Macaulay Culkin looks great in a clever new commercial for Google. Culkin sends up his “Home Alone” character Kevin McAllister. John Hughes would approve. Good for Mac!
#heygoogle Have you ever wondered what Kevin McCallister is like as an adult? Me neither. But just in case you’re curious you should totally watch this #ad pic.twitter.com/uO9qMPrUT3
— Macaulay Culkin (@IncredibleCulk) December 19, 2018
Everyone is mad about Maddow!
That’s Rachel Maddow, whose 9pm MSNBC show is trouncing Sean Hannity over at Fox News.
On Monday night, Maddow scored just over 3 million viewers, eclipsing Hannity by more than 600,000 pairs of eyes, or 600,000 brains!
Maddow’s key demo numbers are DOUBLE Hannity’s in every age group t0o. She scores a .35 in 18-49 year old adults. Hannity averages a .17.
Maddow has been far ahead of Hannity every night for at least two weeks now. She pulls Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell with her, too, which is far ahead– also 600K– of Laura Ingraham’s misshapen angle!
Meanwhile, Fox News’s 8pm entry, Tucker Carlson, is now depending on car wash commercials from local stations as major advertisers have pulled out of his show. If only Rupert Murdoch were alive! He’d know what to do.
The Grammy Award Lifetime Achievement inductees have been announced.
And what a gang. Perfection:
Black Sabbath, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Billy Eckstine, Donny Hathaway, Julio Iglesias, Sam & Dave, and Dionne Warwick will be honored with Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award
Lou Adler, Ashford & Simpson, and Johnny Mandel will be honored with Trustees Award; Saul Walker to Receive Technical Grammy® Award.
It’s literally all the best people they could think of. This group is also heavy on classic R&B, which is amazing.
I’m particularly happy for Sam Moore, the living member of Sam & Dave, who’s had a remarkable solo career, and Valerie Simpson, who with her late husband Nik Ashford wrote a big chunk of the Motown and pop song book.
Dionne Warwick, one of the titans of pop and R&B, famous for groundbreaking hits with Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and her Arista years of hits.
Lou Adler gave us Monterey Pop, Dunhill Records, and Carole King.
Donny Hathaway was the most brilliant R&B star of the 70s, his life cut short. Between his seminal album “The Ghetto,” duets with Roberta Hathaway, he’s sorely missed.
Then there’s the creator of funk– George Clinton. And jazz stylist, influencer Billy Eckstine. The great songwriter Johnny Mandel. Not to mention Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, and Julio Iglesias.
Imagine all these people (the living ones) in one room! How about all that music!
“Each year, the Recording Academy has the distinct privilege of celebrating music industry giants who have greatly contributed to our cultural heritage,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. “This year, we have a gifted and brilliant group of honorees and their exceptional accomplishments, contributions, and artistry will continue to influence and inspire generations to come.”
The honorees will be announced on the Grammys February 10th and then treated to a tribute concert in Los Angeles on May 11th.
Today may be a big day for “Star Wars” Episode 9, aka “Please God the End.”
Two things may be happening today regarding “9.” First of all, Bryce Dallas Howard and her dad, director Ron Howard, have indicated she may be in the movie. That would be GREAT. And ironic since Ron just directed the “Solo: A Star Wars Story” movie. It’s a family affair.
BDH would be joining Mark Hamill, the late Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, and Oscar Isaac in the cast.
And today we could see the teaser trailer and get a real title for the movie. “9” opens a year from this week. But there are still secrets and surprises and spoilers that will get leaked out slowly over the next year.
Here’s the Howard family teaser:
#MaytheForceBeWithYou, Daughter! Enjoy the ride. #ProudDad @BryceDHoward https://t.co/iwO3JlOHvd
— Ron Howard (@RealRonHoward) December 18, 2018
Deadline.com is reporting that Bruce Willis has made a three picture deal with something called MoviePass Films.
The movies have no directors, and the producers and writers attached to them are people you’ve never heard of.
That’s because MoviePass Films is the new company that used to be called Emmet/Furla/Oasis Films, maker of B or C movies for most of eternity. They make films that play in Europe or Asia, get terrible reviews here, and go straight to video– or now VOD. Willis has made movies with them before, like one called “Lay the Favorite” that had an 18 on Rotten Tomatoes and is playing in a Turkish prison on an iPad. It made $20,000 at the box office.
That’s right: twenty thousand dollars.
The rest of the Emmett/Furla oeuvre is like a DVD bin in the back of a 7-11. Their most recent hit is “Gotti,” starring Travolta, which made $4.3 million.
The first of the three in the new deal is called “10 Minutes Gone.” The director is the widely unheard of Brian A. Miller, the cast is completely unknown with the exception of “The Commish,” Michael Chiklis, whom we all love, but let’s face it, he’s not a movie star.
The next one is actually called “Trauma Center,” which sounds like a parody of a dozen hostage taking crap fests. The writer, Paul da Silva, has no credits. There is no director so far.
All of this sounds like “Get Shorty” in real life.
The best part of the story is that the female star of both “10 Minutes Gone” and “Trauma Center” is the completely unknown 52 year old blonde named Meadow Williams. She’s got an IMDB page full of great titles like the ignominious “Den of Thieves” (from last January, Gerard Butler, $44 mil, she was 5th billed after 50 Cent).
In January Meadow Williams stars in the Emmett Furla/MoviePass production of “Axis Sally,” a World War II shlockfest to be directed by Michael Polish. There isn’t a person alive who wants to see this movie, or will see it, except in Bulgaria and Outer Guam. I’ll say it now, to the producers: please don’t make this movie, and everyone in those countries will now send you $3.
Meadow Williams, by the way, doesn’t look 52. From her pictures, she looks 32. She reminds me of the character from “Episodes” who keeps referring to things that happened in the 1970s even though she looks like she’s in her 30s. In fact, this entire story may be part of “Episodes.”
Meanwhile, Bruce Willis is 63. He cannot make action films no matter what shape he’s in. So a good editor or team of editors will be most appreciated. Bruce Willis should be making movies where he wise cracks a lot in close-up. His comic timing (still) is laser like. Who needs this aggravation? He’s loaded. He’s sold all of his real estate except his house in Bedford, New York. So just kick back, Bruce.
Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly play to perfection Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in “Stan & Ollie,” a heartbreak of a movie set in the comic duo’s twilight years. Yhe Sony Classics film celebrated the film with a private screening at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center in Lincoln Center attended by the stars, director Jon Baird, two-time Oscar-winning make-up artist Mark Coulier and screenwriter Jeff Pope.
Known for their impeccable slapstick coming timing, Laurel and Hardy were at the top of their game in 1937 when the film opens. But by the 1950s, with their popularity fading they went broke. They received no residuals when their films were shown on television, fleeced by producers Hal Roach, Charlie Chaplin and even Harold Lloyd, who owned their movie rights. (It didn’t help that Hardy had a bad gambling habit and a succession of ex-wives clamoring for alimony.)
>“Stan & Ollie” is a gently, affectionate look at the comics, who had both a professional and deeply personal bond and seemed to enjoy performing for each other as much as they did for an audience. The film focuses on their tour in 1953 of England and Ireland, which they embarked desperate for dough. At first they performed in depressing, second-tier concert halls to sparse crowds. After the comedians do publicity, for free — their fans mostly thought they were retired —and word leaks out that they’ve lost none of their comic timing, tickets become in demand and the comics are being booked into larger, prestigious performance spaces in one of the happier instances of the film. But Oliver, some 150 pounds overweight, suffers from poor health, and the movie’s added poignancy comes from the realization the tour will be their final comic collaboration.
Although they bicker and hold old grudges, their perfectionism and devotion to their craft as well as their affection and devotion to each other is at the heart of the film.
“I cried when I first read the script,” the director told me on the red carpet, adding, “There’s not many scripts that do that. So those were the things that got me interested but also there was the challenge of it. It’s a big challenge because of the responsibility of telling the story of these icons and getting the castings right.
Baird’s inspired casting has already garnered Golden Globe and Broadcast Film Critics Association nominations for Reilly and a British Independent Award nomination for Coogan.
Playing the slimmer British half of the duo, I asked Coogan on the red carpet how familiar he was with the comic’s work before he undertook the role?
“I’m a huge fan of Stan Laurel,” he told me. “When I had the opportunity to play him, it was something I would find irresistible. The script was written by Jeff Pope, my longtime collaborator (Philomena), who I’ve written many screenplays with. But he wrote this by himself,” he paused, laughing, “but I gave him a few tips on the script, but it’s his script.”
Coogan added that growing up he loved the Laurel and Hardy movies. “They had a big influence on me and my comedy that I’ve done in the UK, so, to me it was, although it was a daunting task, it was one that I couldn’t say no to, because I felt like I had a shot, and when John C. Reilly agreed to play Oliver Hardy, then I knew we had … I felt we’d make a strong team.”
And the hardest part about playing Laurel?
“It wasn’t the dance routines and the sketches, which were quite a lot of work, actually, a lot of hard work, but as long as you put the hours in, you can learn a dance, however exhausting it is. You can do that. The real hard work was getting under their skin, finding out who they were, and bringing educated guesswork, really, conjecture on our part, to bringing them to life, to bringing their personal lives to life. Because there’s not really, there’s no proof whether we’re right or wrong, we just had to make an informed decision about how they would have been together.
The emotional demands on the role were quite strong. There’s a scene in the bedroom where John and I as Oliver Hardy and Stanley are reconciled after a huge kind of breakdown in their relationship, and it’s a very poignant scene, and that was tough to shoot, because you really had to dig deep to find the emotion. The emotional side of it was certainly the most demanding, beyond all the physical and all the comedy stuff,” he said.
“And in the end it’s a love story. They loved each other,” Coogan said.
I caught up with John C. Reilly, who didn’t do red carpet interviews, at the after party at Lincoln Ristorante. In the film he’s hidden under layers of latex and a voluminous fat suit.
“Well you could see most of my face. It’s this area under here,” he pointed to below his nose “that they kind of augmented. But this part of my face is pretty much real. It’s my mustache. Luckily the hair on my mustache was not so dark, so it wasn’t so noticeable. I didn’t have to walk around with different mustache.”
>As for gaining weight for the role, the director tried to talk him into it.
His reaction? “No way,” he said. “I could not put on enough weight in order to make it right. I’m not going to gain like 125 pounds.”
>As for the accolades rolling in for his performance and the film, he told me smiling, “So far so good. People are really loving the movie.”
Very sad to report the death of Penny Marshall, at age 75. She was just great. For many years we were very friendly. Twenty years ago this February we fought over a framed Stevie Wonder poster that was in a silent auction at the Rhythm and Blues Pioneer Awards. That’s how we met. (I got it, in the end, but Penny coveted it. I still remember her dancing with the Supremes’ Mary Wilson that night at Sony Culver Studios. We had a ball.) We also shared Carrie Fisher and Lorraine Bracco in common as friends.
Penny loved her brother, Garry, too, and they had a unique history. Penny played Jack Klugman’s hilarious secretary Myrna on “The Odd Couple.” Then Garry spun her off “Happy Days” in “Laverne and Shirley.” From there they each became directors of hit movies. Penny made “Big” with Tom Hanks and “A League of Their Own” with Hanks, Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell, and Madonna. Her other great movie was “Awakenings,” with Robert De Niro and Robin Williams.
That voice! It was famous all over the world. Penny was a real curmudgeon, and so bright, and so much fun. She and Carrie Fisher were really seriously BFFs. It’s hard to believe they’re both gone. And Garry Marshall, too. They were originals, droll, quick, and will never be replaced but always missed.
Paul McCartney’s cool new video is for his catchy “Who Cares.” It’s a song from Paul’s “Egypt Station” album with anti-bullying message. It also stars Emma Stone. Great makeup and animation, art direction is superb. And Paul is playing a shrink named Dr. Lorenz. Why Lorenz? Have no idea, except if it’s a tribute the legendary songwriter Lorenz Hart.
I first wrote about the fraud at the Donald Trump Foundation in 2011.
Today, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has secured a stipulation from the Foundation to dissolve its activities.
You can read all my previous stories here, including how a ticket scalper helped fund the Foundation.
Attorney General Underwood released the following statement:
“Our petition detailed a shocking pattern of illegality involving the Trump Foundation – including unlawful coordination with the Trump presidential campaign, repeated and willful self-dealing, and much more. This amounted to the Trump Foundation functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump’s business and political interests.
“Today’s stipulation accomplishes a key piece of the relief sought in our lawsuit earlier this year. Under the terms, the Trump Foundation can only dissolve under judicial supervision – and it can only distribute its remaining charitable assets to reputable organizations approved by my office.
“This is an important victory for the rule of law, making clear that there is one set of rules for everyone. We’ll continue to move our suit forward to ensure that the Trump Foundation and its directors are held to account for their clear and repeated violations of state and federal law.”
NOW: Mal Young confirms exit from “Y&R” : “Just arrived in London for the holidays. I felt like it was a good time to move on. Never a good idea to get too settled on a long running soap and I achieved all that I and CBS set out to do: improved scripts and production values. I have a project of my own that I’ve been developing and want to pursue that now. Plus running a show like this is all consuming and want to get a bit of my life back – and see my family occasionally!”
From me: Fans should not put all the blame for what’s happened at this show on Young. He had to report to people who dictated quite a bit to him. The real failure still lies with Head of Daytime Angelica McDaniel. to be continued…
EARLIER The end is near if not already passed for Mal Young.
The executive producer and head writer of “The Young and the Restless” seems to be out according to various sources.
My own efforts to reach Young have proved unsatisfactory, without a denial coming from the former producer of the hit show “Dr. Who.”
But Young’s tenure at “Y&R” went from being welcome to a nightmare in a short time. Many veteran actors from the show have left — either voluntarily or written out — causing a severe ratings drop.
Last year at this time, the 45 year old soap was up to 4.8 million viewers. Today it’s averaging 4.2 million with some days falling below the 4 million mark.
Doug Davidson, the show’s longest running actor, was dropped over the summer without even a goodbye. Eileen Davidson (no relation), the popular star of the show with a huge following and also more than 30 years of service, left, she said, of her own volition.
Young may have suffered from the same fate that has affected executive producers for decades: hubris. In an effort to brand the show his own, he alienated viewers by introducing new characters, dropping old ones, re-writing history. There are only four soaps left on the air. The ones that are gone did exactly that. and look where that got them.
With Young gone, viewers can expect to see their faves back before too long.