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Believe it or not. “The Odyssey” is finally losing a little steam at the box office.
Of course, it’s made $1.3 billion worldwide, about half of that in the US.
And it’s playing like gangbusters.
But Universal has set the date for streaming to begin, and DVDs and Blu-Rays to hit the stores. It’s November 17th.
By then, “The Odyssey” should be well past $700 million in the US — and well on its way to a dozen or more Oscar nominations and eventual win.
Chris Nolan’s epic is still playing in 3,200 theaters, so don’t worry. See it in IMAX or at least on a big screen. I can’t imagine anyone watching it on their phones. God forbid!
Faye Dunaway, a famed actress and Oscar winner, is getting a special award during the Venice Film Festival. It’s called the Kuneo Award. It’s not part of the Festival, but happens at the same time.
Good for her, Faye deserves it for her fine work in so many films like “Chinatown,” “Network,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.”
But then, an award is also going to Nicola Peltz Beckham. She’s the daughter of billionaire Nelson Peltz. She’s married to the Beckham kid who makes grilled cheese on TikTok and won’t speak to his parents.
Nicola, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “has been plucked to receive a rising star award for her work as an actress, producer and budding filmmaker.”
The Reporter says of the 31 year old, “Beckham wrote, directed and starred in [a movie called] Lola. Her resumé, which dates back 20 years, includes roles in The Last Airbender, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Bates Motel, Holidate, Welcome to Chippendales and The Beauty.”
I needed this laugh, which also involved a spit take. I don’t recall Peltz’s stunning career going back 20 years, but I might have been out of town. The aforementioned “Lola,” which existed in 2024 thanks to Vertical Releasing, merited but two reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and no rating.
Each review was half a star. One of them said: Lola feels like a film where the script is almost nonexistent…There was little to think about or emotionally connect with, and the film remains flat from start to finish.”
The other said: “Her acting felt stiff, and I found her performance annoying.”
Maybe this all sounded different in Italian. I do know Kuneo, translated to English, means “donation.”
I know it’s funny, and the award is bogus, but think of all the deserving up and coming filmmakers who could benefit from the attention. But maybe she can teach them how to make French toast.
Woody Allen will turn 91 this November but that’s not stopping him.
By the time the Oscar winning director and writer reaches his birthday, he will have filmed his 51st movie in Madrid, Spain.
I’ve confirmed that Woody will make the film, possibly called “Madrid,” in September and October. No cast has been announced yet. This was the film he was supposed to shoot last spring, but now he’s ready.
I’m also told that Woody is putting the finishing touches on a second novel, and on a stage play.
Spain has proved to be a good luck setting for Allen. His “Vicki Cristina Barcelona” is a classic, and Penelope Cruz won her Oscar in that film. An all time classic.
Allen’s last movie, “Coup de Chance,” shot in France, received raves and a healthy life on video after its release.
His most famous movie, “Annie Hall,” was recently shown on TCM as part of a Diane Keaton tribute. Now 50 years old, the film — like all of them — stands up beautifully. There’s always been a lot of talk about how “Annie Hall” was shaped from footage shot with a different idea. Who cares? The finished product is so full of heart, humor, and wisdom, not to mention laugh out loud funniness.
I can’t wait to see “Madrid,” or whatever it’s finally called. A Woody Allen movie these days is a gift!
PS Don’t forget, I told you the Carnegie Deli is re-opening soon on Seventh Avenue. It was the setting for one of Woody’s most hilarious films, “Broadway Danny Rose.” The Carnegie should definitely have a Danny Rose sandwich!
I told you a couple of days ago that Gwyneth Paltrow was hosting a celebrity dinner in the Hamptons for Open AI/Chat GPT creator Sam Altman.
The invite for August 29th leaked out, and immediately Gwyneth was denounced for supporting AI at a time when original content creators are suffering at its hands.
Paltrow thought she’d fight back by posting send ups of her own invite, making the honoree either “Sex and the City” character Samantha Jones, or Shrek. See below.
This only made things worse. Paltrow has now called attention to this regrettable decision. Granted, her Oscar is almost 30 years old and Paltrow doesn’t do much acting anymore. She’s basically the president of Goop. But Hollywood, music, theater, publishing are all under attack from AI. She did not take the side of human artists. Imagine if her beloved parents — Blythe Danner and the late Bruce Paltrow — had their work stolen or desecrated by AI.
Songwriter Diane Warren has 17 Oscar nominations for Best Song, and no wins.
It’s become the inside joke of Hollywood. Diane is the Susan Lucci of the Oscars!
But she may have her winner at last. Her song, the title track from the new movie “By Any Means,” is a hit. “By Any Means” is performed by the famed Isley Brothers with Nashville artist David Kushner (no relation to the Trump people).
There are actually two versions. The film version is the ‘real’ one, the soundtrack one is edited. I like the first one better. In each, the production swells with blues and gospel, and is maybe Warren’s catchiest song in years — which is saying something!
Also anything with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers the Isley Brothers — now in business for over 60 years — is a treat. Superstar music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg knows that, and worked to pull this unique collaboration together.
“By Any Means” opens September, directed by Elegance Bratton and starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Mark Wahlberg. Also in the wildly talented cast are the great Giancarlo Esposito, Oscar nominee David Straithairn, Josh Lucas, Nicole Beharie, Tony winner LaChanze, Lisa Gay Hamilton, and Ethan Embry. Sounds promising!
Rosie O’Donnell closed out her incredible four night run tonight guest hosting for Jimmy Kimmel.
The big finale was a killer version of “Oh Danny Boy” changing the name to “Donny.” Trump finally got a hilarious kick in the pants from Rosie, but done with elegance and wit — two things he lacks! See video below.
She also called Trump “the orange Voldemort.”
Rosie began the monologue by joking that Trump, who is obsessed with her, spent more time with her this week than Melania! She also attacked RFK Jr brilliantly:
She said: “According to new reports cases of COVID are surging in almost every state right now but don’t worry people because our fate is in the hands of the secretary of health and human sacrifice.”
She called RFK Jr “SpongeBob Smallpox” and asked “if you can trust the medical advice of a guy who pulled over during a road trip to cut the penis off a dead raccoon? Strange man, strange and I don’t like any of his thoughts on autism.”
Neil Young — we know he’s a genius. He also has a voluminous catalog, akin to Bob Dylan — that you can study on his brilliantly curated website.
Most people think of “Heart of Gold” or “After the Gold Rush,” or Crosby Stills & Nash, but Neil Young encompasses a huge amount of space in the rock canon.
Now he’s dropped a stunningly beautiful 11 minute song. Eleven minutes seemed daunting but once I heard it, I was hooked. It’s like a folk incantation, and a dreamy waltz. What’s even more exciting — “Second Song” is produced with another legend, Lou Adler, who’s 93. Adler is responsible for a huge chuck of rock history, from “Monterey Pop” to Carole King’s “Tapestry” to being there when Sam Cooke recorded “A Change is Gonna Come.”
“Second Song” is also the title of a new album coming out on September 18th. But listen to this now, just take the time with it. We’re so lucky to get something of this magnitude these days.
Two of the verses: “I dream a way of living A way of sharing what we find A way of walking slowly Through the smokey leaves of time”
“The world needs all her song birds She needs her music in the sky Guiding souls both in and out Showing weakness how to fly”
Melania Trump resurfaced today at the White House.
The main focus was that she joked about being back after presumed missing for weeks. Or that the Trumps had little contact because of his latest personal issues.
What everyone missed was the inappropriate was the presentation of a $2 million check from Fox Corporation, aka Fox News, aka Rupert Murdoch, for Melania’s bogus Be Best Campaign and Fostering the Future network.
On August 22nd and 23rd, IndyCar will race cars around the White House on Fox TV and Fox One Sports for its Freedom 250 Grand Prix.
Be Best, aka Melania, says that it’s given millions to foster care for children. But there is no public accounting for any money that’s gone in or out of the fund. Nothing. It’s just a big money swamp with no information. They claim that Twenty-six colleges and universities across the nation have established Fostering the Future programs.
There is no actual evidence of foster children benefiting from Be Best, but Trump has broken up thousands of families via mass deportation. In a sense, he’s created a foster child emergency.
The Trumps have already used the White House as a stage for World Wrestling, so race cars seem like an obvious choice in the destruction of the property while they add their $400 million bunker. Monster Trucks should probably come next.
But wait — $2 million from Fox Corporation? For a show already being broadcast on the Fox network?
This sort of thing used to be inappropriate, and a conflict of interest for any news organization. But Fox News is Trump’s state media no matter how much he complains about them. Murdoch pandering to the latest Trump grift is no surprise. The surprise is that no one complains about it. This kind of corruption has become accepted during the Trump administration.
iT’S OFFICIAL: IndyCar and Fox Sports have just written a check for TWO MILLION DOLLARS towards scholarships to Indiana colleges for foster kids
President Trump was in attendance, but simply sat in the audience to support Melania, rather than stealing the show pic.twitter.com/NyBhqsMOAh
The Criterion Channel — which movie fans hold in high regard — has made an excruciatingly strange choice for a celebration next month.
The esteemed group is going to highlight Madonna’s truly terrible acting in movies.
They’re showing three movies featuring the famous pop star including “Desperately Seeking Susan,” “Body of Evidence,” and “Dangerous Game.”
The first one, directed by Susan Seidelman, is the outlier and easily the best of the trio. But it’s really more about Seidelman and Rosanna Arquette than Madonna.
The other two are historically and hysterically unwatchable.
“Body of Evidence,” from 1992, has an 8% on Rotten Tomatoes. I was there when it premiered, and we howled at this bizarre movie that otherwise had a stellar cast including Willem Dafoe and Julianne Moore.
“Dangerous Game” was also called “Snake Eyes” back in 1993. Abel Ferrara, who is is an acquired taste to begin with, directed Madonna and Harvey Keitel to a 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. I believe this one, or “Body of Evidence,” that features wax dripping during a sex scene.
There were so many better choices like “Swept Away,” “W.E.,” and so on for bad Madonna movies. For better ones, there’s always “Dick Tracy,” and “A League of Their Own.” But Criterion could have gone for “Shanghai Surprise” or “Bloodhounds of Broadway.”
Madonna is a great entertainer and personality. She’s an okay singer. She’s a terrible actress. Maybe Criterion will feature her in the Criterion Closet, picking out her favorite movies. That would be worth watching!
Rosie O’Donnell has a very rosy ratings picture so far.
Her opening night guest hosting for Jimmy Kimmel was a smash hit.
Plus, she got a most ecstatic email from the one and only Barbra Streisand. (See below.)
According to Late Nighter, Rosie’s first show brought in 1.87 million viewers, beating Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show.
Views of her monologue on YouTube were huge, too, with 2.5 million people taking a look at her hilarious opening night. Her second night monologue is up to 1.2 million views.
Rosie’s getting raves on social media, too. Viewers are loving the Rosie Renaissance, and admiring her deft way of handling Donald Trump. She just drops a zinger at the start, and then moves on. The rest of the show is just fun stuff, lots of showbiz gossip with each guest. It’s kind of a relief.
Rosie’s numbers aren’t topping Kimmel’s during the regular season, but they’re a sign that she’s still got ‘it’ and could easily make a roaring comeback in 2029 if that’s what she chooses.
One more night, tonight — and we’ll be glued to our screens!
