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FLASHBACK Let’s Read the 1993 Connecticut Report on Woody Allen: “Dylan Farrow was not sexually abused by Woody Allen”

Roger Friedman
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FLASHBACK Let’s Read the 1993 Connecticut Report on Woody Allen: “Dylan Farrow was not sexually abused by Woody Allen”

I think it’s time to re-read the 1993 report from the State of Connecticut and Yale New Haven Hospital regarding Woody Allen and charges that he may have molested his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.

The report concluded that Dylan Farrow was not sexually abused by Woody Allen. Would it be too hard for the actors who’ve been railroaded into denouncing or renouncing Woody to read this? This is not fake news. This was real. What was fake was Mia Farrow’s manipulation of the situation. So agrees another of her adopted children, Moses Farrow, now a therapist, who has detailed his own abuse in the Farrow household.

I’m afraid the actors who are speaking out — and donating their fees, etc from Woody’s movies — are skipping the facts and being swept up in the emotion of #MeToo. Some of these actors– like Mira Sorvino– would not have careers without Woody.

Just about every single subject of the #MeToo campaign has had multiple accusers. Woody Allen had just one– his ex girlfriend, Mia Farrow, furious that he’d left her for her adopted daughter, Soon Yi (who was of age). Woody and Soon Yi have been together for 25 years. They have two of their own daughters. They’re a happy family. There has never been another peep from anyone about Woody — except for Mia and her brood.

Meanwhile, Mia Farrow’s own brother serves a 10 to 25 year prison sentence for child molestation. None of the Farrows have ever expressed remorse or sympathy for the victims.

And then there is Moses, an eyewitness to what went on in Mia Farrow’s house in 1992. He brings up a good point here– three of his siblings are dead. No one asks the Farrows about that either.

“Sopranos” Sequel, Not a Scorsese Movie– Manhattan US Attorney Indicts 10 Mobsters (with Nicknames) Associated with the Bonnano Crime Family

Roger Friedman
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“Sopranos” Sequel, Not a Scorsese Movie– Manhattan US Attorney Indicts 10 Mobsters (with Nicknames) Associated with the Bonnano Crime Family

Doesn’t “The Sopranos” sound like something from TV? “The Godafather”? Well, guess again. Today the US Attorney’s office rounded up 10 frightening sounding members of the Mafia for a massive indictment. They include the acting boss of the Bonnano family (still in business in 2018) and nine other mobsters, all charged with racketeering and “related offenses.”

This is REAL. This is NOT a Martin Scorsese movie set in the distant past. Gangsters with nicknames– Joe Valet, Porky, Mr. C., Grumpy, Al Muscles, Joey Blue Eyes, Butch, Boobsie. All of them including– no nickname, he’s 85 years old — a Dominick Miniero– are all “presumed innocent” until their trials. And listen, then there’s no guarantee they’ll be convicted.

The Mafia is still going strong, a hundred years later. Unbelievable.

from the release:

The indictment charges eight members of the Bonanno Family – Acting Boss JOSEPH CAMMARANO, JR., Consigliere JOHN ZANCOCCHIO, JOSEPH SABELLA, GEORGE TROPIANO, ALBERT ARMETTA, DOMENICK MINIERO, JOSEPH SANTAPAOLO, and SIMONE ESPOSITO – with racketeering conspiracy involving a wide range of crimes, including extortion, loansharking, wire and mail fraud, narcotics distribution, and conspiracy to commit murder.

Genovese Family member ERNEST MONTEVECCHI is charged with participating in that conspiracy as well. Several of the defendants and Luchese Family member EUGENE CASTELLE are charged with conspiracy to commit extortion. ARMETTA is additionally charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering, and aiding and abetting the same.

You realize it’s 2018, right? (And all we really want to know is: what’s their favorite Italian restaurant, and can we get in?)

The release continues:

La Cosa Nostra (“LCN”), also known as the “Mob” or the “Mafia,” operates through entities known as “Families.” In the New York City area, there are five LCN Families, namely, the Bonanno Family, the Genovese Family, the Luchese Family, the Colombo Family, and the Gambino Family. Members and associates of one La Cosa Nostra family at times work together with other La Cosa Nostra families in jointly undertaken criminal ventures.

The Bonanno Family, like other LCN Families, operates through a group of individuals known as “crews,” each of which are led by a “capo” or “captain.” The crews are composed of “made” members, called “soldiers,” and trusted non-members called “associates.” Above the Capos are the highest-ranking members – the Boss or Acting Boss, the Underboss, and the Consigliere, or counselor – who oversee the Family.

At times relevant to the Indictment, the defendants held the following positions with their respective LCN Families: CAMMARANO was a captain and the Acting Boss of the Bonanno Family; ZANCOCCHIO was a captain and the Consigliere of the Bonanno Family; SABELLA was a captain of the Bonanno Family; TROPIANO was a soldier and an acting captain of the Bonanno Family; ESPOSITO was the Consigliere of the Bonanno Family; MINIERO, SANTAPAOLO, and ARMETTA were soldiers in the Bonanno Family; MONTEVECCHI was a soldier in the Genovese Family; and CASTELLE was a soldier in the Luchese Family.

Count One of the Indictment charges CAMMARANO, ZANCOCCHIO, SABELLA, TROPIANO, ARMETTA, MINIERO, SANTAPAOLO, ESPOSITO, and MONTEVECCHI with participating in a racketeering conspiracy. Count Two charges ARMETTA with assault resulting in serious bodily injury in aid of racketeering, and aiding and abetting the same. Count Three charges CAMMARANO, ZANCOCCHIO, SABELLA, TROPIANO, MINIERO, and CASTELLE with extortion conspiracy.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason M. Swergold and Jessica Greenwood are in charge of the prosecution.

Ed Sheeran’s Plagiarism Problems Are Getting Worse: Latest One Exposes Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

Roger Friedman
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Ed Sheeran’s Plagiarism Problems Are Getting Worse: Latest One Exposes Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

We all like Ed Sheeran. He’s a nice guy, lots of fun, and a seemingly serious musician.

So why why why does he have such a bad problem with plagiarism?

His latest involves a song called “The Rest of Our Life,” which he gave to country superstar husband and wife Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. The song sounds so much like Jasmine Rae’s 2014 hit “When I Found You” that its Australian writers, Sean Carey and Beau Golden, have filed suit against Sheeran, et al. And yes, the songs are very much alike.

So what is going on here, Ed? It was only earlier this year that Sheeran had to add the songwriters of TLC’s “No Scrubs” to the credits of his massive hit “Shape of You.” Indeed, the shape of Sheeran’s song came from “No Scrubs” and there was no debating it.

And that wasn’t the first time Sheeran stepped in it. Another massive hit, “Thinking of You,” has caused a lawsuit from Marvin Gaye’s family. They hear the classic “Let’s Get it On,” when Sheeran’s song is playing, and frankly, I always did. Sheeran took some of the song and most of its feel for his hit. The Gayes had already won a big lawsuit against Robin Thicke over “Blurred Lines,” so they’re not strangers to this situation.

This kind of thing happens occasionally. Sam Smith had to add Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty to his “Stand By Me” because it was lifted right out of their “I Won’t Back Down.” In 1971, George Harrison conceded that “My Sweet Lord” was influenced by “He’s So Fine,” which led to a decade of litigation. There have been plenty of other examples. In the 80s, Michael McDonald thought he’d written a pop hit with “I Keep Forgetting” until someone pointed out that he’d just re-written the Chuck Jackson hit from the 1960s. Famed pop authors Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller wound up sharing credit.

There are lots more of these. Sometimes the music publisher doesn’t want to deal with it. I don’t think Curtis Mayfield’s estate has ever gotten satisfaction from John Mayer, whose “Waiting for the World to Change” is completely lifted from Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and “We’re a Winner.” (A lot of Mayer is based on Mayfield.)

And this is different from sampling, which is Alicia Keys’s hobby to be sure. This is more like what Mariah Carey did in her heyday with Tommy Mottola– just taking the music and waiting for the lawsuit. (Mariah settled plenty of them in her day.)

What’s frustrating is that Sheeran seems capable of not doing this. All he has to do is ask someone over 30, “Does this sound familiar?” And it when it does, you scrap it. Otherwise, it’s back to the courts.

Cranberries Singer Dolores O’Riordan Dies Suddenly at Age 46, Suffered from BiPolar Disorder

Roger Friedman
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Cranberries Singer Dolores O’Riordan Dies Suddenly at Age 46, Suffered from BiPolar Disorder

Dolores O’Riordan, the popular singer and front woman for the Irish band the Cranberries, has died suddenly at age 46.

Condolences to her family, friends, and fans.

Last year, O’Riordan announced that she suffered from bi polar disorder. But there’s no word yet on her cause of death. She had a beautiful voice. It’s just much too young. What a shame.

Fans are posting to Twitter right now in disbelief.

Trump Hotels in NY, DC, Vegas on Yelp! Reduced to One Star Ratings with “Sh*thole” Reviews

Roger Friedman
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Trump Hotels in NY, DC, Vegas on Yelp! Reduced to One Star Ratings with “Sh*thole” Reviews

Trump properties– like the Trump Hotel in Columbus Circle and the one in Washington DC– are being reduced to rubble on Yelp! with bad reviews. (You can read them here, they’re pretty funny.)

Hundreds of new reviews are calling the hotel a “shithole” and knocking the average star rating to 1 or or 2.

The Washington DC hotel is also suffering:

As is Las Vegas:

Bette Midler Exits “Hello, Dolly!” Today, Cash in Hand: Can the Show Survive Without Her?

Roger Friedman
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Bette Midler Exits “Hello, Dolly!” Today, Cash in Hand: Can the Show Survive Without Her?

Today, Sunday, Bette Midler exits “Hello, Dolly!” after a 10 month run with cash in hand. By various estimates, Bette was taking home more than $100,000 a week for seven performances including vacations.

The Scott Rudin-produced star vehicle averaged $2.3 million a week except for those vacations. There were three big ones, during which the “Hello, Dolly!” box office dipped to well below $1 million–$722K, 879K, and $913K. Even last last week, the numbers fell by $250K when Midler took off a couple of days before her big finale this afternoon.

“Hello, Dolly!” is a big expensive production. Even if with newer, cheaper actors coming in, the train still has to run and the trays at the Harmonia Gardens have to be polished. There’s a big chorus line of dancers who are needed– you can’t stint. The costumes have to be maintained. It’s doubtful that the show can run on a lot less than $1 million a week.

With Midler and David Hyde Pierce leaving during the coldest winter in some time can “Hello, Dolly!” survive? Bernadette Peters is a Broadway star. She has a solid following. She may even get better reviews than Bette Midler. But will that be enough? We all hope so. Victor Garber, also beloved and with a name from movies and TV, may help.

My guess, though, is Dolly may go away again pretty soon as new shows arrive and the Midler effect wears off. That is unless Rudin turns the train into a trolley and the Harmonia Gardens into a diner. And these days you never know.

PS If Peters makes it, and the show stabilizes, the next Dolly must be Queen Latifah. She was made for it. And she’s the right age with a great voice.

Mark Wahlberg Donates Back “All the Money” Reshoot Fee Plus to (Sort of) Resolve Michelle Williams Brouhaha

Roger Friedman
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Mark Wahlberg Donates Back “All the Money” Reshoot Fee Plus to (Sort of) Resolve Michelle Williams Brouhaha

So: to quiet things down, there’s sort of a resolution in the brouhaha over Mark Wahlberg’s pay discrepancy with Michelle Williams over the movie “All the Money in the World.”

It was revealed this week by USA Today that Wahlberg got $1 million bucks to come back for reshoots with Christopher Plummer. Michelle Williams got expenses and a bus token worth $1,000. It was outrageous (and a good scoop) especially in this moment when women are on the move for pay parity and the right to be treated without violence. (Is it really 2018? Not 1952?)

Now Wahlberg is donating back his fee plus $500,000. WME, the agency that reps Williams (but didn’t seem to have much regard for her) is also donating $500,000 to the newly formed TimesUp group to battle discrimination and sexual assault, help victims etc. Wahlberg said in a  statement: “Over the last few days my reshoot fee for All The Money in the World has become an important topic of conversation. I 100% support the fight for fair pay and I’m donating the $1.5 million to the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund in Michelle Williams’ name.”

But what none of this addresses, of course, is Williams and what she was worth– that she wasn’t worth the same amount as Wahlberg in the minds of the filmmakers, studio, and agents. It seemed perfectly appropriate to pay Williams almost nothing despite her being a person just like Wahlberg, head of a house hold, multiple Oscar nominee, and lead actor in the movie.

You know what would have been better? If Wahlberg had kept his $1 mil and other $1 mil went straight to Williams.  And by the way: her performance was worth it.

Trump Fans: Rupert Murdoch-Owned Conservative Wall Street Journal Reveals $130K Pay-off to Silence Porn Star

Roger Friedman
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Trump Fans: Rupert Murdoch-Owned Conservative Wall Street Journal Reveals $130K Pay-off to Silence Porn Star

Dear fans of and voters for Donald Trump:

The Rupert Murdoch owned conservative Wall Street Journal has blown the lid off your guy. They report that Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen paid $130,000 to a porn star to hush up her affair with the now president right before the 2016 election.

Trump’s extramarital romp with “Stormy Daniels” came in 2006 when Melania was pregnant with Barron. That’s your good Christian who is so superior to Barack Obama (happily married 25 years). Are you ever going to get this picture?

And Cohen has not exactly denied it. He’s simply avoided addressing it.

And what of Melania, who can’t possibly continue to stand by her man with this info out in the world. And what of Barron, who already doesn’t speak and looks shell shocked most of the time?

This is on top of one week- one week– in which Trump labeled Third World countries “shit holes” and described himself as a “Stable genius.”

We are in terrible trouble.

Nicole Kidman Loses and Gets Her Voice Back, “Darkest Hour” Director Spending Summer With Girlfriend Haley Bennett in Connecticut

Roger Friedman
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Nicole Kidman Loses and Gets Her Voice Back, “Darkest Hour” Director Spending Summer With Girlfriend Haley Bennett in Connecticut

The Critics Choice Awards were a lot of fun, but long…so I learned a lot…

“Darkest Hour” director Joe Wright will spend the summer in East Haddam, Connecticut with girlfriend Haley Bennett. The talented actress must be able to sing because she’s signed on star as Nancy in a new production of “Oliver!” She gets to sing Lionel Bart’s wonderful classic “As Long as He Needs Me.” And that might be prophetic since now I also read in Page Six that Wright has just split up with his wife, Anoushka Shankar, gifted musician daughter of the late Ravi Shankar and sister of Norah Jones. The Wrights have two children. Joe was also engaged at one time to Rosamund Pike….

Nicole Kidman completely lost her voice before the Critics Choice show started. She’d been working all day, filming a new movie with Tatiana Maslany, playing a police detective. There must have been some yelling in the script because Nicole opened her mouth to say hello to me and almost nothing came out. “Oh dear,” she said. Luckily, she had some time before her category was called and she won yet another statue for “Big Little Lies.” When she hit the stage you could hear her hoarseness but the mic helped. Nicole thanked “all of my children” including her older ones, Connor and Isabella. She told me that she’d spoken to each of them in last day or so, by the way. They are very close.

Ann Dowd is one of my heroes. She’s an adult and she’s been working as a journeyman actor since 1985. Five years ago she appeared in a little indie film called “Compliance,” in a main role, and lightning struck. She was discovered! She hasn’t stopped working since then. On Thursday night she won a Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress in “The Handmaid’s Tale.” I was sitting next to the cast and they all jumped when her name was announced, starting with Elisabeth Moss. What a story! She told me she never gave up and just kept going all these decades. Mazel tov!

I did sit among not one but three Supporting Actor  nominees: Armie Hammer and Michael Stuhlbarg from “Call Me By Your Name,” as well as Willem daFoe from “The Florida Project.” I had to cheer them all on equally– and then none of them won! (I was lucky Richard Jenkins was sitting far away, and Sam Rockwell wasn’t even there.)  Dafoe was sitting next to “Florida Project” director Sean Baker (who should have been nominated by the DGA this week). After 7 year old Brooklynn Prince won her award, she came over to see both of them and burst into tears.  Next year she’ll be such a big star they won’t be able to get her on the phone!

James Franco Scandal Spells Disaster for “The Disaster Artist”: Despite Awards, Box Office Drops 28%

Roger Friedman
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James Franco Scandal Spells Disaster for “The Disaster Artist”: Despite Awards, Box Office Drops 28%

James Franco has won a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice Award and a Gotham Award for playing loser Tommy Wiseau in “The Disaster Artist.”

But Franco’s accusations of sexual misconduct are now impacting the movie’s box office– and the awards don’t matter.

Thursday night’s numbers indicate a 28% drop from Wednesday numbers. The Thursday take was just $83,103.

The movie was already slowing down as it tries desperately to make $20 million. With the awards, A24 could have trotted out some ads. But now that the impact of the scandal has kicked in there should be a significant drop off over the weekend.

Of the five films Franco himself has directed, this is the first to make over $40,000–yes, forty thousand dollars. He’s pretty much squandered millions of investor dollars on badly made vanity projects up til now. And it’s from those movies–that usually feature gay or porn themes– that the many accusations have come.

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