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There was Tom Cruise yesterday on the roof of the BFI Theater in London.
What was he doing there? Promoting the three hour “Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning.”
Neighbors posted videos asking what the heck was happening, not for Tom’s safety but for the grandiosity of the moment. It was an over the top moment emblematic of the movie which opens in Cannes in just few hours.
What’s next? Helicoptering into the Palais du Cinema? Skydiving over Lincoln Center for this Sunday night’s premiere?
Reviews today at 4pm. Social reactions on all platforms now.
As I wrote last year, this will be Madonna in “The Crown.” And on Netflix, the Sex book and all the rest of her mild X rated material will find a happy home.
Who will play Sean Penn? Warren Beatty? Jenny Shimizu? Ingrid Casares? It’s going to be a wild casting call.
Viva Madonna! PS This is probably why she went to the Met Gala looking so unhappy. She hadn’t been out and about in a while.
I spent Mother’s Day weekend with 5 of my 6 children. Sunshine laughter, horseback riding. soccer, and the sound of music! The best gift they gave me was the gift of not arguing and being loving to one another When you raise children to be unique and opinionated, you… pic.twitter.com/YYHOjoFry3
They must have paid a lot to get “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe into a sitcom.
But Radcliffe is indeed coming with a show from the “30 Rock” gang meaning Tina Fey and Robert Carlock.
“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” will co-star Tracy Morgan. He’ll play a disgraced NFL player whose reputation Radcliffe must rehabilitate. A little “Jerry Maguire,” the sequel.
Their co-stars are Erika Alexander, Bobby Moynihan, Precious Way, and Jalyn Hall. Moynihan comes from “SNL,” of course. Erika Alexander was so great in “American Fiction,” it’s great to see her back.
Radcliffe has made many movies since the “Harry Potter” series, but none of them was really a hit. He’s had more success on Broadway, with shows like “Merrily We Roll Along,” “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and “Equus.”
Hooking up with the “30 Rock” producers likely means we’ll see Daniel hosting “SNL” next season at some point, and appearing on Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers’s shows.
“Charles Gasparino is a FOX Biz Senior Correspondent, NY Post columnist & author of “Go Woke Go Broke; The Inside Story of the Radicalization of Corporate America.”
It says so at the top of his Twitter X page.
But this morning, Gasparino calls foul on Donald Trump’s manipulation of the tariff story and his claim of victory.
Charlie is often seen on Fox News and CNBC. I hope he stands by this, this morning.
Gasparino writes on his post:
“BREAKING: Trump raised tariffs on the world, the markets, particularly the bond market — which we need to finance our debt–rebelled. Trump then was forced to back off. End of story. Film at 11 of the president spinning this as a major victory. Ok sorry, I couldnt help myself. But what we have seen is a little lesson on how markets exert their power, how when you have to depend on them as we still do (and remember its really the budget deficit thats causing the trade deficit and we need the budget deficit to maintain our standard of living) you cant go to trade war with the world without bad stuff happening”
It’s the most clarity I’ve seen from the Republican side, and this is from a guy who’s smart and dug in.
Was this just a smokescreen for the $500,000 Qatari plane? Or it the other way around? Trump’s MO is to set a fire, watch it burn, and then call the fire department. How many times has he read the opening of Scott Spencer’s novel, “Endless Love”?
BREAKING: Trump raised tariffs on the world, the markets, particularly the bond market — which we need to finance our debt–rebelled. Trump then was forced to back off. End of story. Film at 11 of the president spinning this as a major victory. Ok sorry, I couldnt help myself. But what we have seen is a little lesson on how markets exert their power, how when you have to depend on them as we still do (and remember its really the budget deficit thats causing the trade deficit and we need the budget deficit to maintain our standard of living) you cant go to trade war with the world without bad stuff happening
Overnight, Oscar winner Halle Berry scored another first in her career.
She posted a video of herself and boyfriend Van Hunt in bed, giggling about a sex lubricant she endorses.
Halle is either post-coital, or high, or just giving the acting performance of her life. A grinning Hunt says, “I was never so happy to see Mother’s Day end.”
Berry, who has a 16 year old daughter and 11 year old son, reminded us the couple is in Cannes for the film festival.
The lubricant is called Lets Spin Intimacy Gel made by a company called JoyLux. Berry has evidently been their spokesperson for some time, with informational videos on YouTube.
Berry’s Oscar came in 2002 for a movie called “Monster.” It was her one and only nomination, and she became the first and only Black actress ever to win one in the lead category.
Since then, actors like Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer have won supporting statues. It’s inconceivable to imagine either of them posting a video like this one.
It is imaginable that Ego Nwodim will do something to send this up on “Saturday Night Live” the minute she sees it.
Since Berry posted, 1.2 million people have viewed the “infomercial” and it’s been reTweeted 2,000 times. Will it sell more $40 bottles of the product? Time will tell. Let’s hope she gets very rich from this marketing strategy.
And for the record, no one should feel shame using lube. But really, this post is for the ages. And no, I don’t know where they’re staying in Cannes (although I imagine the Carlton or Martinez).
PS In all fairness, we should see more Oscar winners, continue the series. Next up, why not Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem?
John Edwards, the R&B singer who rose to stardom with The Spinners, has died after a long illness.
Edwards joined The Spinners in 1977, after their sensation run on Atlantic Records with lead singer Phillippe Wynne. Everyone thought that without Wynne, the group was done. But they were wrong.
With Edwards singing lead, the group had two smashes — a cover of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ “Working My Way Back to You,” and Sam Cooke’s “Cupid.”
It’s fair to say those two covers, which went top 10, were as popular as the Spinners run of hits a few years earlier including “Could it Be I’m Falling in Love” and “I’ll Be Around.”
The Spinners had such a long and successful career it’s hard to imagine they weren’t inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until 2023. Jann Wenner didn’t want them, but every year the late Seymour Stein fought for them.
Edwards was 80, and had a long career before he even joined the group. His voice will be heard forever.
Marvel pulled an amazing bait and switch last week with “Thunderbolts*.”
I can’t remember a time when a movie changed its title during the film — and no one knew about until opening day.
The film features a lot of Marvel characters, but no one — not even the superfans — that the Thunderbolts were actually The New Avengers.
The characters reveal it toward the end of the film when they very meta rip off the movie’s poster, showing the actual name. It’s the most clever idea ever in Marvel’s long history of innovative marketing.
Now “The New Avengers” has made $124 million in 10 days. It sets the stage for sequels, as well as raises questions about the next actual “Avengers” movie. A franchise that had run out of steam was revitalized over night.
Meanwhile: the $60 million “Shadow Force” made $2 million from Thursday to Sunday. Yikes. Lionsgate did nothing for it, maybe because of the 32% reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Lionsgate kept “Shadow Force” from most reviewers, so there are only 22 reviews.
Ben Affleck’s “The Accountant 2” has earned $76 million worldwide, including $50 mil from the US. Budget is somewhere between $80-$90 million, so Amazon MGM is halfway there to break even. Not going to happen.
Everyone is waiting for “Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning.” LA critics saw it Friday and were muzzled until Tuesday. We see it tomorrow. “MI8” opens in Cannes on Tuesday, at 1pm Eastern Time.
Will Tom Cruise save the box office again, as he did with “Top Gun Maverick”? Undoubtedly. Is this the end of “Mission Impossible” movies? Not a chance.
BTW Lalo Schifrin, the genius legendary composer of the “MI” theme, is still alive and kicking in Hollywood at age 92, almost 93. What a talent! I spoke to his wife in 2023. See below.
The two really great moments on “SNL” last night were worth some of the lesser ones.
The cold open was perfection. James Austin Johnson’s Trump was on fire doing stand up. Then came the obvious surprise of the great Cecily Strong reviving the boozy Jeanine Pirro, and Colin Jost — in a rare non-news appearance — as Pete Hegseth. If this had been the whole show, it would have been fine by me.
I also liked the sketch with Walton Goggins selling the 2nd amendment to the writers of the Constitution.
Weekend Update was reliably good, although the Scarlett Johansson jokes are getting a bit tiresome. Michael Che scored some good laughs, however.
The best part of WU: Marcello Hernandez as the movie usher reviewer. Hernandez has really taken off a la Bowen Yang, and how he’s undeniably a star we look forward to seeing. Plus, he has a hot mom.
A minus show. We’ll see how the rating went. Arcade Fire, always rockin’.
Alexander was a great star of soap operas beginning with “Days of our Lives.” She played Susan Martin from 1966 to 1973, where she met her husband, Richard Colla. He left after a year but she stayed and became a huge star.
Alexander became such a big star that ABC lured her over to a dying “General Hospital” in 1973. Her character, Lesley Williams, became the central character and brought the show back to life until the late ’70s when her story — a love triangle that was famous — brought “General Hospital” to number 1.
When Lesley was killed off in 1983, there were stories in the papers about the ABC switchboard exploding with protests. ABC revived her from the dead in 1996, and she made appearances on the soap until 2021.
In between, she had a short run on NBC’s “Another World.”
Alexander’s calling card was a light touch. She was not like the scene chewers who blow through soaps. There are plenty of clips on YouTube that show when her daughter, teenage Laura, hooked up with the much older Luke, Alexander kept her cool and calm. Considering what was going on around her, that was pretty good.
How do I know all this? Our housekeeper, Mrs. Daniels, watched all her “shows” when I was a kid, from grade school on. The experience left a mark that has only faded in time. Recently, Leslie Charleson, who played Alexander’s nemesis, Monica, on “General Hospital,” also passed away. It’s sad to think all those classic characters who Mrs. Daniels loved so much are now in heaven. With her.
This year, if I were going to choose an Emmy winner for Best Actress in a Comedy, it would have to be Natasha Lyonne.
Sorry, Jean Smart, but this season of “Hacks” is headache inducing.
Lyonne stars once again as Charlie, the girl who can see if peple are telling the truth, in “Poker Face.” Rian Johnson’s 70s-like creation was so novel and unique in its first season, I didn’t know if he could do it again. But he has, with aplomb.
Charlie, if you remember, is also on the run from Vegas mobsters, so she cruises around the country in a 1969 vintage sky blue Plymouth staying barely one step ahead of her pursuers. She lives in the car, smokes, a little like if Jim Rockford were on the lam.
Lyonne’s Charlie is a throwback to snappy, glib dames with great comeback lines. Her crazy big round eyes and Rapunzel red locks make a face for the ages. She’s a standout in every crowd, especially as she solves the murder of the week “Columbo” style.
Peacock dropped the first two episodes this week. (I could watch ahead but the pleasure here is digesting these gems one at a time.)
First episode, called “The Game is a Foot,” is stunning. Tony winner and Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo plays five roles, all matching sisters, like she’s the symphony conductor and first chairs. Even if the story gets confusing (the metal leg thing, don’t think about), Erivo pulls it off.
The stage mother (Jasmine Guy!) of child stars from a lost TV show has stolen the earnings and royalties of the kids (all Erivo). She dies, and the kids want their money. But it turns out there’s a secret sister who will throw a wrench in the works.
It’s a little like those Tyler Perry or Eddie Murphy movies (or, see Jerry Lewis) where one actor is taking on a collection of identities. The only person who could figure out the mystery of too many Erivo’s is Lyonne, who wise cracking sarcasm cuts through the maze.
Next up, sort of “Six Feet Under” with a murder mystery. “Last Looks” starsthe great Giancarlo Esposito as an evil undertaker, and an amazingly hilarious and charming Katie Holmes as his younger wife who wants to leave the embalming for a glamorous life. Kathrine Narducci, of “Sopranos” fame, screeches in on a motorcyle for a kooky cameo as if she’s arrived by mistake from a Marlon Brando movie.
Esposito has built a career as a character actor, especially from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” He’s always an overnight sensation, but he’s the star of this episode as the undertaker undertakes killing his wife while a TV crew is using the funeral parlor to film a murder series. It’s all very meta, with lots of inside jokes about Hollywood.
Katie Holmes is just a knockout as the wife, Greta, with a pixie haircut and Capri pants. She’s like something out of William Inge or F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s like she’s getting 222 volts instead of the standard 110. She’s only married to Esposito’s character because he buried her parents. Now it’s time to move on.
Enter Charlie, who befriends her, then becomes Esposito’s worst nightmare. Together they look like Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovitt, especially when they’re in the crematorium. You almost think Lyonne is going to sing “Not While I’m Around.” Of course, the whole story goes up in smoke, and there’s a nice surprise twist for Charlie at the end that points to episode three. Cheers!
Still great: the Helvetica type for the titles of the episodes, the whole “Columbo” feel of something from another time, one we’d all like to revisit right now.’
Again sorry “Hacks,” and also “The Bear.” “Poker Face” actually has jokes, and the people seem happy. That’s a comedy.
