Sunday, October 13, 2024
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RIP Shelley Duvall, Gifted Actress, Burned Bright in 7 Robert Altman Movies, and The Shining

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So sorry to hear about Shelley Duvall’s death at 75.

There was a time in the 1970s when certain actors worked so much and were so unusually gifted you looked forward to seeing them in movies. That was the case with Shelley Duvall.

She appeared in seven Robert Altman movies, most memorably in “3 Women.” She won Best Actress at Cannes for her unique style. She starred with Keith Carradine in “Thieves Like Us,” and was also in “Nashville.” Altman really loved her, as did everyone in his repertory.

Their last film, “Popeye,” with Robin Williams, was a flop, although Duvall as Olive Oyl was pretty great.

Duvall became part of film lore when she co-starred with Jack Nicholson in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” Her last part in a good film was in Steve Martin’s “Roxanne,” in 1987.

Quirky was one way to describe Duvall. She could make goofy seem sexy and bright at the same time. But she didn’t play the Hollywood game, despite dating Paul Simon in the 70s (they’re each in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall”). She lived with Dan Gliroy, a musician who’d been an early boyfriend of Madonna, since 1989.

Duvall, sadly, suffered from declining mental illness. Reports say she died from diabetes. She was “only” 75, younger than almost anyone in her generation, because Altman gave her her big break when she was just 20. She has a cinematic legacy that no one will forget.

Trump Attacks George Clooney on Social Media Calls Him “A Fake Movie Actor” Who Never “Made a Great Movie”

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So see if you can follow this.

Donald Trump is now attacking actor George Clooney on social media.

Trump is mad that Clooney wrote a long letter in the NY Times asking Joe Biden to step aside from running from president.

Why? Trump hates Biden. But he also can’t stand the fact that Clooney praised Biden in his letter. That’s confusing, isn’t it?

Trump calls Clooney a “Fake movie actor” — which he clearly isn’t. He also says Clooney has never made a good movie. So he’s forgotten “The Perfect Storm,” “Michael Clayton,” “Up in the Air,” “O Brother Where Art Thou?”, “Oceans’s 11” and “13,” and quite a few more.

I wasn’t happy with Clooney’s letter. I felt he could have sent it privately. The need to grandstand in the Times was off putting since Clooney just co-hosted a huge fundraiser in Hollywood. Plus, Clooney’s wife, Amal, was part of the International Criminal Court’s condemination of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump is having trouble finding decent targets on his Truth Social. He’s been gagged from attacking the lawyers, judges, and witnesses in his trials. He did go after Nancy Pelosi today, but it seemed tired, like a dog losing interest pawing at a door to gain entry.

As for Clooney, thanks, George, that wasn’t necessary or gracious. Send a letter, don’t take out a page in the New York Times from you villa in Provence telling the president of the United States you don’t like him anymore. We can figure this out for ourselves.

(Bangs gavel.)

Order in the f***ing court!

Kevin Costner’s Lost “Horizon”: Entire Project in Limbo Now, with No Deal for Parts 3 and 4 (Exclusive)

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EXCLUSIVE It used to be people joked about the movie “Lost Horizon.” Produced by Ross Hunter, the extravaganza — starring Peter Finch — was one of the first mega flops in movie history.

Just the word “Horizon” should have tipped off Kevin Costner. His 12 hour “Horizon” project — originally intended for TV — has become a costly mistake.

Today Warner Bros. announced they would not be releasing “Horizon, Pt 2” to theaters on August 16th. Part 1 has been disaster. It will be put on Warner Bros. streaming service, Max, next month. Eventually, Part 2 will premiere on Max, as well.

Then what? I’m told exclusively that Warner Bros. has no contractual obligation for anything beyond Part 2. That film may also make it to MAX. But beyond that, Warner’s is done.

Costner says he’s going to start shooting Part 3 this summer. It may already be underway. But he has no one to distribute it. Forget about Part 4. It’s hard to imagine who would want to get involved in this project considering what’s occurred.

Costner would have to convince someone like Lions Gate to put the film in theaters for a distribution fee. Otherwise, Costner and his producers would be on the hook for everything. It’s unclear what investor would feel enthusiasm for “Horizon.” It’s lost, truly lost.

Is there any chance Costner can go back to “Yellowstone”? His character, John Dutton, has supposedly readily been killed off. Maybe Kevin could play his long lost nice twin, or an ancestor in a “Yellowstone” prequel.

If Costner’s smart, he’ll rewrite part 3 so it wraps up the whole story, and try it sell that one to MAX or whoever will take it.

I hate to say, as I said it before: “The Postman” always rings twice.

Barron Trump, 18, Manchurian Candidate in Training, Trotted Out at Political Rally: “He’s never done this before”

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Will Barron Trump remain silent forever?

The solemn 18 year old was trotted out by his father, Donald, last night at a politically rally. Barron looked fairly uninterested in applause from a bunch of uneducated, right wing nut jobs. When he was introduced, Barron stood and waved wanly. His face registered the excitement of a cauliflower.

The 18 year old does not speak. Almost no one has heard his voice. Donald says Barron got into “every school” he wanted, but doesn’t give specifics. Is Barron going to college this fall? My guess is, No. They will say he’s taking a gap year because of the election. They figure, later, everyone will forget.

So far Barron is dressed to look like a mammoth six foot seven version of his father– same clothes, same hair cut as a young Donald. Will he have a rebellious phase? No, not if the meds are handled properly.

Witness the Manchurian Candidate:

JFK Grandson Jack Schlossberg Gets a Job at Last: Political Contributor to Vogue

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Jack Schlossberg has a job!

The 31 year old grandson of JFK and son of Caroline Kennedy has been hired as a political contributor to Vogue.

For months, Schlossberg has been posting loony social media messages. It was clear he had no job and it looked like he was nuts.

But Schlossberg is a Kennedy! That couldn’t go on forever. In the last few days Vogue has been featuring more normal posts from him on Instagram. It was clear there was a deal. (See below.)

Jack also got a feature on Vogue.com. So, see? It was a ploy and it worked. At least he has a job!

A few months ago, it seemed like Jack was working for the Biden campaign. He spent a lot of time attacking his nutty cousin, Robert Kennedy Jr. Then he started singing, dancing, and surfing on Instagram.

Now Jack will be writing for the eminent political journal, Vogue. Seems right.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vogue (@voguemagazine)

Let’s not forget:

JFK Grandson Jack Schlossberg Continues to Unravel on Instagram: “I’m not a bad guy, I’m an honest man…I don’t like Italian food”

Zucker Unbound! CBS News Change, Paramount Sale Points Former CNN Chief to Tiffany Network

Jeff Zucker is coming back!

Sources tell me that today’s announcement that CBS News chief Ingrid Cipirian-Matthews is gone probably means one thing: the return of Jeff Zucker.

What’s going on here? Zucker — who ran CNN and NBC and desperately wants to return to power — is partners in real life Jeff Shell, former NBC Universal chairman. Shell is also now partnered with Zucker in Red Bird Capital, a media capital firm that’s been trying to buy something big.

At the same time, Shell is working hand in hand with David Ellison of Skydance. They just bought CBS in their Paramount deal. The deal won’t close until next year, and there’s a waiting period now for Paramaount’s Shari Redstone to find a better deal.

But in all likelihood, Ellison has purchased Paramount. And Shell is advising him. First project: give CBS some pizzazz with Zucker.

Does it matter that Shell and Zucker were each ousted from their previous positions? Not at all. In the post-Trump environment, all bets are off. F. Scott Fitzgerald had it wrong. Americans have second, third, and fourth chapters.

At NBC, Zucker did make The today Show into a massive hit. In prime time, for his cycle, his shows were hits. His CNN experience went south as Fox News rose and rose. Zucker was eventually ushered out over having an interoffice romance. No one much cares about that, id they ever did. It was just an excuse to get him out of CNN.

Will Zucker run just CBS News? Or the whole network? There’s time to work that out. But the media world is abuzz.

more to come…

Kevin Costner’s Lost “Horizon”: Entire Project in Limbo Now, with No Deal for Parts 3 and 4 (Exclusive)

Costner’s 2nd “Horizon” Not Going to Theaters After Part 1 Ignored by “Yellowstone” Fans, Loses Millions

There’s no more “Horizon” for Kevin Costner.

As I predicted, part 2 of his expensive 12 hour project will not hit theaters next month. Part 1 of “Horizon” is a huge flop at the box office. Part 2 will go to streaming. Each part of “Horizon” costs $100 million. Costner said he put $38 million of his own money into the project. But “Horizon” has made just $23 million and will be a massive financial loser. Part 2 was not welcomed by theaters. Costner says he’s going to film Part 3 anyway, even if no one wants to see it. Eventually, “Horizon” will be syndicated as a miniseries, although it will never break even at this point. Costner’s hubris really overtook him with “Horizon.” Dead at the box office, the former Oscar winner had a huge comeback on TV with “Yellowstone.” Costner thought he could capitalize on that by leaving the show and making these movies. “Yellowstone” fans were obviously irate. They resented what he did, and refused to support “Horizon.”

Michael Douglas Says George Clooney “Has a Valid Point” in Asking Biden to Step Aside in Election

Hollywood support for Joe Biden is eroding.

Actor Michael Douglas appeared on The View this morning and gave a very moderated opinion on Joe Biden.

When told George Clooney had written an emotional op ed piece in the New York Times calling for Biden to step aside, Douglas said, “He has a valid point.”

He didn’t back Clooney, nor did he comment on the actor’s choice to publicly embarrass Biden. Cloooney could easily have done this privately.

What I don’t think wasn’t mentioned on The View: Douglas played “The American President” in a terrific movie directed by Rob Reiner. He’s more of an expert than Clooney!

Shock: CBS News Chief Out As Network is Sold in Paramount Deal, Leaving Two News Orgs Without Leaders

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CBS News and ABC News no longer have news chiefs.

In the same month as the Republican Party Convention, in an election year, and with chaos in the Democratic Party, two of the four major broadcast news operations are without leaders.

Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews has announced her sudden exit from CBS after 30 years with the company. She’s been head of CBS News for less than a year.

She joins Kim Godwin, who left the ABC News post earlier this year. She has also not been replaced. Godwin is Black, Ciprian-Matthews is Latina, which made their rise to the top of their organizations historic.

But now one is in charge as thousands of media are getting ready to descend on Milwaukee for the RNC. More than ever, a bright light must be shined on what happens and is said at this convention, particularly with the rise of Project 2025 and the possibility that a second Trump election could damage democracy for good.

But Ciprian-Matthews’s ouster comes as CBS has been sold as part of the Paramount deal to David Ellison’s Skydance Studios for $26 billion. David’s father, Larry Ellison, a primary investor, is a mega Trump donor.

“We all know our industry and company are going through a transformation and a number of short- and long-term decisions need to be made,” Ciprián-Matthews wrote in a memo to CBS News employees. “I do not want to be disingenuous with any of you about who should drive these decisions. I’ve always leaned into my integrity and my values and I felt it was important to be transparent at this juncture about my plans.”

Even though CBS News runs in second or third place to ABC and NBC, the organization is still called The Tiffany Network. It has always been considered the TV News of record thanks to its legacy of Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, and Dan Rather, not to mention Don Hewitt’s “60 Minutes.” But the future is up in the air now.

Michael Douglas Says George Clooney “Has a Valid Point” in Asking Biden to Step Aside in Election

Abraham Lincoln Gay? Controversial New Documentary “Lover of Men” Presents Evidence from Ivy League Scholars (See Trailer)

Abraham Lincoln Gay? Controversial New Documentary “Lover of Men” Presents Evidence from Ivy League Scholars (See Trailer)

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Was Abraham Lincoln gay?

Log Cabin Republicans will be interested in a new documentary called “Abraham Lincoln: Lover of Men.”

The film’s press release arrived today just as Melania Trump hosted a fundraiser for gay Trump followers. Also, this week, a witty new Broadway show opens depicting Mary Todd Lincoln as a boozy, unhappy First Lady, played by a man. It’s called “Oh Mary!”

“Lover of Men,” directed by Shaun Peterson, contains interviews with about 18 Ivy League scholars who are apparently on board with this idea. The producer is Robert Rosenheck, whose LinkedIn bio says he’s been with the Center for Environmental Health for 25 years. He may also be the distributor, since Special Occasion Films doesn’t have any other listing.

“Lover of Men” is certain to be controversial, especially as Republicans declare Lincoln as one of their own, yet stand against everything he represented.