Bruce Springsteen is back in New Jersey after canceling three shows in Europe. Bruce performed in the pouring rain in Dublin, then got sick. He also sang at the Ivors awards. The result was harm to his voice.
Bruce will be back on tour June 12th in Madrid then Barcelona. Before that we’re hoping he turns up at the Tribeca Film Festival this Saturday for “Disciples,” the documentary about his pal and bandmate, Stevie van Zandt.
You know that Sam Mendes is directing four movies about the Beatles.
Jeff Sneider of The InSneider is reporting that Harris Dickinson (John Lennon), Paul Mescal (Paul McCartney), Barry Keoghan (Ringo Starr), and Charlie Rowe (George Harrison) are going to portray the Fab Four. These films are set to be interconnected stories, one from each band member’s point of view.
The movies will open in 2027, not sure in what order or simultaneously. Titles of each films: Maybe a song from each Beatle. Ringo’s could be “Act Naturally.” George would be “Here Comes the Sun.” John -“In My Life.” Paul — “The Long and Winding Road.”
Mendes has total use of all the music, archives, etc. So there will new soundtracks. Presumably, the music will be overseen by Giles Martin, of the “fifth Beatle,” George Martin.
Read Jeff Sneider’s Insneider newsletter. He’s got great scoops!
Lady Gaga is not pregnant. Like it’s any of our business, either way.
Gaga posted that simple statement to Instagram, along with a reminder to vote.
I don’t know why this was necessary. It must be in supermarket tabs. Gaga is already a Mother to her Monsters. She doesn’t have time for more children!
Right now, Gaga has her “Chromatica” tour film streaming. And she’s finishing up her album that goes with the movie, “Joker 2: Folie a Deux,” coming in October. If it’s anything like her “A Star is Born” soundtrack, we’ll be seeing Ms. Germanotta back on the Oscar stage next winter.
Will Smith’s new “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” opens tonight, playing just a 7pm show in most theaters.
Real screenings on a regular schedule begin tomorrow.
So far, tonight’s 7pm shows have healthy sales. But starting tomorrow, the seat maps at theaters for the Sony Pictures release are generally open.
Most theaters have five or six seats sold, and the rest available in standard and IMAX forms.
Reviews for “Ride or Die” on Rotten Tomatoes are a mediocre 68%. It’s not rotten, but not exactly fresh. Most reviewers agree this is a stale idea, but it’s nice seeing Smith and Martin Lawrence at least for a few minutes.
Smith has mostly been kept away from doing anything but controlled big crowd appearances, answering no questions about his infamous 2022 Oscars debacle when he slapped Chris Rock violently on stage in front of millions of international viewers. People magazine, which couldn’t get an interview, shilled for Smith and ran an anonymous source’s quote that the person who did the slapping “wasn’t him.”
It sure looked like him.
Theater owners don’t care. They want a big weekend for “Ride or Die.” It’s unclear how that will turn out.
A couple of Chicago theaters:
It was a big night in downtown New York for the 1st annual Gotham TV Awards.
“Baby Reindeer’ won Breakthrough Limited series, Andrew Scott took home best performance in a drama for “Ripley.” Emmy season has begun! (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith” won Breakthrough Drama series.)
“SVU” star Mariska Hargitay and “The Crown” writer and creator Peter Morgan each received lifetime achievement honors.
The magnificent Cipriani at 25 Wall Street, former home of Cunard in a grander lifetime, was the setting and everyone was asked to wear black tie. So they did except for the ever youthful Gotham chief Jeff Sharpe, who wore all white and looked like Robert Redford in “The Great Gatsby.”
It was notable how many big names turned out for the premiere event, including British superstar actress Lesley Manville, who toasted Morgan, and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Susie Essman. Both Richard Gadd and Jessica Dunning from the smash hit, “Baby Reindeer,” made their inaugural red carpet appearances of the year. The guests were more obsessed with them than Jessica had with Richard in the stunning miniseries!
Kristen Wiig, nominated for “Palm Royale,” was also there to present an award. She was shocked when I told her her hosting gig last month on “SNL” had been a huge ratings hit. I found her chatting with Dunning (who is far more attractive and lovely than her character). When I congratulated Wiig, she looked at me rather quizzically.
“Didn’t they tell you? Didn’t you hear?” I asked.
She shook her head, laughing. “I know nothing, I don’t read anything. No one told me.” Wiig is such a great comic actress, watch her at the Emmys for her turn in Apple TV’s “Palm Royale.”
Best acceptance speech of the night goes to Zine Tseng, of “3 Body Problem. Twice she remarked from the stage, “I can’t believe I’m sober!” But it was her description of New York on her premiere visit that was perfectly poetic: “It smells like a bus station. Danger and freedom at the same time!”
Other winners included two statues for Paramount Plus’s “Colin from Accounts” including Breakthrough Comedy series, and Breakthough comedy performance for its star Harriet Dyer. Jerrod Carmichael won for Breakthrough non fiction series.
What is wrong with Alec Baldwin?
Just a few weeks shy of standing trial for manslaughter, Baldwin has announced he and his family will appear in a reality show.
Does he have lawyers? A publicist?
The Baldwin show will co-star his publicity hungry wife, Hilaria (real name Hilary) and their six or seven children. “The Baldwins” will run on the conscience-free TLC channel.
Baldwin is presumed innocent in the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. But the Santa Fe DA’s office is serious about nailing him, as they did Hannah Gutierrez, for involuntary manslaughter. If they win, Baldwin could get 18 months in prison — just like Gutierrez.
Certainly the news of the reality show will be known to jurors. The prosecutors will make it clear that Baldwin isn’t serious about the trial if he’s already booked this show. Couldn’t the announcement have waited until after Baldwin is exonerated? And if he’s not, will we get to see the kids visit him behind bars?
Hubris is a terrible disease. Stay tuned…
When Michael Richards appeared on “The View” this morning, his book was at number 845 on amazon’s best sellers.
Right now, it’s jumped to 147. “Entrances and Exits” is on its way as Richards — who has kept out of the public spotlight for years — attempts to tell his story.
Beloved as Kramer from “Seinfeld,” Richards torpedoed his career in 2006 at a comedy club when he had a kind of breakdown and began using the N word over and over.
“Anger had a hold of me,” he said on the Today show this morning. “I canceled myself out. Take an exodus, get away from show business and see what the heck is going on inside me to have been so despicable that night, losing my cool and hurting people.”
Richards’ appearance on The View today was marked by a long ago association with Whoopi Goldberg, who’s clearly fond of him. On the show he revealed that he’s Italian, which didn’t seem to impress Joy Behar as much I thought it would. She upraided him about using the N word in the past or present. But the panel went well overall, obviously, since sales have jumped in two hours.
I met Michael Richards years ago, after his self-cancellation, at a Hollywood party. At the time, it seemed like the incident would blow over or cool down eventually. Even though Richards went on Larry King with Jerry Seinfeld, the matter never seemed resolved. It just lingered for years as Richards remained silent.
“Entrances and Exits” is self-published. Either Richards — who is very wealthy thanks to “Seinfeld” — didn’t want to deal with rejection, or no one publisher was willing to take this on. On The View there were flashes of Kramer, which made everyone instantly at ease — except maybe the actor. I’m going to Kindle this thing today, and see what he has to say.
Well, it’s official. There are more cast members for “Knives Out 3” than crew.
Today’s daily announcement brings us Thomas Haden Church, well known for “Sideways,” the series Wings, and “Spider Man.” He joins Daniel Craig, Josh Brolin, Josh O’Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis and Daryl McCormack.
This makes Haden Church the 10th major speaking role, apart from supporting characters. There’s a worry now that the entire cast “Cats” will be invited to hook up. (Just kidding.)
Are there more? How many people will try to make this so-called Dean Man? Isn’t it time to make the movie and stop promoting it before it’s finished?
Who would we like to see next? There are still few non whites, and no one above 60. (Kerry Washington and Darryl McCormack representing so far.) I was thinking Michael Douglas would be cool. And what about Danny Glover? Doesn’t it seem like Awkwafina should be in a “Knives Out” movie?
Actor Jon Voight seems perfectly reasonable when I run into him at various functions. But he has some kind of Trump derangement obsession.
Here, he compares the 34 time convicted felon to Jesus. He also mixes metaphors badly when he says Trump can knock down a swamp. I guess he really wants airtime at the Republican convention this summer.
Frankly, Voight has bigger problems within his own family. His grandchildren are estranged from their father, their mother is a public lightning rod, and so on. Maybe he should get his own house in order.
In the video clip below, Jon Voight compares Donald Trump to Jesus.
In the video, Voight makes clear he believes that Trump is a messianic figure.
pic.twitter.com/da8nA8ZH09— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) June 4, 2024
The publisher of Epoch Times has been accused of trying to launder $67 million of fraud funds. (So far this story has not been reported on the conservative website.)
The Southern District of New York says: “Bill Guan, 61, of Secaucus, New Jersey, is charged with one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and two counts of bank fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The charges do not relate to the Media Company’s newsgathering activities.”
The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Bill Guan, the Chief Financial Officer of a global newspaper and media company, conspired with others to benefit himself, the media company, and its affiliates by laundering tens of millions of dollars in fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits and other crime proceeds. When banks raised questions about the funds, Guan allegedly lied repeatedly and falsely claimed that the funds came from legitimate donations to the media company. Today’s charges reflect this Office’s ongoing commitment to vigorously enforcing the laws against those who facilitate fraud through money laundering and to protecting the integrity of the U.S. financial system.”
DOL-OIG Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Mellone said: “An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving the U.S. Department of Labor’s unemployment insurance program. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to safeguard benefits intended for unemployed American workers.”
DSS Domestic Operations Assistant Director Andrew Wroblewski said: “This case highlights the expansive global reach of the Diplomatic Security Service, demonstrating our capacity to collaborate effectively with both U.S. and international law enforcement agencies on complex transnational cases. DSS, along with our law enforcement partners, are tirelessly working to conduct investigations of this nature daily around the world.”