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Awards Update: Buzzy New Film Fest 919, Diane Warren Has Two Hats in the Rings for Possible 13th Oscar Nomination

Leah Sydney
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Awards Update: Buzzy New Film Fest 919, Diane Warren Has Two Hats in the Rings for Possible 13th Oscar Nomination

Diane Warren looks well on her way to garner her 13th Oscar nod with her “Somehow You Do” sung by Reba McEntire from the film “Four Good Days.”  She was recently honored with a way cool laser show with the Spotlight Award from Film Fest 919 in Chapel Hill North Carolina.

(Warren actually has two hats in the Oscar ring this year. She just received nominations frm the Hollywood Music in Media Awards: the Reba song, and “(Never Gonna) Tame You” from The Mustangs: America’s Wild Horses,” sung by Blanco Brown.

The Fest, founded by industry vets Carol Marshall and Randi Emerman, has just completed their fourth year, is quickly becoming one of the prestige festivals for filmmakers to showcase their works as the awards seasons gets into full swing.

“King Richard” and C’Mon C’mon” were voted as Audience favorites.  The Distinguished Screenwriter Award was presented to Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch for their “Red Rocket” a Cannes favorite.

Warren recently poked fun of herself on the ABC special “A Night At In The Academy Museum” where she walked through the Oscar Experience and was finally able to hold an Oscar Statue.  She recently joked to Showbiz411, “the Museum is amazing and I was so proud that I got to be the one ironically showing what it’s like to give an acceptance speech having not gotten near that stage to give an acceptance speech after 12 nominations! I joked at the end that I wasn’t going to give the Oscar back and there was a second there that I was going to walk out with that little gold man!  They had to pry it out of my hands!”

Kudos to Film Fest 919, their credo is ‘Catch The Films Before They Catch On’ and Hollywood is wisely catching on to them as a must stop on the awards circuit.

Huh? “Black Panther” Sequel Shuts Down Production Over 2 Month Old Letitia Wright Minor Injury

Roger Friedman
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Huh? “Black Panther” Sequel Shuts Down Production Over 2 Month Old Letitia Wright Minor Injury

Peculiar stuff going on down in Atlanta on the set of the Black Panther sequel, “Wakanda Forever.”

They’ve reportedly shut down production for the the time being because actress Letitia Wright sustained an injury while shooting in Boston at the end of August.

It is now the beginning of November, more than two months have passed since Wright’s unspecified injury was termed “minor” by the production. At the time they said she was briefly hospitalized but she was fine and had returned to work.

That was almost ten weeks ago.

Wright became notorious last December and again recently not because of her injury but because of her anti-vaccination stand. At the beginning of October there was a report from the set in The Hollywood Reporter  that Wright espoused anti-vaccine thoughts on set. She went on to deny that on her Instagram page October 13th.

Almost a year ago, in early December 2020, before the vaccine was available was just in discussion, Wright posted a clip titled “COVID-19 Vaccine, Should We Take It?” from Light London Church leader Tomi Arayomi’s YouTube channel, “On the Table.”

The 69-minute video — which has since been removed from YouTube and Wright’s Twitter feed — sees Arayomi making transphobic remarks, stating several unfounded claims blaming China for the pandemic, downplaying the threat of climate change and discouraging people from getting vaccinated for the flu and COVID-19.

Wright Tweeted: “[I]f you don’t conform to popular opinions. but ask questions and think for yourself….you get cancelled.” She included  a crying-laughing emoji.

Shutting an entire production down for a ten week old minor injury seems highly unusual. Atlanta, as I well know, has had a lot of unreported COVID trouble on sets. Earlier this fall, I reported that actor Colin Firth had contracted COVID on the set of his HBO mini series, “The Staircase.” He was laid up for two weeks after a driver faked a vaccine card. Everyone around the production worked to cover up what happened, but I was able to verify it again.

“Wakanda Forever” is a Disney-Marvel production. Disney now has a strict vaccine mandate for all cast and crew on all productions. This has resulted in the ousting of actor Emilio Estevez from the Disney Plus series, “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” because he refused to be vaccinated. (His father, Martin Sheen, must be reeling from this insanity.) This has also led to upheaval on ABC’s soap, “General Hospital,” which is said to be offloading two big cast members over the same thing.

So what is really going on with “Wakanda Forever”? If you know anything, please email me in confidence at showbiz411@gmail.com. If it’s just a back spasm that’s shut down a $200 million movie, so be it.

 

“9 to 5” Reunion Set for Final Season of “Grace and Frankie” as Dolly Parton Joins Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin in Series

Roger Friedman
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“9 to 5” Reunion Set for Final Season of “Grace and Frankie” as Dolly Parton Joins Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin in Series

Netflix has saved the best for last.

Dolly Parton is joining Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin for the seventh and final season of “Grace and Frankie.”

This will be a 40th year reunion of the gals from “9 to 5,” who made that comedy such a smash hit when it was released in 1980.

Since then, Jane, Lily, and Dolly have remained close friends. There was a TV spin off on ABC of “9 to 5” that ran for one season, and on which Fonda made a special appearance. There was always talk of a sequel to the famed film, but nothing ever developed.

The news that the ladies will reunite on the final 12 episodes of “Grace and Frankie” should make the show’s drop day — that’s when Netflix reveals an entire series at once — a big one.

PS What about Dabney Coleman? He was the co-star in “9 to 5,” who played the boss, Franklin Hart. Coleman — with a long celebrated career — will turn 90 on January 2, 2022. His last listed credit was playing Kevin Costner’s dad in “Yellowstone” in 2019.

Was The Abba Comeback Worth It? New “Voyage” Album is Terrible Disappointment After Almost 40 Years

Roger Friedman
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Was The Abba Comeback Worth It? New “Voyage” Album is Terrible Disappointment After Almost 40 Years

You can try listening to ABBA’s first album in almost 40 years. I wouldn’t recommend it. “Voyage” is everything ABBA was not: pedantic, childish, amateurish, devoid of the hooks or choruses that made ABBA such an appealing Top 40 enterprise.

The three singles already released were like that, too, so I don’t know why I thought the rest of the songs on “Voyage” would be any different. It’s as if Benny and Bjorn, who wrote songs like “Dancing Queen” and “SOS” and “Take a Chance on Me” completely forgot how to write catchy hits.

Instead, the album is like gloppy sugar, more Muzak-y than ever before. The ballads are drags, the few uptempo songs don’t have enough melodic construction to carry them. You lost interest as the album unfolds.

Of course, aside from Greatest Hits, ABBA was never an album group. They were all about singles. Benny and Bjorn have forgotten that, too. And there’s some weird one called “Keep an Eye on Dan.” Is Dan a kid? A dog? What the heck is going on? And why do I care?

Stick to the hits, fans. Stay away from this.

Pop Fizz: Ed Sheeran’s “Equals” Debuts Almost 30% Lower than Last Release, Adele Single Returns to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Pop Fizz: Ed Sheeran’s “Equals” Debuts Almost 30% Lower than Last Release, Adele Single Returns to Number 1

The numbers are in for the week.

Ed Sheeran’s “Equals” debuts at number 1 today, but sales are 30% lower than  than his last release.

“Equals” came in at 123,000 copies sold, vs. “No. 6 Collaborations” project from July 2019 which sold 173,000 copies the week it came out. The latter album had a lot of guest stars, the new one is all Ed.

Sheeran is the musical guest this weekend on “Saturday Night Live,” after recovering from COVID. He’ll only get this week at number 1, as Taylor Swift and then Adele are coming for the charts.

Meantime, Adele has returned to number 1  on the singles chart after a brief detour thanks to the gaming of the iTunes chart by “Let’s Go, Brandon” fans. That ship has now sailed.

Bad Reviews Be Damned: Marvel’s “Eternals” Scores $9.5 Mil Preview Night Despite Critics’ Panning

Roger Friedman
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Bad Reviews Be Damned: Marvel’s “Eternals” Scores $9.5 Mil Preview Night Despite Critics’ Panning

Critics didn’t like it. They gave it a lowly 49% on Rotten Tomatoes.

And no one cares.

Marvel’s “Eternals” overcame bad buzz last night and scored $9.5 million in preview showings. They are off to the races!

Marvel will need big box office to pay that huge cast starting with Angelina Jolie, of all people. But they should have a $70 million weekend.

For director Chloe Zhao, the box office should make up for the reviews. And it’s certainly a contrast to her Oscar winning “Nomadland,” which only six months ago won the Academy Award but best picture and director but made only $40 million worldwide, most of it in the U.S. Now she can buy the RV she always dreamed of!

“General Hospital” “Jax” Actor May Be Out Over Anti-Vax Stance, Star Steve Burton Rumored to Be Leaving Also

Roger Friedman
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“General Hospital” “Jax” Actor May Be Out Over Anti-Vax Stance, Star Steve Burton Rumored to Be Leaving Also

There’s an internal cliffhanger going on at ABC’s soap “General Hospital.” Two stars of the show may be on their way out.

Most likely to go is Australian Ingo Rademacher, who has been a vocal anti-vaccine advocate on Instagram. He is not vaccinated, doesn’t believe in it, and has not retreated from his position.On August 20th, when word got out about his feelings, Rademacher posted a video to Instagram in which he called his fans “Bigots” and “morons” for criticizing him. I said then that I thought he’d be fired.

This week on Instagram Rademacher reposted the viral video a woman being removed from a real hospital over her anti-vax beliefs. He’s since removed it, but Rademacher has two posts up on his Instagram Stories that I’ve reproduced here, plus a video from vehement anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy Jr, who has lost his mind.

Rademacher has played Jasper Jax on “GH” for over 25 years, coming and going with breaks. In August he doubled down on his position, reposting a video from conservative hot head Joe Rogan.

There’s also word that Steve Burton, a “GH” lifer, may be leaving as well. He plays Jason Morgan, and has been back on the show for about five years after taking taking a five year break and jumping to “The Young and the Restless.” Burton tested positive for COVID this summer. It’s unclear if he has been vaccinated.

“General Hospital” has been a set with a lot of vaccination turmoil. Actress Nancy Lee Grahn, who also just celebrated her 25th anniversary with the show, more or less shamed ABC into mandating vaccines on the soap. It was Grahn who blew the whistle a few weeks ago that someone on the set wasn’t vaccinated and though she never named names, it was obviously Rademacher. Then on October 8th she wrote:

“I am very proud to work on the ONLY Daytime Soap that has required that all performers, staff and crew be vaccinated. @GeneralHospital continues to lead with integrity.” Late yesterday, Grahn, who is a really fearless activist in the best way, added:

“.@GeneralHospital still remains ONLY Daytime Serial to mandate vaccines. Kudos to the leadership of @valentinifrank @ABCNetwork & @DisneyStudios. Smart leaders listen to science & protect their employees. As of Nov 1st entry to #gh requires proper vaccine card. No exceptions.”
I guess I am naive. I am shocked that people are willing to risk their livelihoods and careers over getting a totally safe vaccine that will protect them from a deadly disease. Now they’re not only risking their personal health but their financial futures over hysteria based on garbage. This whole attitude of “you can’t tell me what to do” is the stance of a petulant child.
Of course, the irony of all this happening at “General Hospital” shouldn’t be lost on us. Maybe the actors are confused because they haven’t had one COVID patient admitted since the pandemic began. Illness at “GH” is fungible, and also fictional. Most diseases are never named, and terminal ones are only cured if contracts are successfully renegotiated. But the worst disease is Hubris, and even Dr. Hardy couldn’t solve that problem.

 

Aaron Rodgers Vax Lie Was in August, But in the Spring He Hosted “Jeopardy!” and Went on Celeb Vacation

Roger Friedman
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Aaron Rodgers Vax Lie Was in August, But in the Spring He Hosted “Jeopardy!” and Went on Celeb Vacation

Everyone is freaking out right now about Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. He has COVID -19. He lied about being vaccinated in August.

He lied right into the camera when asked if he was vaccinated. He said, “I’ve been immunized.”

If you watched him say it, you assumed he meant vaxxed. He may be in violation of NFL and Packers rules.

But also think of this: in April, he hosted “Jeopardy!” for two weeks. In May he and fiancee Shailene Woodley went on vacation with Woodley’s pal Miles Teller and his wife.

March and April were the months when everyone was getting vaccinated. COVID was at a peak. Rodgers didn’t wear a mask on the game show and he’s certainly not wearing one in these vacation pictures.

I’ll bet everyone involved is thrilled to know that Rodgers never got his shots, and ultimately lied about it.

This is one time his parents should be happy he doesn’t speak to them.

Broadway: Greg Kinnear Tapped to Replace Jeff Daniels in “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Greg Kinnear Tapped to Replace Jeff Daniels in “To Kill a Mockingbird”

Well.

Jeff Daniels returned to “To Kill a Mockingbird” on Broadway for a short run, but his time up and producers have named a replacement.

Oscar nominee (“As Good As It Gets”) Greg Kinnear will make his Broadway debut in “Mockingbird”  starting January 5th.

Daniels’ last performance will be January 2, 2o22.

I had been thinking recently, where is Greg Kinnear? The one time host of “Talk Soup” had his life changed when the late Sidney Pollack decided he could act and cast him a reboot of “Sabrina” with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. One of his hits was “Little Miss Sunshine.”

From there, Kinnear went on to a lot of successes on film. But lately he’s been MIA. So it’s good to have him back. And the exorbitant ticket prices for “Mockingbird” will likely drop to human levels, so that’s a plus, too!

Mariah’s Christmas Cash-In: “All I Want for Christmas” Returns to iTunes Chart at Number 25

Roger Friedman
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Mariah’s Christmas Cash-In: “All I Want for Christmas” Returns to iTunes Chart at Number 25

All I want for Christmas is…earplugs.

Mariah Carey’s annual Christmas cash in is here. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” has returned to the iTunes top 100 at number 25.

It will go higher and stay there through the end of the year.

For god’s sake, why? Don’t all you lambs own this already? Or do you buy it anew every year? Just wait your money, go ahead. Do you not realize this is a BUSINESS? Carey does not sell records all year long. She waits for this season like Tiny Tim hoping for a slice of ham.

Walter Afansieff wrote this song with Mariah, and made it sound like a track from Phil Spector’s Christmas album. It’s now the biggest selling Christmas song of all time, outselling even Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”

If I never hear it again, I will be happy.

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