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Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Amy Ryan, Bring “Only Murders in the Building” to An End…For Now

Roger Friedman
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Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Amy Ryan, Bring “Only Murders in the Building” to An End…For Now

WITH SPOILERS-  STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE ENDING

“Only Murders in the Building” has come to an end. I realize I was calling it “Only Murderers in the Building,” and now that title has been mentioned in the 10th and final episode.

Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez rocked this series. They made for a wonderful crime solving trio at the Arconia on the Upper West Side. I’m nervous for the people who live im the real building– not the Apthorp but another similar set up further up Broadway. The final scene of tonight’s show really gave away the facade.

So the story was that Tim Kono had been killed after witnessing his friend Zoe get shouted off the roof. Nathan Lane’s deaf son did that, and so we thought he had killed Tim, too. But last week Jan the bassoonist, played with gleeful madness by Amy Ryan, had been having an affair with Tim. Her bassoon cleaner was found among his possessions. And tonight, Amy lost it, snapped gloriously and was revealed as Tim’s murderer. All hail Amy Ryan, who will be much missed in season 2. (Maybe they can bring her back.)

Along the way, Sting was a suspect. Tonight, when Jan poisoned Charles (Steve Martin) he floated around the building in a stupor to strains of “Fields of Gold.” It was pretty hilarious. And Sting’s cameo a few episodes ago was the perfect nonsensical sidestep to pad the episodes out.

Nathan Lane already chewed up the furniture in episodes as the deli owner whose son sort of killed Zoe, then he sponsored the main trio’s podcast. But last week Jane Lynch came in as Charles’s stunt double and almost stole the whole show. She was amazing. Jane Lynch just takes whatever show she’s on and makes it her own. (See “Mrs. Maisel”).

The end of “Only Murders” was already a set up for the next season as Mabel is found with the dead body of Bunny, the awful tenant and head of the co-op whom Mabel only minutes earlier called the most hated bitch in the building. A new mystery begins as our trio is taken away by the police.

Steve Martin and Martin Short are well known quantities already, so it’s no surprise how wonderful they’ve been in this series. Short, especially, was sublime. He and Martin are such good pals in real life, and they play off each other like Jack Benny and George Burns. (Short being Benny.)

But the real gem of “Only Murders” is Selena Gomez, who never sang a note. She just segued from Woody Allen’s “Rainy Day in New York” to this Manhattan murder mystery without missing a beat or a note. She has a droll delivery and natural deadpan. You can’t get enough of her.

So we wait now for Season 2, I guess in a year, on Hulu. This series was shot with pauses for commercials. So NBC, which as a stake in Hulu, would be smart to show the series next summer before Season 2 comes. In the meantime, this is reason enough to subscribe to Hulu. I will miss these people!

Marvel’s “Eternals” Premieres to Chaos as Variety Reporter Crosses Fine Line by Giving Major Spoilers on Twitter

Roger Friedman
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Marvel’s “Eternals” Premieres to Chaos as Variety Reporter Crosses Fine Line by Giving Major Spoilers on Twitter

Boy, am I getting calls today about Marvel’s “Eternals.”

Directed by newly minted Oscar winner Chloe Zhao, “Eternals” has an all star cast. It premiered in Hollywood last night, and screened for the press in New York.

And all hell has broken loose.

Matt Donnelly, a west coast Variety reporter, Tweeted out big spoilers from the film including what happens in the post-credit scene. A big pop star appears. If you scroll down a bit I’ve reproduced the Tweet. He also Tweeted news of a same-sex kiss.

The post-credit scene was only shown in Los Angeles to the premiere crowd. But the New York press audience never saw it. The movie just cut off. So the New York journalists were pissed when they learned that they hadn’t seen what their colleagues saw.

On top of that, the reaction to “Eternals” from those who saw it, also on Twitter, was lukewarm to say the least. There’s a review embargo so reading between the lines is causing eye strain. What I was told is that it feels like an indie Marvel movie. (I think that sounds interesting, at least.)

Meanwhile, Donnelly hasn’t removed his Tweet spoiler. And fans are enraged that he’s ruined the movie for them.

Look below for the spoiler. PS Thanks to the source who sent me this screenshot. Donnelly has blocked me!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celine Dion Mystery Illness Causes Cancellation of Las Vegas Residency Now and In January 2022

Roger Friedman
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Celine Dion Mystery Illness Causes Cancellation of Las Vegas Residency Now and In January 2022

Celine Dion’s heart will go on but not her shows.

The Canadian superstar just cancelled all her Las Vegas shows for the foreseeable future. She has a residency set to begin November 5th through the 20th at Resorts World Theatre and a second run from  Jan. 19 to Feb. 5, 2022.

Celine says she’s suffering from “severe and persistent muscle spasms.” She says in a statement: “I feel so bad that I’m letting them down, and I’m especially sorry for disappointing all the fans who’ve been making their plans to come to Las Vegas.”

Celine has often been the subject of stories about extreme weight loss. But this sounds a little more serious, and it sounds like she knows it, too. So sending get well wishes, and that whatever this is can be cleared up quickly.

Nicole Kidman Is Spot-on As Lucille Ball in First Trailer for “Being the Ricardos,” Lucie Arnaz Approves

Roger Friedman
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Nicole Kidman Is Spot-on As Lucille Ball in First Trailer for “Being the Ricardos,” Lucie Arnaz Approves

The trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” is here. I had to back up the frame because I thought they were using clips from “I Love Lucy” in the movie in the trailer. But that’s Nicole Kidman stomping grapes. The expression on her face is perfect, she really got Lucy. Now I’m excited.

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Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucy and Desi, gave her thumbs up last week. If she approves, we’re in good shape, and she’s seen the whole movie. It’s not a money thing, Lucie doesn’t need money from this movie. But she knows the franchise, and she’s her parents’ daughter.

“Being the Ricardos” will be on Amazon, and, I guess, theaters. I don’t know because I can’t get a press release or any information from Amazon Studios. But we will get this, somehow!

Disgusting Donald Trump on Beloved Colin Powell: “He made many mistakes but anyway, may he rest in peace!”

Roger Friedman
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Disgusting Donald Trump on Beloved Colin Powell: “He made many mistakes but anyway, may he rest in peace!”

Disgusting Donald Trump made a fool of himself today for the umpteenth time. He posted a nasty, childish note about Gen. Colin Powell, who died yesterday at age 84 from COVID and a raft of terrible illnesses. Powell was a star, a beloved American. Trump is a pig, a blot on American history.

When I saw this, I thought it was a joke, that someone had made it up. But this is Trump: petty, stupid. ignorant. If you still believe in him after reading this, you yourself have serious problems that need medical attention. God bless Colin Powell. It’s hard to understand why good people become ill and die while evil people walk around freely.

Grammy Awards Become First Awards Show with Inclusion Rider Guaranteeing Equality, Parity in Production

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Awards Become First Awards Show with Inclusion Rider Guaranteeing Equality, Parity in Production

The Recording Academy wants everyone in the tent, and everyone to be treated equally for the Grammy Awards. So today they’ve announced implementation of an inclusion rider, the first awards show to do so.

This is a milestone for the Grammys. Kudos to Harvey Mason, Jr. and the authors of the inclusion rider including Kalpana Kotagal (partner, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll), Fanshen Cox (production and development executive, Pearl Street Films) and key contributors Valeisha Butterfield Jones (Co-President, Recording Academy) and Allie-Ryan Butler (founding director, Warner Music | Blavatnik Center for Music Business at Howard University).

“I am proud that the Academy is leading the charge in releasing an Inclusion Rider for the music community that counters systematic bias,” said Mason in a statement. “We were proud to work with a very diverse crew last year for the Grammy Awards, and this is the culmination of a years-long effort to create a rider for the production of the Grammys. But this is only the beginning. We are committed to putting in the real work required to help create a pipeline of diverse talent and drastically change representation.”

“With the Inclusion Rider, Color Of Change and the Recording Academy are working to change the rules that have enabled systemic discrimination in the music business for far too long,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color Of Change. “The Inclusion Rider is a concrete accountability mechanism aimed at breaking through an endless stream of empty commitments. It will ensure that Black people finally gain the authority in the industry that matches their essential contributions to it. An initiative of #ChangeMusic, the Inclusion Rider changes the rules of the industry’s hiring and management practices to open up opportunities for work and promotion that have long been denied.”

The full rider can be read here. The next Grammy Awards take place January 31, 2022 in Los Angeles.

 

 

Madonna Doubled Her Charitable Contributions in 2020 By Giving Bill Gates’ Vaccine Fund $1 Million

Roger Friedman
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Madonna Doubled Her Charitable Contributions in 2020 By Giving Bill Gates’ Vaccine Fund $1 Million

I’ve written for years about Madonna and her often crazy charitable donations. She has given a lot to the phony baloney Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles, for example.

But now she’s done an actually great thing. As she pledged in April of 2020, Madonna actually stepped up and donated $1,000,0000 to Bill Gates’s Philanthropy Partners to accelerate vaccine creation, production, and distribution. She made an announcement about in April 2020, but there was a lot of other noise going on at the time.

Now the donation has turned up in her 2020 tax filing for her Ray of Light Foundation.

Yes, she did give Kabbalah $150,000. But Madame X also gave away another $850,000 to a few other organizations including needy ones in Detroit and its environs, and to groups like V Day in San Francisco, which organizes against violence toward women.

In 2019, Ray of Light made donations of around $1 million to the same groups. But adding the $1 million to the Gates group basically doubled her annual give. It’s easy to make fun of Madonna, especially when she was making strange posts on Instagram during the lockdown. But kudos and thanks for the Gates contribution. And she actually did it, she wrote the check. And never mentioned it again.

After Slow Start, Over 200 Radio Stations Have Played Adele’s “Easy On Me” Over 3,000 Times Since Release

Roger Friedman
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After Slow Start, Over 200 Radio Stations Have Played Adele’s “Easy On Me” Over 3,000 Times Since Release

Adele’s “Easy on Me” got a slow start on radio. When I wrote it about Friday. The top stations weren’t playing “Easy on Me” yet. In fact, it wasn’t until I said something that hourly adds started appearing on websites.

This evening, All Access Media Base reports that over 200 stations added “Easy on Me” to their playlists. There were 94 adds each on Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary. (We used to call these Easy Listening or MOR aka Middle of the Road). There were 24 adds on another group called Triple AAA. (Those stations also added Sting’s great new single, “Rushing Water” and Elton John’s “Cold Heart” duet with Dua Lipa.)

I don’t think rock stations are playing “Easy on Me.” I’m sure they’re hoping she’s got a “Rolling in the Deep” type number on her “30” album.

But basically everyone who can is playing this record now, over and over. The single has had a minimum of 3,000 “spins” since its release on Thursday night across all these stations.

Add Adele to BTS and Lil Nas X and you have to give credit to Sony’s Rob Stringer and Ron Perry for pulling moribund Columbia Records out of a ditch. For years the company depended on Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and Bob Dylan, not to mention Tony Bennett, to keep them going. Even Bryonce was iffy with an inconsistent release pattern. But they’ve got the top artists booming away right now. When “30” hits on November 19th, they will release confetti from their windows!

 

 

Saturday Night in NYC: Harry Styles Wows at MSG, plus The Temptations’ Otis Williams Celebrates Bday, Musical Reopening

Roger Friedman
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Saturday Night in NYC: Harry Styles Wows at MSG, plus The Temptations’ Otis Williams Celebrates Bday, Musical Reopening

Is New York back? I’d say so!

Saturday night was busy. At Madison Square Garden, Harry Styles came back for a third show this month and sold out the arena. I’m told the famed concert venue was “packed.” Interesting note: no boas or dresses or other gender fluid costumes. Harry is dressing conservatively. Maybe it’s his relationship with Olivia Wilde. The former One Direction star sang all his solo hits including “Watermelon Sugar” and his old group’s signature hit, “What Makes You Beautiful.” Actress-director Zoe Kravitz was among the celebs spotted in the audience…

On Broadway, shows are reopening left and right. Saturday marked the return of the Temptations musical, “Ain’t Too Proud.” Original Temptation Otis Williams celebrated his 80th birthday on stage with the cast. A day earlier, John Legend visited the cast for a rehearsal and went backstage. He recently performed with them on the Tony Awards special. Legend has added his name as an executive producer of the show, which means he invested in it and maybe his eye on a movie.

The show was featured today on “Good Morning America.” I can’t wait to see it again!

PS Saturday afternoon at the Metropolitan Opera I caught Terence Blanchard‘s amazing opera, “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.” Baritone Will Liverman stars as Charles, alongside soprano Angel Blue as Destiny/Loneliness/Greta, soprano Latonia Moore as Billie, and Walter Russell III — an insanely talented young man — as Char’es-Baby. I was knocked out by the production, directed by James Robinson and Camille A. Brown. Camille A. Brown is the choreographer, which is important to know because this is an opera with dance and movement that is glorious. There’s a gospel chorus scene in a church and a fraternity dance that must be seen along with the sensational voices.

Paul McCartney Tells the Real Story of “Eleanor Rigby”: Her Name Was NOT on A Random Tombstone

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney Tells the Real Story of “Eleanor Rigby”: Her Name Was NOT on A Random Tombstone

IN the new issue of The New Yorker, Paul McCartney tells the story of how he wrote “Eleanor Rigby.”

The legend was her name was on a tombstone in a cemetery and Paul happened on it. Not true. Eleanor came from actress Eleanor Bron, who’d been in the movie “Help!” with the Beatles. “Rigby” came from a sign on a shop.

The “real” Eleanor Rigby was inspired by a senior citizen who Paul quite liked in Liverpool and used to visit when he was a teenager.

Father McKenzie in the song was going to be Father McCartney, but Paul changed it because he thought people would assume it was his own father.

Paul was thrilled became famed poet and writer William S. Burroughs praised the lyrics as a poem. McCartney recalls: “He said he was impressed by how much narrative I’d got into three verses. And it did feel like a breakthrough for me lyrically—more of a serious song.”

All of this comes from an essay in The New Yorker promoting Paul’s two volume book, “The Lyrics,” coming November 2nd, which will include lots of other anecdotes about 154 of his songs.

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