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Box Office: “Belfast” Begins Oscar March, “Dune” Soon Off HBO Max, Bond Film Crosses a Line, “Clifford” Unleashed

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Belfast” Begins Oscar March, “Dune” Soon Off HBO Max, Bond Film Crosses a Line, “Clifford” Unleashed

Weekend box office:

Good news for “Belfast.” Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar buzzed film started its Oscar March with $1.8 million in limited release. Word of mouth must be excellent since the poignant memoir of Northern Ireland’s “troubles” had a per theater average of over $3,000.

“Belfast” boasts stand out performances from all its stars including Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Catriona Balfe, and newcomer Jude Hill, as well as Ciaran Hinds. This is an Oscar movie, a Best Picture for the ages. Run to see it if it’s playing near you.

“Dune” made it to $93 million this weekend. The slow climb to $100 million has been hampered by the film being on HBO Max. But that will end next Sunday. Then you’ll have to see it in a theater, where it should be viewed. If “Dune” hadn’t been available on HBO Max it would be at $150 mil already, easily.

James Bond “No Time to Die” did hit $150 mil today after almost a week of being available on VOD at the same time. “No Time to Die” still made $4.5 million this weekend, has a lot of life left in it at the box office.

“Clifford the Big Red Dog” made $22 million from Wednesday through Sunday. For families and parents frustrated with keeping kids at home, “Clifford” should be unleashed right through Thanksgiving.

Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl” Star, Mrs. Ryan Reynolds) Will Make Directing Debut Tomorrow with Taylor Swift Video

Roger Friedman
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Blake Lively (“Gossip Girl” Star, Mrs. Ryan Reynolds) Will Make Directing Debut Tomorrow with Taylor Swift Video

There’s another Taylor Swift video, this one is called “I Bet You Think About Me.” It might be about Jake Gyllenhaal, or someone else Swift dated. Anyway, Blake Lively will make her directing debut with this video, set for release at 10am tomorrow.

Lively starred in “Gossip Girl,” has had a few other good acting turns, and is married to Ryan Reynolds. She’s next going to star in “The Husband’s Secret,” based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, that sounds like a “Letter to Three Wives” reinvented.

The clip posted by Taylor looks cool. And they use the Woody Allen typeface for the credits.

Taylor Swift Sets a “Saturday Night Live” Record with Brilliant Longest Single Performance

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Sets a “Saturday Night Live” Record with Brilliant Longest Single Performance

Taylor Swift just sang a 10 minute song on “Saturday Night Live.” It was wonderful and set a record for longest single performance in the history of the show.

Taylor sang her updated version of “All Too Well,” and it was theatrical, triumphant, and a little off key. But that’s okay. She pulled it off.

“All Too Well” is from the her new Red (Taylor’s Version) album, the re-recorded version of her 2012 album. It’s all about breaking up with actor Jake Gyllenhaal when she was young. She’s never forgiven him for it, which is too bad.

Taylor directed a video that goes with the song, and in the credits she lists the actor playing the boyfriend as “Jake Lyon.” Get it– Jake, lyin’. Will this be the end? Or will Taylor give all her ex boyfriends 10 minute songs?

Anyway, wait for “All Too Well” hits the top of iTunes around 1:30am. Swift currently has five of the top 10 albums on iTunes.

Watch: Adele Previews More of New Song, “Hold On,” Before Her Sunday CBS Special

Roger Friedman
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Watch: Adele Previews More of New Song, “Hold On,” Before Her Sunday CBS Special

Adele has put up a preview of her new song, “Hold On,” from her CBS special airing tomorrow night at 8:30pm.

Television may break tomorrow night with Adele at 8:30, “Succession” at 9pm, “Yellowstone” at 8pm, and NFL football going on at the same time!

“Hold On” sounds like a big anthem-y hit with a choir. Adele in the clip looks terrific and sings her heart out! Her voice is always an unqualified hit. The songs, I think, on “30” are all going to be along the lines of “I Will Survive,” “I Did Survive,” and “I Almost Didn’t Survive.” Am I f–ckin’ right?

“Hold On” is written by Dean Cover, aka Inflo, with Adele helping out. She doesn’t mention him so far in the articles coming out today about the song. The names of the songwriters are unimportant, you see. And they’ve split the publishing with the singer.

Jeff Wald Dead at 77, Just 14 Months After Ex Wife Helen Reddy: Hollywood Wild Man Manager with Oversized Reputation

Roger Friedman
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Jeff Wald Dead at 77, Just 14 Months After Ex Wife Helen Reddy: Hollywood Wild Man Manager with Oversized Reputation

EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: I’m told Jeff was on life support for two days and was removed from it yesterday after a brief illness.

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It’s only less than 14 months since the great pop singer Helen Reddy died of cancer. Now comes word that her infamous ex husband, Jeff Wald, has died at age 77. No cause has been given. His daughter with Reddy, Traci Wald Donat, said in a statement:

“To the very finish, he was laughing and preventing for the life he lived with epic proportions in each method. He was surrounded by the household he beloved a lot and the music that was the soundtrack to his lifetime of everlasting optimism. We’re heartbroken by the lack of our husband, father, good friend and fierce advocate for girls’ rights and justice for all.”

It’s possible Wald, born Jeffrey Summers in 1944, just exploded. He was well known in the 7os and 80s for driving Reddy, a Canadian born talent, from obscurity to stardom. They had hit after hit, toured the world many times, and made and lost fortunes. Actually she made it and he lost it as outlined in a little seen 2020 movie, “I Am Woman,” which you can probably rent on amazon.

In the 80s Wald was most famous for squandering millions and millions, most of which was from drug abuse. He overdosed in 1986, went to the Betty Ford Clinic, and turned his life around. But he was notorious by then. He and Reddy divorced, she eventually retired. They had two daughters. Wald remarried and had another daughter. (Traci Wald had a crazy childhood but she married into the business. Her husband, Lucas Donat, is the son of the great actors Michael Learned and Peter Donat.)

Jeff Wald’s second chapter was as a producer. He had many film credits, starting with “2 Days in the Valley,” lost gem of a film that introduced Charlize Theron. He was Executive Producer on Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show, and on Roseanne Barr’s short lived one. He was a great help to me on a story I wrote a few years ago when the private school Will and Jada Pinkett Smith created went belly up. I’m grateful to him for that. But he was a wild man, that’s how he became famous, and lived in outsized life of huge highs and lows. Rest in peace.

JR, French Photographer and Artivist, Brought “Paper & Glue” to MoMA Introduced by Bradley Cooper

Regina Weinreich
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JR, French Photographer and Artivist, Brought “Paper & Glue” to MoMA Introduced by Bradley Cooper

JR is back. Well, he never went away. Many people met him in the Oscar nominated Agnes Varda film, “Faces and Places.” The French photographer and (is word here) artivist’s collaboration with the famed filmmaker was infectious. His virus, a matchless enthusiasm for the creation of art, is impossible to describe: his energy is a force. Burroughs/Gysin had their “Third Mind, Ouevres Croissees” in French, a roadmap to artistic creation through collaboration. JR inherits their spirit along with Varda’s.

JR’s new documentary is called “Paper and Glue,” and it premiered this week at the Museum of Modern Art, sponsored by MSNBC. Movie star Bradley Cooper, his pal, introduced the nomadic JR to a heavy crowd that included famed filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Cooper, a bona fide movie star in awe, seemed happy to just to be in JR’s posse, a growing populace of fans and volunteers helping to build his outrageous installations.

In “Paper and Glue,” JR takes us to several locales: the US/Mexican wall, a California prison, the banlieu of Paris, favela of Rio, places we would never think to want to see. Infusing them with his je ne sais quoi, voila, they become the only places that matter, sites with superstars among the disenfranchised, the movie’s inscription from Varda: “If we opened people up, we’d find landscape.”

At the Southern Border we go to the Wall—yes, that Wall—someone even jokes about who is going to pay for it. JR erected a structure to paste a giant-sized photo of a small Mexican boy, waiting for the authorities to shut him down. Instead, they arrived and shared tacos. That’s just what you want to do with the irresistible JR. “Kevin,” a prison inmate sporting a swastika tattoo on his cheek, calls collect and JR picks up wherever he is. He sends Kevin a signed copy of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus.” Now, the prison system provides a tattoo removing system.

After the screening. the crowd, including Kopple but sans Cooper made their way to media magnet restaurant Michael’s, for a private celebration, as the restaurant is back in a big way. Even without Cooper JR, always hidden behind sunglasses, had an army of admirers. I asked, where do you stay in Rio? The favela looked so grim. He made a moon bedroom, literally, it looks like a giant bananagrams, in the Brazil sky. “The moon belongs to everyone,” he pointed out.

“Paper & Glue” is playing in theaters now.

 

 

 

Friday Box Office: “Clifford” Unleashed, “Eternals” Eyes $100 Mil, “Belfast” Jumps Out to Good Start

Roger Friedman
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Friday Box Office: “Clifford” Unleashed, “Eternals” Eyes $100 Mil, “Belfast” Jumps Out to Good Start

Maybe things are looking up at the box office.

On Friday, a lot was happening.

Marvel’s “Eternals,” which I like to call “The Eternals” like “The Bronx,” came within a nose of $100 million. The big crossing will happen tonight. Even with mixed reviews, “The Eternals,” like the Bronx, has its charms and attracted big crowds.

Tomorrow will be its ninth day of release. Meanwhile, “Dune” goes into its 23rd day still not at $90 million. In a way, Denis Villeneuve’s epic gets more Oscar cred for not breaking records. It’s an art film, not a blockbuster, which should help “Dune” on the awards circuit.

Elsewhere, “Clifford the Big Red Dog” is barking up the right tree for Paramount. Clifford has made $9.8 million since its opening on Wednesday and should finish tomorrow with $20 million — while also being available on streaming. Remember, “Clifford” was supposed to play the Toronto Film Festival and open in September. Then Paramount pulled it from the schedule. An executive regime change followed, Brian Robbins took Jim Gianopolous’s job, and “Clifford” was back with a new date.

More importantly, “Belfast” opened on Friday in 580 theaters and took in $680,000. That’s an excellent start for a non Marvel movie headed to many awards and accolades. Word of mouth should be great, and when awards nominations start coming in two weeks, “Belfast” will pop.

And what about “Tick Tick Boom”? Netflix has it in a couple of theaters including the Paris in New York but not much else. This is a mistake. “Tick Tick Boom” needs a depth charge. It’s a beautiful film and Andrew Garfield’s totally winning performance must be seen. He and Will Smith are now in a competition for Best Actor, along with Benedict Cumberbatch.

NBC Sets February 24, 2022 for Return of “Law & Order” Classic to Plug Thursday Hole

Roger Friedman
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NBC Sets February 24, 2022 for Return of “Law & Order” Classic to Plug Thursday Hole

And so, it’s here.

The OG “Law & Order” will return to the air after 12 years away on February 24, 2022. This will be the 21st season for the show which launched in 1990 and ran until 2010.

No word yet on the cast but Jeffrey Donovan, of “Burn Notice” fame, is said to be involved.

The reason for the “L&O” return is because a series spin off called “For the Defense” never made it to air or even to shooting a pilot. Ordered by NBC after Dick Wolf lobbied to have a whole night of “Law & Order” shows, “For the Defense” was never developed. At the last minute the network had to suck it up, admit it, and look to plug a hole on Thursdays before “SVU” and “Organized Crime.”

The original idea was to have “Manifest” on Thursdays. But NBC cancelled the popular show, sacrificing it for Wolf. This cause a big brouhaha, and now “Manifest” has two new seasons booked at Netflix.

“For the Defense” was never going to work. It meant that the police would be wrong in every episode, as the defense won. Whoops! That’s not the “Law & Order” formula. You’re supposed to have both sides. So, as I wrote when all this was going on, why not just go back to the original show?

Wolf and co. had meantime better take a look at Chris Meloni’s “Organized Crime.” They’ve dropped below 3 million viewers in overnights. The show is impossible to watch or enjoy. And constantly tying it to “SVU” is only hurting that show, which had another excellent episode this week.

“Organized Crime” is too violent, too plot driven, and not giving the fans what they want in developing characters. This week, Meloni’s Elliot Stabler shaved off his facial hair. That was one step forward. But there is much to do. Why not bring over some “SVU” vets to help out, like Tamara Tunie? Make the show less about Stabler’s feud with Wheatley. Tell some stories.  How about getting Paul Sorvino involved, Dick Wolf?

Not a Bon “Voyage”: ABBA’s First New Album in 39 Years Shmeared by New R&B Sensation Summer Walker

Roger Friedman
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Not a Bon “Voyage”: ABBA’s First New Album in 39 Years Shmeared by New R&B Sensation Summer Walker

ABBA has met their Waterloo.

“Voyage,” the group’s first new album since 1982, failed to cross the 80,000 mark in its first week of sales.

Instead, it wasn’t a very Bon “Voyage” as the album sold just over 79,000 copies according to hitsdailydouble.com.

Considering the money that was spent to launch this album, a minimum of double that amount would have been acceptable.

But double that amount was exactly what rising R&B sensation Summer Walker did with her breakout album. “Still Over It” sold 177,470 copies. Not bad! Walker also sold around 18,000 copies of her prior album, “Over It.”

Ed Sheeran’s “Equals” album dropped 59 % in its second week, selling just 50,000 copies despite his appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

Taylor Swift fans, in anticipation of her “Red (Taylor’s Version)” release today, snapped up 50,000 copies of her “Folklore” and “Evermore” albums, and “Lover” (all of which she owns), and the old “Red” album.

 

 

(Listen) Here’s the Spotify Link to the Spectacular “Tick Tick Boom!” Soundtrack

Roger Friedman
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(Listen) Here’s the Spotify Link to the Spectacular “Tick Tick Boom!” Soundtrack

Lin Manuel Miranda’s “Tick Tick Boom!” is in some theaters today and on Netflix in two weeks. In the meantime, the soundtrack is spectacular featuring Andrew Garfield and the incredibly talented cast. This will be a Best Picture nominee, and Garfield is headed to the top 5 Best Actor candidates. Academy voters are going to love and embrace this movie.

Here’s the link to the stream on Spotify:

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