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Last night the Chateau Marmont hosted two pre-Golden Globe parties in different locations.
Upstairs in a luxury suite, Lynn Hirschberg and W Magazine had to beat the celebrities with a stick so many of them wanted to get in. As usual, W had as many stars are they could jam in the suite and its overlooking terrace/
But downstairs, at Bar Marmont, the Vanity Fair party was as a sad echo of the old days. Literally one movie nominee — Michael B. Jordan — was photographed. We can only hope he was on his way upstairs.
A smattering of well known actors were spotted, including Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, and Keegan Michael Key and his wife Elle — were getting a lot of attention. Among the spotlight stealers was Jennifer Lopez, who doesn’t miss a red carpet even if she has nothing to do with the event.
But mostly the room was filled with TV people and– on Wireimage.com — pages and pages of nobodies. While I’m sure these guests have loved ones and important to someone, they can only be described as space fillers.
At a Vanity Fair party? What a sorry end. It used to be you said “Vanity Fair party” and the stylists would be out in armies getting the stars ready. But not last night. You know things are bad when Shaboozey is the center of attention, and Carl Tabor — Hollywood’s official guest — is chronicling the night.
Vanity Fair has cut way back since Graydon Carter and his team left a few years ago. Magazine circulation and website traffic are way down. On their recent Hollywood cover, VF featured no actresses because — some say — they couldn’t get any.
The pre-Globes party invite last bodes poorly for the coming Oscar night party. Once a force in gigantic tents on Santa Monica Boulevard, the party has been downsized severely. It will mostly be a place where stars stop for a photo op, then move on to bigger events.
Hard to believe, but there’s a Go Fund Me page for alleged assassin Jonathan Ross.
Already $222,000 has been raised for the ICE agent who appears to have shot dead 37 year mother of three, Renee Good.
The top donation is $10,000 — from Trump crony and company raider Bill Ackman.
So we know where he stands on the debate of whether Ross shot an unarmed woman in the face and killed her.
There are a few $1,000 donations, mostly anonymous, from clueless individuals.
Hard charging independent journalist Brian Krassenstein says the Page may be against the rules because it’s defending potential criminal activity. He’s reported it to GoFundMe. (See below).
Meantime, Renee Good’s Go Fund Me page brought in $1.5 million before it was shutdown by organizers. The friends said that was enough, and for people to donate to the less fortunate.
But is this what America is about now? Donating money to a man who shot a woman in her car and then yelled “Fucking bitch!”?
IMPORTANT: I Just reported the GoFundme for Ice Agent Jonathan Ross as it appears to be breaking their terms of service. Please do the same and them SHARE!
For years, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association was considered a joke. The hosts of each year’s show mocked them openly.
Now the HFPA is gone, replaced by Golden Globes voters who comprise many of the HFPA.
But now that Penske/Eldridge, publisher of all the Hollywood trades, the voters are no longer part of the show. Nikki Glaser can make fun of them if she wants — but they won’t be in the room.
The company now fills the Hilton ballroom with advertisers and commercial partners. Who needs the voters anyway? They’ve been used to at least put together a list of nominees that resemble other awards shows this year.
Who will be watching? Last week we had the Critics Choice Awards, with the exact same nominees. The CCA’s, which aired on USA Network and the E! channel, scored 726,000 viewers — up 125% from last year.
At least the CCA’s have a lot of good will in Hollywood. The Globes are a different story. This week they’ve been attacked by all the showbiz newsletters. No one has their number like Richard Rushfield from Ankler. Read his summary of the Globes this year. He’s got it.
A lot of money has gone into the promotion of the Globes. This week, they had a nighttime special called “Golden Eve,” based on the Motion Picture Academy’s Governors Awards. Sarah Jessica Parker was honored on the TV side, Helen Mirren on the movie side. Ratings will be in tomorrow, but so far engagement on YouTube is low except for the segment in which Harrison Ford presented Mirren with her award.
Why was Ford giving Mirren an award? They co-star in “1923,” the “Yellowstone” series returning for a second season. The show appears on Paramount Plus, which is part of the CBS-Paramount family. It’s just corporate in house promotion.
As for the main show, I’ll be watching at 8pm tonight, Tweeting and updating here on the site.
The amazing Grateful dead guitarist, singer and writer succumbed to lung cnacer, his family said.
His family posted to Instagram as you’ll see below.
weir wrote the Dead hit, “Sugar Magnolia,” but contributed to every bit of the Dead’s lore. Weir was the front man vocally for the group on so many hits including their signature song, “Truckin.” He had a substantial solo career, too.
What a shame. Most of the Dead is now deceased, starting with Jerry Garcia. Their legacy is unparalleled. To paraphrase their most well known song, “What a long, great trip it’s been.”
“It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.
“For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.
“Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life. Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.
“There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’.
“His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance. May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.”
There will be no opera in the Melania Trump Opera House. It’s all over as the fat President sings.
The Washington National Opera says it’s leaving the Kennedy Center after 45 years. They don’t even care where they’re going, they’re just outta there.
The WNO says they must exit because Donald Trump has destroyed their ticket sales and reputation.
The breaking point seems to be guest stars refusing to perform in what is now temporarily called The Trump-Kennedy Center.
The New York Times says:” A resolution to leave was approved by the opera’s board of trustees on Friday. The opera said in a statement that it would “seek an amicable early termination of its affiliation agreement with the Kennedy Center and resume operations as a fully independent nonprofit entity.”
Kennedy Center chief Richard Grenell is celebrating, for some reason. He doesn’t seem to understand that without successful subscription series, the Kennedy Center will grind to a halt.
No union tours of Broadway shows will come in, at this point. The non union tours this winter and spring come just to two, and those will be big losers.
Dozens of performers have their dates including the official Broadway tour of “Hamilton.”
The irony of the WNO exiting the complex cannot be underscored enough. In July, a Republican congressman proposed adding the First Lady’s name to the theater.
The joke was that Melania Trump had never been to an opera in the first place, although her life story — refugee party girl sleeps her way into the US and marries a billionaire, only to see him destroy the country — would be one of the great tragedies of all time.
What will become of the Opera House — which seats 2,364 patrons — without the National Opera? UFC death cage matches and Monster Truck rallies should go well with Trump’s proposed marble re-do of the theater.
I got a phone call a year ago this morning that still shakes me.
My dear friend of 25 years, R&B great Sam Moore, had died unexpectedly after surgery. He was 89, and had been married to his devoted, famous manager wife, Joyce, for more than 40 years.
Sam, I can’t believe a year has gone by and I have not heard your voice on the phone, or hung out backstage at some TV show or live concert where your sweet laugh filled the room. (Sam could crack laughing like no one else, especially if he thought he was getting away with something and he knew you caught on.)
With Dave Prater — who had a lot of problems including once shooting his wife and unsuccessfully trying to replace Sam — our friend had an unparalleled collection of classic hits in the mid 60s including “Soul Man,” “Hold On I’m Coming,” “I Thank You,” “When Something is Wrong with My Baby,” and so on. The minute they hit the airwaves, everyone is up and dancing.
Trouble with drugs knocked him out of the 70s. But John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd reignited him with their loving tribute as “The Blues Brothers.” Sam was unstoppable from then on, playing for all the living presidents, at the White House, the Kennedy Center, and around the world. Eddie Murphy chose him as the entertainment for his Mark Twain Award. Garth Brooks chartered planes to sing with him.
Bruce Springsteen declared him the world’s greatest soul singer. Sam’s voice had so much modulation as a sweet sweet tenor, he never lost a note. He could sing the phone book and you’d want to hear more. In 2006, all his celebrity music pals like Bruce, Sting, Bon Jovi joined him a terrific album called “Overnight Sensational.” He was nominated for a Grammy (he had one already from the 60s) and continued to sell out gigs.
Chris Hegedus, DA Pennebaker and I featured him in our 2002 film, “Only the Strong Survive,” and everyone just fell in love. Sam and Joyce became family and vice versa. We laughed all the time as Sam told us stories about the good ol’, bad ol’ days. He never where every body was buried, especially at Atlantic and Stax Records.
“Rajh,” he’d say to me in an exaggerated Southern drawl, “you don’t know!”
Sam’s had so many honors like keys to city and what not. But listen to this. The Celebrate Freedom Foundation is honoring his memory by naming an MQ-5B Hunter Drone for him for STEM Education.
What does that mean? Sam himself never droned on. He was to the point. But the military guys always loved him, and vice versa, so why not? A lovely tribute.
According to their press release: “The Sam Moore MQ-5B Hunter will serve as a centerpiece of CFF’s mission to inspire the next generation. This aircraft will travel to schools across the Southeast, providing students with hands-on exposure to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and highlighting the diverse career paths available in aviation and the military…
“Sam Moore was not just a voice of a generation; he was a tireless advocate for our nation’s heroes and our youth,” said a spokesperson for the Celebrate Freedom Foundation. “Naming this aircraft after Sam allows us to carry his spirit of service and inspiration into every classroom we visit.”
How cool is that? When the drone flies around I hope it’s playing “Soul Man” really loud.
I’m listening to Sam’s albums (also “Plenty Good Lovin'” from 1972 with Aretha on keyboards, produced by King Curtis) and the Sam & Dave songs all day today. I’m thinking about Sam stealing the show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th anniversary with Bruce and Darlene Love, or knocking out the audience at the Ahmet Ertegun memorial show in London. The rock stars flocked to him, the country stars, too. Every person we ran into at a hotel knew him, loved him, couldn’t believe they were meeting the Original Soul Man.
While I was watching an actual horror movie, “Weapons,” which was so good, two well known actors ran into trouble with the law.
According to TMZ, Timothy Busfield, 68, who played bad husband Elliot Weston on “thirtysomething,” has an arrest warrant out for child molestation!
Busfield — who starred in “The West Wing” and many other series — is married to “Little House on the Prairie” star Melissa Gilbert. He has three adult children. His son is a successful photographer.
At the same time, TMZ broke the news that back in December, Daniel Stern — from “Home Alone,” “Diner,” the narrator of The Wonder Years — was busted for soliciting a prostitute near that really great outlet mall in Camarillo, California.
Stern, also 68, is married, has adult kids including a son who’s a California State Senator.
Stern told the New York Times a year ago that he’d become a fruit grower in California, and a sculptor.
I am not kidding.
What the actual f*ck?
This is on top of all the Trump stuff, and Minneapolis, and the complete destruction of society.
My only theory is that aliens landed a long time ago and have eaten into enough brains to cause this chaos. Stephen Miller was their first victim, and he’s spread the disease.
What else could it be?
Busfield’s story is the worst. You think it’s gotta be a set up. But he has prior complaints of touching little boys on sets. WTF?
And Stern? A total embarrassment for his family. But honestly, in recent pictures it looked like he’d blown a gasket. (Remember when he dressed down Ellen Barkin for moving his LPs around in “Diner”?)
And let’s not forget that another “Diner” star, Mickey Rourke, has lost his crappy little rental house with arrears of $60,000 and is in real peril.
Something has really gone haywire in the system. Miller has to be at the root of it.
“Weapons,” by the way, is the best horror film ever. Great cast — Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, and a hilarious performance from Austin Abrams. Also, four star soundtrack that features legendary cult soul singer James Carr on “At the Dark End of the Street.”
Amy Madigan at 75 has become a cult star as Aunt Gladys. She’s amazing, and so is the makeup department.
The Go Fund Me page for murdered Minneapolis mom Renee Good has stopped taking money.
It began with an ask of $50,000 to defray expenses and take care of her kids.
But the page raised $1.5 million overnight.
The family could have let it go on and on. But instead they’ve asked potential donors to give money to people in need.
There’s a reason their family name is ‘good.’
Organizer Mattie Weiss writes on the page:
“Thank you for your generosity. We’ve closed this GoFundMe and will place the funds in a trust for the family. If you’re looking to donate, we encourage you to support others in need. We’re truly grateful.
We’d also like to share the following statement that Renee’s wife, Becca, shared with MPR News:
“First, I want to extend my gratitude to all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family.
This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind. In fact, kindness radiated out of her.
Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.
Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow. Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.
Like people have done across place and time, we moved to make a better life for ourselves. We chose Minnesota to make our home. Our whole extended road trip here, we held hands in the car while our son drew all over the windows to pass the time and the miles.
What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy. And while any place we were together was home, there was a strong shared sense here in Minneapolis that we were looking out for each other. Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever.
We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.
On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.
Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him. That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way.
We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve. We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.”
Tonight even as we speak, four of the stars of “Lord of the Rings” got together for a dinner reunion.
What brought them together? Are they looking for the Ring down South?
Spotted at the famed Commander’s Palace restaurant — where dinner costs $100 a head easily — were Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd.
In the trilogy they played Samwise, Frodo, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took.
There was no sign of Gandalf, aka Ian McKellen.
When we last saw them they were living their lives in Middle Earth after having Oscar winning adventures.
But tomorrow night the foursome is appearing at a Lord of the Rings 25th anniversary convention in NOLA where tickets range from 20 bucks for general admission up to $799 for premier packages including professional photographs with the guys and a panel discussion. There are many configurations, and merchandise to be purchased.
Listen, it was one thing to get the fabled ring, made of gold. But hobbits are like us — they need cash, too!
In the movie, Frodo exclaims — “I know what I must do. It’s just… I’m afraid to do it!”
Apparently he does.
PS Astin, a great guy, is the current president of SAG-AFTRA, following mom Patty Duke’s footsteps. Maybe they were discussing the SAG Actor Awards nominations that were announced yesterday. Samwise always had good advice for his pals!
It’s another happy day at the third ranked CBS Evening News.
New CBS News chief Bari Weiss, carrying water for the Trump administration at the behest of her bosses, sent new anchor Tony Dokoupil to San Francisco to meet the mayor and the people.
Tony interviewed Mayor Daniel Lurie, a billionaire with no previous political history. They used the Golden Gate Bridge as a backdrop.
In a city full of Asians and presumably Black people, CBS couldn’t find any to include in a group of onlookers. The gang, as pictured, included no representative members either racial background. There’s one woman who might be Filipino and another non-Caucasian woman.
Otherwise, the main focus was on the white people standing behind them. Despite Dokoupil promising no more elites or authorities, he didn’t speak to the people at all.
In the opening segment, Dokoupil glossed quickly over the main story in the country, the murder in Minneapolis of 37 year old mother Renee Good by an ICE officer. DInstead, Senior correspondent Matt Guttman, who has lovely highlights in his coiffure, reported on another pair of shootings in Portland, Oregon, suggesting the victims were part of a Venezuelan gang.
The scant coverage about Good in Minneapolis seemed intentional. CBS showed the new footage of the shooting — which is literally everywhere — and then quoted JD Vance, who blamed the victim. Donald Trump also blamed Good. Since no one has anything good to say about ICE’s participation in Good’s death, Weiss obviously didn’t want to look critical of Trump et al. The best thing to do was move on quickly.
Over at the number 1 World News Tonight on ABC, Whit Johnson filed a complete report about Good’s death and its consequences. See below.
CBS Grade for the week: D
Here’s how ABC News handled today’s headlines:
Renee Good tells ICE, "That's fine dude, I'm not mad at you"
Then ICE agent shoots her and says "f*cking b*tch"
