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Our favorite president, Barack Obama, is really getting into show business.
Obama will make a guest appearance in an episode of Larry David’s new limited HBO series, “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America.”
The series, an historical satire about the US’s 250 years, is coincidentally produced by Higher Ground, Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company.
Featured actors are Bill Hader and Kathryn Hahn will play Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, Jon Hamm and Sean Hayes will play the Wright brothers and David and Jerry Seinfeld will play Lewis and Clark. Vince Vaughn will also guest star.
Of course, “Curb” star Cheryl Hines will not be in the series. But Jeff Garlin and Susie Essman are definitely in, and maybe Richard Kind.
It’s unknown who Obama will play, or if this will launch an acting career. I do smell a guest Emmy award in his future!
Larry David returns. We’re celebrating. Everybody’s kissing.
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness is coming June 26 to HBO Max.
“Tricky Dick” Richard Grenell is OUT at the Kennedy Center.
After just about burning the place to the ground, Grenell has essentially been fired as head of the facility by Donald Trump.
Thanks to Grenell, ticket sales plummeted, performers and artists boycotted and cancelled shows, and soon the Kennedy Center will shut down for two years.
Grenell’s run is a total failure.
In his place comes one Matt Floca, previously director of facilities. Floca is not artistic director, because the renamed UGH Trump Kennedy Center won’t have shows for two years. Floca is in charge of finding slabs of marble and the right fake gold baubles that please Trump.
The news breaks as the Washington Opera Company has exited the Kennedy Center and started performances nearby. The National Symphony Orchestra is going to do the same.
Trump should put Grenell in charge of MAGA now. That’s one way to kill off this heinous group off quickly. Rarely has a presidential appointee been so clueless and tone deaf about his job.
Next up: the courts will have to rule against the planned demolition of the Kennedy Center before it becomes a debacle similar to the White House.
Harry Styles’ first album in four years, “Kiss All the Time. Disco Occasionally” debuts at number 1 today.
“Kiss” sales did show an interesting demographic — heavy on physical product, lighter on streaming.
The album sold a total of 425,000 copies according to hitsdailydouble.com. Of that, 285K were CDs, LPs, or downloads. Streaming produced 139K.
At 32, Harry is selling to an older audience. Who’d a-thunk it?
Styles has struggled selling singles on iTunes, and on Spotify really just the song “American Girls” is doing very well. But the album is number on iTunes and this is just the beginning.
Harry is the musical guest and host tomorrow night on “Saturday Night Live,” which should add to sales. And then he’s got a tour including several residencies. One of them, at Madison Square Garden, comprises 30 dates.
PS Just to make things interesting, Styles has released a video cover of Tears for Fears’ classic, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” So far almost a million views on YouTube in one day. It’s not on the album, either.
Kudos to manager Jeffrey Azoff, son of the famed Irving Azoff. Years ago, when Harry was in One Direction, the Azoffs scooped him up. Harry’s gotten five star treatment, and it’s paid off.
It’s hard to imagine life without “Access Hollywood.”
But NBC Universal has cancelled the show after 30 years. Also gone — and I didn’t know they existed — “Steve Wilkos” and “Karamo.”
“Access” host Mario Lopez is out of work, as well as my old Fox friend Kit Hoover. The two other hosts are Scott Evans, and Zuri Hall.
To quote the great philosophers, that really sucks. I’ll tell you why: “Access Hollywood,” like “Entertainment Tonight,” promotes Hollywood. They’re there to tell the audience what’s new and what’s going on. Without “Access,” the focus switches to non-professionals on social media.
And that really sucks. Already we’ve got premiere audiences composed of influencers paid by the studios to promote their product. It’s a free-for-all. If I were the studio publicists, I’d be angry that “Access” is shutting down. Everyone from Universal Pictures, Focus Features, and NBC itself should be worried.
CBS Paramount-Skydance still produces “ET” and “Inside Edition.” If those go, we’re in trouble. Again, it’s not because those shows are Emmy winners. But their contribution to the Hollywood machine is incalculable.
We thought “The Bride!” was already in the Dominican Republic getting a divorce.
But Warner Bros. is keeping Maggie Gyllenhaal’s flop in theaters, no cuts, even though they’re empty.
Whoops! “The Bride!” made $370,000 yesterday. It still hasn’t passed $9 million after a week! All those empty rooms — maybe they can just show Tiny Toons instead. Crazy!
Meantime, the latest adaptation of one of Colleen Hoover’s terrible novels has been panned by reviewers. “Reminders of Him” is “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes with 59%. But fans of the book scurried into theaters last night for $1.9 million.
The rating would be less if RT bloggers committed to their reviews. One called “Reminders” “Temu Nicholas Sparks,” gave it a B minus, but a ‘fresh’ tomato. Huh? What?
Will more people be coming? Or will this be Remainders of Him? We’ll have to see…
PS “Melania” has moved down to number 8 on the Amazon Top movies list.
Last night, the famed rocker performed two songs from his show, “The Last Ship” on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show.
“The Last Ship” sails June 9th to 14th at the Met Opera House after wildly successful runs in Paris and Amsterdam.
“The Last Ship” had a run on Broadway a decade ago. But it’s been completely reconfigured for the Met in a stunning new version.
Of course, Sting stars in the musical, and even reggae star Shaggy is featured.
Sting’s voice, by the way, just gets better and better. And on these songs, it really shines.
PS If you’re afraid of opera, like Timothee Chalamet, don’t worry. “The Last Ship” remains a sensational musical that features Tony nominated songs by Sting as well as a few of his hits, like “All This Time.”
The social media Oscar prognosticators are heading to their climax on Sunday night.
But the only real toss up, I think, is Best Actor. Ethan Hawke should have won, but his campaign was minimal. Timothee Chalamet was the front runner for a long time, but he’s perhaps blown himself up. That leaves Michael B. Jordan, who is now the front runner.
You never know, but Chalamet could still win. Most of the hate directed at him came too late to influence voters. If he brings Kylie Jenner to the show, he will absolutely lose, however. The universe will not permit that.
The other winners, I’m afraid, look pretty set in stone. Paul Thomas Anderson and “One Battle After Another” are going to take Best Director and Best Picture. This doesn’t mean that Ryan Coogler and “Sinners” don’t deserve it. But as a whole movie, “One Battle” is the most satisfying one of the year.
Also, Sean Penn will pick up a third Oscar, this time in Best Supporting Actor, for “One Battle.” His path to success was just laying low and letting the work speak for itself.
Jessie Buckley has Best Actress wrapped up for “Hamnet.” Standing at the lip of the Old Globe stage, her character — Mrs. Shakespeare — has that indelible moment you can’t ignore. (Also, I really think Paul Mescal got screwed with no nomination. He was spectacular.)
Amy Madigan in a cinch for Best Supporting Actress from “Weapons.” Personally, I loved Teyana Taylor in “One Battle.” But Madigan was great, and the role caps off 50 years in the business.
Screenplay awards will go to “Sinners” for original and “One Battle” for adapted.
Again, maybe I’m wrong, or maybe there’s a huge surprise. This Oscar season went on two or three weeks too long. But this what happens. Just as voting begins you think something has changed in the mindsets of voters. How many times did we say to ourselves, “One more week and –“?
But you know, it always turns out the same way.
“Frankenstein” will pick up several below the line awards. Guillermo del Toro is headed to a Governor’s Award one day soon.
One more thing about “Sinners,” and I said it before: if they gave out Oscars for single scenes, the dance number in the barn would win. It was the only real ‘gasp’ moment of the season.
“Melania,” the movie, is free to watch on Amazon Prime.
You’d think it would be number 1 on the platform.
But it’s not. It’s number 7, and dropping quickly.
On the Amazon Prime movie chart, “Melania” lags well behind “The Fall Guy” movie starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.
The latter film costs $3.99 to rent.
Why is “Melania” free? Because Fox/Rupert Murdoch has underwritten the streaming. And that’s why Murdoch’s NY Post is erroneously reporting that the movie is number 1 on amazon. LOL. You can’t make it up. (They do.)
As anyone who checks it out even briefly knows, “Melania” is an infomercial. It has zero nutritional value as a movie. Could it be worse? No.
Stay tuned. The “Melania” chart position will get worse.
Kylie Jenner — reviled in serious circles and possibly the reason Timmy Chalamet will lose the Oscar — is on the cover of Vanity Fair.
Kylie is the first Kardashian to get a cover, as previous editors like Graydon Carter thought she was trash.
But the new Vanity Fair, edited by Mark Guiducci, is desperate for readers. This is their Hail Mary pass to pick up some steam. I guess they also hope that Kylie will come to their Oscar party with Timmy. The dimwit is lighting up a cigarette on the cover.
However, if Chalamet loses, that may be a problem. Guiducci tells Matt Belloni on The Town podcast that the severely cut guest list eliminates Oscar nominees who don’t win and “Second tier” actors, agents, etc.
So if you don’t take your category Sunday night, forget trying to get into the LACMA Geffen Gallery. You simply weren’t good enough. Kylie might have to leave Timmy in the limo.
Vanity Fair has really become a rolling disaster. They hustled out the Jenner issue so that their previous cover, featuring Margaret Qualley, was gone. The Qualley cover was simply the ugliest thing I’ve seen in a long time, a new low for VF. In every photo they ironed out Qualley’s trademark cheekbones. The cover picture looks out of focus.
She should sue them, frankly.
As for Kylie Jenner, there are not many new epiphanies in Vanity Fair. The inside photos are of her semi-naked, exactly the kind of stuff that hurt Timmy’s Oscar campaign. The biggest revelation is that Kylie is NOT actually a billionaire, after all. I’m sure she’s thrilled the magazine has clarified that point.
So we look forward to Sunday night and stories of formerly invited guests unable to get into the LACMA space ship. (I see in the new issue VF has traded advertorial for LACMA in a puff piece.)
Do listen to Matt Belloni’s podcast on Spotify. It’s short, heavily edited, and Guiducci does not come off well.
The one time member of One Direction is the host and musical guest.
Styles has the number 1 album in the country right now — “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.” Hitsdailydouble.com predicts a whopping 445,000 first week sales.
“SNL” is counting on Harry’s fans to tune in and bring friends. This last Saturday’s show with Ryan Gosling and avant garde group Gorillaz fell by 200,000 from the week before with Connor Storrie and Mumford and Sons. Total was around 4.4 million.
Gosling was nevertheless very funny going off book a lot. He always looks like he’s having a ball. I can’t believe how Ashley Padilla has taken over the show, by the way. Her star has rocketed to the top. The cast is very good right now, and Ben Marshall is also on his way up.
Meantime, Gorillaz. A lot of old fans gasped when they performed “Clint Eastwood,” an actual work of genius. The performance was so sublime that it pushed the 25 year old single into the iTunes top 50. Sensational. The YouTube clip has had 2.5 million views!
