Support independent journalism, free from the trades and other publications that are part of the tinsel town machine.
For 12 years, Showbiz411.com has been covering Hollywood, Broadway, the music business and the business of celebrity. Ads are our main source of funding, but contributions (not tax exempt) from readers who enjoy the scoops, exclusives, and fact based reports are always welcome and very appreciated. To inquire about ads, email us at showbiz411@gmail.com.
Are there other members of Maroon 5 besides Adam Levine? According to their new video, not really. I never knew their names so I looked up the guitarist who plays all those catchy riffs on their radio friendly singles. His name is James Valentine.
In the new Maroon 5 video, you see him right at the beginning– just his guitar, hands, and ends of his long hair. But not his face. You do see Adam, a ton of celebs, and Levine’s model wife and child.
I think of Maroon 5 like the Three Dog Night of modern music– capable pop, a little impersonal, but supermarket ready. And I guess the other members, whoever they are, dig the paycheck. But maybe they’d like to be seen, too, one day.
PS My favorite Adam Levine songs were from the movie “Begin Again.”
The folks at Sesame Street lost a court case yesterday. They were suing Brian Henson, the son of late Muppets creator Jim Henson. Why? Brian, a director, has made a hard R movie with Melissa McCarthy for release this summer. Muppet-like creatures use foul language and have sexual situations. One of them ejaculates.
The tag line for the movie: “No Sesame. All Street.”
So you thought Donald Trump had trashed everything we liked in the world. Now it’s Brian Henson, chairman of the Henson Company, inheritor of his father’s mantle.
Isn’t this swell?
The judge in the case ruled against “Sesame Street.” He said the movie looks like fun.
I do recall being at the Sundance Film Festival years ago when a short film was shown. Bert and Ernie were adults, and gay. They were so despondent about it they killed each other. The film was never shown again. I wrote at the time “the Sesame Street lawyers will be here before noon.”
But we live in a new world. I wonder why Brian Henson hates his father so much. Jim Henson is dead. Anyway, it’s always the next generation that screws up the work of the creators.
“Happytime Murders” is from STX Entertainment, which is certainly carving out a name for itself.
This story was brought to you by the letter F.
PS The actual Muppets were sold to Disney years ago– that’s Big Bird, Elmo, Miss Piggy. The puppets in Brian Henson’s movie just look like their cousins. But the real Muppets– they are safe from this crap.
A grand jury in New York City has indicted former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein on two counts of rape and one charge of a criminal sex act.
US District Attorney Cy Vance says it brings Weinstein “another step closer to accountability.” Earlier in the day, Weinstein’s lawyer Ben Brafman said his client would not testify before the grand jury. The testimony of the alleged victims was enough to bring the indictment.
Those hoping for a “trial of the century” will be disappointed. It’s unlikely that Weinstein would put his children or himself through a length, contentious trial. Some kind of plea bargain is expected.
The downfall of Harvey Weinstein is like a Greek tragedy. He had everything in the world. The movies he produced or distributed reaped around 65 Oscars– the largest number for a single studio. The films were of the highest quality.
But the hubris, and the insular stance that led to abuse of power was stunning. He became emblematic for women who would no longer be victims, around the world.
EARLIER What a week for ABC-Disney. First Roseanne, now Michael Jackson.
The Jackson estate has filed a copyright infringement law suit against ABC over the unauthorized special “The Last Days of Michael Jackson.”
We knew this was coming. The Estate had already complained about use of images and video that was not properly licensed. ABC held out this was a news show. But it wasn’t. It was just a recap of gossip. There was nothing newsy about it.
Ironically, ABC was where Jackson got into trouble back in 2003. It was Martin Bashir’s special, an ambush called “Living with Michael Jackson,” that prompted the Santa Barbara DA’s office to investigate whether Jackson had molested Gavin Arvizo. The DA cooked up evidence to get a trial that he eventually lost. But the net result was permanent damage to Jackson’s life and career. Bashir is long gone from ABC. But the network continues to exploit Jackson for ratings.
The lawsuit states: “Although titled The Last Days of Michael Jackson, the program did not
focus on Michael Jackson’s last days. Rather, it was simply a mediocre look back at
Michael Jackson’s life and entertainment career. A Rolling Stone review described
the program as “offer[ing] little in the way of new revelations or reporting and at
times seems heavy on armchair psychoanalysis and unsupported conjecture.” The
magazine was being too generous. The program contained nothing “in the way of
new revelations or reporting.”
It continues: “Unable to make a compelling presentation about Michael Jackson on its
own, Disney decided to exploit the Jackson Estate’s intellectual property without
permission or obtaining a license for its use. After all, there there is always a healthy
audience for Michael Jackson’s timeless music, his ground-breaking videos, and
footage of his unforgettable live performances. Why not just use Michael Jackson’s
works if one can get advertisers to buy time on the program? But in order to use
these valuable assets, a license must be obtained for it by the Estate.”
Estate attorney Howard Weitzman cleverly argues in the complaint that ABC’s parent company Disney has been aggressive in policing its own copyrights like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Roseanne, the Alexander Haig of TV, is clueless and losing it on Twitter. This is what she’s done this afternoon. And it’s still early in LA or Hawaii.
She’s getting defensive, too. She declares: “my nervous system/family/wealth will NEVER b taken from me”
Got that?
you guys make me feel like fighting back. I will examine all of my options carefully and get back to U.
I'm not a racist, I never was & I never will be. One stupid joke in a lifetime of fighting 4 civil rights 4 all minorities, against networks, studios, at the expense of my nervous system/family/wealth will NEVER b taken from me.
I told you recently that the MGM National Harbor in Maryland couldn’t sell tickets to see Roseanne Barr. Their original May date was rescheduled for October just to see if her new season could scare up buyers.
Now the show has been cancelled altogether.
Yesterday afternoon when I called the show was still on. But given the developments late in the day, it’s all over.
On top of that, Roseanne’s agents, ICM Partners, have dropped her.
I guess she could go back to Canada, where she played a few dates this spring. Ambien is cheaper up there, anyway.
Not many people have seen this video of Roseanne Barr getting the star treatment at the recent ABC upfronts. Network chief Ben Sherwood lets her joke that he writes all her Tweets. She sings “My Way.” The whole presentation is tied to the success of “Roseanne.” Yesterday must have been brutal in the Disney ABC corporate suites. Not only did they lose “Roseanne” but “The Middle” wrapped its nine season run. Their scheduling problems today are outsized.
Donald Trump thinks the Roseanne scandal is all about him. He wonders why Disney head Bob Iger hasn’t called to apologize about comments made about Trump. Trump actually is the product of Planet of the Apes and Lost in Space, with some input from the smoke monster in “Lost.”
Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that “ABC does not tolerate comments like those” made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn’t get the call?
Barr responded: “i created the platform for that inclusivity and you know http://it.ME . You throw me under the bus. nice!”
Finally, Ambien wins the award today for wittiest response to Barr’s assertion that their drug made her say all these awful things.
People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.
There are some wild clickbait stories popping up today about the return of “Roseanne.”
One would be to kill off the Roseanne character and have the family continue without her.
The other is to move the whole thing to Fox, like Tim Allen’s show, where racist comments are a given.
The answer on both counts is “NO.” Won’t happen.
First of all, “Roseanne” with a dead Roseanne would face endless Twitter and social media attacks from Barr. She can’t shut up, she won’t go away, she’s crazy as she can be. She’d be hounding the cast and crew and the viewers all day long.
Second, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman are gone. They haven’t said a word about Barr’s scandal. Metcalf is up for a Tony Award, and it’s hers to lose if she says the wrong thing now. Goodman has a thriving movie career and good will at places like “SNL.” He is not going to jeopardize any of that by continuing with this mess. It’s best for each of them to get away from “Roseanne” fast, clean break, over.
Sara Gilbert must be dashed. The “Roseanne” revival was her idea, and it was great money. Even she knows that the party is over. And she has a day job – “The Talk” on CBS– that could adversely affected.
EXCLUSIVE Everyone is wondering where Melania Trump is. She’s 20 days MIA after having surgery to remove a benign tumor in her kidney.
So where is she?
A pretty well informed source has offered me this theory. “She’s taking care of her mother.” That’s Amalija Knavs, who turns 73 in July and is — I can tell you this exclusively– battling a pretty serious illness.
“They’re all at Bedminster,” the source says. “Melania, her parents, Barron when he’s not in school. She’s (Melania) not in the White House.”
Apparently, the Knavs (or is it Knauss) have a house on the Bedminster property, right next door to Jared and Ivanka. It’s like the Brady Bunch!
In a way this will disappoint people who were rooting for Melania to escape the clutches of her husband since there have been revelations about his cheating with porn stars and Playboy bunnies.
But it’s really more of a sign of devotion to her parents. The Knavs were last seen in public on May 2nd, when they received their permanent American citizenship thanks to chain immigration. Because Melania became a citizen, so thusly did her parents. It’s the American way unless Donald Trump doesn’t like your skin color or religion.
That’s a tough time for Melania, though, dealing with her own illness and taking care of her mother. Good luck to her!
