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Is Anna Wintour’s Met Gala a Possible Super Spreader? COVID in NYC is UP, New Variants Threatening

Roger Friedman
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Is Anna Wintour’s Met Gala a Possible Super Spreader? COVID in NYC is UP, New Variants Threatening

Is Anna Wintour’s Met Gala a possible super spreader for celebrities?

According to the New York Times, two new subvariants of COVID-19 are spreading fast through our fair city.

The NY State Department of Health has issued a warning for New York, as well. Read it here.

Some recent large gatherings in the city where guests went maskless — even with checks for vaccinations — have sent people home sick.

On April 11th, there were 6,917 new cases of COVID. Almost everyone you talk to is suddenly reporting friends or family who are sick despite having three or four shots.

The Met Ball is set for May 2nd. Rihanna, showing off her pregnancy, might want to think twice about setting foot beyond the photo op. Many other stars, particularly those working on Broadway shows or upcoming movies, may be hesitant to be cheek by jowl with a thousand others also unmasked and possibly not fully vaxxed.

In particular, I’m thinking of Hugh Jackman, who’s already had COVID so severe that “The Music Man” had to pause performances. Ditto Sarah Jessica Parker, a Met Ball regular, who hasn’t yet returned to “Plaza Suite” after testing positive.

Wintour may be left with just Karsdashians and other reality stars. They, of course, are immune to all human health issues.

Ratings: “The Conners” Hits All Time Low With All of ABC Wednesday Slate

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: “The Conners” Hits All Time Low With All of ABC Wednesday Slate

It was not a happy Wednesday on ABC.

“The Conners” hit an all time low, following the rest of the ABC Wednesday slate of comedies.

The “Roseanne” spin off came in at 2.66 million viewers, the lowest numbers ever for the series and lowest this season. The show dropped 12% from its last outing, too. “The Conners” has lost over 1 million viewers since the beginning of the season.

Will it be renewed for a 5th season? In all likelihood yes since ABC has nothing to replace it. But this would be the finale, I should think.

The rest of the slate was all under 3 million per show– “The Goldbergs,” “Home Economics,” “The Wonder Years”, and “A Million Little Things” which had less 2 million viewers.

NBC won the night with their Dick Wolf “Chicago” slate, of course.

Cannes: Ethan Coen Beats Mick Jagger to the Punch, Elvis and His Granddaughter Make the Scene As Well

Roger Friedman
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Cannes: Ethan Coen Beats Mick Jagger to the Punch, Elvis and His Granddaughter Make the Scene As Well

The 2022 Cannes line up has been announced.

There’s no David Lynch film but plenty of familiar names among directors including David Cronenberg, the Dardennes brothers, and many others.

Already announced out of competition and just for fun are “Top Gun Maverick” and Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis.”

But there will be interest in a documentary about Jerry Lewis by Ethan Coen. His brother, Joel, recently released “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” Ethan obviously had his own project. “Trouble in Mind” could be anything but knowing Ethan Coen it’s a study of Lewis’s more macabre side– two of seven wives died, two children died, he married a cousin, etc.

Mick Jagger had already announced that he was producing a Lewis film through his Jagged Films with the late Steve Bing, before the latter’s untimely death. So what’s going on there is a bit of a curve ball.

Horror is a big part of Cannes this year. The festival opens with Michel Hazanavicius’s “Z Comme Z,” aka “Final Cut,” the French remake of a Japanese horror film. Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future” looks from its teaser to be very much horror/thriller with a little sci fi.

And just t make the “Elvis” presentation interesting, the late legend’s granddaughter, Riley Keough, has co-directed a film called “Untitled Pine Ridge Project.” One description (thanks to Ioncinema.com): This tell the stories of three Lakota men on Pine Ridge Reservation. A tale about belonging this features an East Ridge child belonging to a family, a North Ridge man belonging to “America” and a Wounded Knee elder belonging to his tribe.

There are films by many familiar names including Claire Denis, Cristian Mungiu, Kelly Reichardt, and James Gray, who will bring the star studded “Armageddon Time” with Anne Hathaway, Oscar Isaac, Jeremy Strong, Cate Blanchett, Robert De Niro and so on. Gray’s film has a distributor, Focus Features, which may bring some of these people — including Anthony Hopkins — to the red carpet.

Sacre bleu!

Library of Congress Took 60 Years to Put Andy Williams’ “Moon River” in the National Recording Registry

Roger Friedman
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Library of Congress Took 60 Years to Put Andy Williams’ “Moon River” in the National Recording Registry

What exactly goes on at the Library of Congress?

Yesterday they announced a bunch of recordings they let into the “national registry.” I have no idea what that is, it’s made up, it doesn’t exist.

This much is obvious: no one knows what the heck goes on with this Registry.

For example, they’ve allowed in Andy Williams’ recording of “Moon River.” It’s sixty years old! Why did i take six decades for this to happen?

“Moon River” was written by the great Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer. It was a monster hit when it was released. It was the song from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, a perennial favorite movie from that year. Not only did it win the Oscar for Best Song, it also won Grammys in 1962 for Best Song and Best Record for Mancini in its instrumental version.

Yet in all this time, “Moon River” — covered by dozens of other stars over the years — has never been in the National Registry?

The Andy Williams version wasn’t even a single, according to Wikipedia. It was a track from the movie’s soundtrack. And it wasn’t the first version either. That distinction goes to the great Jerry Butler (still alive, living in Chicago) whose record was a simultaneous hit and even reached number 11 on Billboard.

Anyway, these things make no sense.  The other new random additions to the Registry are below. Eclectic to say the least. Maybe they just them all in a hat and draw out a certain number!

 

Andy Williams:

Jerry Butler:

Barry Manilow Tests Positive for COVID, Won’t Be Able to Attend Premiere of “Harmony” Musical

Roger Friedman
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Barry Manilow Tests Positive for COVID, Won’t Be Able to Attend Premiere of “Harmony” Musical

Barry Manilow has tested positive for COVID. He won’t be at tonight’s premiere of his new musical.

Manilow writes: “I am heartbroken to say that I have just tested positive for COVID-19 and won’t be able to attend tonight’s opening night performance of my new musical, HARMONY. This just might be the cruelest thing that has ever happened to me: 25 years waiting for this show to premiere in New York and I can’t attend. Even in the face of this pandemic, we New Yorkers remain the toughest, staunchest people on the planet — so, put on a mask and go see a show!”

“Harmony” is opening at the National Yiddish Theater tonight in New York. It stars Chip Zien and Sierra Boggess. No, it’s not in Yiddish, but you have to start off Broadway somewhere!

PS Barry’s in good company. A number of people in the music biz have gotten COVID in the last couple of weeks because of all the traveling back and forth across the country. Luckily, symptoms are minimal if you were vaxxed and boosted!

“General Hospital” Pulled Yesterday’s Episode at Last Minute Because of Gun Violence

Roger Friedman
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“General Hospital” Pulled Yesterday’s Episode at Last Minute Because of Gun Violence

There were a lot of questions yesterday about what happened to the Tuesday episode of “General Hospital.”

At the last minute ABC pulled the daily episode of the soap and played a rerun.

Now we know why.

The soap, which includes a lot of mobster stories, had gun violence at its conclusion. The episode played today instead because, I guess, we’ve forgotten everything that happened yesterday. (That’s a good soap plot.)

But yesterday in Brooklyn, a man named Frank James allegedly shot 10 people, wounded more, and set off smoke bombs. He was on the lam for more than 24 hours and finally apprehended today in the East Village.

Since all news programs were focused on the shooting, ABC obviously felt it was disrespectful to show armed men appear in a bar and threaten its owners on “GH.”

Overreaction? Probably. But ABC is skittish about everything these days. And today, it was back to the usual mayhem on the soap.

Exclusive: Famed Producer George Stevens Jr. Finally Tells All About the Kennedy Center Honors in New Memoir

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Famed Producer George Stevens Jr. Finally Tells All About the Kennedy Center Honors in New Memoir

This past December, the Kennedy Center Honors had just 4.2 million viewers.

When George Steven Jr produced his final show in December 2014, the number was 9.2 million. But when Stevens was forced out of the job he’d had for almost four decades, the show never recovered. It dropped to 7.5 million the following year without him, rebounded a little in 2017, and then collapsed.

Now Stevens, a winner of the Lifetime Achievement Oscar, is telling the saga of his life and his famous Hollywood family’s history in a memoir called called “My Place in the Sun,” coming next month from University of Kentucky Press. (Stevens’ brilliant father, George Sr., won the Oscar for directing “A Place in the Sun” after receiving a lifetime Oscar Jean Hersholt Humanitarian prize.)

I was in the audience in December 2014 when Stevens, who was beloved around the world and praised only the day before by Pres Obama, announced his ouster to the KCH audience. There was shock. The Kennedy Center had  been taken over bit by bit by Carlyle group chairman David Rubenstein (profiled last year with great reverence.

In Stevens’s compelling book for anyone interested in Hollywood lore, the great producer recalls how just prior to Rubenstein lowering the boom on him in 2014 he was first offered his own Kennedy Center Honor, what I liken to getting a gold watch for years of service. The gracious Stevens turned him down, only to be told that Rubenstein was going to start looking around for new producers after 37 years.

Stevens recalls the meeting: “He then seemed to apologize, saying that this was his most difficult meeting since the time he fired George H. W. Bush and James A. Baker from his Carlyle enterprise.”

Stevens — who I didn’t know directed two classic episodes of “Alfred Hitchock Presents” — is nothing if not gracious to Rubenstein, who’s used Carlyle money over the years to take over things like the Washington Monument.  The producer writes: “It’s too bad it ended the way it did, but the passage of time now allows me to look back on the somewhat indecorous circumstances of my departure with what Wordsworth called “emotion recollected in tranquility.”

Stevens calls his Kennedy Center career “the opportunity of a lifetime.” And PS He should still get a Kennedy Center honor for his amazing contributions to the arts and to television.

 

 

Celine Dion Biopic “Aline” Has Made Just $628K Since Last November, Had a Zero Dollar Day This Month

Roger Friedman
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Celine Dion Biopic “Aline” Has Made Just $628K Since Last November, Had a Zero Dollar Day This Month

I’ve never understood what this movie is.

But “Aline,” which is supposed to be the Celine Dion biopic, has been in release since last November. Who knew?

Initially it made around $600K in a very limited release, then disappeared. Since then it’s played in stealth release, sitting in one or two theaters and making $12 a day.According to boxofficemojo, “Aline” made $0– no money– playing in one theater on April 3rd.

Then this weekend, for some reason. “Aline” reappeared in 61 theaters.

The take: $21,000.

I shouldn’t be surprised. The American distributor of this French-oriented film is none other than Roadside, er, Roadkill Attractions. They can kill any movie you hand them. Meanwhile, “Aline” has been released in a half dozen other countries — not Canada, of course, that would be too on the nose — and made $402,000.

“Aline” is in French, with subtitles since Celine is from Quebec. In France, where they evidently understand the whole thing, “Aline” reported $10 million at the box office. The star, Valerie Lemercier, won the Cesar (French Oscar) for best actress. Sacre bleu!

 

(Listen) Clive Davis Explains on New Podcast His Philosophy of Chart Smashes: “It’s a little more beautiful when a great song becomes a hit”

Roger Friedman
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(Listen) Clive Davis Explains on New Podcast His Philosophy of Chart Smashes: “It’s a little more beautiful when a great song becomes a hit”

One more celebration of Clive Davis’s 90th birthday: a talk with Pete Ganbarg on his podcast, “Rock and Roll High School.” (The podcast goes live Thursday.)

Listen below as Clive describes why albums need hit singles, even if they’re great album tracks that make the transition. He was always the man with the Golden Ears, and Pete has been following in his footsteps.

Pete — who has two Grammy Awards — was mentored by Clive at J Records. These days he’s President of A&R for Atlantic Records as well as President of ATCO Records, a division of Atlantic. He’s scored hit after hit and proved to be prescient with the release of “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” and “The Greatest Showman” soundtracks. It was Pete who put together “Smooth” with Santana and Rob Thomas. At RCA, he was responsible for Kelly Clarkson’s career and her many hits.

Pete says: “It’s been an honor and absolute thrill to sit down with each of these incredibly influential and uniquely talented individuals and really dive deep into their remarkable careers. I’m personally such a fan and I am excited to bring these conversations to more fans around the world. Everyone recognizes these superstars and their hits which have defined generations, but now we get to pull back the curtain and take a closer, more intimate look at the stories behind the music.”

His podcast has already scored great interviews with with Kenny Loggins, Tommy James, Sam Moore, and Cousin Brucie. You can listen to them HERE.

Tribeca (Not Film) Festival Will Kick Off with Infomercial About Jennifer Lopez Instead of Actual Film

Roger Friedman
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Tribeca (Not Film) Festival Will Kick Off with Infomercial About Jennifer Lopez Instead of Actual Film

This is really disappointing.

The Tribeca Film Festival is opening with an infomercial about Jennifer Lopez. Thanks, but I’ll pass.

This will ensure that I don’t get a press pass to Tribeca this year but they’re already angry with me. Why? I criticized them for selling out to James Murdoch a couple of years ago. That’s right. The Murdoch family money, derived from years of fake news, bought the high minded Tribeca.

Now comes this news. The infomercial is called “Halftime,” and it’s described as something that “follows global superstar Jennifer Lopez, as she reflects on her milestones and evolution as an artist, and navigates the second half of her career as she continues to entertain, empower, and inspire.”

This is all being done for publicity. JLo and Ben Affleck will show up, get a lot of press, lots of flashing lights at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights, which is nowhere JLo’s Bronx, by the way. If you were looking for the Bronx and went to Washington Heights you’d really be in the wrong place.

Anyway. you’d think Tribeca would have learned their lesson from “In the Heights,” the last movie they premiered at that theater. The movie was a bomb at the box office. It also wasn’t good. But this is no longer the Tribeca Film Festival, it’s the Tribeca Festival. And it’s no longer in Tribeca. It’s at the opposite end of Manhattan.

“Half Time” is not a documentary. Don’t for a minute think that Lopez doesn’t have total editorial control of its contents. Years ago, JLo wanted a documentary from some pretty prominent filmmakers. The idea lasted five minutes when the situation was explained. Do you think the film will include Lopez’s running of 11 red lights with Sean Combs after a nightclub shoot out? (The incident sent an innocent man to jail.) Will A Rod be mentioned? Or just the green engagement ring that looks like a coffee table from the shire?

If only the Tribeca (Film) Festival would begin with an important, or good, movie.

I’ll stay home and watch the real Bronx-ers, the Yankees, play Minnesota.

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