor.
If Rihanna’s doing the show, it likely means she has a new album for 2023. I think she’s now gone beyond Adele for longest stretch between albums.
I love Rihanna’s voice. I know that “Work” song will be a big deal at the Super Bowl but I hope she gets to belt out some tunes. If she brings Eminem out to do “Monster,” there will be fireworks.
Welcome back, Rihanna!
— Rihanna (@rihanna) September 25, 2022