Friday, December 19, 2025
Donate
Home Blog Page 1155

Watch Lost Video Interview in Which Michael Jackson Accuser Wade Robson Reminisces About Happily Being Discovered by King of Pop

Roger Friedman
-
0
Watch Lost Video Interview in Which Michael Jackson Accuser Wade Robson Reminisces About Happily Being Discovered by King of Pop

 Here’s a “lost” video just posted on You Tube January 25th. It’s an Australian interview with Wade Robson, Michael Jackson’s accuser in “Leaving Neverland.” I don’t think this is in the new documentary. Wade happily recalls being discovered by Michael as a 5 year old, and how Jackson “sponsored” him and his family in their move to L.A. Around 2:10 Wade picks up the story. Thanks to Troy Krajancic from Auckland, New Zealand for finding the video. I guess it’s possible Wade was in total denial during the interview, or he deserves an Oscar. But he’s smiling and laughing as he reminisces, there’s no sign that he’s discussing his childhood abuser. It’s unclear when this was taped, but Wade is 36 now, he couldn’t have been less than 26 then.

 

 

Jeff Bezos Really Wants an Oscar Next Year: Amazon Studios Spends $27 Million on Two Sundance Films, Setting Records

Roger Friedman
-
0
Jeff Bezos Really Wants an Oscar Next Year: Amazon Studios Spends $27 Million on Two Sundance Films, Setting Records

Jeff Bezos really really wants an Oscar next year.

At Sundance over the weekend, Amazon Studios spent a whopping $27 million on two new features.

The latest purchase, according to reports, is Scott Z. Burns’s “The Report,” starring Adam Driver. Annette Bening, Jon Hamm, Ted Levine, Maura Tierney and Michael C. Hall co-star. Bening plays California Senator Dianne Feinstein. The film tells the true story of Daniel Jones’ comprehensive six-year investigation into the CIA’s use of torture on detainees suspected of terrorist activities. It was met with standing ovations and lots of offers. But Amazon is going to pony up $14 million.

Driver is a good investment these days. An Oscar nominee for “Blackkklansman,” he’s also Kylo Ren in the next “Star Wars” movie, which should hit around the same time next December. The rest of that cast ain’t chopped liver, either.

Earlier, Amazon paid $13 million for the Mindy Kaling written and produced “Late Night” starring Emma Thompson as a talk show host who is forced to hire Mindy as a writer in a diversity bid. The much loved film comes with a new song written by 10 time Oscar nominee Diane Warren. (Singer to be determined.)

Amazon is swinging for the fences now after a lot of misfires with indie films made by auteurs like Todd Haines and Richard Linklater. This year they’ve had to depend on “Cold War” as a foreign film nominee.

Amazon TV, however, is booming with “Mrs. Maisel.”

 

Hey– it’s only Monday. Sundance still has several days to go.

Starbucks Owner Howard Schultz, Now Considering Presidential Run, Used to Play Cards in Brooklyn Mob Social Club

Roger Friedman
-
0
Starbucks Owner Howard Schultz, Now Considering Presidential Run, Used to Play Cards in Brooklyn Mob Social Club

Now that Starbucks owner Howard Schultz has declared his intentions to run for president, his past is about to come rolling out.

First up: journalist Tom Robbins tweeted out today that Schultz used to play cards with mobsters in Canarsie in the early 80s. The story was in Robbins’ and Jerry Capeci’s 2013 book, “Mob Boss.” Robbins says Schultz declined to answer questions about this episode. The Bruno Howard Schultz used to hang out with was Bruno Facciola, an Italian-American mobster in the Lucchese crime family from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, who worked under Capo Paul Vario. He was the brother of Gambino crime family mob associate Louis Facciolo. He was a hit man, and I don’t mean in the record business. He was executed by a fellow mobster in 1990.

And so it begins. Will Schultz’s ego about running for president lead to lots of unfortunate revelations? What do you think?

Black Panther Wins SAG Ensemble Award, Hats off to Disney, Roma-Green Book-Star is Born All Cross Each Other Out

Roger Friedman
-
0
Black Panther Wins SAG Ensemble Award, Hats off to Disney, Roma-Green Book-Star is Born All Cross Each Other Out

Hats off to Disney PR. “Black Panther” won the SAG Best Ensemble Award and is headed to the Oscar voting as leader in Best Picture.

If it wins the Oscar, “Black Panther” will be a landmark. A comic book movie, all black cast, and a box office block buster!

Ironically, its director, Ryan Coogler, wasn’t nominated for Best Director. And none of its actors are nominated either.

So what happened?

Maybe the in fighting bad feelings about the other movies took a toll. “Green Book” and “Roma” weren’t even nominated for Best Ensemble, and they’re considered the main candidates for the Oscar. “A Star is Born” was also snubbed. And Rami Malek’s win for Best Actor in “Bohemian Rhapsody” was a surprise as Christian Bale was looking like he was going to take it.

Now the vote goes to the Academy. Anything can happen! Even if that’s all for “Black Panther,” it’s quite an achievement!

SAG Awards (Live Updates) Black Panther Best Picture! Glenn Close, Rami Malek, “Mrs. Maisel,” “This is Us,” Emily Blunt, Mahershala Ali, Patricia Arquette, Jason Bateman

Roger Friedman
-
0
SAG Awards (Live Updates) Black Panther Best Picture! Glenn Close, Rami Malek, “Mrs. Maisel,” “This is Us,” Emily Blunt, Mahershala Ali, Patricia Arquette, Jason Bateman

Black Panther wins Best Picture and becomes the new leader in the race for Oscar Best Picture. Amazing. Quite a feat and well done!

UPDATE Rami Malek wins Best Actor for playing Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He’s suddenly leading the pack. He also won the Golden Globe. Will he win the Oscar?

Glenn Close wins. She’s getting that Oscar.

IN THE PAST, the SAG Awards were a pretty indicator of the Oscars. This was mostly because the actors in SAG would vote the same way twice. Best Ensemble pointed to Best Picture. But this year, SAG voters didn’t include “Green Book” or “If Beale Street Could Talk” in what is now called Outstanding Performance by a Cast. “The Favourite” is also missing. SAG chose very commercial films. Really, “Crazy Rich Asians” is fun but shouldn’t be here.

Maybe new SAG voters don’t understand what the category is. So the winner tonight is not necessarily the Oscar winner. But the actors are likely the Oscar finalists. That’s the way it went last year. But “3 Billboards” lost the Oscar to “The Shape of Water.” Two years ago, Denzel Washington won Best Actor for “Fences” and lost the Oscar to Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea.” “Hidden Figures” won the cast award. “Moonlight” won the Oscar.

So far, Emily Blunt is a nice surprise as winner of Best Supporting Actress in “A Quiet Place.” Tough category. SAG didn’t even nominate Regina King, an odds an winner for the Oscar.

Alan Alda received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Sandra Oh and Jason Bateman won Best Actress and Actor in a Drama.

Patricia Arquette won Best Actress in A Mini Series. Darren Criss won Best Actor in a Mini Series.

 

 

Nominees list. WINNERS IN BOLD FACE

FILM

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
“A Star Is Born”
“Black Panther”
“BlacKkKlansman”
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
“Crazy Rich Asians”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Christian Bale, “Vice”
Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”
Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”
John David Washington, “BlacKkKlansman”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Emily Blunt, “Mary Poppins Returns”
Glenn Close, “The Wife”
Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”
Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”
Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”
Timothee Chalamet, “Beautiful Boy”
Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”
Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”
Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, “Vice”
Emily Blunt, “A Quiet Place”
Margot Robbie, “Mary Queen of Scots”
Emma Stone, “The Favourite”
Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
“Ant-Man and the Wasp”
“Avengers: Infinity War”
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
“Black Panther”
“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”

TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
“The Americans”
“Better Call Saul”
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“Ozark”
“This Is Us”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, “Ozark”
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Joseph Fiennes, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
John Krasinski, “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Julia Garner, “Ozark”
Laura Linney, “Ozark”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”
Robin Wright, “House of Cards”

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
“Atlanta”
“Barry”
“GLOW”
“The Kominsky Method”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alan Arkin, “The Kominsky Method”
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
Bill Hader, “Barry”
Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Henry Winkler, “Barry”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Alison Brie, “GLOW”
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Jane Fonda, “Grace and Frankie”
Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Antonio Banderas, “Genius: Picasso”
Darren Criss, “Assassination of Gianni Versace”
Hugh Grant, “A Very English Scandal”
Anthony Hopkins, “King Lear”
Bill Pullman, “The Sinner”

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Amy Adams, “Sharp Objects”
Patricia Arquette, “Escape at Dannemora”
Patricia Clarkson, “Sharp Objects”
Penelope Cruz, “Assassination of Gianni Versace”
Emma Stone, “Maniac”

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
“Daredevil”
“GLOW”
“Jack Ryan”
“The Walking Dead”
“Westworld”

Independent Spirit Awards Face Apathy as Nominated Films Had Total $20 Mil Box Office, Last Year’s Telecast Drew Only 95,000 People

Roger Friedman
-
0
Independent Spirit Awards Face Apathy as Nominated Films Had Total $20 Mil Box Office, Last Year’s Telecast Drew Only 95,000 People

We’ve got the SAG Awards tonight, we’re in the home stretch of awards season for movies. All that’s left are the Directors Guild, the Writers Guild, and the Oscars.

Oh, and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Given the afternoon before the Academy Awards, the Spirit Awards in recent years turned into a mini-Oscars. Many of the nominees overlapped since a great number of quality movies came from the indie world.

But this year will be different. The nominees for the Spirit Awards are so twee and special, the total box office for the five titles in Best Picture was just about $20 million. Not only that, the Robert Altman Ensemble Award is going to a movie just about no one saw, the remake of “Suspiria” from Luca Guadagnino. Total US box office for that one: $2.5 million. How was it chosen, anyway? The Rotten Tomatoes score is 64%. “Suspiria” 2018 should not be getting an award.

Indeed, “If Beale Street Could Talk” should have gotten the Altman award. Well reviewed, with a terrific cast, Barry Jenkins‘ movie is exactly what Altman would have liked. The Indie Spirit people didn’t get this one at all.

Last year, the Spirit Awards managed to find only 95,000 people for the IFC Channel telecast. And that show was pretty star studded, with “Get Out”– an enormous box office hit– winning, “Lady Bird” in the mix, and people like Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Timothee Chalamet, and Allison Janney — winners– on the show. Also, the hilarious Nick Kroll and John Mullaney hosted.

This year, the nominees– with the exception of Glenn Close— are fairly unknown. The host is Aubrey Plaza. (I already made a joke that Richard Johnson picked up– I thought Aubrey Plaza was a shopping center.) This could be the last time the Spirits are on TV. They should take a page from their cousin show, the Gotham Awards, held in New York in late November and not televised. That’s a great evening.

PS I don’t know who votes in this thing, but if you do, Josh Hamilton should get Best Supporting Actor for “Eighth Grade.” Just sayin’….

Brilliant Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill Doc on HBO Monday Night, “Deadline Artists” Throws Back to NYC Golden Days of Jackie O, Son of Sam, Scandals, Trials

Regina Weinreich
-
0
Brilliant Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill Doc on HBO Monday Night, “Deadline Artists” Throws Back to NYC Golden Days of Jackie O, Son of Sam, Scandals, Trials

There aren’t any more Breslins or Hamills, exemplars of a masculine New York postwar street journalism. Now these superstars of newsroom culture star in a state of the art documentary, “Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists,” to air this week on HBO. At a star-studded premiere at the Time Warner Center with dinner at Porter House, they were celebrated in high style—Jimmy Breslin died in 2017, and a frail Pete Hamill could not attend– even as the world they brought to life feels like a near forgotten memory of a bygone era.

 

Beginning on the subway, with images of riders on their cellphones morphing back to riders in the mid-century reading their newspapers, large pages crowding air space, the film, a shared directorial effort of Jonathan Alter, John Block and Steve McCarthy, traces a city in flux. Says Hamill in voice over, You could smell the “salty perspiration” of working men returning from their labors. Because that’s what workingmen did. No one knew them better than Breslin and Hamill because that was their beat. As Breslin makes clear, There’s always something if you go into a poor neighborhood to chase a story. As reporters, they became big, but stayed on the side of the little guy.

 

They covered the salacious and the scandalous: Bernhard Goetz, a white subway rider who turned a gun on four black teens, “Son of Sam,” a serial killer of young women, the brutal rape of the Central Park jogger. Looking beyond the hate mongering of the likes of Donald Trump who asked for an immediate death sentence for five black teens who were picked up for the crime, inflaming race hatred in New York, these reporters sought truth beyond accepting quickie, convenient and clearly racist solutions. The Central Park teens served time and were later exonerated. The “subway vigilante” Goetz shot the teens in the back. Asks Breslin, how threatened could he have been?

 

Breslin championed Cibella Borges, a petite Latina rookie cop who was enticed to sit for some girlie pictures and was fired from the police work that she loved. He got her job back. Limning the big stories of that time—the JFK, RFK, MLK assassinations, 9/11– the film ennobles these newsmen, illuminating the poetry of their prose, as they lamented “the lost city of New York” (Hamill), and “Dies the victim; dies the city” (Breslin).

Hamill, it should be noted, went out with Jackie Kennedy and Shirley MacLaine, and so was himself fodder for the tabloids. In the ‘80’s I had the opportunity to ask him about dating these women. Being seen with Jackie, he said, was like going out with a fire engine. And Shirley, well, he hoped that she would not wake up one day and regret her new book, Out on a Limb, in which she embraced New Age spirituality. She did not, and went on to write a few more.

 

Munching on thick slabs of filet mignon and thicker chocolate cake was at least one contemporary of the subjects. the great Gay Talese, turning 87 on February 7th, dapper and with it, probably wondering when his documentary his coming ( he deserves one) as well as Phil Donahue (who doesn’t look much different than clips of his old show included in the film), Gail Collins, Richard Cohen, Katerina van den Heuvel, actor Bob Balaban and writer wife Lynn Balaban, musician David Amram, the aforementioned Borges, Ronnie Eldridge-– Mrs. Breslin– and many others joined the filmmakers, filling Porter House with the lively chatter of smart New Yorkers from a time when intelligence was a turn-on. Yes, thank heavens, for many it still is.

 

“The Mule” Becomes Clint Eastwood’s 6th Movie as Director to Cross $100 Million (15th When All Adjusted for Inflation)

Roger Friedman
-
0
“The Mule” Becomes Clint Eastwood’s 6th Movie as Director to Cross $100 Million (15th When All Adjusted for Inflation)

Clint Eastwood has a lot to crow about this morning.

As a director, he’s now made 6 films that crossed the $100 million mark. Today, “The Mule” is number 6. (I forgot “Sully,” as a reader pointed out.)

The others were “American Sniper,” “Gran Torino,” “Million Dollar Baby,” and “Unforgiven.” Two others– “Mystic River” and “Space Cowboys”– hit $90 million.

One other movie in which he starred but didn’t direct, “In the Line of Fire,” also passed $100 million.

“The Mule” has kicked its way to $100 million on its own. There’s been little press since Clint doesn’t give interviews very often. Why should he? He has a bunch of Oscars and other awards. He’s 88 years old. As one publicist said to me, “He has nothing to prove.”

Clint is the original indie filmmaker. He makes all his own movies with his company Malpaiso, then distributes them through Warner Bros. “In the Line of Fire” was the rare exception.

Adjusted for inflation, a total of 15 Eastwood directed movies have sailed past $100 million. One more hit $98 million.

As an actor, “The Mule” is his 25th movie to make more than $100 million. This is some accomplishment. That’s as an actor.

“The Mule” is projected to go to $120 million. It has no Oscar nominations. But it’s hoped that Clint can be persuaded to come to the Oscars this year. Who better to bestow Best Picture?

 

Amazon Studios Plunks Down Sundance Record $13 Million for Mindy Kaling’s “Late Night” Starring Emma Thompson as Talk Show Host

Roger Friedman
-
0
Amazon Studios Plunks Down Sundance Record $13 Million for Mindy Kaling’s “Late Night” Starring Emma Thompson as Talk Show Host

Amazon Studios is swinging for the fences now.

Overnight from Friday they broke a Sundance record and ponied up $13 million for “Late Night,” written by Mindy Kaling and starring Emma Thompson.

Emmy nominated Nisha Ganatra directs her first feature since 2005 with this project.

Last spring, Thompson was in New York filming “Late Night” with Kaling and crew. We talked about it quite a lot but who knew it would turn into such a big deal?

Amazon needed some fire power for next fall and awards season. They pretty much struck out this year except for the Polish film, “Cold War.” This time, they got the goods.

That’s important, since their rival, Netflix, has gained ground on them. But “Late Night” sounds like a broad hit, not to mention a Golden Globes comedy nominee.

Let’s just hope Amazon releases “Late Night” to theaters.

PS Amy Ryan is featured. Cross fingers this is a breakout for her, too!

Michael Jackson Criminal Defense Lawyer Thomas Mesereau Is “Shocked” By Claims Made By Wade Robson: “He was adamant that nothing had happened to him. So were his mother and sister”

Roger Friedman
-
0
Michael Jackson Criminal Defense Lawyer Thomas Mesereau Is “Shocked” By Claims Made By Wade Robson: “He was adamant that nothing had happened to him. So were his mother and sister”

EXCLUSIVE This morning I spoke with Thomas Mesereau, Michael Jackson’s brilliant criminal defense lawyer in his 2005  child molestation and conspiracy trial. Michael was found not guilty on all counts.

The first witness Mesereau put on the stand in Jackson’s defense was Wade Robson, who now claims Jackson molested him when he was a child. In 2005, Robson, Mesereau says, was “adamant” that Jackson had never done anything wrong to him. Robson’s mother and sister also took the stand and said the same thing.

The Robsons flew in from Australia for the trial. They stayed at Neverland. Mesereau interviewed them extensively.

Mesereau told me: “I found Wade articulate and likeable. But he staunchly defended Michael. His mother and sister supported him in their statements. On the stand, Wade was then subjected to a withering prosecutor. I’m shocked that he’s taken a position contrary to what he told me, and what he testified to in court.”

Mesereau hasn’t seen the documentary “Leaving Neverland” but he is very surprised. And this is a man who has examined and cross examined some of the toughest witnesses ever.

One important thing Mesereau agreed with me on. Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon, now deceased, thoroughly investigated Jackson twice, over a 10 year period. He looked ceaselessly for young boys who might have been abused by Jackson. Sneddon was obsessed with tagging Jackson. It was Sneddon who slid his card on the door of the Arvizo family after he saw them on TV, and crafted an unsuccessful prosecution against Jackson using their crazy testimony.

Sneddon knew the names of Wade Robson and Jimmy Safechuck, the two men who claim in the documentary to have been molested. If Sneddon had thought there was any real story there, he’d have gone after it. He never did.

Meanwhile, Robson has started a not for profit foundation and is soliciting donations. There can be no transparency, as he’s parked his 501 c3 very cleverly under something called the Hawaii Community Foundation. That way, Robson doesn’t have to file a form 990. We’ll never know if the makers of “Leaving Neverland” have donated money to it, for example. This was done on purpose. Leonardo DiCaprio does the same thing with his Foundation. It’s hidden.

Safechuck, meantime, is accused by Jackson fans of creating his story from a very disgusting book published years ago by a man named Victor Guitierrez. Jackson sued Guitierrez and won a $2.7 million judgement against. The writer has never paid up, and now lives in Chile. I threw my copy out a long time; I didn’t want it in my house.

“Leaving Neverland” can’t be taken seriously, and I’m surprised the press in Sundance– who didn’t cover Jackson — was so swayed by it. The movie offers no independent evidence, or third parties, just the claims of Robson and Safechuck. Just because it’s graphic, doesn’t mean it’s true. The rush to judgement here is alarming, and dangerous.

 

1...1,1541,1551,156...2,324Page 1,155 of 2,324

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com