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“Minions” Breaks July 4th Opening Record for Animated Films, Universal Pictures Takes 3 of Top 5 for Weekend

Roger Friedman
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“Minions” Breaks July 4th Opening Record for Animated Films, Universal Pictures Takes 3 of Top 5 for Weekend

“Minions” is not about gatherings for prayer of 13 bar mitzvahed men. That’s “Minyans,” coming this winter at Sundance.

Just kidding!

“Minions” (subtitled “The Rise of Gru,” which is not a leavened bread) is the Universal Pictures animated film, sixth in its series, which just broke the 3 day July 4th weekend box office record for animated films. Total take (including the 4th): $128 million. As I noted yesterday, that’s more than Pixar’s “Lightyear” has made in three weeks.

Universal must have prayed, though and their prayers were answered. They have 3 of the top 5 movies this weekend. The others are the massive hit, “Jurassic Park Dominion” (which is not about dinosaurs eating voting machines) and “The Black Phone” (about the horrors of not being able to get an iPhone 13 in matte black).

Plus, Universal Focus is still on the charts with “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” which is also showing on Peacock (and has ruffled some feathers).

The kids obviously love “Minions,” and adults don’t mind taking them. Donna Langley, the amazing head of Universal, runs that studio with perfection. She is tops in Hollywood, and also a very smart lady. So congrats to her and the whole gang.

Claudia Conway, 17, Leads Pro-Choice Rally as Conservative Mom Kellyanne’s Book Drops Off Amazon Top 1000

Roger Friedman
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Claudia Conway, 17, Leads Pro-Choice Rally as Conservative Mom Kellyanne’s Book Drops Off Amazon Top 1000

Claudia Conway is a chip off the old block. Her father’s.

Claudia, now 17, is the daughter of ruthless liar, Trump supporter still, and danger to the republic Kellyanne Conway.

Over the weekend, Claudia led a pro-choice rally in Englewood, New Jersey and declared on Twitter that she wouldn’t be celebrating July 4th because of the Supreme Court rollback of Roe v. Wade.

Meanwhile, her mother’s book, “Let’s Return to the Dark Ages,” aka “Here’s the Deal,” dropped off Amazon’s top 1000 after a month in release. It’s one of the quickest disasters in book publishing history.

Claudia– who became famous on social media while her mom was busy fronting like a stooge for Trump in the White House press room– later appeared on “American Idol.” She had teenage ups and downs emotionally. But she clearly wants to stay in the spotlight even if it means going against everything Kellyanne and her former employer (maybe still, who knows) stand for.

Claudia — see below — proves to be an articulate communicator. Unfortunately, a stupid reporter for a local paper called her “potty-mouthed.” It couldn’t be less true. Claudia has turned a corner. I think we’re going to be hearing from her for a long time. Her father, George Conway, estranged from Kellyanne, and politically with Claudia, must be proud.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Hamptons Readies For Annual Foodie Extravaganza for Waxman Charity This Saturday

Rupert Murdoch Divorce: How Much Will it Cost Media Mogul to Gag Jerry Hall’s Large Family?

Roger Friedman
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Rupert Murdoch Divorce: How Much Will it Cost Media Mogul to Gag Jerry Hall’s Large Family?

The Rupert Murdoch-Jerry Hall divorce is not over by a long shot.

Even with a pre-nup, Murdoch has a big hill to climb before he’s severed from Hall for good.

The uncoupling may cost a lot more than thought. In the agreement to undo the six year marriage, Murdoch would definitely be asking Hall for a Non Disclosure Agreement. This would mean she’d be unable to talk about their marriage or him or his family. Or write a book about the whole experience.

But Hall is not alone. She has four children — Georgia May, Lizzie, James, and Gabriel — and they presumable know everything about the Murdochs– enough to fill several seasons of “Succession.” Murdoch would have to gag them, as well, and maybe even Hall’s four sisters — including twin Terry. For Murdoch, this will not be a bargain. Think of all those people writing books, selling stories to the tabloids! They all know where the liver spots are covered.

Right now, Hall is asking for spousal support. She deserves war pay. She took care of this old geezer for two years during the pandemic. She put in her time. She deserves to be compensated. Murdoch — probably with his children’s pressure — dumped her via email. That wasn’t smart. Instead of talking it out, they scorned Jerry Hall, a Texan through and through. She’s not going away quietly.

I’m rooting for Jerry, of course. Who isn’t? There’s almost no amount of money Rupert Murdoch would miss from his vaults. Let’s hope she backs a Brinks truck up to his wallet.

Deja Vu: Crosby, Stills & Nash Return to Spotify After Joe Rogan Boycott Without Neil Young or Joni Mitchell Songs

Roger Friedman
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Deja Vu: Crosby, Stills & Nash Return to Spotify After Joe Rogan Boycott Without Neil Young or Joni Mitchell Songs

Remember back when Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan was spouting misinformation about vaccines and COVID? Neil Young took his music from the streamer, followed by Joni Mitchell.

Right after that, Crosby, Stills and Nash all did the same.

Well, guess who’s back?

Crosby, Stills, and Nash have returned to Spotify as of yesterday according to Billboard.

But I can tell you that Neil and Joni have not caved in. Almost everything they could remove is still absent from the service.

Not only that: Neil’s famous album with the trio, “Deja Vu,” is only partially restored. The songs written by Young or Mitchell — including “Woodstock” and “Helpless” — are not available.

“Four Way Street,” the live album of “Deja Vu,” remains completely off of Spotify. So do any Young songs that appeared on any of the other guys’ solo albums.

I’m a little surprised about Nash and Crosby. They’ve always been politically active. But Spotify represents what’s left of income for most legacy artists. CDs don’t sell, vinyl is a niche market, and touring is iffy right now. The trio also sold their publishing rights and catalogs last year to different firms for cash. It may be that those groups have insisted on returning so their investments can be realized.

Animated Battle: “Minions” Makes More in Opening Weekend Than “Lightyear” Did in 3 Weeks

Roger Friedman
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Animated Battle: “Minions” Makes More in Opening Weekend Than “Lightyear” Did in 3 Weeks

The battle of the Summer 2022 animated films has been won.

Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru” has stampeded Pixar’s “Lightyear.” We will never be the same!

In its opening weekend, “Minions” has made $108 million. In three days, it just “gru” and “gru” and “gru.”

That’s four million dollars more than “Lightyear” earned in three weeks.

Ouch!

“Minions” is eyeing a July 4th record opening for four days: $128 million. Who’d a thunk it?

“Lightyear” is a rare failure for Pixar, which made the mistake of creating a prequel with no attachment to the movies — the “Toy Story” series — it was prequelling.

Also, “Lightyear” is said to have cost $200 million to make. So unless it catches on with streaming or DVDs or the merchandise suddenly becomes collectible, the money is lost to the winds of time. Maybe Pixar can re-voice the whole thing with Tim Allen as a stunt. That’s the only way out.

Murdoch Divorce Updates: Rupert Fired Jerry by Email, Kids Did It, She Wants Support, Files in LA

Roger Friedman
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Murdoch Divorce Updates: Rupert Fired Jerry by Email, Kids Did It, She Wants Support, Files in LA

Finally a little news about the mysterious divorce between Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall.

The Blast reports that Jerry was fired from the marriage by email. She was told all further contact should be to his lawyer.

Hall has filed for divorce in Los Angeles, even though the couple was married in London. So that should make things interesting. Apparently Rupert bought her a Montana ranch spread during the marriage. She could be using that address.

In the filing, no prenup is mentioned. But as The Blast points out there has to be one. Billionaires don’t go into these things without them.

Did the kids interfere? Almost certainly Kendall, Shiv, Roman, and Connor– er Lachlan, Elisabeth, James and Prudence — wanted Jerry out, and certainly out of the estate pending Rupert’s inevitable death. He’s 91, and those kids don’t want Jerry at the funeral with a big black hat. So credit to them for accomplishing their mission. This is typical in these late-in-life marriages, we’ve seen it before with moguls who get younger partners close to the ages of their original kids.

Jerry Hall should do well, however, no matter what happens. After all, there’s always that book…

Chart Update: Drake Falls 66% in 2nd Week, BTS Drops Out of Top 10 With Little “Proof”

Roger Friedman
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Chart Update: Drake Falls 66% in 2nd Week, BTS Drops Out of Top 10 With Little “Proof”

As I said earlier in the week, sales for Drake’s “Honestly Nevermind” are not booming.

After a promising first week sales of 210,000, the second week has gone belly up. “Honestly” dropped 66% in its second run, selling just 72,000 copies. Yes, the individual tracks are streaming like crazy. But actual sales are meh.

Take nothing for granted on the charts these days. But the big number 1 again is Bad Bunny. He’s back at number 1, knocking off Drake after one single week.

This is the way of pop now. Hard sales are hard to come by. Take BTS’s “Proof.” With streaming. they’ve sold over 2 million copies. But the real numbers are trickier.

“Proof” has already fallen to number 13 on Luminate/Hits dailydouble.com. Last week’s sales were around 32K and half of those were paid downloads, CDs, and vinyl. But it’s not like the recent old days when BTS was booming. Their sales marketing generation may have finally aged out.

Motion Picture Academy: New Chief Bill Kramer Takes Over 3 Weeks Early, Oscars Brace for Positive Changes

Roger Friedman
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Motion Picture Academy: New Chief Bill Kramer Takes Over 3 Weeks Early, Oscars Brace for Positive Changes

Surprise! New Motion Picture Academy chief Bill Kramer is taking over today from Dawn Hudson. Kramer wasn’t supposed to take the reins until July 18th, but the Academy pulled the trigger today. They couldn’t wait anymore.

Kramer was running the new Academy museum, and did such a good job that he was invited to replace Hudson, who’d been in charge for 11 years.

The opportunities for Kramer to make positive changes are all clear and present. Very little in recent years has seemed anything but tortuous. All the fun has gone out of the Oscars starting with the way guests are treated at the show. Where once everyone got to mingle, now there is a huge divider between the guests and the stars on the red carpet. That divider has come to signify a metaphor for a lot of things going on at the Oscars.

The Academy cannot control what’s nominated. A lot of people now want “Top Gun Maverick:” to be nominated for Best Picture the same way they wanted “The Dark Knight” and “Spider Man: No Way Home” to be included. Kramer cannot control this, all he can do is try and make the Oscars special again.

To that end, he should try and get rid of the 10 Best Picture nominees. Five was a magic number. It signified exclusivity. In the business, no one cares about 10– the first five are an open secret, and the others are, “oh yeah.”

Kramer, no doubt, will restore the 8 categories that were eliminated from the main show this year. I’ve never seen such divisiveness. The thing is if you’re watching the Oscars, you’re in it for the night. Just let it rip! That’s the fun. Three hours, four hours, who cares? Just pack it with Big Stars and let them be funny. Woke-ness is killing all enjoyment of these shows.

Hopefully Kramer will get rid of the People’s Choice Award from this past year. It was embarrassing, knowing that giving “No Way Home” an award was the goal. What the Oscars should do is highlight the big box office movies in a clever way and include the people from them.

The 2023 Oscars will have to address the whole Will Smith-Chris Rock slap scandal. If the Academy could broker a peace between Smith and Rock, publicly, it would defuse months of tension leading up to the show. The slap was a huge mistake but it’s time to move on. Should Rock be next year’s host? Why not? The main thing is to have a host, and a producer who can focus on making a great show.

One positive note is that the choices for the Governor’s Awards this year are excellent. Michael J Fox getting the Jean Hershholt Award is brilliant. I hope they let him speak to a standing ovation. Diane Warren’s award after 13 noms– let’s have a medley of her hits. Peter Weir is such a great director. As long as Mel Gibson is kept out of it. a Weir Tribute would be outstanding.

It’s a clean slate for Bill Kramer. Happy New Year! And PS Please bring back the big standing gold Oscars (as seen above). They’re fluid and color blind! They’re gold! Pure gold!

Biden Restores Importance to Medal of Freedom, Announces 17 Recipients Including John McCain, Gabby Giffords, Denzel Washington, Simone Biles, Steve Jobs

Roger Friedman
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Biden Restores Importance to Medal of Freedom, Announces 17 Recipients Including John McCain, Gabby Giffords, Denzel Washington, Simone Biles, Steve Jobs

Joe Biden has restored the importance of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Next Thursday he’s handing out 17 new medals to people who actually deserve it.

They include late Senator John McCain, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, multiple Oscar and Tony winning actor Denzel Washington, Olympic athlete Simone Biles, and late Apple founder Steve Jobs.

Other honorees include former Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), Sisters of Social Service member Simone Campbell, former University of Texas at Brownsville President Julieta García, former Vicar General of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Alexander Karloutsos, Gold Star father Khizr Khan, civil rights attorney Fred Gray, Sandra Lindsay, a nurse who was the first American to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee founding member Diane Nash, brigadier general Wilma Vaught and civil rights advocate Raúl Yzaguirre.

During the prior administration, Donald Trump made a mockery of the process, giving out awards to top donors to his campaign as well as clowns like Jim Jordan.

Exclusive: Rudy Giuliani Doesn’t Like Leaks, But He Took One in His “Masked Singer” Costume

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Rudy Giuliani Doesn’t Like Leaks, But He Took One in His “Masked Singer” Costume

Rudy Giuliani flipped out this week after a supermarket worker patted him on the back and called him a “scumbag.” Giuliani made a Federal case of the whole thing, claiming if he weren’t so spy there might have been bodily damage.

What made Rudy so skittish about a little tap?

Well, I’m told by sources close to the Fox show “The Masked Singer,” that Rudy had reason to be concerned. He has a habit of “losing it.”

Last winter, Donald Trump’s henchman appeared on Fox TV’s “The Masked Singer” and caused a lot of hubbub. (The show aired in April.) Not only was the audience outraged, but so was judge Ken Jeong, who walked off the set when Rudy was revealed as the singer of “Bad to the Bone” underneath his costume.

Maybe Ken had reason to put up a stink. Apparently Rudy had already made a stink — literally. My sources say that Giuliani’s costume — a gigantic, heavy bird that popped up from a Jack in the Box — proved too much for him. “He peed himself in the costume,” says an insider.

I’m told the look on Rudy’s face when the huge bird mask was taken off was relief because he’d already relieved himself. “He was very difficult to work with and seemed out of it most of the time,” says a source.

To be fair, Rudy did have prostate cancer 22 years ago. So maybe that pat on the back really worried Giuliani with good reason. Being out in public is full of surprises. For example: the night after he announced his diagnosis, I discovered him on an extra-marital date with his now divorced third wife.

PS Outside of New York you may not know this, but Rudy’s son, Andrew, was walloped this week in the Republican primary for Governor.

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