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Not Funny: Marvel’s Deadpool Points Gun at Teddy Bear in Twitter Message from Company Founder Stan Lee

Roger Friedman
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Not Funny: Marvel’s Deadpool Points Gun at Teddy Bear in Twitter Message from Company Founder Stan Lee

Marvel founder Stan Lee has released four photos— called “Easter eggs”– for the upcoming release of “Deadpool 2” starring Ryan Reynolds.

One of them is a photo of Deadpool pointing a gun at the head of a teddy bear. This must be funny somewhere but seems odd considering the current gun control debate.

Lee’s site says: “The Marvel Cinematic Universe and associated films are full of “Easter Eggs.” It’s a huge part of what ties the movies together and gives them the depth and scope that they deserve. You can throw all of the explosions and fancy choreographed fight scenes that you want into the pot, but it’s definitely the small things that some hardly notice that makes the “true believers” feel like they are apart of a comicbook culture that ‘s living and thriving.”

The other photos are less alarming. Interestingly, the teddy bear picture isn’t on Marvel or Deadpool sites, just Stan Lee’s. All the other promo material for “Deadpool 2” is irreverent, funny, witty, glib, good stuff. But this picture– not funny and really inappropriate. Here are the other pictures:

Spielberg Triumphant Return to Top of the Box Office, “Empire” Star Taraji P. Henson Also Scores Victory

Roger Friedman
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Spielberg Triumphant Return to Top of the Box Office, “Empire” Star Taraji P. Henson Also Scores Victory

The weekend box office has a lot of nice Easter eggs for everyone.

Steven Spielberg made a triumphant return to the top of the heap with “Ready Player One.” SS scored $41.2 million for the three day weekend, and a total of $53.2 million since Wednesday when previews began. It’s Spielberg’s biggest opening since “Jurassic Park” and “War of the Worlds.” In between he made Oscar fare like “Lincoln” and “The Post.” It wasn’t like he sloughing off!

The other nice box office news is that Taraji P. Henson led “Acrimony” to a $17 million weekend. Wow!
An Oscar nominee for “Benjamin Button” and the star of “Hidden Figures,” Taraji has spent the last few years having fun on Lee Daniels’ hit TV show “Empire” as the wily Cookie. But she is the real deal for movies and this proves it. “Acrimony” is a Tyler Perry movie, and the biggest one in five years that doesn’t feature his trademark Madea character. I haven’t seen “Acrimony” but Taraji looks pretty serious from the photo. In real life, she is so much fun and one of the nicest people ever. Bravo!

Good news part 3: Wes Anderson’s “Isle of Dogs” has made $5.9 million in 2 weeks in limited release. This wonderful, whimsical film deserves all the love it gets. I can’t wait for more people to see it.

Frank Stallone, Brother of Sylvester Stallone, Denounced for Attacking Parkland Survivor Student on Twitter

Roger Friedman
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Frank Stallone, Brother of Sylvester Stallone, Denounced for Attacking Parkland Survivor Student on Twitter

Frank Stallone was more known to us in the 80s and early 90s before he faded into obscurity. He’s the brother of Sylvester Stallone.

Today Frank Stallone is being unanimously criticized for for this message he Tweeted about David Hogg, 17 year old activist thanks to the mass shooting (and killing of his friends) at Marjorie Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida: “This David Hogg pussy is getting a little big for his britches. I’m sure someone from his age group is dying to sucker punch this rich little bitch. Watch him run home like the coward he is. He’s the worst rep for today’s youth headlining grabbing punk”

Frank Stallone doesn’t matter to anyone. He’s not important. (Sylvester Stallone, I assure you, doesn’t represent these ideas.) But there it is– what a segment of the population to whom Laura Ingraham appeals think about the brave, outspoken Parkland students who’ve actually spoken up about a mass murder that took place in front of their eyes. THEY do matter. These are Roseanne’s people, which is what makes the success of her show– and her idiotic, ill informed Tweets– so much more dangerous.

Internet archivists are reposting a newspaper clip from 1986 mocking Frank. He was accidentally hurt in a gun store during a demonstration and sued the owner for $1.2 million. He calls Hogg a “pussy” but Frank was the pussy, as it turns out. And this was in BEVERLY HILLS, not exactly the Wild West or mean streets of Brooklyn. LOL

Madonna Donates $2 Mil to Charity, Including $1.3 Mil to African Children’s Hospital, $250K to Kabbalah Center

Roger Friedman
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Madonna Donates $2 Mil to Charity, Including $1.3 Mil to African Children’s Hospital, $250K to Kabbalah Center

EXCLUSIVE Madonna is still giving big chunks of money to the controversial Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles. In 2016 she donated $250,000 to the cult that has taken millions from her over the last 20 or 30 years.

According to the new Form 990 for Madonna’s Ray of Light Foundation, that was about 1/10th of the total money Madonna made in charitable grants. Altogether she gave away $2 million– way up from previous years.

More than half the total– $1.3 million– went to Raising Malawi, her other foundation. That money went to the building of a children’s hospital in Malawi, Africa– the first time Madonna’s years of traveling to Madonna and adopting children there has actually produced a tangible effect. So that’s good news.

She also gave $250,000 to Creating Hope International in Dearborn, Michigan. Their mission is to “assist local organizations that work at the grass roots level in Afghanistan and India, helping people improve their lives and communities.”

Ray of Light also gave a measly $5,000 to Madonna’s pal Rosie O’Donnell’s important foundation for kids learning theater, and $10,000 to cancer research at the TJ Martell Foundation. She also sent $10,000 to the Community Foundation in Flint, Michigan, which still doesn’t have clean water. As usual, even though her biggest following is in the gay community, Madonna gave zip to AIDS research, etc, nothing to Elton John’s AIDS Foundation or amFAR.

But the $1.3 million for the children’s hospital in Malawi is a big deal, especially after past projects fell through or the money disappeared. So kudos for that.

“General Hospital” Celebrates 55th Anniversary by Firing 40 Year Vet Kin Shriner, No Plans for a New Deal with Genie Francis

Roger Friedman
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“General Hospital” Celebrates 55th Anniversary by Firing 40 Year Vet Kin Shriner, No Plans for a New Deal with Genie Francis

ABC’s “General Hospital” celebrated its 55th anniversary yesterday by firing a 40 year vet, Kin Shriner. The actor had been playing Scotty Baldwin on and off since 1977.

“General Hospital,” ABC’s last soap, is clearly going through a huge budget tightening. In January they tossed Genie Francis, also a 40 year player as Laura Spencer, one half of the famous Luke and Laura.

Over the last few weeks there was hope Francis was returning to the show because she had a public lunch with executive producer Frank Valentini. After I received emails about this I called Francis’s agent, who told me in fact there was no offer and there are no deals. Francis, meantime, has been posting photos from a trip to Paris. Living well is the best revenge.

One way to kill soaps is by undermining their base, and turning off older fans. ABC already did this with “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.” The idea is to strip off fan favorite actors and make the fans angry. The ratings drop and then the network has an excuse to cancel the show. It seems like ABC is moving in that direction.

It’s cheaper for them to run a talk — maybe from Roseanne or someone like that — than to produce a soap.

Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” Makes $27Mil in 3 Days, Second Biggest Opening Weekend So Far of 2018

Roger Friedman
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Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” Makes $27Mil in 3 Days, Second Biggest Opening Weekend So Far of 2018

“Ready Player One” made $15.2 million Friday night. Adding the Wednesday-Thursday shows that came to $12 million means the Steven Spielberg movie will post a $50 million plus weekend by tomorrow night.

This also means that “Ready Player One” beats “Fifty Shades of Freed” and “A Wrinkle in Time” and is second only to the phenom “Black Panther” so far for 2018 openings.

“Ready Player One” is Spielberg’s biggest opening weekend in a very long time. His last openings on this level were “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” with $100 million in 2008 and “War of the Worlds” in 2005 with over $60 million.

Warner Bros. has to be thrilled. They’ve got a tentpole now since “RPO” should generate two sequels. Author of the book Ernest Cline is working on “Ready Player Two” right now. Even if Spielberg just produces the next two they’ll come with his imprimatur. After so many disappointments with the DC Comics movies, the studio can bask in this glow.

Dear Roseanne Barr: Here’s Your President 100 White Interns, 2 Who Are Not — Is This Your Audience, Too?

Roger Friedman
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Dear Roseanne Barr: Here’s Your President 100 White Interns, 2 Who Are Not — Is This Your Audience, Too?

Roseanne Barr is Donald Trump’s official celebrity backer now. She drew 18-22 million viewers with the return of her show largely based on her squawking about Trump.

Dear Roseanne: here is the class photo of the spring 2018 White House interns with Donald Trump. They are all white with the exception of a black man and an Indian or black woman. That’s a ratio of 100 to 2. Is this your audience, too? Pictures so speak a thousand words. This is the way Donald Trump sees America. But this doesn’t represent our popular in any way? Are you aware of that.

This shameful in 2018. Even George and Martha Washington, flanking this loaf of unenriched white bread, know better by now.

With 14 Major Advertisers Fleeing, Laura Ingraham Says She’s Taking Next Week Off– Exactly How Bill O’Reilly Exited Fox News

Roger Friedman
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With 14 Major Advertisers Fleeing, Laura Ingraham Says She’s Taking Next Week Off– Exactly How Bill O’Reilly Exited Fox News

Is Laura Ingraham done at Fox News? Tonight she announced she’s taking next week off following her imbroglio with Parkland, Florida high school student David Hogg.

After attacking Hogg on Twitter, Ingraham became the object of an advertiser boycott. A dozen or so major advertisers have left her show including Johnson & Johnson, Hulu, Office Depot, Liberty Mutual, Jenny Craig among 14 top spenders and big brands. First it was just Hogg, 17, who encouraged the boycott. But it’s snowballed quickly.

This is exactly what happened to Bill O’Reilly last year. Advertisers fled when the New York Times revealed the multi million dollar settlements with women whom he’d sexually harassed. O’Reilly announced he was taking a week off. He never returned.

Fox News doesn’t need Ingraham. She’s new the prime time line up. The network is already fighting off Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, who’s regularly beating Sean Hannity. Ingraham herself was beaten on Thursday night by Lawrence O’Donnell, who follows Maddow. They were pretty much tied on Wednesday night. So Fox News may decide they don’t need to keep rolling the dice with a magnet for bad PR whose advertisers are gone.

Stay tuned…

Springsteen Guitarist Nils Lofgren SOS: Robbed of Beloved Instruments on Tour in Dallas

Roger Friedman
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Springsteen Guitarist Nils Lofgren SOS: Robbed of Beloved Instruments on Tour in Dallas

It’s an SOS from Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren. He and wife Amy have each Tweeted from Dallas that Nils’s guitars were stolen last night. It’s the first night of his solo tour (Nils had a great solo career before joining the E Street Band).

Nils writes: “I’m am devastated by this robbery. These are my first shows out after a very difficult year. Please consider a retweet. Alas, the show must go on. @KesslerTheater it won’t be the show I was planning on. However I do plan on taking the roof off.”

Pop: The Weeknd Surprise Drops New EP “My Dear Melancholy,” and Goes Straight to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Pop: The Weeknd Surprise Drops New EP “My Dear Melancholy,” and Goes Straight to Number 1

The Weeknd is back. As a surprise holiday weekend gift, the talented R&B star has dropped a six song set called “My Dear Melancholy,”. That’s with a comma, because it’s a set of open letters that are moody, romantic, and full of memorable hooks.

The set comes on the heels of The Weeknd’s huge number 1 hit, “Pray for Me” with Kendrick Lamar, from the “Black Panther” soundtrack.

What I like about The Weeknd is that he has composed the whole thing himself with partners. All of it is original and sounds fresh.

The set, of course, has zoomed to number 1. The charts really needed “My Dear Melancholy,” you know. The staleness of sounds on the radio right now is shocking.

Here are the six songs. My favorite so far is number 5, “Hurt You,” which is co-credited to Swedish DJ Gesaffelstein.

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