The Kennedy Center Honors, in past years, would have been announced already.
But since Donald Trump has done everything to destroy the premier cultural institution, nothing is the same.
Last year, country music awards producer Robert Deaton was brought in to produce the show for CBS.
But this year, I’m told, Deaton didn’t get the call.
The reason might be that, presently, there is no contract to show the Honors — not with CBS or anyone else.
With Deaton out, the new producer has an appropriate company name: Den of Thieves.
Den of Thieves has been signed to produce the Honors once honorees and a TV contract are agreed on.
The company is not the kind that usually puts together a show like the Kennedy Center Honors. They are best known for MTV’s Video Music Awards and the People’s Choice Awards. Neither been known for subtlety. But each would be at home in the Capital One Arena, where the KCH are going to be held since the real theater is now closed and floating in purgatory thanks to Trump.
How or why this came about is a mystery. Wheelhouse Entertainment owns Den of Thieves. Trump didn’t choose them because of their politics. Their owner, Brent Montgomery, and his wife gave $8,400 to Kamala Harris in 2019.
Meantime, the clock ticks down to actually choosing honorees and figuring out how to produce the intimate Kennedy Center show in a large arena — not to mention taping it and showing it by the end of December.
