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Best Story Ever: Billy Baldwin Says Wife Chynna Phillips Checked into an LA Hotel Rather Than Drive Home in Rush Hour Traffic

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Without a doubt this is my favorite Tweet in a long time.

According to actor Billy Baldwin, his wife, Chynna Phillips, checked into an LA hotel rather than drive home in rush hour traffic.

Fifty years ago, Chynna’s dad, John Phillips, of the Mamas and Papas, stopped into a church on a winter’s day. But Chynna stopped into four star hotel (presumably) instead of driving back home. On a sunny day, 81 degrees in LA.

Well, why not? Chynna made a lot of money with Wilson Phillips. It’s hoped she inherited some money from her dad, John. Why didn’t she just go see her mom, the great Michelle Phillips? Too easy!

The Baldwins live in Santa Barbara, a killer drive from L.A. especially on a Friday during rush hour. We don’t know from Billy’s text where Chynna gave up, but we can only hope it was someplace great. And that she gets back by Monday, Monday!

Celebrities, they’re just like us!

UPDATED Fox News Yanks Judge Jeanine Pirro Show In Light of New Zealand Massacre, Wisely Muzzles Anti-Islam Host

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A P.S. ON TOP HERE: Pirro’s absence Saturday night also prevents her from plugging her paperback, “Liars, Leaks and Liberals.” It’s currently number 84,650 on amazon, and releases on Tuesday. The hardcover was briefly a bestseller last year. But things have changed. Let’s see how she does next week.

Fox News finally shows some sense. They’ve yanked Jeanine Pirro’s hideous show from tonight’s lineup and replaced with a rerun of another show.

The company seems to have done this to avoid starting a world war. This week. 49 people in New Zealand were murdered at a mosque by a crazy anti-Islamist.

Pirro is well known for her anti-Islamist rhetoric, and overall hate speech. Fox News can’t risk her going on live and mouthing off enough to incite trouble. For once, they’re on the ball.

Pirro does have an audience. Last week 2 million people watched her say crazy things off the top of her head. Pirro has continued to attack US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Minnesota. Her rhetoric this weekend could really spark violence no one needs or wants.

Fox News: keep Pirro off the air forever, please. She’s demented. Look at these clips:

TMZ Says Paris Jackson Attempted Suicide, She Tweets Not True, But Sources Say It Is (Anyway. She’s Home)

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UPDATE: Paris is home, she’s fine, according to TMZ. Somehow they’ve published a photo of Paris and boyfriend from inside the place at which she’s arrived. So how does that work? Seems like a fake emergency report for a slow Saturday. The other story I heard, will explain tomorrow. Not a big deal.

EARLIER:

In the last hour, TMZ reported that Paris Jackson attempted suicide in Los Angeles by slitting her wrists.

She — or someone with her phone– immediately denied it.

But on 5150 hold, you don’t get to keep your phone or be on social media. So there are a lot of questions right now.

The main thing is that Michael Jackson’s daughter needs love and support. On Twitter the last few days she’s been defending her father over the charges made in “Leaving Neverland.” She’s also been smoking a lot of dope, as she admits.

From mid December to mid January, Paris was in rehab. This was all leading up to the release of “Leaving Neverland.”

In early February I met her at a Grammy party. She was in great shape, very funny and with it. She is under a lot of pressure, that’s for sure. So let’s give her some space. I’ll keep updating.

Meantime, I’ve heard some other things from Jacksonland that are also disturbing. Checking on them now.

Lori Loughlin, Dumped from Netflix’s “Fuller House,” Hasn’t Received A Word of Support from John Stamos, Bob Saget, Candace Cameron, Olsen Twins

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Netflix has dropped Lori Loughlin from the last season of “Fuller House.” TMZ reports that the show will go on without her. “Aunt Becky” will just be away somewhere (maybe in jail).

But I’m more surprised that Loughlin has not received a word of support from the cast. So far, John Stamos, who plays her husband, and Bob Saget, as well as Dave Coulier, have all remained mum. So has Candace Cameron.

They’ve all known each other since the late 80s. You’d think someone would have said something by now to show friendship.

Even the Olsen twins have stayed quiet. And they’re not without their own scandals. You may recall Mary Kate Olsen was involved in the death of Heath Ledger a decade ago. Ledger was found dead in Olsen’s Soho apartment. The masseuse who found Ledger in New York, overdosed, called Mary Kate in Los Angeles before she called 911. So Olsen has seen scandal knock before.

Such a strange end to Loughlin’s career. Raised on Long Island by working class parents, she was cast on the soap “The Edge of Night” when she was 15 in 1980. After three years she went to Hollywood and snagged the job on “Full House.” She parlayed that into a very expensive Hollywood lifestyle, and managed to raise two daughters who had no interest in going to college. They just wanted to be Kardashians.

 

Felicity Huffman Has a Netflix Movie and a High Profile 4 Part Mini-Series Coming from Netflix: Will They Survive the Scandal?

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On the night Felicity Huffman spent in jail for the college admissions scandal this, there was a very Hollywood juxtaposition going on in screening rooms.

Netflix was showing press a movie called “Otherhood,” written and directed by Cindy Chupack, of “Sex and the City” fame.

The movie stars Huffman, Angela Bassett, and Patricia Arquette. It’s due for release on April 26th. From what I’ve heard, it’s pretty good.

That’s no surprise. Unlike her unlikely comrade (I don’t even think they know each other) Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman is a serious actress. She’s got indie cred, an Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe, and a Prime Time Emmy Award. She’s appeared on Broadway in David Mamet’s “Speed the Plow.”

Huffman also has a mini-series coming to Netflix in May. She plays prosecutor Linda Fairstein in Ava Duvernay’s “When They See Us,” about the Central Park Five. This is a very high profile project, and Huffman is playing a famous prosecutor. Her role can’t be re-filmed with Christopher Plummer. And you know she’s done Emmy award winning work as Fairstein.

So what will Netflix do? They are in a bind. Huffman, who is beloved, was arrested and indicted. In two weeks she will have to appear in federal court in Boston.

A couple of years ago, after the MeToo scandal broke, I asked a Netflix official what they would do if they were in Amazon’s situation with Woody Allen. The answer: they’d just pay him and give him his movie back and be done with it.

So that’s clearly what Netflix probably wants to do with Huffman. But they are stuck with the two imminent releases.

The Hallmark Channel has dumped Lori Loughlin from their mutual deals, and they’ll probably write her out of her series. (Who knows? Maybe they’ll kill her character.)

I hope Netflix stays cool on this, and just allows the shows to roll forward. Huffman has never lived the high life. She and husband William H. Macy have always been low key. We have yet to hear the explanation for how they got involved in this scandal. And their participation was minimal compared to the other defendants. Huffman is innocent until proven guilty. And whatever she did takes nothing away from her talent as an actress.

Theater Exclusive: Legendary Cicely Tyson, Ageless 94, Considering Coming Back to Broadway in a New Play

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Well, I ran into Cicely Tyson on Broadway and 77th St. the other day before I saw Jerry Seinfeld’s remarkable new show at the Beacon.

Ms. Tyson was by herself, buying “goodies” at Maison Keyser, across the street. She is so tiny she’s easy to miss. She was, however, carting around a rolling filing cabinet that almost her size.

“What’s in there?” I asked.

She replied, “A new playing I’m considering. I just had a six hour meeting about it.”

“You’re going to do a new play?” I asked incredulously. She just turned 94 in December.

“I hope so,” she said. Yes she said it with a twinkle in her eye. She is serious. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in “The Trip to Bountiful” in 2013. She last appeared on Broadway in “The Gin Game” in 2016.

What else?

“You know, I was just given the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oscars.”

I nodded.

“I never heard of it before. But when I got it, I cried like Niagara Falls. Do you hear me? Like Niagara Falls. I never in the world thought I’d get something like that.”

The event was held last November in Hollywood. She’d just gotten back to New York from L.A. where she’d filmed her most recent episode of “How To Get Away with Murder.”

“I said, Oh I have to go back there again?” She twinkled. “But I’m glad I did.”

And that’s all you need to make your day, really. She almost forgot her sweets, all bagged up, so I ran to give them to her. No car, no driver, no publicist, no assistant.

Pop Charts: Hozier’s Sophomore Effort, “Wasteland, Baby!” Falls 90% in Second Week, “Star is Born” Keeps Going

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The pop charts aren’t that lively this week. Unless there’s a surprise release coming, it’s going to stay pretty quiet for a while.

The sophomore effort of Hozier, the Irish sorta soula singer, went belly up in its second. “Wasteland, Baby” fell 90% in sales from its number 1 entry last week. I saw this guy at “Love Rocks.” His old hit, “Take Me to Church,” was a great single. But he has no hits on the new album. I don’t know what he’s singing about. Nina? Power? What?

The soundtrack CD to “A Star is Born” is still in the top 5. Amazing. Plus the half dozen singles are still selling. Crazy. Lady Gaga tweeted this week that if she’s pregnant, it’s with her sixth solo album. That will be a blockbuster. And she still has the unreleased second Tony Bennett album.

There are a lot of new albums out there by legacy artists. Only no one knows about them. I’m going to do a round up soon. If you’re a publicist who has one of these, send me a note at showbiz411@gmail.com

Lori Loughlin Gets Fired by Hallmark Hall of Fame in All Their Businesses, Actress Punished for Arrest in College Admissions Scandal

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Lori Loughlin has been fired from Hallmark Hall of Fame and all her businesses with them. Loughlin stars in a series there called “When Calls the Heart.” She even got the judge to let her return to Vancouver to film more episodes, but it seems like that may be over. She also specials for them. That’s over, too.

Loughlin, of course, was arrested and charged with bribing college officials this week on behalf of her daughter, who didn’t want to go to college in the first place. Loughlin and her husband paid $500,000 to bribe college officials for both of their daughters. (You’ve read the whole story ad nauseum.)

Hallmark aka Crown Media said the following: “We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” the company said. “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin, including “Garage Sale Mysteries,” an independent third party production.”

This is the first wave of many for the parents of all the kids who allegedly bribed officials and will now stand trial or plead out. For the bankers and lawyers it won’t be so public. For Loughlin and husband Massimo Gianulli, who owns the Massimo fashion line, and for actors Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, the waves could turn very nasty.

I hope they don’t, especially for the Macys. Their share of this mess– $15,000– is paltry, and they may have more of an explanation at some point. The Macys don’t live a high life. While many actors change as they become more successful, they have remained– at least on the surface– reasonable and still human. There has to be something else to this story.

Loughlin paid half a million dollars. On top of that, her daughter Olivia seems just awful. It’s ironic. Loughlin came from nothing, working class background in Happauge, Long Island. She got a job on “Edge of Night” at age 15 and parlayed that into a huge career via “Full House.” Gianulli is very wealthy and seems self-made. They completely misunderstood the American dream. They turned it into a nightmare.

Box Office: At Least Two Disasters Open Wide This Weekend: “Captive State,” and “Wonder Park” Headed for the Bin

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“Captain Marvel” will remain solidly fixed this weekend at number 1.

That’s because the two wide releases of the weekend are non starters. They are DOA. They are not happening. They are kaput.

“Captive State” has live actors like John Goodman and Vera Farmiga. But Focus hasn’t screened this dour thriller directed by Rupert Wyatt. No one knows anything and they won’t until after it starts playing. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. A ZERO looks forthcoming. Wyatt’s last film was the remake of “The Gambler.” Need I say more? Goodman must have jumped at the chance to re-up with “The Conners” on TV after making this one.

Over at Paramount, where we wait with crossed fingers for “Rocketman,” they have to release “Wonder Park” this weekend. It cost $100 million, may take in $10 million. It’s animated, for kids, with lots of stars’ voices. But no one wants to hear them. It has a 23 on RT. But wait: THIS MOVIE HAS NO DIRECTING CREDIT. Not on imdb or anywhere else. Just three writers. Hmmmm…. Even “Bohemian Rhapsody” had a director’s credit! Where is Alan Smithee when you need him?

Oh well.

Films to see this weekend: “Gloria Bell.” Also “Ash is Purest White.” And “Greta.”

Netflix Roils Its Members by Canceling “One Day at a Time,” Says No one Was Watching But Apparently Someone Was

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Here’s what happens when you don’t publish your ratings.

Netflix has canceled the updated version of “One Day at a Time” after three seasons. They say: “We’ve made the very difficult decision not to renew One Day At A Time for a fourth season. The choice did not come easily — we spent several weeks trying to find a way to make another season work but in the end simply not enough people watched to justify another season”

But apparently there were enough people, because now they are all complaining and going crazy on social media. The new “One Day” was based on the Bonnie Franklin version, and was very popular and well thought of. It was also one of the few shows among all the vast offerings on TV and related platforms that featured Latinos and LGBTQ characters prominently.

If there weren’t enough readers, Netflix could just show the numbers. They won’t, and risk the ire of subscribers who came just for that show.