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Told You: Paramount Pictures Etc Sold to David Ellison, Son of Billionaire Oracle Founder Larry, for $8 Billion

Roger Friedman
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Told You: Paramount Pictures Etc Sold to David Ellison, Son of Billionaire Oracle Founder Larry, for $8 Billion

I told you back on May 3rd that Shari Redstone wanted to sell her family company to another family.

Now CNBC reports the deal is ready to be signed. Redstone will receive $8 billion from David Ellison and his company, Skydance. Ellison is the son of Larry Ellison, the billionaire who created Oracle.

The deal isn’t just for Paramount Pictures, but for a stunning number of media holdings including CBS, MTV Networks, Showtime, Paramount channel and network, and dozens more media entities. Ellison is backed by Henry Kravis’s KKR Holdings, which last year bought publisher Simon and Schuster from Redstone for $1.62 billion. Maybe down the line they’ll all be reunited. Stranger things have happened.

In a way, it’s good news. Since her father, Sumner Redstone, died, Shari has wanted to get out. Now she’s accomplished that and at the same time kept the company together. Sony and Apollo Management offered a stunning $26 billion, but they want to sell it off for parts.

Sumner Redstone bought Paramount etc from Gulf and Western in 1994. He died in 2020 at age 97.

More to come…

Hamptons: Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick Hit “Mad Men” Star John Slattery’s Opening Night

Regina Weinreich
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Hamptons: Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick Hit “Mad Men” Star John Slattery’s Opening Night

The subject was families Saturday night in Sag Harbor, where John Slattery, his wife Talia Balsam, and and their son Harry opened the Bay Street Theater’s news season in “The Subject Was Roses.”

The subject really was family, with one on stage, and one of its members descended from famous parents. Balsam is the daughter of the late acting legend Martin Balsam and his wife, Joyce van Patten (of the famous family with that name.


“The Subject Was Roses” was also originally a Tony award Pulitzer Prize winning play by the late Frank Gilroy. His sons, Dan and Tony, are famous writers and directors now, and Dan is married to Renee Russo. The play is about a fractured family trying to come to terms with itself.

Outside Bay Street, there was an atmosphere of exuberance. The drama was palpable. There was a wine cart selling Wolffer sparkling rose, and a summer intern named Lily giving long stemmed roses to VIPs beside the red carpet where theater royalty such as Nathan Lane and Andrea Martin smiled for cameras. Everyone was waiting for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick who showed up with friends Andy Cohen and Bridget Everett, star of the HBO series, “Somebody Somewhere.”

Nepo or not, let’s just say, young Harry has good genes. As Timmy, navigating the emotional roller coaster of this post-WW II family in Gilroy’s play, Harry makes it all look so easy. “Mad Men” star John Slattery was happy with opening night, especially for his son. First time out of the gate, “Harry hit it out of the park.”

Said Talia: “It’s a period piece but it’s the internal lives, the alcoholism, the family dynamic of a boy watching his parents in a dysfunctional situation. Someone who wants to get out and make his own way is universal.”

While Sag Harbor is far from Broadway, producer Jamie de Roy — involved with all the musical Tony nominated plays, plus “Stereophonic” — is looking forward to the awards even though with the smaller venue this year Lincoln Center’s Geffen Hall. But she told me she has a common complaint: her fellow producers are not getting their preferred seating. But that’s another story.

Daily “Knives Out 3” Casting Reveal: Josh Brolin Joins Daniel Craig and Gang

Roger Friedman
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Daily “Knives Out 3” Casting Reveal: Josh Brolin Joins Daniel Craig and Gang

Today’s big “Wake Me, Dead Man” casting reveal: Josh Brolin joins the gang, although I’d kind of like to see his dad in the movie, too.

So far there are few people of color or age.

The rest of the group: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis and Daryl McCormack. No word on whether Hugh Grant will reprise his role as Benoit Blanc’s partner in life.

Actually, Josh Brolin is perfect. He’s a worthy adversary for Craig’s Benoit Blanc. When he’s not evaporating Avengers, Brolin is hysterically funny.

But really, this is a big group already. The charm of the first “Knives Out” was with Christopher Plummer. We need a Glynn Turman or a Leslie Uggams. Where is Danielle Brooks?

We’ll see what happens tomorrow.

Miley Cyrus Says She Wrote Song on Beyonce Album That Lists Three Other Co-Writers

Roger Friedman
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Miley Cyrus Says She Wrote Song on Beyonce Album That Lists Three Other Co-Writers

On Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” album there’s a song called “II Most Wanted.” It’s been played a lot, even if not necessarily a hit in the standard sense.

“II Most Wanted” is credited to Beyonce, Miley, Michael Pollack (who wrote Cyrus’s last two hits), and hitmaker Ryan Tedder.

We have often wondered about these songs written by committees. Who was the actual writer? And who tagged along for the ride?

Today in W Magazine, Cyrus tells an interviewer: “I wrote that song, like, two and a half years ago,” Cyrus said of “II Most Wanted.” “My mom would always go, ‘I love that song so much.’ So when Beyoncé reached out to me about music, I thought of it right away because it really encompasses our relationship. I told her, ‘We don’t have to get ­country; we are country. We’ve been country.’ I said, ‘You know, between you being from Texas and me being from Tennessee, so much of us is going to be in this song.’ Getting to write a song, not just sing, for Beyoncé was a dream come true.”

So that answers that question. Beyonce did not write that song. But her name is first in the credits, as it is on most of the “Cowboy Carter” album.

Elsewhere in the article, Cyrus complains that she was only taken seriously at the Grammys this year, for her record, “Flowers,” her best release ever.

She says: “I’ve had a hard time figuring out what the measurement is there, because if we want to talk stats and numbers, then where the fuck was I? And if you want to talk, like, impact on culture, then where the fuck was I?”

Dear Miley: the Grammys are not about ‘impact on culture.’ That would be, maybe the Time 100. The Grammys are about musical achievement. “Flowers” was absolutely the best record you’ve done. And while “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball” were very good in 2013, this is the best thing you’ve done since then. You’re on the right track!

Will Smith “Slap” Referendum This Week: Slow Sales for New “Bad Boys” So Far

Roger Friedman
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Will Smith “Slap” Referendum This Week: Slow Sales for New “Bad Boys” So Far

This week, Will Smith faces a career referendum for his first movie since “The Slap.”

‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die” opens Wednesday in previews, and Thursday across the country. Few people have seen it yet, except for those who attended international premieres (like on in Riyadh) or in Los Angeles last week.

Tonight there’s a press screening in New York. Then the movie opens with little advance word. How will it fare? Is Smith free of The Slap?

So far, according to seating charts on Fandango, sales are slow. The Wednesday 7pm shows are mostly unsold at every hour. On Thursday, a more traditional preview night, things pick up ever so slightly. On Friday, the start of the weekend, AMC LIncoln Square maps show totally open theaters 7pm in IMAX and 8pm in the standard theater.

Overall, there’s no sense of excitement about “Bad Boys Ride or Die.” It could be that the international premieres pay off. Audiences in other countries probably don’t care about Smith vs. Chris Rock, or live violence on network television. They just want to see movie stars in familiar settings.

In the US, however, so far the new “Bad Boys” isn’t causing a stir. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow at 4pm — the latest it could possibly be — for the embargo on reviews to lift.

PS For some reason, the main music is credited to the Black Eyed Peas, without Fergie, a group popular in the mid 90s. Was this the best they could do?

Jessica Lange Could Be Surprise Best Actress Winner at Emmy Awards in “Lillian Hall”

Roger Friedman
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Jessica Lange Could Be Surprise Best Actress Winner at Emmy Awards in “Lillian Hall”

Without any provocation from HBO, I did just watch “The Great Lillian Hall,” directed by Michael Cristofer and starring Jessica Lange, Lily Rabe, and Kathy Bates. It’s written by Elisabeth Seldes, whose aunt was the great Tony award winning theater actress, Marian Seldes. The story is loosely based on Marian’s life when she was in her final play, “Deuce,” with Angela Lansbury. (They were each fed their lines through ear pieces.)

Apparently, “The Great Lillian Hall” is a last minute entry from HBO/Max in the Limited Series/TV category. Variety has it listed there as a potential nominee but includes none of its cast. After watching it tonight, I’d say nominations are in order for Jessica Lange — if not a win — as well as Rabe and Bates.

In many ways, “Lillian Hall” feels like an old fashioned tear jerker. But Cristofer and Seldes keep it aloft with some interesting beats. And the actresses give the kind of performances — Lange and Bates — that got them Oscars.

A backstage Broadway saga, “Lillian Hall” is about a great actress at the end of her run. She relunctantly comes to accept that she has dementia while rehearsing a production of “THe Cherry Orchard.” Jesse Williams plays her director, Pierce Brosnan is her artist friend with whom she shares a balcony at her Central Park South aerie. Bates is her Girl Friday, and Rabe is her neglected daughter.

There used to be a place for movies like “The Great Lillian Hall” on network TV– CBS in particular. But those days are long gone. In the past HBO eschewed this sort of thing for edgier material, but I guess with “Hacks” and “Sex and the City” this film is a good fit.

Lange is actually on Broadway right now, and Tony nominated for “Mother Play.” So how meta is all this? As her mind deteriorates, Lillian keeps seeing and talking to her dead husband, the love of her life. You can’t help thinking of Lange’s late partner, Sam Shepard. Same thing Rabe, who plays the put upon daughter. Her mother was the great late actress Jill Clayburgh. There’s a lot going on here.

All three actresses – Lange, Bates, Rabe — are sublime. Lange gives Lillian unexpected nuance. She could have made this a melodrama, with Lillian at her hoariest. Instead, Lillian is a little more clued in than anyone thinks. Lange interjects a welcome wittiness.

Bates is a national treasure, of course. And Rabe is a severely underused player both on peak TV and in film. Brosnan is very attractive furniture (it’s just nice to see him). There are a few of the cliches we expect in this story of thing. But Lange is so compelling as Lillian Hall, she really does, to use another cliche, give a master class. I can’t believe that any TV Academy voter who sees this won’t vote for her. Considering that HBO doesn’t have a lot going on this Emmy season, I’d think they’d be all over this one.

Nominations voting begins June 13th for members of the Television Academy.

(Watch) In Germany, Macklemore Exploits the Holocaust to Rationalize His Antisemitism

Roger Friedman
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(Watch) In Germany, Macklemore Exploits the Holocaust to Rationalize His Antisemitism

Rapper Macklemore is turning into quite the antisemite.

In front of a crowd in Germany he used the Holocaust to rationalize his anti-Israel, pro Palestinian ranting. Benjamin Haggerty is without a doubt the worst kind of uneducated American export to shoot his mouth off abroad.

Macklemore must understand what he’s doing, particularly in Germany, where the country is extra sensitive about a new generation of Nazis. Macklemore is trying to give license to them to hate Jews again. Nice work.

How does this guy even have an audience any more? His singles were hits in 2012. Since then, he’s been meaningless. His current single, also anti-Israel, called “Hind’s Hall,” has been sales flop with just 41,000 copies from streaming. But 41,000 is dangerous enough.

Macklemore’s hate for Israel is so strong that he attacks both CUFI– Christians United for Israel — and AIPAC, a Jewish organization dedicated to better understanding between ht US and Israel.

Michael Douglas Posts Message of Peace from Nova Music Festival Memorial in Israel

Roger Friedman
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Michael Douglas Posts Message of Peace from Nova Music Festival Memorial in Israel

Oscar winning movie star actor Michael Douglas has always been a mensch.

Today he posted a message of peace from the Nova Music Festival memorial in Israel. This where Hamas brutally killed, injured and kidnapped unsuspecting Jews on October 7, 2023.

Michael’s late father, Kirk, is kvelling in heaven.

Douglas writes and says: “A peaceful Sunday to all of you! I’m in Israel at the Nova Festival Memorial, which stands for the massacre that first started this terrible war. I think over 300 people were massacred here, over a 1,000 on the 40-mile stretch that the terrorists came in. I know there’s two sides to every conflict and I respect that, but I hope that this war can come to an end quickly, and save us from hating each other for the rest of our lives. I just want to wish everybody peace!”

Bravo!

“Furiosa” Bombs Scratched Up Garfield at B.O. — Where Did All the Mad Max, Thor Fans Go?

Roger Friedman
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“Furiosa” Bombs Scratched Up Garfield at B.O. — Where Did All the Mad Max, Thor Fans Go?

The box office ended with a whimper this weekend.

A cat — wise guy, purring, snarky — went beyond Thunderdome and beat “Mad Max Furiosa” by several hairballs.

“Garfield” — not the biopic of either Andrew or James — made $14 million and took the number 1 spot. “Furiosa” came in THIRD with just $10.7 million, falling a whopping 59% from last week. That’s a big surprise. Not only did “Fury Road” fans not return, but Chris Hemsworth — aka Thor — wasn’t able to open a movie.

Both “Garfield” and “Furiosa” would have benefitted from “Barbenheimer” type cross promotion — “Fur-iosa”? “Furry Road”? “Beyond Litterbox”?

Three new, small films opened modestly, with Bleecker Street’s “Ezra” doing the least amount of business with $1.1 million. “Ezra” is a well meaning, well made, but preposterously written film about a damaged man trying to save his autistic son.

Two studio films that were labeled failures — “The Fall Guy” and “IF” — are each up to $80 million, which ain’t bad. The latter has a shot at $100 million. The former is already on streaming, but $4 million worth of audience went to the theaters this weekend. Not bad!

Succession: Rupert Murdoch, 93, Marries for the 5th Time, to 67 Year Old “Molecular Biologist”

Roger Friedman
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Succession: Rupert Murdoch, 93, Marries for the 5th Time, to 67 Year Old “Molecular Biologist”

This will be a prenup for the ages.

Aging 93 year old lizard publisher, Rupert Murdoch, has married for the 5th time.

In a chapter taken from the TV series, “Succession,” Murdoch is now hitched to a 67 year old Russian “molecular biologist” named Elena Zhukova.

Elena comes from some money, so you can’t call her a golddigger. She was married to another oligarch, Alexander Zhukov, who has his checkered past. Her daughter, Dasha, has already been married to different billionaires. Her first husband was Roman Abramovitch, the Russian oligarch. Her current husband is Stavros Niarchos III, grandson of the shipping heir. The original Stavros was famous in his personal life for being married to — among others — Charlotte Ford (daughter of Henry) and Tina Onassis (first wife of Aristotle, later husband of Jackie Kennedy).

Zhukova is identified as a molecular biologist. It’s unclear if she has a degree in gerontology, or any experience with bedpans. She probably doesn’t need one since Rupert no doubt has a staff attending to his personal toilette.

Still, the pre-nup should be boiler plate by now. It’s not that long ago that Jerry Hall, the model and ex of Mick Jagger, had the position now taken. Before that it was Wendi Deng, who had two children with Rupert. He, of course, has four adult children from his first two marriages: Prudence, Elisabeth, James, and Lachlan. Or as they’re better known, Connor, Shiv, Roman, and Kendall.

Here’s the genetic breakdown: Murdoch’s father died at 67. But his wife — the mother — lived to 103. So Mrs. Zhukova could get 10 years out of this and still be only 77 with a lovely dowry.

Send them a toaster! And a defibrillator! Mazel Tov!

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