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Theater: World Premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s New Musical Pulled at Last Minute

Roger Friedman
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Theater: World Premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s New Musical Pulled at Last Minute

Andrew Lloyd Webber– usually you can’t get away from him. He’s got shows coming and going from Broadway like Big Macs, piping hot.

But his new sort of greatest hits musical, called “Unmasked,” just got pulled from its world premiere this September at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Instead Paper Mill is subbing in a new production of “The Color Purple” from the same director who was supposed to do “Unmasked”– John Doyle.

We don’t need “The Color Purple” again so soon after its Broadway success recently, but hey–why not?

Doyle says in a statement: “We received news last week from our producing partners in London that due to unforeseen scheduling issues, Unmasked can no longer be presented as part of our 2018-2019 Paper Mill Playhouse season. We look forward to presenting it in a future season.”

“Unmasked” was a collaboration with Richard Curtis, the writer and director of “Love Always.” Curtis is busy working with director Danny Boyle on their Beatles music movie “All You Need is Love” so maybe he’s busy with that. Or maybe they discovered that a lot of ALW’s songs sound the same. (Sorry.)

Or maybe Doyle is the reason. He likes his actors to play their own instruments on stage. But at least he knows “The Color Purple”– his revival of it won two Tony Awards. He also won a Tony for directing Patti Lupone in “Sweeney Todd” although she complained about having to carry a tuba around– something like that.

Next Month’s All-Star “Ocean’s 8” Movie Is Set at the Met Gala, So Tonight Look for the Cast and Lots of Plugs

Roger Friedman
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Next Month’s All-Star “Ocean’s 8” Movie Is Set at the Met Gala, So Tonight Look for the Cast and Lots of Plugs

Didn’t get an invite tonight’s Met Gala, or Met Ball? Don’t worry, it will all be back next month on the big screen.

For “Ocean’s 8,” director Gary Ross and screenwriter Olivia Milch (daughter of “Hill Street Blues” writer David Milch) used the Met Ball for their main plot point. The many famous ladies of the cast pull off their heist at the event. The movie will be released on June 8.

For the movie, Ross re-created a fake Met Ball. So tonight’s Halloween party should bring a number of the famous cast members to the red carpet including Rihanna (a co-host), Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, and so on. Star Cate Blanchett won’t be there since she’s head of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins tomorrow.

George Clooney is very identified with the “Ocean’s” movies so it’s just a coincidence that his wife, Amal, is a co-host of the Ball. It’s very likely that Clooney makes a cameo of some kind in “Ocean’s 8” since he’s Danny Ocean and Bullock plays his sister.

Of course, there’s always a chance that some of the cast wasn’t invited– haha– that would be the ultimate snobbery!

Met Ball chief antagonist Anna Wintour is also featured in “Oceans 8.” Let’s hope she’s not a bad luck charm for the movie. Wintour was all over “Zoolander 2” a couple of years ago, and that movie was one of the biggest financial flops in movie history.

Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino Drops Brilliant New Video on SNL, Goes Straight to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino Drops Brilliant New Video on SNL, Goes Straight to Number 1

In the middle of all the agita going on about Kanye West, his crazy interviews, Tweets, bad music, nutty ideas about music and fashion comes–

Donald Glover, aka Childish Gambino. He hosted “SNL” last night and performed, was absolutely terrific. He dropped a new video called “This Is America” that is at once brutal and elegant.

“This is America” has gone straight to number 1 on iTunes. He knows: Glover is ‘in the zone.’ Hi show, “Atlanta,” is way above everything else. Even his other video on “SNL” — a mash up send up of “A Quiet Place” and Kanye West’s recent craziness, called “A Kanye Place” was so trenchant that Kanye himself re-Tweeted it.

Exclusive: Is this Anna Wintour’s Last Met Ball? 2017 Receipts Off by Over $1 Million, Expenses Skyrocket

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Is this Anna Wintour’s Last Met Ball? 2017 Receipts Off by Over $1 Million, Expenses Skyrocket

Will Monday’s Met Ball be its big finale? Or at least in this form? Certainly there’s a chance that this is the end for Vogue editor Anna Wintour, rumored to be leaving Conde Nast this summer when her September issue hits stands in mid August.

Wintour’s Conde Nast exit could be the same for her run as head of the Costume Institute’s annual Met Ball? What started as a glittering, unusual festival for the Museum has devolved into a Halloween ball for reality stars. And, as I’ve reported before, the Met Ball costs a LOT to put on every year.

Now I can tell you that the 2017 event’s gross receipts were just $12.2 million– down from $13.5 million in 2016. The trend is down as receipts fell by $1.3 million. More worrisome: the expenses incurred by the Met. They went UP. In 2016, expenses were $3.556 million. In 2017, they jumped to $3.859 million.

Wintour’s pets this year, as last year, will not include Donald or Melania Trump. A celebrity “get” prior to 2016, the Trumps are now anathema. Monday night there will be the question of Kanye West, who usually accompanies wife Kim Kardashian when he’s not recovering from myriad problems. A few years ago he actually performed at the Met Ball. But now West, firmly ensconced with the Trump camp, is in a PR nightmare thanks to his “Slavery was a choice” declaration.

And then there is the museum itself, still the most shining jewel of all museums in the world. They’re going through massive cost cutting after many in the executive office have left or been dismissed. Salaries keep rising. The museum is now charging admission to non-New Yorkers, who must pay $25. The spectacle of the Ball may not seem as urgent to those people.

Stay tuned…

Marvel-ous: “Avengers: Infinity Wars” Breaks New Records No One’s Ever Heard Of While “Deadpool” Lays in Wait

Roger Friedman
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Marvel-ous: “Avengers: Infinity Wars” Breaks New Records No One’s Ever Heard Of While “Deadpool” Lays in Wait

You know, Deadpool is out there. And even while “Avengers: Infinity War” breaks new records this weekend, “Deadpool 2” is waiting for its release. Will it topple all these movies like “Infinity War” and “Black Panther”? I hope so.

In the meantime, “Infinity War” now has $450 million US, and $1.1 billion globally. The mega Marvel movie now has the second highest second weekend ever, and is one of a half dozen movies to make $100 million for a second weekend in a row.

And oh yes: “Black Panther” will hit $700 million US this week, which is amazing and wonderful. It seems impossible it could earn another $60 million in theatrical release to become number 2, but who knows? “Infinity War” is feeding new “Black Panther” audiences every day– people who want to see the rest of T’Challa’s story.

All of this leaves little room for “small” movies at a human scale. Jason Reitman’s “Tully” made just $3.1 million in semi-limited release. But the Charlize Theron starrer has an 89 on Rotten Tomatoes. Were there press screeners, or a NY event? I have no idea. Why wasn’t this held for the fall? Counter programming? Well, one day I’ll get to see it and have some thoughts. But anyone who’s not interested in super heroes should check it out. Reitman, Theron and Diablo Cody are a substantial team.

Porn Star Stormy Daniels Rebuffs Comic Roseanne Barr on Twitter, And it’s Not Pretty

Roger Friedman
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Porn Star Stormy Daniels Rebuffs Comic Roseanne Barr on Twitter, And it’s Not Pretty

What do Roseanne Barr and Stormy Daniels have in common? They are each controversial performers trying to sell tickets to their respective shows. Now Roseanne, maybe looking for attention what with her sinking ratings and tickets not selling, has taken on Stormy on Twitter. And the porn star who slept with Donald Trump has responded in kind. Can’t put it a headline, but it’s not pretty. Round 1 goes to Stormy.

Jeffrey Tambor, Ousted from Amazon’s “Transparent,” Welcomed Back to Netflix’s “Arrested Development”

Roger Friedman
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Jeffrey Tambor, Ousted from Amazon’s “Transparent,” Welcomed Back to Netflix’s “Arrested Development”

These are confusing times in the #MeToo era.

Now comes news that Jeffrey Tambor will return to Netflix’s “Arrested Development” series for another season. Tambor is an original cast member of the popular series that started on Fox years ago but has had a new life on the Netflix platform.

It’s an interesting turn of events as Tambor was ousted from Amazon’s “Transparent,” where he won a lot of awards playing a man who became a woman. Tambor’s exit was because of accusations of sexual misconduct after accusations from people who worked on the show.

I would have thought Amazon would be more flexible, and Netflix not for a variety of reasons. Earlier this year. sources tell me, Netflix refused to hire another prominent actor who’d had similar accusations leveled against him. But maybe Tambor, whose alleged transgressions never rose to the level of serious legal standing, has curbed his enthusiasm for making inappropriate remarks at work.

“Transparent,” meanwhile, will somehow eliminate his character– which was the main focus of the show– and move forward in a new direction.

Roman Polanski Expelled from Movie Academy, His Victim Speaks Out: “It Is An Angry and Cruel Action”

Roger Friedman
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Roman Polanski Expelled from Movie Academy, His Victim Speaks Out: “It Is An Angry and Cruel Action”

Samantha Geimer was 13 in 1977 when she had sex with director Roman Polanski. Today Polanski, in what has come to be described as a rape, was expelled from the Motion Picture Academy.  This, despite Geimer supporting him over the years, and Polanski having served time in jail. He has never been allowed to return to the US and likely never will set foot here. Polanski has two Oscars, for “Chinatown” and “The Pianist.”

Geimer posted this to her blog this afternoon, an essay called “So you want to know what I think?” She still supports Polanski. (BTW I’ve met and spoken with Geimer several times, she is a bright, interesting person who brings a lot to this conversation.)

She writes: The Academy’s decision highlights the need for the misconduct and corruption in this case, not only in 1977, but as it has continued to this day, be IMMEDIATELY investigated. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has refused to pursue justice, instead it continues to cover up the illegal and inappropriate activity in the Court, and in particular, its own office. DAs are not elected to seek the limelight celebrity cases afford them as preferable to serving the public interest. The disgusting behavior in the Los Angeles Districts Attorney’s office helped create today’s trend of accusations being the same as convictions, our Courts are diminished by their actions.

As for the Academy expelling a member who 41 years ago plead guilty to a single charge and served his sentence, it is an ugly and cruel action which serves only appearance. It does nothing to change the sexist culture in Hollywood today and simply proves that they will eat their own to survive. I say to Roman, good riddance to bad rubbish, the Academy has no true honor, it’s all just PR.

Cannes 2018: Controversial Director Lars von Trier Will be Muzzled, American Stars Are Staying Home

Roger Friedman
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Cannes 2018: Controversial Director Lars von Trier Will be Muzzled, American Stars Are Staying Home

The 2018 Cannes Film Festival is going to have to find a groove without a lot of US celebs.

For one thing, Andrew Garfield, one of the stars of David Robert Mitchell’s “Under the Silver Lake,” is stuck on Broadway where he’s performing six long shows a week of “Angels in America.” The newly minted Tony Award nominee is likely to win Best Actor, too, so it’s not like he can get away.

But now I’m told Garfield’s “Silver Lake” co-star Riley Keough isn’t coming to Cannes, either. And that’s a blow because Riley– who is hot as a pistol right now– is also in Lars von Trier’s controversial and violent “The House That Jack Built.”

Keough isn’t the only star from the von Trier movie not going to Cannes. Uma Thurman is also skipping the festival. And that means a lot less star wattage on the Croisette.

The von Trier movie will also be notable for something else. I’m told that the Danish director, who got himself banned from Cannes a few years ago after making comments about Nazis, will not have a press conference for “The House That Jack Built.” Since his banishment began at a press conference, I suppose the feeling is that it’s best to muzzle him.

Of course, at the press conference for “Melancholia,” von Trier also suggested to his female stars on the dais– Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg– that he “Make a porno” with them. I guess Keough and Thurman will be spared that kind of situation on a dais. (Keough’s publicist says she’s working at that time.)

Also not coming to Cannes is Jake Gyllenhaal, star of Paul Dano’s “Wildlife,” shows in the Cannes Critics Week. “Wildlife” was a Sundance hit, with Jake co-starring alongside Carey Mulligan. She’s likely not attending either as the British actress is going into an off Broadway play soon. Gyllenhaal may be rehearsing for his Leonard Bernstein biopic, so he must “conduct himself” very carefully!

PS All of this news is disappointing. These films are must-see attractions. Let’s hope one of these actors re-considers!

Scam? Lurid Sex Lawsuit Against Hollywood Execs Contains An Important Lie That Might Negate Accusations

Roger Friedman
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Scam? Lurid Sex Lawsuit Against Hollywood Execs Contains An Important Lie That Might Negate Accusations

EXCLUSIVE A lurid lawsuit filed in New York against two Hollywood execs– one of whom is dead– contains a lie that will affect its totality.

A young man who calls himself Rovier Carrington and lives in Los Angeles claimed in a lawsuit that he was raped by the two execs. One of them is former MTV exec Brian Graden. The other is Brad Grey, the former head of Paramount, who died in May 2017 at age 59 from cancer.

Carrington, according to reports in the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, the LA Times, and so on that he’s somehow the great-grandson of late Three Stooges star Moe Howard. No one checked this, they just regurgitated it as a fact (forget the fact that Carrington is African American).

But it turns out Carrington is more likely a relative of the kid in John Guare’s play and movie “Six Degrees of Separation”– the black kid that claims Sidney Poitier is his father.

I emailed Moe Howard’s grandson, screenwriter Jeffrey Scott, who replied thusly:
Hi Roger,
I had never heard the name Rovier Carrington until I received your email.
Here are the facts…
Moe had two children, a son, Paul, and a daughter, my mother, Joan.
Paul has one child, a daughter named Jennifer. She had no children.
My mother had two children: me and by brother, Michael.
My brother has two children, a boy, Keith, and a girl, Tessa. Neither are married or have children.
I have a daughter, Caroline, and a son, Moe. Neither are married or have children.
I hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Jeff

So, Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk. Rovier Carrington, whoever he is, is not related to Moe Howard of the Three Stooges. Congrats to everyone who bought that story.

It’s extraordinary to me that everyone repeated Carrington’s claims without checking anything– claims against Brad Grey, whom we all knew for two or three decades, for better or worse. He can’t say a word in his own defense, and the whole thing sounds preposterous– not to mention grotesque.

But now we know that Carrington has made up his Three Stooges story– one that must have seemed good to him. But all it took to disprove was a little effort. His claims are disgusting. He offers no proof except his word. Which now looks pretty specious.

I’ve sent emails and/or text messages to Carrington, and his New York attorney Kevin Landau. If they answer, I’ll tell you what they said. (I’d like to know

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