Thursday, December 18, 2025
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Mariah Carey Says She’s Been Battling BiPolar Disorder Since 2001, Explains Erratic Behavior

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Mariah Carey tells People magazine she’s been battling bipolar disorder since 2001. She was diagnosed when she had her “breakdown” during the release of “Glitter,” a huge bomb. If you recall, Carey was really knocked out by various revelations of backstabbing, etc.

She tells People: “Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me,” she says. “It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn’t do that anymore. I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music.”

It’s not clear why this is being revealed now, but everyone wishes Mariah well and continued mental health. To her credit she never seems depressed in public. She’s always bubbly and has a wicked sense of humor. She was obviously working hard to keep up the impression she was happy as a “lamb” or butterfly.

The diagnosis would explain some of Mariah’s erratic behavior over the years.

Mariah says on Twitter she’s back in the studio. Let’s hope she’s working on something really important and adult, not just more scatting over hip hop songs. That ship — it was fun– has sailed.

Bad Ideas Dept: Lanky, Thin, Tall British “Billions” Actor Damian Lewis Will Play Fat, Dead Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford

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Alas, Chris Farley cannot play dead Toronto mayor Rob Ford. You remember Rob, don’tcha? Fat and loud, he partied like it was 1999, drank, did drugs, went to rehab. He finally exploded and died from cancer in March 2016.

Now comes word of a movie about Ford, produced by brothers Jonathan and Andrew Bronfman of Canada. They are distant relatives of the Bronfmans of Seagrams fame. Their father, Paul Bronfman, chairman of Pinewood Toronto Studios. Bronfman owns William F. White International Inc., (Whites) described as Canada’s oldest and largest provider of professional motion picture, television, live event, digital media production equipment and technical expertise.

So who did they get to play Rob Ford, a man whose shirt tail was rarely tucked in? Why, his physical opposite, Damian Lewis, of “Billions” and “Homeland” fame. Lewis is tall, thin, lanky. Makes no sense.

The movie is called “Run This Town,” named for a Jay Z song that has nothing to do with anything. This is the first directing job for producer-actor Ricky Tollman.

While I’m sure Lewis up to the challenge, the question is Why? We’ll have to wait and see how this works out.

Review: “Roseanne” Was Actually Funny Tonight, But Dropped All Its Controversial Material

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“Roseanne” was actually funny tonight.

There were no shrill political debates, on the positive side. On the negative, it looks like they cut the baby surrogacy story. Becky’s eggs were too old to be used — she’d been shaving 10 years off her forty three. What that means for Sarah Chalke is unclear since it was going to be her baby.

In addition to the dropped surrogacy story, there was no sign of the cross dressing 10 year old or the black granddaughter. Is this all because of time constraints, or is the show deferring to the conservative audience it attracted in its massive premiere?

More positives: a little bit more of Laurie Metcalf showing her wide range. John Goodman, however, still seems at sea.

We’ll see what the ratings are in the morning. But it was nice to see things calm down a little. And even nicer to see Lecy Goranson and Sara Gilbert get a big sister scene for themselves.

RIP The Great Yvonne Staples of the Famed Staples Singers Passes Away at Age 80

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Everyone knows the name Mavis Staples these days, which is great. But Mavis grew up singing with her family– her dad, Pops Staples and sister Yvonne. Yvonne also took care of the family business. Until a few years ago she organized Mavis’s solo career as well. You can hear Yvonne on all the great Staples Singers hits, from “Crying in the Chapel” to “I’ll Take You There” and “Respect Yourself.” I knew her for a long time, she was so lovely and a great pal. I enjoyed seeing her so much and missed her a lot in the last few years as she became unable to travel. She was just one of the sweethearts of the world and of the music world. She will be sorely missed by her family and close friends, and I will miss seeing her.

 

“Danger, Will Robinson!” — “Lost in Space” is Back, Seriously, with the Robot, and a Female Dr. Smith (Parker Posey)

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“Danger, Will Robinson!” got the crowd clapping at the premiere of Netflix’s new surefire hit — a 2018 remake of the 60’s classic ‘”Lost In Space” at the Arclight Hollywood Cinerama Dome.  Netflix’s content chief Ted Sarandos got the night started for the appreciative audience which included “Star Wars”‘s Mark Hamill and the original “ Lost In Space” cast members Angela Cartwright,  Mark Goddard, Bill Mumy and Marta Kristen, whose date was her actress daughter, the lovely Lena Kane. (June Lockhart, the great space mom, is 92 so she was allowed to stay home. Guy Williams and Jonathan Harris are gone, somewhere in space.)

One exhilarating episode was shown and this engaging and exciting show quickly kicked into high sci –fi gear. And here’s a little side note: the original “Lost in Space” was brought to us by Irwin Allen, famous for his blockbuster disaster movies. It ran for 84 episodes from 1965 to 1968. The family was named Robinson as a nod to the Swiss Family Robinson, who were shipwrecked in the early 1800s in the East Indies and became famous.

At the after party I chatted with the esteemed British actor Toby Stephens who plays the combat veteran dad, John Robinson.  Toby is acting and theatrical royalty; he is the son of Dame Maggie Smith — Dowager Countess of “Downton Abbey” among other things — and the late Sir Robert Stephens.  I asked the totally down to earth Toby how a lauded British actor such as himself — he’s won numerous awards for his Shakespearean work on stage and screen — wound up in an American pop culture classic?  Stephens explained,  “I grew up for five years in LA because my Mom worked here a lot.  So I caught up on all the American sci -fi shows and have always been a true fan since then.  I never imagined I’d be in one, but I’m sincerely thrilled to be in this. I’m having a blast.”

Toby has an equal acting partner in 12-year-old Maxwell Jenkins who plays the iconic Will Robinson role and is just sensational, he gives a layered, sensitive performance; it also doesn’t hurt that he’s off the charts appealing.  I asked him his highlight of the night.  “Mark Hamill gave me a cough drop.  I actually have a cough drop from Luke Skywalker!”  The rest of the cast — Molly Parker, Taylor Russell and Mina Sundial — round out the complicated Robinson clan and are every bit Toby and Maxwell’s acting equals.  We luckily got a peak of the always perfect Parker Posey (who was at the event as well)  as Dr. Smith at the end of the first episode. Cannot wait to see more of her!

“Lost In Space”‘ premieres globally on Friday April 13th and will surely be another megahit for Netflix.  The show smartly weaves the appealing 60’s sensibility with an imperfect modern day family.  A big budget sci-fi adventure with heart.  Escapist fun and wondrously well done.  

 


TV Ratings: “American Idol” Beaten Sunday by New Show and “NCIS,” Monday by “The Voice”

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“American Idol” is not having a great time during its reincarnation.

On Sunday night “Idol” was beaten by “NCIS” and its preceding show CBS, “Instinct,” which is brand new but has a great lead-in from “60 Minutes.” The latter news program had 10 million viewers on Sunday might.

“Idol” scores an average 7.2 million viewers, a full million behind “NCIS” and “Instinct.”

Last night, “Idol” fell again when it overlapped with NBC’s “The Voice.” The only good news there is that “The Voice” was down, too, under 10 million viewers to 9.7 million. It’s off about 500,000 viewers.

Exclusive: Joaquin Phoenix Rising– Star Says “I Just Want to Keep Making Movies, If People Think That I Should”

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Charlize Theron and Joaqui’n Phoenix

 

I guess Page Six went to a different party then I and the rest of the attendees (including Charlize Theron, John C. Reilly, Lucas Hedges and more) did for Joaquin Phoenix’s new much lauded film Amazon’s  “You Were Never Really Here,” in limited release now. At the Taschen Gallery event Phoenix was described as   ‘reclusive,’ and ‘utterly unnoticed.’ They apparently weren’t at the event so they got their info from a ‘source’ and they got it all wrong.  

Joaquin was gracious and approachable, posed for photographers and talked to the press, including me, and was chatting and lovely to guests. He’s also far from ‘reclusive.’ He’s a committed public animal activist, goes to events and recently accompanied his longtime talented actress girlfriend Rooney Mara during Oscar time when she co-hosted an event for her brother-in-law Jamie Bell’s “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.” Jamie is married to Rooney’s equally talented sister Kate Mara who is terrific in “Chappaquiddick.”

I asked Joaquin, who is known to take artistic challenges in his choices, what drew him to this complicated role. He plays a traumatized veteran who tracks down missing girls for a living

“I don’t really know what it was.  It may be there was just something about Lynne [Scottish Director Lynne Ramsey who wrote and directed the film] when she talked about it that had meaning to me.  He goes on, “I felt like there was something really mysterious about the character and the journey that I couldn’t figure out.  It wasn’t like it was there on the page. But there were hints of things which I wanted to dig in with Lynne and explore the possibilities.  I don’t really know exactly why, but that’s close.”

I then asked him how he handles the constant compliments he gets from the industry and fans about his talent, dedication and commitment to his work.  He answered humbly,   “It makes me feel a little bit uneasy.  I just want to keep making movies, if people think that I should and they want to support that then I’m really appreciative.”

 

Photo Credit: Todd Williamson/January Images

Buckingham Nix: Fleetwood Mac Writer-Guitarist Leaves Group, Won’t Tour This Summer

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Lindsey Buckingham has left the building. He won’t tour with Fleetwood Mac this summer after they finally got Christine McVie back.

You know Fleetwood Mac. The ancient mariners have been sleeping with each other and squabbling since 1492. At different times they’ve all left, then come back, then left again.

Buckingham joined the group with Stevie Nicks in 1975, after they released their one album together, “Buckingham Nicks.” (It’s out of print, no CD, no digital, because hey, that’s so cool and mysterious). He and McVie made an album last year that no one cared about; it sold 50,000 copies.

Buckingham is being replaced on this tour by Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. (Now maybe I’ll go.)  This means we’re going to hear Stevie sing harmony on “Don’t Dream It’s Over.”

Well, don’t dream, it’s not over. Fleetwood Mac won’t officially break up until there’s an apocalypse. God only knows what burr got under Buckingham’s saddle. The group said in a statement, “We wish him the best.”

This has been going on for forty years, for god’s sake.

PS It’s really ironically funny since out of nowhere some new home video using the song “Dreams” has gone viral and put them back on the charts. Now, that’s the time to leave!

 

NCIS Fractious Farewell: Actress Pauley Perrette Tweets Final Photos with Everyone in Cast But Mark Harmon

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It’s all over for Pauley Perrette at “NCIS.” The original cast member leaves in a two parter beginning May 1st. Over the weekend she wrapped her final episodes and posted farewell photos with all the cast members except for her boss, Mark Harmon. Was Harmon too busy? Did Perrette not want him? Is it a sign? I’ve heard stories from past “NCIS” players about Harmon that indicate he’s not the most sentimental guy on set. (And to think, he started as a second-level character on “St. Elsewhere.”) I do think “NCIS” is going to be quite different without Pauley. Her sense of humor and quirkiness balanced Harmon’s leaden personality. I hope she goes on to something really cool and fun.

Books By Celebs — Sean Penn, Rose McGowan — Thought to Have Waiting Fans Are Sales Duds

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Book publishing re-learned an old lesson this winter. Books by celebrities are not automatic best sellers.

Indeed. they are flops. To wit: Sean Penn’s novel, “Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff” has done nothing in book stores or online. Only 5,500 copies have been sold according to BookScan. “Bob Honey” is sitting at around number 3,000 among all titles on amazon.com. Simon & Schuster’s Atria imprint published the Oscar winner’s foray into fiction. The novel has universally terrible reviews on amazon.

At the same time, Rose McGowan’s emancipation proclamation, a memoir called “Brave,” hasn’t done much either. “Brave,” from HarperCollins, sold 6,900 copies through the end of March. It’s dropped to number 17,330 on amazon.com. The book was definitely hurt by McGowan flaking out on the first day of her book tour after a heckler interrupted a signing in New York.

Doing a little better were media books by Tina Brown and Joe Hagan. Through the end of March, Hagan’s Jann Wenner book sold around 29,000 copies. Tina Brown’s “Vanity Fair Diaries” sold 26,000 copies. They weren’t best-sellers, but Sean Penn would have been a lot happier with those numbers.