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The Murdochs Become the Clampetts as Rupert’s Son Buys Jed and Granny’s Bev Hills Mansion for $150 Mil

Roger Friedman
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The Murdochs Become the Clampetts as Rupert’s Son Buys Jed and Granny’s Bev Hills Mansion for $150 Mil

Mr. Drysdale and Miss Hathaway will be right over with the paper work!

Rupert Murdoch’s son, Lachlan, has reportedly bought the mansion used for “The Beverly Hillbillies” for $150 million.

Can we cast this show? Lachlan is Jethro. Rupert is Jed Clampett. Rupert’s mom, who lived to be 104, is Granny. Jeri Hall is Ellie Mae. James Murdoch? He can be Jethro’s long lost twin.

No one better to play Milburn Drysdale, the idiot banker, than Donald Trump. And Miss Jane Hathaway? Why, that credit goes to Kellyanne Conway.

Seriously, Lachlan Murdoch paid $150 million for the Bel Air mansion used to depict the Clampletts’ home. You may recall they struck oil in the Ozarks and moved to the Hills of Beverly.

The Clampetts came from Hooterville, which is sort of the equivalent of Australia. They left behind the cast of “Petticoat Junction”– which could be played by the Kardashian family. Imagine Caitlyn Jenner popping out of the water tower after a quick dip on a hot day!

The Murdochs are generally thought to be the inspiration for HBO’s searing satire, “Succession.” But suddenly this all makes much more sense!

 

Shakespeare Gets a Raw Deal in 2019: Netflix “The King” Movie Drops His Name, “West Side Story” Cuts Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene

Roger Friedman
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Shakespeare Gets a Raw Deal in 2019: Netflix “The King” Movie Drops His Name, “West Side Story” Cuts Romeo and Juliet Balcony Scene

William Shakespeare is having a bad year.

First, Netflix’s “The King,” starring Timothee Chalamet, dropped his name and all reference to him in the advertising. “The King” is based on Shakespeare’s “Henry” plays (Henry the Fourth Parts 1 and 2, Henry V). But you’d never know it from promotion. We’ve fallen a long way from “William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.” for example, Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 extravaganza with Leonardo Di Caprio and Clare Danes.

But “The King” is only the first wound for the Bard of Avon this year. Now comes news from the Broadway Theater that all traces of Shakespeare are gone from the new production of “West Side Story.” The famed and revered musical is based on “Romeo and Juliet,” if you recall. Lovers Tony and Maria are supposed to come from different sides of the tracks. He’s a fair haired Polish American kid. She’s a gorgeous Puerto Rican transplanted to New York. Their respective friends hate each other.

“West Side Story” is so much based on “Romeo and Juliet” that it features a famous balcony scene in which Tony approaches Maria, climbs her fire escape, and they sing the great song, “Tonight.”

Alas, the balcony, according to sources, is gone from Ivo van Hove’s “WSS,” which has had two preview performances this week. It opens February 6, 2020. But one audience member tells me, “There’s no balcony because there are no sets.” No sets? “No sets. The whole show is performed on a bare brick stage painted black. A large back wall, large enough to be Fenway Park’s big green wall, is a massive video projection.”

Shakespeare should sue! One of his most famous lines is “But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” Juliet is standing on the balcony. But in the new “WSS,” Juliet– er, Maria– is apparently cheated out of her big moment.

Other changes to “West Side Story” besides no sets? We already know the Jerome Robbins choreography is gone. So is the song “I Feel Pretty,” and a ballet that follows the song “Somewhere.” I’m told the “Gee Officer Krupke” song, which used to be comedic, is now pretty dark. and Officer Krupke holds a gun on the gang members while they serenade him.

Hmmmm….I guess someone outta brush up their Shakespeare!

 

Sir Bob Geldof Celebrates with 1st Boomtown Rats Album in 36 Years, New Book and Film Coming As Well

Roger Friedman
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Sir Bob Geldof Celebrates with 1st Boomtown Rats Album in 36 Years, New Book and Film Coming As Well

Sir Bob Geldof is back in circulation. On Monday he aced performances at Sting’s Rainforest concert with his big Boomtown Rats hit, “I Don’t Like Mondays” and Elvis Costello’s Nick Lowe anthem, “What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding.”

Now we see why Geldof is ginned up. He’s got his first Boomtown Rats album in 36 years, called “Citizens of Boomtown.” It’s released in March 2020 on BMG Records. Produced by Rats bassist Pete Briquette, it will be available on digital platforms, CD and vinyl. The first single ‘Trash Glam Baby’, a beautifully sleazy rocker, will be released on January 10, 2020. The Rats consist of Bob Geldof on vocals, Pete Briquette on bass, Simon Crowe on drums and Garry Roberts on guitar.

Geldof and the Rats were right in the middle of the Punk/New Wave movement late 70s, early 80s. They hit their peak with the very prescient “I Don’t Like Mondays,” a song about a girl who shot up her school. It was based on a real story then– in January 1979, 16 year old Brenda Spencer said she killed the principal at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego because she didn’t like Mondays. (She also wounded 8 children and a police officer). It seemed ludicrous at the time. But it became an epidemic all too soon after that.

The Rats had 6 albums, Geldof put out 7 albums but something else happened: Live Aid. Geldof put together the international 1985 weekend concert to stop starvation in Ethiopia, and it became a phenomenon. Suddenly he was the face of rock and roll worldwide philanthropy. He was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth. Thanks to Geldof, unknown millions of lives were probably saved and still are.

But the rocker never goes away. So he’s got a new album, a tour, a book, and a documentary coming. And it’s about time!

“Indeed if anything”, says Geldof “it was time to hear THAT noise again. But I only knew that when I heard this group of individuals re-constitute their specific racket”.

Were they not afraid of a sort of cozy or complacent nostalgia smothering the original vitality of the music?

Geldof responds: “Had that happened I’d have instantly knocked it on the head, but when we played “Someone’s Looking At You’ I found I was singing now about the dangerous corporate surveillance of Facebook, Apple, Google, ever-on “smart’ shit whose product is ‘You’. When we do ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ I’m thinking of last week’s mass killing. When it’s ‘Banana Republic’, it is now the death of the American Republic. When it’s ‘Rat Trap’, that abattoir I worked in and where I wrote the song, now still serves as a physical metaphor, not just for the death of the animals there, but the hopelessness of the human lives that worked there. It still works for that same reason. There is no nostalgia here. None.”

Larry David is Back for Season 10, Year 20 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: Guests Include Jon Hamm, Laverne Cox, Richard Kind, Cheryl Hines, Etc

Roger Friedman
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Larry David is Back for Season 10, Year 20 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”: Guests Include Jon Hamm, Laverne Cox, Richard Kind, Cheryl Hines, Etc

Larry David is back with “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on January 19th at 10:30p on HBO. It’s the 10th season, although the show began longer ago than that. Like say, October 2000. Yes, it’s twenty years of Larry crabbing and annoying people. Thank god.

What a pleasure to see Larry back with his gang including Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, JB Smoove, Richard Lewis, Cheryl Hines and Richard Kind. But he’s also got Jon Hamm, Ted Danson, Esai Morales and many other special guests. Glad to see Carol Leifer is co-producing. One of the greats.

Between the new season and Larry doing Bernie Sanders on “SNL,” this should be a good year for comedy.

Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins Executive Produce and Act in Son Jack’s Feature Film Directing Debut, “VHYES” Coming in January

Roger Friedman
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Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins Executive Produce and Act in Son Jack’s Feature Film Directing Debut, “VHYES” Coming in January

Well, all the best showbiz genes have lined up for Jack Henry Robbins.

The son of Oscar winners Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins has written and directed his first feature film, called “VHYES.” It will be released next month by Oscilloscope.

Sarandon and Robbins not only executive produced the film, they act it in as well. The film is part of a kickstarter fundraising program that raised $25,000 this fall.

The film is described in a press release: “A bizarre retro comedy shot entirely on VHS, “VHYes” takes us back to a simpler time, when twelve-year-old Ralph mistakenly records home videos and his favorite late night shows over his parents’ wedding tape. The result is a nostalgic wave of home shopping clips, censored pornography, and nefarious true-crime tales that threaten to unkindly rewind Ralph’s reality. A hypnotic narrative told through hundreds of criss-crossing vignettes and a mix of absurdist comedy, sincere drama, music, and just a touch of horror, this wholly original feature debut expertly walks the fine line between complete lunacy and total sincerity. ”

The cast includes mostly indie actors, unknown to us, except for Thomas Lennon.

There are 12 EPs and producers including Sarandon, Robbins, and Stella Schnabel, daughter of artist Julian Schnabel.

I don’t know how the film will turn out, but the party should be amazing. Stay tuned!

PS Jack’s brother Miles has a burgeoning acting career. He’s been a regular on “X Files” and “Mozart in the Jungle,” plus he has three or four movies already shot for release this coming year.

Oscar Winning Director Roman Polanski Says He Will Never Return to US, Feels Like a “Leper”

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Winning Director Roman Polanski Says He Will Never Return to US, Feels Like a “Leper”

Roman Polanski has given his first ever extensive interview, to PAris Match. It’s a wide ranging interview about his 1978 rape case, Sharon Tate, his movie now about the Dreyfus affair, his family. He says below that he feels like a “leper” in Hollywood, will never return to the US for fear of being arrested. He still talks to his old pals, he says, although it’s unclear whether that’s true. Polanski says he blames Harvey Weinstein for dredging up the rape case in 2003, when his movie “The Pianist” was pitted against Harvey’s “Chicago” at the Oscars. But Polanski forgets that Weinstein produced a letter with the names of 200 directors who backed Polanski when he was in trouble, took out an ad in the New York Times, and convened a gathering of dozens of directors in New York to support Polanski.

The Academy of Oscars has excluded you in 2018. Does this make you bitter?

It makes me rather smile. For years, they gave me nominations. In 2003, they ended up giving me an Oscar, all after the events for which they saw me now. It indicates the change of time.

Do you feel like an outcast in Hollywood? Worse, a leper.

Your friends at the time, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, do not support you anymore?

When we call ourselves, we talk about our families, movies, not that kind of thing.

Will you ever return to the United States?

No. If I did, I would be thrown into jail when there was no motive. And do not forget that all these crazy ideas that I reproach come from this country, which has become crazy. Recently, on my Google page, someone added me a third child with the name of the baby that Sharon was carrying, with whom she was buried. I had to send lawyer’s letters, threatening a lawsuit to have him removed. Today, someone can rewrite your biography, and you can do almost nothing …

2020 SAG Awards Surprise Snubs: “Little Women,” Clint Eastwood, De Niro, Gives Push to “Parasite,” “Jojo Rabbit”

Roger Friedman
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2020 SAG Awards Surprise Snubs: “Little Women,” Clint Eastwood, De Niro, Gives Push to “Parasite,” “Jojo Rabbit”

Here are the nominations this morning for the SAG Awards. In past years the Ensemble Award has been a pretty close sign of the Academy Awards. It’s not always the case, but more often than not it’s spot on because the SAG voters are the biggest constituency within the Academy.

The snubs are crazy : no Saoirse Ronan for “Little Women” or anything for that movie. No “Marriage Story” in Best Ensemble. No De Niro for “Irishman.” Nothing for Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell.” Also missing anything for “The Two Popes.”

Scarlett Johansson received two nominations, for “Jojo Rabbit” in supporting and “Marriage Story” in lead.

One big surprise nomination: Taron Egerton as Elton John in “Rocketman.” Good for him!

Other awards already announced did not include Nicole Kidman or Jamie Foxx, each of whom deserves to be included.

The only nomination from network TV is Sterling K. Brown for “This Is Us” from NBC.

 

Best Supporting Actor: Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Brad Pitt

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern, Scarlett Johansson, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Margot Robbie

Best Actor: Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Taron Egerton, Joaquin Phoenix

Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyongo, Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger

Ensemble: Bombshell, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite

 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:

Mahershala Ali (“True Detective”)
Russell Crowe (“The Loudest Voice”)
Jared Harris (“Chernobyl”)
Jharrel Jerome (“When They See Us”)
Sam Rockwell (“Fosse/Verdon”)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries:

Patricia Arquette (“The Act”)
Toni Collette (“Unbelievable”)
Joey King (“The Act”)
Emily Watson (“Chernobyl”)
Michelle Williams (“Fosse/Verdon”)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series:

Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Steve Carell (“The Morning Show”)
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)
Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”)
David Harbour (“Stranger Things”)

Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”)
Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”)
Olivia Colman (“The Crown”)
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series:

Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)
Bill Hader (“Barry”)
Andrew Scott (“Fleabag”)
Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series:

Cristina Applegate (“Dead to Me”)
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series:

“Big Little Lies” (HBO)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series:

“Barry” (HBO)
“Fleabag” (Amazon)
“The Kominsky Method”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
“Schitt’s Creek” (CBC Television)

Stunt Ensemble in A Comedy Drama

Game of Thrones, Glow, Stranger Things, Walking Dead, Watchmen

Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture

Avengers Endgame, Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Linda Solomon’s Extraordinary Book of Intimate Aretha Franklin Photographs is the Holiday Gift of the Year

Roger Friedman
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Linda Solomon’s Extraordinary Book of Intimate Aretha Franklin Photographs is the Holiday Gift of the Year

Linda Solomon has been a journalist and photographer in Detroit her whole life. She knows all about celebrities. Her sister our pal Jill Rappaport, of “Today” show and pet advocacy fame. The girls grew up in Detroit with all the great Motown and soul stars including Aretha Franklin, who became a family friend. Many years ago, Jill even hosted a party for Aretha at her magical “log cabin” in the Hamptons, where Sam Moore’s band played and I got to dance with the Queen of Soul.

Now Linda has published a book of her photographs of Aretha over the years. Jill gave her the title, “The Queen Next Door” because even though she royalty, Aretha loved to go out in her hometown and do ordinary things. She loved to shop and dine out and hit the local casino. Even though she had periods of living in New York and Los Angeles, she always came home to Detroit.

Linda has really captured the real Aretha in gorgeous photos taken during her Clive Davis Renaissance period, the 80s. Aretha was not heavy then. She was trim and enjoying her second swipe to success and fame. She practically glows while her hits like “Freeway of Love” and “Jump to It” introduced her to a new generation of fans.

Solomon’s book is an important chronicle of Aretha’s life. She got Aretha’s niece, Sabrina, to write a few words, and 90 year old Burt Bacharach– who wrote “I Say A Little Prayer” with Hal David– to add a foreword. (For the record, both Aretha’s version and Dionne Warwick’s are equal classics that show how different vocalists will interpret a great song.) Bacharach sums it up: “She was just amazing.”

Many of the photos are Aretha with family, with boyfriend and really best friend Willie Wilkerson and lots of celebrities in there including Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, and Whoopi Goldberg. But the best pictures are of Aretha when she’s unaware, relaxed, contemplative, or just enjoying herself. The woman with this extraordinary voice was also quite brilliant, introspective, and philosophical. But she was also a lot of fun, and Solomon has really captured that.

“Aretha was private,” Linda says in her introduction. “I respected this and she trusted me.” Beautiful work!

William Shatner Wants Out of 18 Year Marriage — His Fourth– At Age 88: Adult Kids May Be Bidding for Him

Roger Friedman
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William Shatner Wants Out of 18 Year Marriage — His Fourth– At Age 88: Adult Kids May Be Bidding for Him

William Shatner certainly doesn’t look or seem like he’s 88– yes, 88– years old.

But the once and forever Capt. James T. Kirk is that age. And now he wants out of his 18 year marriage to his fourth wife.

Shatner was married three times before he hooked up with Elizabeth Martin. Before that he was married to Gloria Rand, Marcy Lafferty and Nerine Kidd.

With Rand he had three daughters, now grown and with families. One daughter, Melanie, is married to actor Joel Gretsch. Shatner divorced Gloria and married Marcy Lafferty in 1973. They were married until 1996, had no kids, but used to appear a lot on game shows before the “Star Trek” movies revived Shatner’s career. He married Nerine Kidd in 1999. She was found floating in his swimming pool in 1999. Two years later he married Elizabeth.

Shatner still has time for at least one more wife. You never know. All that time in space may have helped his longevity even though it didn’t help Spock, McCoy, Uhura, or Scottie. Why divorce now? Those three daughters and their families are probably looking at the big picture. We’ve seen this before. Shatner is said to be worth $100 million thanks to a horse farm, investments, and 14 years the pitchman for Price Line.

Of course, Elizabeth may have other ideas. But if there’s a pre-nup in place the family probably wants to oust her now rather than deal with her as a widow. It happens all the time. Casey Kasem’s family certainly wanted Jean Kasem out, but they were out. The rest was misery.

Remember, Shatner is no day at the beach. He didn’t even go to Nimoy’s funeral.

 

Paul McCartney’s Animated Film “High in the Clouds” Moves to Netflix– I Told You About This Film in 2011

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney’s Animated Film “High in the Clouds” Moves to Netflix– I Told You About This Film in 2011

Back in July 2011 I told you exclusively that Michael Lynne and Bob Shaye, the founders of New Line Cinema, had made a deal with Paul McCartney for an animated film based on his children’s book called “High in the Clouds.” Lynne and Shaye had just started their new Unique Films.

Time passed, the project drifted. Sadly, the beloved Michael Lynn passed away this year, a shock to everyone.

Now comes news that “High in the Clouds” has moved to Netflix, like everything else. McCartney is still producing and writing original songs. The screenplay is from Jon Croker, who is directing the piece based on the book which was co-written with Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh.

Lynne and Shaye keep their producing credit, their last one together. Other producers are Sidonie Dumas, Christophe Riandee, Nicolas Atlan and Terry Kalagian (Gaumont).

This is one of many projects for Paul. He’s also writing the music for the Broadway version of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” You can also hear many interstitial interviews with him on the Beatles Sirius XM channel (18) that are really lovely.

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