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Trump Will Give Medal of Arts to All-White Gang of Supporters: Jon Voight, Alison Krauss, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, Et Al

Roger Friedman
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Trump Will Give Medal of Arts to All-White Gang of Supporters: Jon Voight, Alison Krauss, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, Et Al

CORRECTED: Donald Trump will further degrade awards giving when he gives the National Medal of Arts to an all white group of people this Thursday, most of whom are his ardent supporters.

The big name is actor Jon Voight, who loves Trump and is as right wing as you can get. Even though he won an Oscar for “Coming Home” in 1977, Voight is outspoken for Trump. He also filmed a role in an anti-abortion movie that’s been long in the making. I doubt his daughter, Angelina Jolie, will come to the White House ceremony.

Others include bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, and WETA president Sharon Percy Rockefeller. She’s the wife of former West Virginia Democratic senator and governor Jay Rockefeller. Trump loves West Virginia because he can do big rallies there and the people think he’s helping them. Sharon also ran WETA, a PBS station. (Ironically Trump has tried to eliminate funding for PBS). Also receiving the Medal of Arts are all the military marching bands. There might be some non-white people in there.

The group is rounded out by the Claremont Institute, philanthropist Teresa Lozano Long, chef Patrick J. O’Connell and author James Patterson. The former is a prominent conservative think tank. Long and her husband, who are at least 90, are Republican philanthropists from Austin, Texas. Patterson– I’m not surprised he’s with Trump, are you? He went from the ad biz to creating a bestseller factory of junk thrillers. Why is O’Connell getting the award? I’m sure there’s some nefarious reason.

According to the Atlantic Monthly, a committee made recommendations to Trump, but they were ignored.

Christine Blasey Ford Surprised With Standing Ovation at ACLU Gala in Los Angeles by Judd Apatow with Special Bill of Rights Award: “We need to thank courageous whistleblowers”

Leah Sydney
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Christine Blasey Ford Surprised With Standing Ovation at ACLU Gala in Los Angeles by Judd Apatow with Special Bill of Rights Award: “We need to thank courageous whistleblowers”

Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh of a sexual attack when they were young, was surprised tonight at the annual ACLU dinner in Los Angeles. At their Bill of Rights dinner, Judd Apatow presented Ford with a special award. It was a total surprise to the audience, and kept quiet because of security concerns.

When Apatow introduced her to the star studded crowd, the audience went wild, giving her a standing ovation.

She told the crowd: “I underestimated the machine against me, but I also underestimated my support.” She received 200,000 emails and handwritten letters. “That’s why it’s so important that the ACLU is in the forefront of this movement against sexual violence against women and to speak up for the victims.”

Other recipients of the ACLU Bill of Rights award tonight were actor Don Cheadle, songwriter Justin Tranter, and activist Judy Balaban. Presenters included Judy’s cousin, actor Bob Balaban, Regina Hall, Selena Gomez and actress Chrissy Metz. Metz performed her soon to be Oscar nominated song, “I’m Standing with You,” written by Diane Warren for the movie “Breakthrough.”

It was Ford’s brave testimony earlier this year that held up the approval by the Senate of Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court. Even though he got the appointment, Ford was widely believed by most of the country and the non Trumpers in Congress.

keep refreshing…

 

 

 

 

UPDATED Harry Styles Premieres “Watermelon Sugar” on “SNL,” But Show’s Ratings — with Less Politics — Fall From Prior Week

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED Harry Styles Premieres “Watermelon Sugar” on “SNL,” But Show’s Ratings — with Less Politics — Fall From Prior Week

UPDATED
Ratings for “SNL” fell with Harry Styles as host and musical guest. They were down to 3.9 million from the previous show’s 4.1 with Kristen Stewart and Coldplay. “SNL” has averaged 4.1 mil this season but is way down from last season. The show seems to be steering away from politics after the cold opening. That’s a mistake.

EARLIER Harry Styles premiered his new single, “Watermelon Sugar,” on “Saturday Night Live” last night. It’s the second single from his forthcoming album, “Fine Line.” The title of the song echoes Richard Brautigan’s avant garde 1968 novella “In Watermelon Sugar,” which is described thusly: “Death is a place where the sun shines a different colour every day and where people travel to the length of their dreams. Rejecting the violence and hate of the old gang at the Forgotten Works, they lead gentle lives in watermelon sugar. Brautigan expresses the mood of a new generation.”

Hmmmm. Did Harry read the book or just like the title? You decide. The song jumped to number 4 overnight on iTunes. Not number 1. Harry has trouble getting his fans to buy his music, I don’t know why.

There are about 10 other songs on Spotify called “Watermelon Sugar.” There’s also a group called “Watermelon Sugar.” But this sort of thing doesn’t bother Harry. On his debut album, he borrowed sounds and riffs from many places. This is called interpolation these days. It’s all an homage of different, er, Styles.

Is Streaming Killing the Movie Business? Box Office Drops By More than 50% Year to Year as Only “Ford v Ferrari” Hits

Roger Friedman
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Is Streaming Killing the Movie Business? Box Office Drops By More than 50% Year to Year as Only “Ford v Ferrari” Hits

“Ford v Ferrari” was the number 1 movie this weekend, making $31 million. That sounds great until you realize that this week last year, “Fantastic Beasts 2” made twice that, $62 million. The top five films at the box office is off by more than 56% year to year. More options like Netflix, Hulu, etc plus advance buzz kill from social media and Rotten Tomatoes has all led to a significant drop off in theater attendance. The films most hurt are the mid-level ones, with several good films like “Motherless Brooklyn” and “The Good Liar” simply striking out.

Star Tributes Pour in for Celebrated Photographer Terry O’Neill, Elton John Says: “He was brilliant, funny and I loved his company”

Roger Friedman
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Star Tributes Pour in for Celebrated Photographer Terry O’Neill, Elton John Says: “He was brilliant, funny and I loved his company”

Famed photographer Terry O’Neill has died at age 81 from prostate cancer. O’Neill was the toast of Hollywood and rock music during the heyday of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. He was married to Oscar winner Faye Dunaway for three years, and they had a son, Liam. Tributes are pouring in on Twitter. He shot everyone important, and his pictures were unique and memorable. O’Neill was right at the center of everything that was hot in a time when that mattered and the celebrities were STARS.

UPDATE Dave Matthews Band Leads Pat Benatar, Others in Fan Vote for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE Dave Matthews Band Leads Pat Benatar, Others in Fan Vote for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

It’s not a surprise, but Pat Benatar has knocked down a peg in the fan vote for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Dave Matthews Band has pulled out in front with over 503,000 votes. Benatar is runner up with 451,000 fans.

Each of them will wind up being inducted and deservedly so. Benatar was over looked for far too long. Matthews’ influence and his whole life in the music world make him a perfect candidate.

The Doobie Brothers, who should also get in without trouble, are at number three.

But numbers four and five, I think, should be chosen by the Rock Hall voters. The fans have Judas Priest and Soundgarden in those positions. But it’s high time the MC5 got in. This is getting ridiculous. And Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, or rather Chaka Khan featuring Rufus, have waited way too long.

Additionally, the RRHOF would be smart to finally name Billy Preston in the Side Man category. The Fifth Beatle, the only artist ever to join the Beatles as a credited artist on a record (“Get Back”), Preston has to be included this year. After all, this year’s ceremony in Cleveland will coincide with the 50th anniversary of “Let it Be.”

In that regard, it would be swell to see a special award this year to a producer. I’m thinking Richard Perry, who was the most successful producer of the 70s and 80s, even into the aughts. His recording artists include Carly Simon, Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr, Leo Sayer, The Pointer Sisters, and so on. What a resume!

John Sykes, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

 

 

Cher Puts the Whole Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun Song Ownership Fight in Perspective with One Succinct Tweet

Roger Friedman
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Cher Puts the Whole Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun Song Ownership Fight in Perspective with One Succinct Tweet

 Cher has put the whole Taylor Swift-Scooter Braun Big Machine fight in perspective with one succinct Tweet. In capital letters, she writes: BABE, THIS SHIT HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE MILLION SELLING ARTISTS WERE PAID OFF WITH A CADILLACE AND A BOTTLE OF JACK! she adds a unhappy emoji and finishes: “I’m sorry Scooter.”

Record company executives have indeed been swindling songwriters for all of eternity. Wilson Pickett complained to me many times about his copyrights. Tina Turner wrote in her memoir “I, Tina” that Phil Spector paid her for recording “River Deep Mountain High” with a Thunderbird. Ronnie Spector and Darlene Love had to chase Spector for decades to get their money. And on and on and on.

Cher knows everything. Where is her book already?

 

Box Office: Star Power Matters as Matt Damon, Christian Bale Steer “Ford v. Ferrari” Number 1 at the Finish Line

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Star Power Matters as Matt Damon, Christian Bale Steer “Ford v. Ferrari” Number 1 at the Finish Line

Star power still matters, especially at the race track.

James Mangold’s “Ford v. Ferrari” is number 1 this morning, heading to a $30 million weekend.

The stars, Matt Damon and Christian Bale, paid off. So did exciting race scenes of the 1966 Le Mans race. Damon plays Carroll Shelby, Ford’s legendary designer. Bale is his eccentric driver, Kenny Miles. The pair make for a great on screen relationship. It’s all chemistry.

For Fox, now part of Disney, this success matters a lot. Disney itself couldn’t have pulled off a movie like this. But the two studios together are gassed and ready to go.

Bale is headed to a Best Supporting Actor nomination. The movie should be a Best Picture nominee. Damon — who’s very good– may have to settle for other accolades. I just the studio doesn’t put Bale in the lead category. It’s already quite full with the Joker himself, Joaquin Phoenix, plus Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Adam Driver, and Jonathan Pryce.

Meantime, Warner Bros. can celebrate “Joker” crossing $1 billion worldwide. For an R rated movie, it’s unheard of, and they now hold the record in that category.

Box Office UPDATE : Kristen Stewart Updated “Charlie’s Angels” A Total Loss with $8.6 Mil Weekend Including Thursday Previews

Roger Friedman
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Box Office UPDATE : Kristen Stewart Updated “Charlie’s Angels” A Total Loss with $8.6 Mil Weekend Including Thursday Previews

SUNDAY UPDATE: “Charlie’s Angels” totaled up $8.6 million for three days. It is a total write off unless some foreign territories suddenly loved it.

“Doctor Sleep” took a perma nap and “The Good Liar” was DOA. What a shame. Warner Bros. must take immediate action to ensure this doesn’t happen to “Just Mercy.”

 

SATURDAY:

Bosley must be turning in his grave.

Columbia Pictures’ latest installment of “Charlie’s Angels” is a total write off at the box office. Last night the Kristen Stewart version of the 70s hit TV show took in just $3.15 million, including $900K from Thursday. It’s possible the movie will make less than $7.5 million for the weekend.

Even if the number gets as high as $9 million, the party is over for the movie, directed by Elizabeth Banks. Basically, no one went and no one cares. That’s rough to say, but apparently true. This is WAY off from the already anemic $13.5 million the studio had predicted.

Stewart stars with two actresses no one knows anything about. I’m sure they’re lovely but I don’t know their names and you don’t either. So many ‘name’ actresses could have been hired, literally of any color or background. Plus, the movie lacks any sex appeal– the one thing “Charlie’s Angels” is supposed to have.

“Charlie’s Angels” isn’t the only box office disaster of the moment. Warner Bros. has two: “Doctor Sleep” and “The Good Liar” each took in $1.6 million. This points to a disturbing trend for that studio as nearly every “adult” oriented movie they’ve had this year has flopped.

There’s a real worry about “Just Mercy,” which I thought would be their Oscar entry. It’s coming soon, and no one I’ve talked outside the business has any idea what is it. Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan star in what should be the “Green Book” of this year. But there’s no buzz. I hope that isn’t a bad omen.

Taylor Swift’s Real Problem: She Can’t Play New Songs at the AMAs Because of the Grammys. And Now She Can’t Play Old Songs

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift’s Real Problem: She Can’t Play New Songs at the AMAs Because of the Grammys. And Now She Can’t Play Old Songs

EXCLUSIVE

Let’s look at why Taylor Swift is in such a panic about performing at the American Music Awards.

The owners of her records (not her publishing rights) won’t let her play her old songs on the AMAs. They’ve got a year-long kind of non compete clause that prevents her from re-recording her old hits and putting out an album or whatever, DVD, CD. Unfortunately that year includes the AMAs, her Netflix special, and maybe even her four concert dates for next year.

That’s right. The lack of a real “Lover” tour has a lot to do with this. If she performs “Shake it Off” and “Red” et al everyone at those stadiums will record them. So there’s that.

But more concerning is that Taylor cannot perform the new “Lover” songs on the AMAs. That’s because she’s exclusive to the Grammy Awards on January 26th for those songs. Next week she’ll get a raft of Grammy nominations for the “Lover” album. And then she can’t perform that material anywhere before she goes on the Grammys– and likely wins a bunch, too.

CBS and the Grammys are depending on Swift doing one or two numbers on their show. Grammy performers are cut if they do the AMAs.

So this poses a big problem. If you can’t sing the old songs, and you can’t sing the new ones, what do you sing when you win the Lifetime Achievement Award at the AMAs?

And so Taylor is panicking, with good reason. Borchetta and Braun should just let her do it, and move on. But this is where push has come to shove. And Swift can’t agree to their demands.

This much we know: she’s never ever going to go out with them again!

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