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Michael Jackson’s defense attorney from 2005, Thomas Mesereau, is erudite and exact on Australia’s “60 Minutes” this week.
Mesereau’s brilliant defense of Jackson in 2005 led to a verdict of not guilty on all counts in the famed trial. Mesereau still defends Michael, and eviscerates those who’ve turned against Jackson for money after his death. Mesereau is particularly brutal on the subject of Wade Robson, who staunchly defended Michael in the 2005 trial, then accused the singer well after his death of abusing him and sued for millions.
Mesereau insists: “If you take allegations against Michael Jackson and look at them through a microscope, nothing holds up.”
Michael Jackson's former defense attorney Tom Mesereau explains why he is 100% innocent pic.twitter.com/AEYT7Hh6l2
Bruce Springsteen probably won’t be appearing on any of Larry and David Ellison’s media properties again.
On the penultimate Stephen Colbert Late Show, Springsteen — I guess with the approval of CBS censors — ripped into the Ellisons.
He accused them of “kissing Trump’s a// to get what they want.”
Bruce said Colbert was “the first guy in America to lose his show because the President can’t take a joke.”
His full statement: “I’m here in support tonight for Stephen, because you are the first guy in America who lost his show because we got a president who can’t take a joke, and because Larry and David Ellison feel they need to kiss his ass to get what they want. Stephen, these are small-minded people. They got no idea what the freedoms of this beautiful country are supposed to be about”
The great performer then sang “The Streets of Minneapolis,” in a dramatic, stirring, and poignant farewell to Colbert, who will be sorely missed on national TV every night.
On the same show, Colbert donated $2.5 million to Chef Jose Andres’ World Kitchen from proceeds from Late Show merchandise. A dozen or more celebrities appeared on the show, as well, including Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Amy Sedaris, and former CBS News anchor John Dickerson.
This past week’s “Saturday Night Live” season finale was a smash hit.
With Will Ferrell as host and Paul McCartney as musical guest, “SNL” scored 5.3 million same day viewers.
That’s second only the 5.4 million who watched Cher and Ariana Grande on the Christmas show.
The number doesn’t take in online or streaming.
I can’t say I’m surprised. The combo of Ferrell and McCartney was as good as it gets. Plus, Paul playing three songs on the show was so unusual, and his performance of “Band on the Run” was historic.
Hopefully, this is a good sign for McCartney’s May 29th album release for “The Boys of Dungeon Place.” His millions of fans are ready to buy, download, and stream. If this is his final studio album, “Boys” will be a win.
I told you on March 9th that Taylor Swift would be performing at the Songwriters Hall of Fame next month– on June 11th.
Page Six doesn’t seem to have gotten that information, so I’m re-upping it for them and for everyone.
There was some worry that Swift was getting married on June 13th, two days later. How could a prospective bride pull all this off? You know, Taylor can do anything. She’s the original multi-tasker. Whenever she gets married, she could make an album that day!
“Once,” “Begin Again,” “Sing Street,” “Flora and Son.” Carney is an Irish auteur who’s managed to keep making indie movies unfettered by studio interference. Each one is a little music-centric gem that can be watched over and over.
Carney’s new one is “Power Ballad,” which opens June 5th and premiered last night in unusually torturous May heat and humidity, and in the worst place for those conditions, Times Square. But the movie is so incredibly charming, we tried not to care.
The big news is that “Power Ballad” — set in Ireland and Beverly Hills, and really a disarming look at the creative process of making pop music — stars Nick Jonas as a conflicted, not so nice former boy bander who needs a hit desperately. Jonas always plays a good guy on TV and in movies, and beams with positive energy when he sings with his brothers. So this might seem like a stretch. But it’s not.
Paul Rudd is Jonas’s counter balance. He’s a veteran singer and songwriter living in Ireland because of his wife. He’s the quintessential good guy who’s a wedding singer but should have been a contender.
The pair cross paths at a wedding, hit it off, and doing a little all night jamming. Rudd’s Rick Power helps Nick’s Danny Wilson finish some songs and then walks away. Months later he hears one of those songs in a mall and realizes he’s been snookered.
The song Rick hears is called “How to Write a Song without You,” and it’s a hit. I mean, in real life. When it’s released next week, the single should be something for Jonas to take up the charts. There are versions of him singing it alone and with Rudd, who performs a lot in the movie and acquits himself very well as more than just a wedding singer. I’d be surprised if “How to Write a Song Without You” isn’t a Best Song nominee at the Oscars next year.
The song is written, by the way, by Gary Clark, one of the UK’s best pop-smiths. Forty years ago, Clark fronted a group called Danny Wilson, which was named for a character in a Frank Sinatra movie called “Meet Danny Wilson.” Danny Wilson has two excellent albums still streaming everywhere. (I was obsessed with the first one.) Now, after all this time, Clark may really get his due. Sinatra would be very happy.
One thing t look for in the movie: Jonas and Rudd performing Stevie Wonder’s 1976 “I Wish.” It was a full circle moment for Nick Jonas since he and his brothers once performed with superstar Stevie on the Grammys. Carney told me last night he’s not sure if Stevie even knows “I Wish” is in a movie yet, and that it wasn’t so hard to license it.
Carney is a gifted but underrated storyteller. He told me it took 8 years to make this film, and part of that involved a chance meeting with a potential backer. He loves the music business and totally gets nuances that resonate with verisimilitude. He gets the dichotomy of the persistence of artists to remain true to their spirit despite record labels wanting to homogenize them, a story that never ends. There’s a lot of wide eyed idealism in his films, and the good news that it always pays off.
There’s a twist at the end of “Power Ballad,” worth waiting for. Carney told me last night, “You put in all that time for those two minutes.” He knows how to pull off a heart in the throat moment, when all the feels come together in an organic way. You’re caught unawares, and by then the credits are rolling and you want to see “Power Ballad” again.
Carney, by the way, tells me this movie his really taken over his career. His next project “will definitely involve Paul Rudd” — “I have plans for him,” he said. He’s also “in business” with Clark. As for Jonas, even Carney knows a rock star must move on. But boy, he did a terrific job here.
New York Magazine is back in the hands of a Murdoch.
From the mid 70s til 1991, Rupert Murdoch owned the weekly crown jewel of New York media. You can’t imagine how important New York was then, before the internet. Everyone in town read it.
But Rupert’s ownership was not so pleasant and there was great relief when he sold it.
Now, 35 years later, meet the new boss. Will he be the same as the old boss?
Son James Murdoch has purchased 50% of Vox Media, which owns New York. James gets the magazine, the website, and the podcast. James is like Michael Corleone trying to go legit. With his family trust, he also owns the Tribeca Film Festival.
The younger Murdoch says he’ll be “hands off” with New York, and maybe he will at first. This will be a developing story. James knows that if he starts injecting New York with the wild ravings of the NY Post or Fox News, not only will he called out on it, the remaining readers will exit. Just look at CBS News. Ratings have cratered since the right wingers have taken over.
This could be the beginning of a triumphant new era, or another slide to the exits. Let’s hope for the first!
Even the investors who were holding on to Truth Social stock seem to be getting out.
DOnald Trump’s Trump Media stock closed at another all time on Tuesday, finishing at 8 bucks.
The stock was down 3.26% for the day.
Truth Social is full of fabrications and attacks on Trump’s enemies. It’s a cesspool that no normal person reads or pays any attention to. The stock started out $17 and is now worthless.
But will investors acknowledge they’ve been had? Probably not. MAGA is ferociously compartmentalized in its approach to reality. Even as Trump personally reaps billions from various illegal deals, his followers are happy to go without gas or food — and blame it all on Joe Biden.
It had already been announced that “Moulin Rouge” would shut down at the end of August.
Then “Death Becomes Her,” based on the movie, announced an end date of June 28th. This surprised a lot of people because it doesn’t seem like the producers did much to breathe new life into the musical after its lead actress, Megan Hilty, left.
It’s no surprise that “Beaches,” the musical based on the Bette Midler- Barbara Hershey movie is also throwing in the towel. It got no Tony nominations and is playing at 44% capacity.
The next victim of slow business should be “Six.” now playing at 58% and well under $500,000 a week.
What do all these shows have in common? They are musicals, which are considered almost prohibitively expensive right now. The result is producers putting up lots of revivals, and doing much in the way of original productions.
And, of course, ticket prices have skyrocketed. For people driving into the city there are high gas prices and congestion fees weighing on ticket buyers.
This is not a death rattle by any means. There are 35 shows doing well right now. New shows are prepping for the fall. But something has to be done to make Broadway more accessible, and fast.
Billy Joel says no thanks to a long ago ex manager.
Someone named Irwin Mazur says he’s making a movie about Billy’s early years without permission. He was Billy Joel’s manager from 1966 to 1970.
But the movie is not going to include any of Joel’s music. It will actually probably never happen. Apparently Mazur teamed up with Billy’s old friend Jon Small. If you remember, Billy snatched Small’s wife away from him in the early 70s. Elizabeth Weber married Billy, bringing along the son she had with Small. Weber managed Billy and brought in her brother, who ripped Joel off for millions. Billy and Weber consequently divorced.
So it seems that these minor characters who were in Billy Joel’s life 60 years thought they could use old, rather boring stories to make a movie.
Billy’s spokesperson Claire Mercuri says: “Since 2021, the parties involved have been officially notified that they do not possess Billy Joel’s life rights and will not be able to secure the music rights required for this project. Billy Joel has not authorized or supported this project in any capacity, and any attempt to move forward without it would be both legally and professionally misguided.”
Got that? Bald faced exploitation. Not happening Irwin! You thought you were a big shot, didn’t ya?
PS The fact that the trades and even news radio — I heard this mentioned this morning — took the press release seriously means they’ve really got to a grip on reality.
Ok, so I’ve never seen “The Mandalorian” TV series. After “The Last Jedi,” I was 40 years into “Star Wars” and that seemed like enough. Really: I never understood “Baby Yoda” or other references.
If you’re like me, I have good news. You need to know nothing about the series, which ran for three years, in order to enjoy “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Director Jon Favreau and his writers have set up such an amiable, easy to get premise that you don’t even need to know whether this story takes place during the trajectory of the 10 (counting “Rogue Nation”) original films. (I omitted “Solo” on purpose.)
Pedro Pascal, who seems to be in everything, continues his role as Din Djarin, aka The Mandalorian. He’s a bounty hunter and adventurer not unlike Han Solo although he wears a helmet most of the time. His sidekick is Grogu, who seems real but is animatronic. They reminded me of other human-non human space buddies like Ryland Grace and Rocky from “Project Hail Marty,” or even Han Solo and Chewbacca.
Din is a man of integrity, but he has a price, so Sigourney Weaver, who plays the leader of the galactic rebels, hires him for a job that could get him killed and everyone else blown up. At this point, I’m pretty cynical, so you now everything will work out ok and that there will be two sequels. So sit back, and relax.
I think people forget that “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” were all based on serials that played in theaters before TV was a thing. There was no endgame or higher purpose. Like “Flash Gordon.” They were just fun romps, diversions from reality. I felt like “The Mandalorian” movie was like that, a relief from the news. it’s totally captivating.
I guess this is also maybe the first “Star Wars” movie without John Williams as composer. But Ludwig Göransson has done a superb job with the score. It’s not just that it will get Oscar attention, but the music hums with life and character not unlike something we’d get from Williams. It illuminates the movie in all the right places and drives the story forward. It’s also full of catchy hooks that I kept looking forward to.
There are a lot of “Star Wars” Easter eggs to keep the fan boys and girls happy. The main antagonist is Rotta the Hutt, son of the late, lamented Jabba the Hutt. (Jeremy Allen White, not sounding like “The Bear,” is his voice.) Indeed, we get to meet a few members of the Hutt family, and they are not an attractive gang. Still, we know so much about Jabba at this point, it’s totally fun the meet the relatives. They would never have been invited to the Skywalkers for dinner.
Grogu is a mini-Yoda, I guess from whatever species that constitutes. He’s cute as a button, even though he never speaks. But like Yoda, he’s totally ingratiating. Because he doesn’t speak, he’s not terribly philosophical, but — even if you don’t know him from the series — he supplies ballast and humor to Din’s dour personality.
And yet, for me. Grogu was almost the scene stealer but was usurped by someone else. The voice of legendary director Martin Scorsese is used for a snappy four-armed CGI kiosk operator who knows what’s going on across the universe. Din pumps him for information and “Hugo” (named for a Scorsese movie) is a slick operator with all the answers. I hope Scorsese got a merchandise royalty.
I’ve read some carping on line that “The Mandalorian and Grogu” — which sounds to me like “Wayland Flowers and Madame” — is “just fan service” or a long episode of the series. Again, so what? To those of us who knew nothing going in, this is a real movie and nothing less. Pedro Pascal, as he was in “Fantastic Four” and other projects, is a sympathetic guide through an eccentric world that you can only find in movies. He and Grogu are quickly established in a warm relationship. You never get tired of learning more about them.
One or two more of these? Yes, probably. I do hope that The Mandalorian gets a romance — there are no women in this movie other than Weaver, who is all business. But there will never be great drama. This is called ‘fun.’
