Michael Cohen says he won’t testify in front of Congress because Donald Trump is threatening his family. Another Michael, Corleone, knew exactly what to do.
Here’s the clip:
NOT For the Tony Awards: 6 Time Tony Winner Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon Will Hit Broadway in May 2019
With all the star power that piles up for the Tony Awards, here’s an announcement apart from the big show.
Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon will open in May, after the Tony season, in “Frankie and Johnnie in the Clair de Lune.” The idea is to celebrate the 80th birthday of playwright Terence McNally.
McDonald has won a record 6 Tony Awards for musicals and plays. Shannon is a two tune Oscar nominee who’s starred on Broadway and off Broadway in different productions. The director of this production is Arin Arbus, daughter of the late Alan Arbus, half sister of photographer Amy Arbus, and not the daughter of Diane Arbus. (Her mother is someone else.)
These are two “names” who should be able to sell out the limited summer engagement run. Looking to forward to seeing these guys on stage.
Oscar Snubs: “First Man,” “A Quiet Place,” “Mary Poppins” Blanked, Mister Rogers Doc (Shock), Bradley Cooper for Director in “Star is Born,” Nicole Kidman, Emily Blunt
The snubs are always the big story in Oscar nominations. I’ve included some other milestones here.
No nod for Morgan Neville’s award winning doc about Mister Rogers, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor”? It’s a shock. “Three Identical Strangers” was also kept out.
Bradley Cooper was not nominated for Best Director, but picked up Best Actor, Screenplay and Picture for “A Star is Born”
“A Quiet Place” was totally shut out. Emily Blunt didn’t make Best Supporting Actress or Best Actress for “Mary Poppins.” Aside from song and below the line, “Poppins” pooped out.
So did “First Man,” especially Justin Hurwitz’s score which was thought to be a lock.
“Beale Street” didn’t make Best Picture. But they did pick up Best Supporting Actress and Adapted Screenplay.
Big news for Sony Pictures Classics which scored Best Actress for Glenn Close, Foreign Films Capernaum and Never Look Away, and cinematography for Never Look Away.
This is the TENTH Best Song nomination for Diane Warren, “I’ll Fight,” from “RBG.”
Other actors snubbed include Nicole Kidman for “Destroyer” and Timothee Chalamet in “Beautiful Boy.” Julia Roberts was also ignored.
Also out in Director: Peter Farrelly, whose “Green Book” has Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor, and Screenplay. Can it win Best Picture without a director? Yes, since that will go to Alfonso Cuaron.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” official director Bryan Singer was also snubbed because of his sex scandals. His replacement director Dexter Fletcher was also left out but he wasn’t eligible.
The folks at Gold Derby made one big mistake: they put “Beale Street” at number 8 and “Rhapsody” at 9. It was the opposite. Apologies to Barry Jenkins.
Amazon wound up giving Netflix almost as good as it got. The former’s “Cold War” scored Best Director, Foreign Film, and Cinematography. Not bad.
There are no lead black actors or actresses. But we do have two Mexicans, for Best Actress and Supporting Actress in “Roma.”
This is Sam Elliott’s first ever nomination. It’s also first ever for Paul Schrader. Both of these guys waited far too long. Also Spike Lee’s first director nod after so many great movies.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Christian Bale in “Vice”
- Bradley Cooper in “A Star Is Born”
- Willem Dafoe in “At Eternity’s Gate”
- Rami Malek in “Bohemian Rhapsody”
- Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Mahershala Ali in “Green Book”
- Adam Driver in “BlacKkKlansman”
- Sam Elliott in “A Star Is Born”
- Richard E. Grant in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
- Sam Rockwell in “Vice”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Yalitza Aparicio in “Roma”
- Glenn Close in “The Wife”
- Olivia Colman in “The Favourite”
- Lady Gaga in “A Star Is Born”
- Melissa McCarthy in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Amy Adams in “Vice”
- Marina de Tavira in “Roma”
- Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk”
- Emma Stone in “The Favourite”
- Rachel Weisz in “The Favourite”
Best animated feature film of the year
- “Incredibles 2” Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle
- “Isle of Dogs” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson
- “Mirai” Mamoru Hosoda and Yuichiro Saito
- “Ralph Breaks the Internet” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston and Clark Spencer
- “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Achievement in cinematography
- “Cold War” Łukasz Żal
- “The Favourite” Robbie Ryan
- “Never Look Away” Caleb Deschanel
- “Roma” Alfonso Cuarón
- “A Star Is Born” Matthew Libatique
Achievement in costume design
- “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” Mary Zophres
- “Black Panther” Ruth Carter
- “The Favourite” Sandy Powell
- “Mary Poppins Returns” Sandy Powell
- “Mary Queen of Scots” Alexandra Byrne
Achievement in directing
- “BlacKkKlansman” Spike Lee
- “Cold War” Paweł Pawlikowski
- “The Favourite” Yorgos Lanthimos
- “Roma” Alfonso Cuarón
- “Vice” Adam McKay
Best documentary feature
- “Free Solo” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill
- “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim
- “Minding the Gap” Bing Liu and Diane Quon
- “Of Fathers and Sons” Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert
- “RBG” Betsy West and Julie Cohen
Best documentary short subject
- “Black Sheep” Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn
- “End Game” Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
- “Lifeboat” Skye Fitzgerald and Bryn Mooser
- “A Night at The Garden” Marshall Curry
- “Period. End of Sentence.” Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton
Achievement in film editing
- “BlacKkKlansman” Barry Alexander Brown
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” John Ottman
- “The Favourite” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
- “Green Book” Patrick J. Don Vito
- “Vice” Hank Corwin
Best foreign language film of the year
- “Capernaum” Lebanon
- “Cold War” Poland
- “Never Look Away” Germany
- “Roma” Mexico
- “Shoplifters” Japan
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
- “Border” Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
- “Mary Queen of Scots” Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
- “Vice” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
- “Black Panther” Ludwig Goransson
- “BlacKkKlansman” Terence Blanchard
- “If Beale Street Could Talk” Nicholas Britell
- “Isle of Dogs” Alexandre Desplat
- “Mary Poppins Returns” Marc Shaiman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
- “All The Stars” from “Black Panther”
Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyric by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe - “I’ll Fight” from “RBG”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren - “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns”
Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyric by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman - “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born”
Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt - “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
Music and Lyric by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
Best motion picture of the year
- “Black Panther” Kevin Feige, Producer
- “BlacKkKlansman” Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, Producers
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” Graham King, Producer
- “The Favourite” Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos, Producers
- “Green Book” Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Producers
- “Roma” Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón, Producers
- “A Star Is Born” Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers
- “Vice” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
Achievement in production design
- “Black Panther” Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
- “The Favourite” Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
- “First Man” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
- “Mary Poppins Returns” Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
- “Roma” Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez
Best animated short film
- “Animal Behaviour” Alison Snowden and David Fine
- “Bao” Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb
- “Late Afternoon” Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco
- “One Small Step” Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas
- “Weekends” Trevor Jimenez
Best live action short film
- “Detainment” Vincent Lambe and Darren Mahon
- “Fauve” Jeremy Comte and Maria Gracia Turgeon
- “Marguerite” Marianne Farley and Marie-Hélène Panisset
- “Mother” Rodrigo Sorogoyen and María del Puy Alvarado
- “Skin” Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman
Achievement in sound editing
- “Black Panther” Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
- “First Man” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
- “A Quiet Place” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
- “Roma” Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay
Achievement in sound mixing
- “Black Panther” Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
- “First Man” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis
- “Roma” Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García
- “A Star Is Born” Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow
Achievement in visual effects
- “Avengers: Infinity War” Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick
- “Christopher Robin” Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould
- “First Man” Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm
- “Ready Player One” Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk
- “Solo: A Star Wars Story” Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy
Adapted screenplay
- “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
- “BlacKkKlansman” Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
- “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
- “If Beale Street Could Talk” Written for the screen by Barry Jenkins
- “A Star Is Born” Screenplay by Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters
Original screenplay
- “The Favourite” Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
- “First Reformed” Written by Paul Schrader
- “Green Book” Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
- “Roma” Written by Alfonso Cuarón
- “Vice” Written by Adam McKay
# # #
2019 Oscar Nominations: Black Panther, Blackkklansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, Favourite, Green Book, Roma, Star is Born, Vice
Snubs: Claire Foy, First Man; Justin Hurwitz composer of “First Man”; Timothee Chalamet for “Beautiful Boy”; Mr. Rogers Documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Mahershala Ali, Adam Driver, Sam Elliott, Richard E. Grant, Sam Rockwell
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Marina deTavira, Regina King, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz
BEST SONG
All the Stars, I’ll Fight, Place Where, Shallow, Buster Scruggs song
BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Rami Malek, Viggo Mortensen
BEST ACTRESS
Yalitza Aparicio, Glenn Close, Lady Gaga. Olivia Colman. Melissa McCarthy
DIRECTOR
Blackkklansman, Cold War, The Favourite, Roma, Vice
BEST PICTURE
Black Panther, Blackkklansman, Bohemain Rhapsody. The Favourite, Green Book, Roma, A Star is Born, Vice
Original Screenplay
The Favourite, First Reformed, Green Book, Roma, Vice
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Blackkklansman, Can You Ever Forgive Me, If Beale Street Could Talk, A Star is Born
DOCUMENTARY
Free Solo, Hale County, Minding the Gap, RBG, Of Fathers and Sons
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cold War
The Favourite
Never Look Away
Roma
A Star is Born
FOREIGN FILM
Capernaum, Cold War, Never Look Away, Roma, Shoplifters
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards
Performance by an actor in a leading role
- Christian Bale in “Vice”
- Bradley Cooper in “A Star Is Born”
- Willem Dafoe in “At Eternity’s Gate”
- Rami Malek in “Bohemian Rhapsody”
- Viggo Mortensen in “Green Book”
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
- Mahershala Ali in “Green Book”
- Adam Driver in “BlacKkKlansman”
- Sam Elliott in “A Star Is Born”
- Richard E. Grant in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
- Sam Rockwell in “Vice”
Performance by an actress in a leading role
- Yalitza Aparicio in “Roma”
- Glenn Close in “The Wife”
- Olivia Colman in “The Favourite”
- Lady Gaga in “A Star Is Born”
- Melissa McCarthy in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
- Amy Adams in “Vice”
- Marina de Tavira in “Roma”
- Regina King in “If Beale Street Could Talk”
- Emma Stone in “The Favourite”
- Rachel Weisz in “The Favourite”
Best animated feature film of the year
- “Incredibles 2” Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle
- “Isle of Dogs” Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales and Jeremy Dawson
- “Mirai” Mamoru Hosoda and Yuichiro Saito
- “Ralph Breaks the Internet” Rich Moore, Phil Johnston and Clark Spencer
- “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Achievement in cinematography
- “Cold War” Łukasz Żal
- “The Favourite” Robbie Ryan
- “Never Look Away” Caleb Deschanel
- “Roma” Alfonso Cuarón
- “A Star Is Born” Matthew Libatique
Achievement in costume design
- “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” Mary Zophres
- “Black Panther” Ruth Carter
- “The Favourite” Sandy Powell
- “Mary Poppins Returns” Sandy Powell
- “Mary Queen of Scots” Alexandra Byrne
Achievement in directing
- “BlacKkKlansman” Spike Lee
- “Cold War” Paweł Pawlikowski
- “The Favourite” Yorgos Lanthimos
- “Roma” Alfonso Cuarón
- “Vice” Adam McKay
Best documentary feature
- “Free Solo” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill
- “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim
- “Minding the Gap” Bing Liu and Diane Quon
- “Of Fathers and Sons” Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert
- “RBG” Betsy West and Julie Cohen
Best documentary short subject
- “Black Sheep” Ed Perkins and Jonathan Chinn
- “End Game” Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
- “Lifeboat” Skye Fitzgerald and Bryn Mooser
- “A Night at The Garden” Marshall Curry
- “Period. End of Sentence.” Rayka Zehtabchi and Melissa Berton
Achievement in film editing
- “BlacKkKlansman” Barry Alexander Brown
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” John Ottman
- “The Favourite” Yorgos Mavropsaridis
- “Green Book” Patrick J. Don Vito
- “Vice” Hank Corwin
Best foreign language film of the year
- “Capernaum” Lebanon
- “Cold War” Poland
- “Never Look Away” Germany
- “Roma” Mexico
- “Shoplifters” Japan
Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
- “Border” Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
- “Mary Queen of Scots” Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
- “Vice” Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
- “Black Panther” Ludwig Goransson
- “BlacKkKlansman” Terence Blanchard
- “If Beale Street Could Talk” Nicholas Britell
- “Isle of Dogs” Alexandre Desplat
- “Mary Poppins Returns” Marc Shaiman
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
- “All The Stars” from “Black Panther”
Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyric by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe - “I’ll Fight” from “RBG”
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren - “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from “Mary Poppins Returns”
Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyric by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman - “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born”
Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt - “When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”
Music and Lyric by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
Best motion picture of the year
- “Black Panther” Kevin Feige, Producer
- “BlacKkKlansman” Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, Producers
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” Graham King, Producer
- “The Favourite” Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos, Producers
- “Green Book” Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Producers
- “Roma” Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón, Producers
- “A Star Is Born” Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers
- “Vice” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
Achievement in production design
- “Black Panther” Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
- “The Favourite” Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
- “First Man” Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
- “Mary Poppins Returns” Production Design: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
- “Roma” Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez
Best animated short film
- “Animal Behaviour” Alison Snowden and David Fine
- “Bao” Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb
- “Late Afternoon” Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco
- “One Small Step” Andrew Chesworth and Bobby Pontillas
- “Weekends” Trevor Jimenez
Best live action short film
- “Detainment” Vincent Lambe and Darren Mahon
- “Fauve” Jeremy Comte and Maria Gracia Turgeon
- “Marguerite” Marianne Farley and Marie-Hélène Panisset
- “Mother” Rodrigo Sorogoyen and María del Puy Alvarado
- “Skin” Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman
Achievement in sound editing
- “Black Panther” Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
- “First Man” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
- “A Quiet Place” Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
- “Roma” Sergio Díaz and Skip Lievsay
Achievement in sound mixing
- “Black Panther” Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
- “First Man” Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis
- “Roma” Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and José Antonio García
- “A Star Is Born” Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow
Achievement in visual effects
- “Avengers: Infinity War” Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick
- “Christopher Robin” Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould
- “First Man” Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm
- “Ready Player One” Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler and David Shirk
- “Solo: A Star Wars Story” Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy
Adapted screenplay
- “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” Written by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
- “BlacKkKlansman” Written by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
- “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
- “If Beale Street Could Talk” Written for the screen by Barry Jenkins
- “A Star Is Born” Screenplay by Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters
Original screenplay
- “The Favourite” Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
- “First Reformed” Written by Paul Schrader
- “Green Book” Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly
- “Roma” Written by Alfonso Cuarón
- “Vice” Written by Adam McKay
# # #
(Exclusive) Fyre Festival Dueling Documentaries : How Much Was Con Man Concert Producer Billy McFarland Paid to Be in One, and How?
All the rage this week: watching dueling documentaries on Netflix and Hulu about professional con artist Billy McFarland and his failed Fyre Music Festival from 2017. But was McFarland paid to be in one of them, and if so, how? Hold on.
McFarland is nothing but a con, that’s true. He reminded me in both films so much of now-deceased Hollywood money manager Dana Giachetto, who ran a sublime Ponzi scheme in 1998-2000, roping in Leonardo DiCaprio and Mike Ovitz, among others. These big shots just fell under his spell without much work, and later were ripped off to the tune of $14 million. (He committed suicide a couple of years ago.)
McFarland is young and charming, and running his own Ponzi-type schemes in both docs. He was probably thrilled that there were two docs. One is on Hulu, made by Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby Nelson. The other, on Netflix, is from Chris Smith. Each features erstwhile rapper Ja Rule, who somehow became McFarland’s celebrity mascot (and now pleads ignorance to everything, like Franz Liebkind disavows Hitler in “The Producers” ). Each film is very good, but a combination of the two would have made the best movie ever on this subject.
So McFarland corralled Ja Rule and ingratiated himself with C level stars and supemodels. He went to the Bahamas and shot a viral video pitch for a five-star exclusive music festival on Pablo Escobar’s private island. To quote one of the films it was like a “living Instagram.” Somehow he got the Mistress of Mediocrity, Kendall Jenner (aka Kardashian) to plug it on her social media, and the thing blew up. McFarland started collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars from ticket buyers for his luxury festival.
The only problem was, there was no festival, no infrastructure, no definite plans. He just made it up as he went along, and moved the money around as it came in. Eventually time ran out, thousands of people arrived on the island to find FEMA tents impersonating luxury suites, no running water, and no music.
The result for McFarland: a six year jail sentence, and an order to pay back $26 million in restitution as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Now the twist: to appear in the Hulu doc, McFarland was paid. Scott Tobias writes in an excellent piece in The Ringer that the Hulu directors Furst and Nelson admit that McFarland was paid somewhere between $100,000 and $250,000 to sit down, share videos, photos, and deliver an interview with his girlfriend.
Showbiz411 is told, though, that McFarland was not only paid $250,000– but that had to be done through an offshore account. Otherwise, fees McFarland received would have been used for the restitution. I spoke to McFarland’s trial attorney, Randall Jackson, who declined to comment “until I can” about the case.
In July, two concertgoers won a $5 million lawsuit against McFarland. (They’re featured in the docs, but no mention is made of this.) Additionally, there’s a $100 million class action suit brought by Ben Meiselas of Mark Gerago’s firm in L.A. (Geragos, you may recall, was Michael Jackson’s original defense attorney when he was arrested for child molestation in 2003.) Meiselas (whose father, Kenny Meiselas, is a top music industyr lawyer) appears in both documentaries. Meiselas, as well as the SEC, and the recent lawsuit winners, will be keenly looking at the Hulu directors’ admission in The Ringer and weighing what our sources said. They will want that money whether it’s the $100,000 or $250,000 or frankly, 10 cents.
Ariana Grande Will Launch “Thank You, Next” on February 8th–Second Album in Six Months After “Sweetener” Went Sour
Ariana Grande will not take ‘no’ for an answer.
Her “Sweetener” album, released in August 2018 to good reviews, never really got off the ground. It sold a total of 140,000 copies, a disappointment certainly.
But you need hits to tour with, so Ariana is going to rebound fast. She’s planning a new album, called “Thank You, Next” set for February 8th. The song titles include one called “Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored” and “NASA.”
Ariana’s already had a big hit with the title song, a jab at ex fiancee Pete Davidson. Now she’s got a second number 1 with “7 Rings,” although that song is plagued by claims of plagiarism. Several acts have claimed that “7 Rings” sounds like their hip hop records. Then, again, “7 Rings” owes its basic melody to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “My Favorite Things.” The R&H estate hopefully got a big fee for use of the famous melody.
Ariana is managed by Justin Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, so there’s even more incentive here: Bieber hasn’t released an album in a couple of years and doesn’t seem to have anything on the horizon. Now that he’s a church going young husband, his act and songs may have to be a lot cleaner. And then what will he have to sing about?
The video for “7 Rings” already has 54 million views, by the way.
“Gotti,” John Travolta and Kelly Preston Lead Razzie Award Nominees, Also Donald Trump, Melania Trump, Kellyanne Conway
The Razzie Awards broke with tradition this year and nominated three real people who were in documentaries: Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and Kellyanne Conway. The latter two compete in Worst Supporting Actress.
“Gotti” led the nominations with Worst Picture, Worst Actor and Supporting Actress– married couple John Travolta and Kelly Preston. They are favored to win.
I do feel they left out Lars von Trier’s ultra violent “The House That Jack Built” from Worst Picture. That’s a snub. And the Louis C.K. movie “I Love You, Daddy” would have been nominated in all categories had it been released. A missed opportunity!
WORST PICTURE
“Gotti”
“The Happytime Murders”
“Holmes & Watson”
“Robin Hood”
“Winchester”
WORST ACTRESS
Jennifer Garner, “Peppermint”
Amber Heard, “London Fields”
Melissa McCarthy, “The Happytime Murders” and “Life of the Party”
Helen Mirren, “Winchester”
Amanda Seyfried, “The Clapper”
WORST ACTOR
Johnny Depp (voice), “Sherlock Gnomes”
Will Ferrell, “Holmes & Watson”
John Travolta, “Gotti”
Donald J. Trump (as himself), “Death of a Nation” and “Fahrenheit 11/9”
Bruce Willis, “Death Wish”
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jamie Foxx, “Robin Hood”
Ludacris (voice), “Show Dogs”
Joel McHale, “Happytime Murders”
John C. Reilly, “Holmes & Watson”
Justice Smith, “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kellyanne Conway (as herself), “Fahrenheit 11/9”
Marcia Gay Harden, “Fifty Shades Freed”
Kelly Preston, “Gotti”
Jaz Sinclair, “Slender Man”
Melania Trump (as herself), “Fahrenheit 11/9”
WORST SCREEN COMBO
“Any two actors or puppets (especially in those creepy sex scenes),” “Happytime Murders”
“Johnny Depp and his fast-fading film career,” “Sherlock Gnomes”
“Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly (trashing two of literature’s most beloved characters),” “Holmes & Watson”
“Kelly Preston and John Travolta (getting ‘Battlefield Earth’-type reviews!),” “Gotti”
“Donald J. Trump and his self-perpetuating pettiness,” “Death of a Nation” and “Fahrenheit 11/9”
WORST REMAKE, RIPOFF or SEQUEL
“Death of a Nation” (remake of “Hillary’s America”)
“Death Wish”
“Holmes & Watson”
“The Meg” (ripoff of “Jaws”)
“Robin Hood”
WORST DIRECTOR
Etan Cohen, “Holmes & Watson”
Kevin Connolly, “Gotti”
James Foley, “Fifty Shades Freed”
Brian Henson, “Happytime Murders”
The Spierig Brothers (Michael and Peter), “Winchester”
WORST SCREENPLAY
“Death of a Nation”
“Fifty Shades Freed”
“Gotti”
“Happytime Murders”
“Winchester”
Paul McCartney Fans Have a Once Ever Cinema Treat Tomorrow (Jan 21) One-Off Screening of Never Seen Animated Film
Tomorrow, January 21st, Paul McCartney fans will have a rare treat all over the world: a one-off screening of “Bruce McMouse,” an animated film made by Paul and Linda McCartney with their group Wings. It features the Maccas voicing over animated mice, mixed in with rare concert footage of Wings on the road in Holland and Germany in 1972.
There’s been almost no publicity about this, no press release, nothing. “Bruce McMouse” will play in 12 cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles. A lot of major cities are left out. Maybe they’ll be included later, or the film will turn up in a McCartney box set sometime. I have no idea.
The film took six years to complete, and in 1978 it was shelved. No one’s ever seen it. Click here for cities and times.
PS Paul seems to be mining his early Wings period. He recently released box sets for his Wings “Wild Life” album and “Red Rose Speedway” from 1972-73.
Three Weeks After His Death, Still No One Has Said Why KTLA Anchor Chris Burrous Overdosed at a Suburban Days Inn
December 28th– it wasn’t that long ago. Three weeks.
Yet in that time no one from Los Angeles or from KTLA has answered this question: Why was anchor Chris Burrous at a suburban Days Inn at one o’clock in the afternoon? Why did he overdose and what from? What caused his death?
The 43 year old anchorman, so popular in Los Angeles, remains a mystery and so does his tragic death. Married, with a young daughter, Burrous was the embodiment of a public celebrity– peppy, avuncular, full of life. One thing we know is that he loved to eat. His “Burrous Bites” segments were a highlight of the station and his career.
But on December 28th a still unknown man– known, actually to the Glendale Police Department– called in Burrous’s overdose.
No police report is available from the incident and won’t be until the autopsy is released. Even then we may not know what happened. And L.A. media quickly covered up whatever they knew about Burrous. Did he have a secret life? Was there another side to Burrous the public was unaware of?
And meantime, Burrous’s family has raised $135,000 in two separate gofundme campaigns. Even that begs questions no one in Los Angeles asked. Didn’t he have savings? A pension? Life insurance? Gofundme is usually used to raise money for people who’ve survived natural disasters, or don’t have insurance, or are destitute. Wasn’t Burrous earning a decent wage at KTLA?
Below, a video from Burrous’s funeral, which was held without much fanfare. Sadly, it was on his 44th birthday.
If anyone can contribute something substantial to this, confidentially, please email me at showbiz411@gmail.com
Box Office: “Glass” Cracked Over the Weekend, Coming in Low, But “Bohemian Rhapsody” Crossed the $200 Mil Mark
M. Night Shyamalan’s “Glass” cracked over the weekend. After a $16 million Thurs-Fri opening, the comic book thriller slowed down considerably. The three day take is at $40 million. That strong opening didn’t translate into “legs,” although snow may have slowed the audience down. It remains to be seen how “Glass” will pay out for Universal, since Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson no doubt get dollar one, and James McAvoy is no slouch either.
Good news: “Bohemian Rhapsody” crossed the $200 million mark. “A Star is Born” beat them to it, which means two of the biggest movies of 2018 were musical in nature. That’s good news for the Elton John movie coming called “Rocket Man.” Are more music movies coming? Undoubtedly.
“The Mule” will hit $100 million this week, with a final goal of $120 million. I’ve been hammering away at it not getting an Oscar campaign, but insiders say no one involved was interested. Clint Eastwood has nothing to prove or gain, and apparently Dianne Wiest– who has an Oscar– just wasn’t into it.