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“General Hospital” fans will bid goodbye today to actor Ingo Rademacher. He’s not dead. But he’s leaving because he refused to accept the Disney-ABC vaccine mandate. Rademacher has been with the show for the better part of 26 years.
Losing his paycheck and employment status hasn’t chastened Rademacher. He has continued to post inflammatory and incorrect information about the vaccine on his Instagram and social media accounts. Last week he posted a video from crazy Fox News conspiracy theorist. Today he has one from nutty California right winger Tulsi Gabbard.
It’s fairly unlikely that Rademacher will check back into “General Hospital” any time soon. And the three other soaps would be wary of bringing in an actor who won’t get vaccinated. I can’t imagine their casts and crews being excited about that possibility.
Unless the actor gets a new soap role, this will be our goodbye to him on this site.
Will Smith has a new movie out, “King Richard,” and a memoir called “Will.”
The movie struggled at the box office this weekend, taking in just $5.7 million in wide release. The book is number 6 at amazon on its bestseller list.
Although Smith has been incredibly candid over the last year about his open marriage, affairs, his sex life, weight gain, and various other topics that fall under the rubric of “TMI”– too much information — he skips one big issue in the book.
Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett started a private school in lush Calabasas, California for their son and daughter. They hired the administrators and teachers, used Scientology curriculum, and went belly up in 2013. This adventure, however, is skipped over in “Will.”
Initially, Smith admits in the book to becoming obsessed with Tom Cruise, the most famous Scientology celebrity. Will and Jada got every chummy with Cruise when he was going through his Katie Holmes phase, even attending several huge events with him very publicly. And vice versa. It was clear that Cruise saw an opening to bring the Smiths into his cult.
It’s a chapter in Will Smith’s life you’d think would merit some recollection in a 400 plus page book. Equally absent from “Will” is any mention of the Scientology like movie bomb Will starred in with son Jaden, “After Earth.” He may be saving all that material for the sequel.
You may recall a highlight of the Trump years was the murder in Turkey of Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi. The Saudi journalist was killed in his country’s embassy in Turkey, chopped into pieces on orders of prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
Justin Bieber, clueless when it comes to world politics, is planning to play a show there on December 5th at the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2021. The show will also feature performances by Jason Derulo, Tiesto, David Guetta, and A$AP Rocky, whom Trump rescued from a Swedish prison after he was arrested for domestic violence in the summer of 2019. He was convicted but served no time.
I digress. Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, written an open letter to Bieber in the Washington Post urging him not to go through with it. Cingiz writes: “Do not sing for the murderers of my beloved Jamal. Please speak out and condemn his killer, Mohammed bin Salman. Your voice will be heard by millions.”
Bieber should be shown the documentary, “The Dissident,” if he wants to know how Khashoggi died. The respected journalist was chopped up into little pieces. No one has ever paid for the crime. The prince, known as “MBS,” has walked away scot-free.
Cingiz isn’t alone in criticizing Bieber. The chairman and CEO of the Human Rights Foundation — Garry Kasparov and Thor Halvorssen — are also calling for Bieber to cancel a scheduled performance in Saudi Arabia “as a symbol of solidarity with the ongoing suffering of the Saudi people.”
Bieber has made being a Christian the cornerstone of his career after years of spitting on fans, setting fires, and getting arrested. Unfortunately, his spiritual advisor at Hillsong Church, Carl Lentz, was fired in disgrace after it was revealed that he was having an affair and was involved in financial improprieties.
But Bieber — who is featured with “MBS” on the website for the concert — has persisted in posting his religious fervor to social media. He also made a video called “Holy” featuring crosses. How he would be able to rationalize being paid by millions by the Saudis is a mystery. So far he hasn’t responded.
Carole King’s “Tapestry,” released in 1971, jumped to number 11 this morning on iTunes and 43 on Amazon.
The boost came from last night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction special on HBO, which was very well produced overall despite being too long and in some instances, quite strange.
The special showcased King right at the top of the three hours and twenty minutes. So “Tapestry” got the most effect of the evening. The video piece about Carole, and Jennifer Hudson’s electric performance of “Natural Woman,” did the trick. So did Carole’s own performance. Taylor Swift also sang for Carole, although she was flat and it was neatly covered up.
The Carole King segment set the tone for the evening, which was smoothly executed despite the Hall of Fame’s inherent weirdness. They inducted LL Cool J and Jay Z, neither of which made any sense. But their speeches were terrific. The Jay Z bio video was interminable, however, as was LL Cool J’s music segment. The appearance of Jennifer Lopez, clearly augmented in the vocals (she cannot sing) was torturous.
Tributes to inducted performers who were dead and also Black were a little embarrassing. Although Ringo Starr’s video piece on Billy Preston was welcome, Paul McCartney could have said something about Billy, the Fifth Beatle, especially when he sang “Get Back” at the end of the show with Foo Fighters. Also, McCartney asserted that the Beatles, like Nirvana, ended because of a tragedy. Huh? Kurt Cobain died. No one died when the Beatles broke up. I didn’t quite get that.
Tina Turner obviously couldn’t travel from Switzerland, but her video acceptance was great to see. I love Tina, but this idea that she’s the only Black woman ever who triumphed in these arenas is misguided. Aretha Franklin had just as much adversity and scaled higher heights. Gladys Knight is out there still working, with a monumental and underrated talent. Diana Ross probably threw something at her TV when she watched all this. Ditto Patti Labelle, Dionne Warwick and many others.
The best segment, unexpectedly, was about Kraftwerk. The piece actually delineated how the avant garde German EDM group influenced disco and post-punk New Wave 80s dance music. I actually felt like I learned something during those few minutes.
Overall, the Rock Hall induction show was the best it’s been in years. And a lot of artists who’d been ignored or forgotten were finally included. Mission accomplished. Next year I’d like to see Sting as a solo artist, Carly Simon, J Geils Band, Chubby Checker, among others join the club. And to Todd Rundgren: you made a mistake not going. Couldn’t I just tell you? You should have seen the light.
The sands of time are running very slowly for “Dune.”
Denis Villeneuve’s sci fi epic would have made well over $150 million by now if it hadn’t been placed on HBO Max for the last month.
As it is, “Dune” finished this weekend after 5 weeks in release with just $98 million. The Warner Bros. policy of putting all their theatrical films simultaneously on HBO Max, critics say, has wrecked their box office. Filmmakers cannot be happy.
For months, WB has touted Will Smith and pushed him with the press for Best Actor in “King Richard.” The ingredients for success were all there, certainly. But now reality has set in. “King Richard” opened to a lousy $5.7 million in very wide release. So now they’ve got a major studio release that acted like a small indie film. If business doesn’t pick up fast, exhibitors will cut its showings.
Warners’ policy has hurt all of its films this year. “The Many Saints of Newark,” which I loved, died on arrival. This has to be a blow for David Chase and the actors, who we ginned up with deserved glowing reviews. But the Sopranos fans saw this on HBO Max and thought of it as a TV show, not a movie. Very very frustrating.
And that doesn’t include the complete catastrophe of “The Suicide Squad,” also DOA, “In the Heights,” and Clint Eastwood’s “Cry Macho.” It can’t be fun for the marketing and PR departments, which work overtime only to see everything go up in smoke.
(PS I still think Margot Robbie deserves some awards notice for “The Suicide Squad.” Great performance!)
So there we are. Let’s hope poor “Dune” finally crosses the $100 million line this week, and “King Richard” can hold on until the first week of December.
“King Richard” was really hurt at the box office by its HBO Max day and date run. Total in wide release came to $5.7 million, which is even less than the low prediction of $5.9 million. Will Smith has been so pitched for Best Actor, and the cast is excellent. Serena and Venus Williams wanted this movie, this way, about how their father, Richard, trained them to become superstar athletes. The publicity and marketing were excellent, and the reviews were solid.
So now what? Let “King Richard” sit on his throne for a bit until awards notices come in the first week of December. “King Richard” will get a lot of nods from the Critics Choice Awards, and should find some s love among the critics groups in different cities.
Stranger still is what happened to Neon’s “Spencer.” Third week, Neon dropped “Spencer” from 311 theaters. After all the time and money that’s been put into Kristen Stewart for Best Actress as Princess Diana, the studio is letting the air out of the tires! Maybe it’s a short retreat until the awards nods in early December. But Princess Diana’s ghost seems to be haunting this movie as well as the alm0st-closed Broadway show (the two projects are separate).
Some good news: “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” is a hit after it looked bleak from opening night. The new film made $44 million over the weekend. In 2016, the all female “Ghostbusters” did $46 million ($53 million adj for inflation). So, not bad. Nothing to complain about.
Two deaths to report this morning, each talented people too young.
Billy Hinsche, 70, was part of the teen pop trip Dino, Desi, and Billy from the mid 60s. Dino was Dean Paul Martin, son of Dean Martin. Desi was Desi Arnaz, Jr. They were like the Jonas Brothers but not as successful. Still, they were on the cover of “Tiger Beat” for weeks and months on end.
Hinsche went on to join the Beach Boys touring band through the 70s. His sister married Beach Boy Carl Wilson and Billy was on the board of the Carl Wilson Foundation. So that tied him to several famous families, all of whom in some way have posted tributes to him today. Ironically, Billy appeared Friday on the excellent Dean Martin documentary that aired on TCM, “King of Cool.”
On Instagram (see post below) Lucie Arnaz writes that Hinsche died of “Giant cell carcinoma. Only diagnosed a couple weeks ago. It ravaged him like an out of control train.” What a shame. I’m told, in another strange coincidence, that Billy’s mom passed this week as well.
From a British Beach Boys site:
Billy’s long association with the Beach Boys has included performances for Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, and sold-out shows at major stadiums and venues worldwide. Billy appeared with the Beach Boys at the original Live Aid in 1985 and sang on Elton John’s recording of “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me,” Warren Zevon’s “Desperados Under the Eaves” (produced by Jackson Browne), “Hat Trick” by America and many other recordings of note.
His original songs have been recorded by Carl Wilson, Dean Martin and Nelson Riddle; and he wrote the television theme song for “Automan” (1983). His song, “Patria” was considered for an Emmy nomination in 2002 for the “I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary” television special.
He co-wrote DD&B’s “Lady Love” with Brian Wilson. Billy also holds a BFA degree in Motion Pictures/Television from UCLA and his vintage Beach Boys footage has appeared in many television documentaries. He is also a published writer of several music related articles.
We’re still a ways off from getting into the nitty gritty of Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up.”
But while we wait, ponder this: Leonardo DiCaprio is now old enough to play the father of adult children. Believe it or not, and I can’t, Leo is now 47 years old.
Okay, I’m sitting down.
It was 30 years ago — like Adele’s 30 — when Leo was a teenager on “Growing Pains.”
It was 1993 when he broke through with the combination of “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?” and “This Boy’s Life.” I have a clear memory of interviewing Leo over lunch in 1993. I was 12, which means he was a baby.
Over the years, DiCaprio has played a lot of roles, but never an onscreen Dad, not even to small children. He won an Oscar for tousling with a bear. Maybe he had kids in “Wolf of Wall Street,” but his character was too high on Quaaludes to know who they were. In “Catch Me If You Can,” he was a son of Christopher Walken. In Scorsese films, he’s had a lot of things to do, but nothing involved progeny.
And yet, as a respected astronomer and scientist in “Don’t Look Up,” Leo’s got two sons at home. The actors who play them are 25 years old. His character is also married to an age appropriate woman played Melanie Lynskey. Indeed, in “Don’t Look Up,” DiCaprio — who used to be The Kid — is sort of avuncular toward Timothee Chalamet. Think of this: Leo used to be Timothee Chalamet.
And so it goes, right? The circle of life.
PS It kind of makes sense if you think about it. DiCaprio’s most famous role was as Jack in “Titanic.” His love interest was Kate Winslet. In “Mare of Easttown,” Kate had a grandchild! Really, now I’m taking a nap!
After all that publicity, the Oprah TV show, therapy sessions, pants suits, her kid talking in the middle of a song, all of it, guess what? Adele’s “30” did not break any records yesterday. The album came in sixth among all time global debuts on Spotify for female singers. The “30” album had 60 million streams. A week earlier, Taylor Swift’s re-recorded “Red” album had 90 million. Indeed, Taylor holds the top 3 spots (see below).
What does this mean? Nothing, really. Who knows? In the overall picture, Adele’s numbers could start rising. And her CD and LP sales are unknown as of yet, although they will be BIG. We’ll get a sense of how “30” is really doing on Monday after everyone has calmed down and the music press’s spells have worn off.
What’s next for Adele? I’d like to see her with Dr. Phil. And then Dr. Oz. And then Dr. Seuss.
Biggest female album debuts in Global Spotify History:
We’re off to the races with the main Oscar movies so far hitting the box office big time.
Will Smith’s “King Richard” took in $1.920 million Friday night as it begins a long journey to awards season. “King Richard” is also playing on HBO Max, which will temper its box office numbers. But the story of Serena and Venus Williams and their father, Richard, is a MOVIE and really should be seen in a theater for the experience. There are so many terrific performances in it, and they will all be rewarded with nominations in the coming weeks.
In a limited release so far, Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” also top lined for the Oscars, is bringing audience to theaters. Last night “Belfast” moved up to $2.8 million with a strong $462 per theater. “Belfast” is a must-see, with Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, and the music of (the previously sane) Van Morrison making for a glorious film.
Blockbuster buffs will be commenting on “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which looks headed for a $38 million weekend. That’s less than the huge numbers for the last “Ghostbusters” movie in 2016, but nothing to worry about. I’m looking forward to seeing it on an airplane one day.
And “The French Dispatch” is hanging in there, with almost $13 million total so far.
More tomorrow. It’s a beautiful day. Go to the movies this weekend!
“General Hospital” fans will bid goodbye today to actor Ingo Rademacher. He’s not dead. But he’s leaving because he refused to accept the Disney-ABC vaccine mandate. Rademacher has been with the show for the better part of 26 years.
