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The Golden Globes won’t have a ceremony. But they’ll announce 2022 awards on January 9th, the same day as the Critics Choice Awards air on the CW Network.
What is with these people?
Will they do their announcement at the same time as the CCAs? And where? On Facebook? Instagram? With a megaphone from the front of the Beverly Hilton?
The Hollywood Foreign Press is obviously upset that the CCAs took their abandoned date. I’ve heard that they’ve tried everything to stop the Critics Choice from using the Beverly Hilton. But using the same date? Childish, not helpful, and more of the same.
Next Friday, after a year and a half wait, Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” will open only in 50 theaters.
This is not good news.
Searchlight Pictures, formerly Fox, now Disney, did the same thing to “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” That movie is a dead lox at the box office, with just $3 million in the till.
The studio knew there was no audience, and they were right. The only salvageable element of “Tammy Faye” is Jessica Chastain’s Oscar worthy performance.
Now we come to “The French Dispatch.” Audience members have walked out of screenings. Reviewers have actually said they hated it. Hated.
I saw it earlier this week, and Anderson’s beautifully art directed three part omnibus of vignettes lacks coherence. And a plot. And consistent characters. The first installment isn’t bad, but the next two — even with Timothee Chalamet’s hair styled like a souffle — go nowhere fast.
There are no Oscar possibilities for the actors, the best of whom are Adrien Brody and Benicio del Toro. Even though Jeffrey Wright is excellent, his chapter is a trip into a maze.
Releasing into 50 theaters will give “The French Dispatch” a shot at building word of mouth in art houses. But Disney would be better off putting it on streaming, writing it off, and moving on to the next Anderson concoction.
PS Elisabeth Moss, pictured in the poster, is barely in the movie. Maybe she’ll turn up in a longer DVD version. I hope so.
With all the books written about Donald Trump by former staffers, no one’s’ addressed this question: did Melania Trump plagiarize Michelle Obama in her speech before the 2016 Republican convention?
Last night I actually ran into Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer who is on house arrest in Manhattan for 38 more days. With his ankle bracelet on, Cohen can actually move in a radius near his apartment without setting off alarms. Last night he and his wife were having a light supper at Fresco by Scotto, which I should add has reopened post-pandemic refreshed and roaring with patrons inside and out.
Cohen and wife Laura ate outside under Fresco’s canopy without attracting any attention. But when I saw them, I had to ask him about the 2016 plagiarism scandal.
The morning after Melania’s speech, everyone wanted to know who wrote her speech. The culprit was identified as Trump Org exec Meredith McIver. If you click on that link, you’ll see that back in July 2016 I actually drove over to her house in suburban Connecticut and spoke to her sister. Some people doubted McIver was real. She was indeed real.
When I called the Trump Org in 2016 and asked to speak to her, McIver said she would if I got Cohen’s approval. He picked up his own phone, was absolutely gracious, and put me back through to her. That column is here. I’d never heard of him before.
So last night I asked him, Did Melania plagiarize Michelle Obama? “Yes! She absolutely did!” Cohen said. Was it McIver? “I don’t even think she did it. I think she took the rap for it. Melania was working with some intern. She told them what to do. It was all Melania.”
Cohen didn’t write about this incident in his recent book, “Disloyal: A Memoir.” But he’ll expand on everything in a new book he’s finished that he thinks will be published in January.
Other Cohen news? He is actually in constant contact with Kanye West. He showed me his phone that had a long list of recent calls from the former Mr. Kim Kardashian. What are they working on? To be announced.
I liked Michael Cohen and his wife. He’s weathered a terrible experience, and he’s one of the few people to come out of the Trump White House with head screwed on straight. And he’s driving Trump crazy. Gotta love that!
After a whirlwind of publicity, Disney-Fox’s “The Last Duel” may be dead on arrival.
The Ridley Scott- directed shields and armor opera made just $350,000 in previews last night. it opens officially today.
Costing close to $200 million, “The Last Duel” has an all star cast that reunites Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, also stars Adam Driver and Jodie Comer. But reviews have been mixed, with an 86 % on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics appreciate the performances and skillfulness of movie making, but not the movie itself.
Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal wrote: “The production has a lot going for it… But the narrative is cluttered with court intrigue against a background of repetitive battles, and the storytelling structure is exhausting.”
The low previews number doesn’t augur well for this release. We’ll see tomorrow how things pan out…Luckily, for Ridley Scott, the 83 year old director still has “House of Gucci” coming this fall, and that one looks like a winner.
“Let it Be” was the Beatles’ final album in May 1970, but as we all know it was recorded penultimately, before their actual last collection, “Abbey Road.”
Now we have the 50th anniversary “Let it Be” box set, really 51st, to tie in with the “Get Back” documentary coming next month on Disney Plus. This is also the last of the Beatles big 50th anniversary boxes, after “Sgt. Pepper,” the White Album, and “Abbey Road.”
The Super Deluxe edition comes with 6 CDs including one Blu Ray. There is the original album remixed, and several discs of outtakes, plus a book — originally published in 1970 and now updated.
All of it makes for gorgeous listening, but the real prize in the box is the original mix by producer Glyn Johns. This is not the “Let it Be…Naked” album we got years ago, stripped of the ornamentation of Phil Spector’s final production. Johns, better known for producing the Rolling Stones, chose rough takes and made a much more intimate, bluesy album than anything we’ve heard officially of “Let it Be” over the years. It should quickly become a cult favorite. It’s the main reason to buy the Super Deluxe Edition.
It’s interesting because Johns, who obviously knew Billy Preston from his Stones work, used takes of songs like “Let it Be” and “Long and Winding Road” that featured the famed keyboardist. His take of “Across the Universe” leaves all the others in the dust — it’s a majestic rendering of Lennon’s underrated gem. Now the song holds its own with McCartney’s two knockouts.
The Glyn Johns mix has been available over the years on bootlegs and in different pieces. But now that Giles Martin has cleaned it all up, there’s a renewed excitement. I actually listened to the CD in car (12 year old Bose system). The separation and imaging were disarming. Billy Preston’s work on “Get Back” sparkles. There’s a tumble of cocktail ice in a glass before “For You Blue” that makes the listener feel we’re in on the creation. A long version of “Teddy Boy,” which didn’t make the final album but wound up on “McCartney,” gives Paul a gritty folk moment that feels like a step forward from “Rocky Raccoon.” And throughout, Ringo’s drums are astute and evolved.
There’s a lot more in this box including a 2021 remix of the “Let it Be” single, which was always different from the album version. The latter became the version used by everything, with George Harrison’s guitar solo. The single kind of disappeared over time.
Finally, there’s a two minute track called “Without a Song Jam,” which features Preston on vocals. It’s the only track in the Beatles history that one of them didn’t sing on. It pre-figures Billy’s massive early 70s hits that followed, “Nothing from Nothing” and “Will it Go Round in Circles.” Billy Preston was indeed the fifth Beatle.
UPDATE Z100 just played “Easy on Me” at 7:03pm. It’s the first time all day that it’s turned up on their Recently Played list.
EARLIER Adele’s “Easy on Me” is number 1 on iTunes. It was released last night at 7pm Eastern.
But so far, “Easy on Me” has been ignored by the two biggest pop radio stations in the United States.
Both Z100 in New York, and KIIS FM in Los Angeles, have not given it one spin since “Easy on Me” dropped.
One would have thought this Adele fever was an occasion– first new record in six years. But ‘Easy on Me” is not so easy. It’s a kind of turgid ballad without a great chorus. Adele’s vocal is impeccable. But the song itself is not so radio friendly.
Of course, it’s possible that fan phone calls to the stations will get the ball rolling. But radio is not that easy to crack, even for Adele. They need encouragement.
Both stations publish their real time playlists, by the way, so we can see what’s on the air. And that’s a lot of Dua Lipa, Maroon 5, and Lil Nas X. But no Adele. Since both stations throw in “oldies,” i.e. recent hits, I’m surprised there’s not even older Adele hits like “Hello” or “Rolling in the Deep.”
UPDATE It took 90 minutes for the single to hit number 1. Released at 7pm.
Here it is. At last. Adele’s “Easy On Me” is her first single since “Skyfall” in 2016 is written by Greg Kurstin, who wrote her big 2015 hit, “Hello.” This is in anticipation of her “30” album coming November 19th.
Other songs on the album will be by the same writers as her “25” album including Tobias Jesso Jr., Max Martin and Shellback, Paul Epworth, and Ludwig Göransson.
Everyone get out the hankies, the Kleenex, etc. And wait for “Easy on Me” to hit number 1 on iTunes around 9pm Eastern.
It was a desultory scene on “The Conners” last night.
The wedding of Roseanne’s widower Dan to Louise got overnight numbers of 3.3 million, just less than half of the 7 million plus audience for NBC’s “Chicago Fire.” Who is even on “Fire’? Does anyone know?
“The Conners” are not on fire. The show — I watched it– is very badly written now. Bruce Helford is not writing the scripts. The credited writer is Dave Caplan, PhD. PhD???? That “The Conners” writer advertises a PhD in his credit tells you everything. Also, Caplan was the writer of Charlie Sheen’s hideous “Anger Management” series. He’s even imported Brian Austin Green from there.
Poor Laurie Metcalf is just flailing around. She did a bit of shtick on last night’s show but it was lost on everyone. She’s sublime. Lacey Goranson has really turned out to be terrific. But John Goodman has the appearance of being unwell, which is very upsetting.
And there was no mention of the deceased Roseanne. Her kids and sister didn’t even say her name, Dan didn’t reflect on remarrying. She is dead again.
Three seasons into the post-Roseanne exile world, “The Conners” is just a mess. The audience is stable at 3 million but the magic is all gone. And for some reason, Fred Savage, of “Wonder Years” fame, made a cameo last night. Ironically, Savage is involved with the new “Wonder Years,” which isn’t getting an audience a half hour earlier. I miss “Mixed-ish.”
Luckily I was able to get right on Hulu afterwards and watch the latest two episodes of “Only Murders in the Building.” Just a great series, and last night Amy Ryan– bless her heart– stole the show.
Jessie J is an excellent singer who doesn’t have Adele’s hype machine. Jessie must be thrilled that Adele’s’ new song is called “Easy On Me.” She had a song with that title in 2018 and it was pretty good. You can hear it here while we wait for Adele.
The Beatles’ final release, “Let it Be,” was released in May 1970.
Fifty one years later, the album will be re-released tomorrow in an anniversary edition leading up to the November Disney Plus screening of a documentary about its creation called “Get Back.”
Already three different versions of the new package are at the top of Amazon’s best seller list. The $117 super deluxe edition is number 1, the vinyl version for a similar amount is number 3, and the regular CD version is number 4. Plus the regular old “Let it Be” is number 4.
The super deluxe edition has lots of extras including a revived version of the book that was available back in 1970 that included dialogue from the movie. There are also lots of audio extras.
All the music has been remixed and remastered to go along with recent 50th anniversary editions of Sgt Pepper, the White Album, and Abbey Road.
Paul McCartney, a brilliant marketer, has given some headline making interviews in the last week to bring attention to the Beatles. He’s given a new explanation of how the group broke up, and called the Rolling Stones “a cover band” of blues songs.
In addition to all the “Let it Be”-“Get Back” hoopla, McCartney’s releasing his two volumes called “The Lyrics” on November 2nd, with stories behind 154 of his songs.
