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(UPDATED) Billionaire Peter Nygard, Now Accused of Severe Sexual Misconduct, Used to Underwrite Hollywood’s Annual Night of 100 Stars

Roger Friedman
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(UPDATED) Billionaire Peter Nygard, Now Accused of Severe Sexual Misconduct, Used to Underwrite Hollywood’s Annual Night of 100 Stars

Peter Nygard is in trouble. Described as a fashion executive, Nygard has been accused of rape, sodomy and very depraved fetishes in a class action suit filed this week in Manhattan Federal Court. The charges make Jeffrey Epstein look like a newcomer in the field.

But there’s a Hollywood connection. For the better part of 25 years, Nygard underwrote and sponsored the annual Night of 100 Stars on Oscar night. The party, first held at the Beverly Hills Hotel and in later years at the Beverly Hilton, ran concurrently with the Academy Awards. Created by beloved Hollywood personality Norby Walters, Night of 100 Stars was “The Party for Everyone Else,” celebrities– a many from eons of TV – who had nothing to do with the Oscars.

It was at the Night of 100 Stars that you could meet Barbara Eden or Lassie or Lou Ferrigno, and so on. Aging ingenues, retired stars, people you thought had died, and so on were the specialty of the house. When the party was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the 2000s, it would end after the Best Picture was announced. Since it was in the ballroom downstairs, and Miramax hosted its post-Oscar party in the Polo Lounge, you’d arrive with Oscar winners from the show while bejeweled, formally attired guests of Walters and Nygard were exiting. It was a crazy juxtaposition of Hollywood then and now.

The last Night of 100 Stars was held in 2017 before Walters retired. Nygard, famous for living around the world and in Lyford Cay, Bahamas, hasn’t been much since then. But the party gave him access to a version of Hollywood, and a glamour he couldn’t access through the actual Oscars.

According to the NY Post: “The almost-billionaire lured at least 10 women to the manse under the guise of cash payments and lucrative modeling opportunities and said they were attending “pamper parties” where they were plied with booze, drugs and violently assaulted, the complaint, filed by the DiCello, Levitt, Gutzler and the Haba Law Firm, alleges.”

(Nygard is described in the law suit as being into Coprophilia, or pleasure derived from excrement. There are so many crude jokes about Hollywood people being crapped on, it made me wonder if Nygard took it literally. Now, that was a mistake.)

The Facebook page for the now defunct Night of 100 Stars reads: Every year Norby and Richard Walters host the ‘Night of 100 Stars” with Billionaire Clothier Peter Nygard as the main event sponsor to bring you the best Oscar Viewing Event in Los Angeles. You will meet Iconic celebrities from Hollywood and from around the world. You’ll meet and greet past Oscar winners, producers, directors, and actors…There is no show in town that allows such close access to Hollywood’s elite as “Night of 100 Stars’. Night of 100 Stars Viewing Gala Red Carpet Event is second to none when it comes to the number of Academy members that attend. Guests will gather at the luxurious Beverly Hilton Hotel where they will enjoy cocktails at the open bar and be able to mix and mingle with the stars. When the Oscar awards viewing begins quests will enjoy a 4-course dinner as only Hilton knows how to prepare. After dinner and viewing the Oscars, guests have the opportunity to meet and greet with their favorite stars.”

The lawsuit’s allegations include those of a then-15-year-old girl who was brought to Nygard’s luxurious Lyford Cay estate where the fashion executive tried to anally sodomize her, successfully raped her and then asked her to defecate in his mouth before offering her money, according to the Post.

“This horrific episode is just one of many like it detailed in the complaint against Nygard and his business entities by 10 brave women,” a press release about the lawsuit states. “The class action lawsuit accuses Nygard of sex trafficking and rape — all financed and facilitated by his family of corporations and their employees.”

PS I have no doubt neither Walters nor any of the guests at Night of 100 Stars had any idea of any of this. As with Epstein, the alleged deeds were carried out far away. Nygard was just a colorful character with a lot of money who wanted to meet “stars.” Reached for a quote, Lassie had no comment.

Nygard’s rep asks me to please add this: This lawsuit was expected. 

It is exactly what Peter Nygard predicted would happen when he filed his RICO lawsuit in New York last year against land baron and hedge fund billionaire, Louis Bacon. This is just the latest in a 10+ year string of attempts to try to destroy the reputation of a man through false statements. It is no different than the conspiracy exposed in 2010 through various legal actions filed by Peter Nygard, where it was shown that women were bought off to make such false claims. The RICO Complaint exposes a long-running malicious and vicious conspiracy dating back to at least as early as 2010 to pay off and coerce women to fabricate and manufacture sexual stories in an effort to destroy Nygard and his business. The allegations are completely false, without foundation and are vigorously denied. Peter Nygard looks forward to fully exposing this scam and, once and for all, clearing his name.

 

A. E. Hotchner, Biographer of Ernest Hemingway, the Man Who Told Paul Newman to Put Salad Dressing in Bottles, Dead at 102

Roger Friedman
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A. E. Hotchner, Biographer of Ernest Hemingway, the Man Who Told Paul Newman to Put Salad Dressing in Bottles, Dead at 102

It’s the end of an era. A. E. Hotchner has died at 102. Let me tell you, he was quite amazing, the inventor of his own legend, a myth maker, and much more. He was a terrific writer and a great entrepreneur, not to mention an impresario and raconteur.

Hotch, as we knew him at Elaine’s, was most famous for his friendship with Ernest Hemingway. His biography of Hemingway, called “Papa Hemingway,” published in 1966 put him on the map. The book solidified his place at Elaine’s, the great watering hole for writers on the Upper East Side. He held court there until Elaine’s death in 2010. He wrote a coffee table called “Everyone Comes to Elaine’s” and even attempted a musical about Elaine starring Lainie Kazan that didn’t make it past workshop stage. It was in Elaine’s that I met him in the late 80s.

Hotch’s other biographies included those of Doris Day, Sophia Loren, and Paul Newman. It was the friendship with Newman which actually eclipsed the one with Hemingway. It was Hotchner who convinced Newman to bottle his salad dressing and spaghetti sauce, and turn the whole thing into a charity that funded their not for profit Hole in the Wall Gang camps. Hotch lived in Westport, same as Newman, and they became local royalty. Hotch and Newman were friends til Paul’s death, and Hotch was always connected to Newman’s Own.

Hotch’s career really was as writer of teleplays in the late 50s and early 60s for the golden age of television. It was in addition to writing celebrity profiles and articles for myriad magazines. A lot of the teleplays were based on Hemingway’s stories and novels, like “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “The Snows of Kiliminjaro.”

A story we each knew, improbably, bonded us: Around 1960, while living in Westport, Hotch met the father of a friend I made years later, in my 20s. Hotch was so enamored of this guy, a charmer with a lot of great stories and inventions. He lost some money and some face when he peddled a story on this guy to the Saturday Evening Post only to learn from fact checking department that nothing was real. Hotch was red faced; he’d invested a lot of money in nothing.

But the story became apocryphal, and we often dissected it for fun. He never did turn it into fiction. But his novel, “The Man Who Lived at the Ritz,” showed his flair for drama. It was a bestseller, and became a hit mini-series.  No one knew how to tell a story like Hotch, which is why Elaine loved him. He could spin a yarn. I’m sure he has joined her big table in the sky, where Elaine, Liz Smith, Elaine Stritch, Peter Maas, Terry Southern and so many of the greats are holding court. And Hotch is introducing them to Hemingway and Newman, of course, as they pull up chairs.

Box Office UPDATED: Will Ferrell-Julia Louis Dreyfus “Downhill” Disaster with Just $4.6 Mil Opening 3 Day Weekend

Roger Friedman
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Box Office UPDATED: Will Ferrell-Julia Louis Dreyfus “Downhill” Disaster with Just $4.6 Mil Opening 3 Day Weekend

SUNDAY: It was worse than expected. Three day weekend was just $4.6 mil. Holiday weekend: $5.1 mil. I don’t know why, never saw it. Wasn’t invited. I guess I know why now. Talented people were misled, I guess. This will have to be removed from theaters quickly.

SATURDAY: Julia Louis Dreyfus must be wondering, what the heck is going on? She’s literally the Queen of Comedy TV after incredible successes with “Seinfeld” and “Veep.” But her post-“Veep” movie, “Downhill,” has skied right off the mountain. On Friday, the movie– with very mixed reviews– made just $2.1 million. A $5.5 million weekend is ahead of it, if luck intervenes. It’s all, shall we say, downhill from here.

For Searchlight, formerly Fox Searchlight, “Downhill” is another box office non starter after a tough season. Even though “Jojo Rabbit” got a lot of attention, the numbers are hard: $28.7 million. There wasn’t wide appeal for a Hitler- Nazi satire. For some reason, Fox Searchlight bought the Terrence Malick movie, “A Hidden Life,” even though it had no commercial prospects. Box office stands at $1.7 million. It was a hidden audience. “Lucy in the Sky”– well, forget it, $320,000. And so on.

The last big hits for Fox Searchlight were the Oscar-producing duo of “Shape of Water” and “Three Billboards,” which arrived at the end of 2017. Even they didn’t go crazy with dollars. “Shape” made $63.8 million and “Billboards” did around $54 mil. But those numbers seem like a dream now.  “Downhill,” despite Searchlight’s new owner, Disney ABC, plugging it on the Oscars, is a nightmare.

Still, Searchlight has two big movies coming. “The Personal History of David Copperfield” is coming on May 8th. It’s from the “Veep” creator, Armando Iannucci, and it’s hilarious. Dev Patel and the whole cast are completely zany, the movie should be a hit if it’s marketed properly. And Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” looks great from its trailer. Fingers crossed they will each go up hill, but not be uphill battles. Searchlight means too much to us.

Pop Fizz: Justin Bieber’s “Changes” Album Debut at Number 1, But the Buzz Isn’t There With Singles or Streaming

Roger Friedman
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Pop Fizz: Justin Bieber’s “Changes” Album Debut at Number 1, But the Buzz Isn’t There With Singles or Streaming

Justin Bieber’s new album, “Changes,” debuted at number 1 right after midnight on Friday on iTunes. That’s as expected. Almost five years since the last album, and so much money poured into the promotion between listening parties and the multiple part “documentary” on iTunes called “Seasons.” (I watched the most recent episode, it looked like “Spinal Tap.”)

Bieber had already released one terrible single called “Yummy” and then a better one with Quavo called “Intentions.” They are respectively at number 48 and number 3 on the single charts. The album release hasn’t moved them. Billie Eilish’s James Bond song, “No Time to Die,” went straight to number 1 Thursday night and is lodged there now for the time being.

There is an underlying apathy about Bieber. You can see it on the Apple Music streaming chart. If the album were really a hit, all its tracks would be at the top of that chart. That’s what happens when a real hit album arrives. The songs are being streamed, on Apple Music and Spotify. But in this case, that’s not happening. Nothing is happening. One track, featuring Post Malone– another star of the moment– is doing well. But the “Changes” songs aren’t motivating much activity.

And why is that? I’ll tell you why: they aren’t good songs. They are droning and monotonous. Bieber has a limited musical and lyrical vocabulary. He has an 8th grade intellect. His interests are confined to himself and “relationships.” By the age of 25, Stevie Wonder had released “Songs in the Key of Life.” He combined jazz, big band, R&B, Latin sounds. The lyrics addressed birth and death and love in an adult way. Bieber has been all over the world and seen nothing of it. If he has anxiety it should be about the fact that he doesn’t read the newspaper.

So stay tuned. “Changes” are coming. And they’re not going to be happy ones. No one who works with Bieber is going to tell him this. Those people have made all the money they can from him. He doesn’t get that. They will encourage  him not to change, so by the time he’s 30 he will be totally moribund. If he’s really interested in music and not pants without a belt, tattoos, and race cars, he’d better delve into educating himself and spread his wings before they cease functioning.

 

Lynn Cohen, 86, A Great Actress Whose Name You Didn’t Know, Famous for “Sex and the City,” “Hunger Games: Catching Fire””

Roger Friedman
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Lynn Cohen, 86, A Great Actress Whose Name You Didn’t Know, Famous for “Sex and the City,” “Hunger Games: Catching Fire””

Lynn Cohen died yesterday at age 86 according to friends on social media. She was not famous in the movie star sense and won no awards, but she was beloved and well known in the acting world. You’d know her face if you saw her. She played Magda, Miranda’s nanny on “Sex and the City” for years and was well known from “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” I was always excited to see her and talk to her at screenings.

Cohen got her start in movies and TV late in life. In 1993 she appeared as Mrs. House in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery.” She’s been murdered, or so Woody and Diane Keaton think, by Mr. House, played by Jerry Adler. From there Lynn Cohen’s career takes off like a rocket. She has more than 20 acting credits listed just in the last two years on the imdb.

On TV she became famous for playing Miranda’s– Cynthia Nixon’s– nanny on “Sex and the City.” On the imdb it says she was in 13 episodes– it seems like more. She was also featured in both of the movies. She also appeared in 12 episodes of “Law and Order,” and was Philip Seymour Hoffman’s mother in “Synedoche,  New York.” She had memorable movie roles also in Steven Spielberg’s “Munich” and in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

Before and during her run in films and TV, Lynn also had a long theater career. She made her Broadway debut in 1990’s “Orpheus Descending,” and returned as part of the cast of “Ivanov” in 1998. Her long list of stage credits also includes off-Broadway and regional theater appearances in shows such as “The Traveling Lady” at Cherry Lane Theatre.

She was lovely, and will be sorely missed. Condolences to her husband, Ronald Cohen.

 

Justin Bieber Drops First New Album in 4 Years, Called “Changes” But Not Really Reflecting Any

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber Drops First New Album in 4 Years, Called “Changes” But Not Really Reflecting Any

He’s still full of tattoos. The main changes JUstin Bieber has gone through are getting married, and dealing with anxiety. He’s got video series on YouTube in which he keeps whining about mental health issues. But he’s not very introspective and he’s too bright. On the latest episode of “Seasons,” which sounds like the name of Hallmark card store, Bieber says of manager, Scooter Braun, “even if everything falls apart, he’ll always be there in some capacity.” (I cracked up at that one. I’m sure he will.)

The new album is called “Changes.” The first single, “Yummy,” is quite awful. The second single, with Quavo, was a bit better. But basically for a person who’s been all over the world, Bieber has life experience. He is a perfectly packaged piece of Kraft cheese substitute stored in a Ziploc bag. He is, to use an old word, thick. Someone should set him loose in the wild and see if he can make it back in one piece. He also looks, I’m sorry, like he never washes. So we’ve got that, too.

Stevie Wonder was 25 years old in 1976 when he released “Songs in the Key of Life.” Bieber is 25 now, and it’s clear something similar won’t be happening. (Stevie was also 6 years into his musical awakening and emancipation.) So whatever epiphany Bieber fans might have thought was coming is not. This is what it is.

The lyrics…what can I say? One song reportedly has a line “Let’s get it on expeditiously.” Basically, all the songs sound the same. They are sung the same, to computerized music. You could almost call it lounge music, very laid back. Ambien, not ambient. There is no musicality involved. Or particular musicianship. The lyrics are all about Justin, how he feels, what he says about the feelings. He has no view beyond his pre-fab McMansion life. I liked one song, “Come Around Me.” And the singer Kehlani makes for a nice break amid Bieber’s droning. But much of the production feels like it was lifted off a Babyface album circa 1992. But at least “Come Around Me” has a melody and a hook. That’s more than you can say, expeditiously, about the rest of it.

Oy, Justin. Smokey Robinson’s gonna smack you for “Second Emotion.” Are you kidding?

Let’s dig in

UPDATED Days of Our Lives: Three Long Term Actors Leaving, At Least Two More Have Chosen to Exit NBC’s Remaining Soap

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED Days of Our Lives: Three Long Term Actors Leaving, At Least Two More Have Chosen to Exit NBC’s Remaining Soap

UPDATE: Moss may be the unidentified actor #4, leaving by choice. Camila Banus may be number 5.

EARLIER “Days of our Lives” was recently renewed by NBC for another season. But the terms must not have been so great. Three long term actors are leaving the show, and two more are said to be going of their own accord.

Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith, who play a young gay married couple, are out. Smith announced it yesterday on his Twitter account, and more news is coming. Massey was already killed off the show once, then brought back.

Another young actor, Casey Moss, has already announced his exit.

Galen Gering, who’s been with the show for 12 years, is also out. He plays a good guy cop.

I’m told two more actors are leaving of their own accord, although I don’t know which ones yet. Actress Judi Evans, who’s been on and off the show for years, and came from other soaps as well, was written out when the show did a time jump recently.

“Days of our Lives” is already known as the cheapest show on television. It looks cheap. I give credit to the actors who’ve remained — some for hundreds of years — who have to “sell” some crazy stories, and take walks in fake looking parks, etc. The show is still using a house set from its debut in 1965. The furniture looks like it was bought in 1940. It’s not even mid century modern.

The inside joke, of course, is that one day Deidre Hall will just be sitting there talking to herself, acting out all the parts. It will be just her and an hourglass.

Hey look, all these young guys who are leaving should get parts on prime time, they’re at least as good as all the people on procedural police dramas and hospital shows. You’ll see them all again, I’m sure.

 

(Listen) Multiple Grammy Award Winner Billie Eilish Unveils Her Ethereal James Bond Theme Song, “No Time to Die”

Roger Friedman
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(Listen) Multiple Grammy Award Winner Billie Eilish Unveils Her Ethereal James Bond Theme Song, “No Time to Die”

Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die” James Bond theme song is here. (Keep refreshing!) The ethereal track is being released two months before the final Daniel Craig 007 thriller hits theaters. Eilish, who just appeared on the Oscars and recently won a bunch of Grammy Awards, is 18 and hot stuff in pop music. The Bond producers hope having her sing the theme song will light a fire under kids her age and get them into theaters come April. Eilish joins a long line of stars who’ve had successes– Paul McCartney, Shirley Bassey, Sheena Easton, Carly Simon– with Bond themes, and failures– Alicia Keys, Madonna among them.

The track was teased yesterday on Twitter. It goes live at 7pm Eastern time.

In Tough Winter Broadway Hopes for a Hot Holiday Weekend with Total Box Office Down, Lowest Since September

Roger Friedman
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In Tough Winter Broadway Hopes for a Hot Holiday Weekend with Total Box Office Down, Lowest Since September

It’s been a tough winter for Broadway at the box office. This past weekend’s take was $27.9 million, the lowest since last September, and before that almost exactly a year ago. By President’s Day weekend, the theaters are praying for a surge in customers.

A lot of the big shows are way down because of their relative age.  “The Book of Mormon,” especially, could use a kick in the pants. They’ve missed the $1 million mark for two weeks. Last week they were at $967K.

The Great White Way is waiting for the new “West Side Story,” which has been doing very well in its long non review preview period. But I’ve seen it, and I can tell you, I’m not sure the reviews on February 20th will be so glowing. The Times may like it just to appear hip, but the show is mostly video screens. Once it can be reviewed, “West Side Story” won’t be such a snap to sell to the masses.

All the newer shows have toughed it over the cold, dark days of winter, even the Tina Turner musical. “A Soldier’s Play” and “Jagged Little Pill” have done “alright” but they haven’t stirred the pot. Others like “Grand Horizons” are really struggling. The only real hit is David Byrne’s “American Utopia,” but it closes on Sunday. Byrne must need a rest. But the show could play for months more to sold out houses.

 

Wes Anderson’s “French Dispatch” Trailer Scores 1 Mil YouTube Views, Headed to Cannes as Opener or Centerpiece Selection

Roger Friedman
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Wes Anderson’s “French Dispatch” Trailer Scores 1 Mil YouTube Views, Headed to Cannes as Opener or Centerpiece Selection

Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” made quite a splash yesterday.

The trailer already has 1 million views on YouTube. The movie, starring Anderson’s regulars like Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Adrien Brody, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton, also has a raft of new stars like Timothee Chalamet and Saoirse Ronan. Most of them worked for scale as the Fox Searchlight feature is said to have had a meager budget of just $25 million. (If all those people had been paid properly, the lowest bottom line would have been $60 million easily.)

“The French Dispatch” will release on July 24th. But first it will play at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens on May 12th. Since it was filmed in the southwest French town of Angouleme, this makes sense. Also, July 24th is too soon for the late summer-fall festivals like Venice or Telluride. So Cannes is Disney-Searchlight’s only option for a splashy debut. The only question now is how many of “The French Dispatch” stars will Disney fly over and what kind of premiere will they put on.

Luckily, Cannes is hot again. The festival director, Thierry Fremaux, looks like a genius now (he always was) for insisting on having Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” in last year year’s competition. “Parasite” won the Palme D’Or, and has now won the Academy Award for Best Picture and for Best International Film. Suddenly everyone wants to be in the Festival de Cannes again!  Fremaux can use “The French Dispatch” as an opener, or keep it until the third night, which is usually the Centerpiece, or even better– hold it til the second week and make everyone wait!

PS Good news for Searchlight, formerly Fox Searchlight’s Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula. They have “French Dispatch” later. Sooner they’ll release Armando Iannucci’s wonderful, hilarious  “Personal History of David Copperfield” next month.

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