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Linda Ronstadt Movie with Selena Gomez — Scooped Here in 2023 — Moving Forward At Last at Miramax 2.0

Roger Friedman
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Linda Ronstadt Movie with Selena Gomez — Scooped Here in 2023 — Moving Forward At Last at Miramax 2.0

Almost three years ago I broke the news that Selena Gomez would play Linda Ronstadt in a biopic.

You can read it about here.

Now comes word that Miramax 2.0 — parked at Paramount and long separated from Harvey Weinstein’s original company — has picked up the rights.

I don’t know why it took so long. The producer is James Keach. No director has been announced, but I reported with confidence that David O. Russell was the likely candidate. has the script, the star, and the money, which are all good signs.

This could be an outstanding film, but it will require great casting. Prominent figures in Linda’s life are the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, James Taylor, Peter Asher, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris. Linda started having hits in 1970 and kept going into the 1980s.

She’s battled a form of Parkinson’s Disease with nobility and grace for more than a decade.

These musical biopics supercharge sales of the star’s catalog of music. This is one time when I’d be happy to hear Linda’s songs on the radio again all the time.

Bruno Mars Has a New Album, And As Usual He’s helped Himself to Some Old Songs Without Asking, from the O’Jays and Santana

Roger Friedman
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Bruno Mars Has a New Album, And As Usual He’s helped Himself to Some Old Songs Without Asking, from the O’Jays and Santana

Bruno Mars has never shied away from helping himself to old songs, without asking.

As Earth Wind and Fire’s Maurice White once told me about Mariah Carey, “She doesn’t jump sample, she takes the whole buffet.”

For “The Romantic,” Bruno has already got a hit out of sounding like Leo Sayer with his new song, “I Just Might.” Sayer’s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” is invoked rather strongly.

Most of “The Romantic” sounds like something you know but you can’t put your finger on, exactly.

But a couple of other tracks really stand out.

One is called “Cha Cha Cha,” which lifts the percussion and horns from the O’Jays hit, “Backstabbers.” The writers of that song, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, must be steaming.

Another one, called “Something Serious,” can actually be sung along to Santana’s “Evil Ways.”

Carlos Santana didn’t write “Evil Ways.” It’s a cover of the original, recorded by Willie Bobo, and written by Clarence “Sonny” Henry. All these years, since 1969, when “Evil Ways” is played, the publishing royalty goes to Sonny Henry.

But now “Evil Ways” has been used for “Something Serious.” I’d like to ask, is Bruno Mars serious? This one is worse than the others.

Bruno has done it before. He has a hit called “Locked out of Heaven,” which sounds like an amalgam of songs written by Sting for his group, The Police. When “Locked Out of Heaven” begins, you’re almost certain it’s a Police song you’ve forgotten.

Mars’s originality comes from his voice– which is superior — and his presentation, which is charismatic. But songwriting is not his forte. He does have good ears.




Bruno Mars New Single, “I Just Might,” Inspired or Influenced By, Sounds a Lot Like Leo Sayers’ “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”

Harry Styles Flies to NY After Taping TV Special in Manchester Just to Interrupt Ryan Gosling “SNL” Monologue (Video)

Roger Friedman
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Harry Styles Flies to NY After Taping TV Special in Manchester Just to Interrupt Ryan Gosling “SNL” Monologue (Video)

At 2pm today on Netflix you can see a live Harry Styles show.

It was taped Friday in Manchester, England.

Harry, not missing a beat, finished the show and then flew to New York.

Last night, he interrupted Ryan Gosling’s opening monolgue on “Saturday Night Live.”

He explained from sitting in the audience that he’s hosting next week and wanted to get the feel of the show again.

It’s very rare that next week’s host is a big part of the preceding week’s monologue.

Gosling then sang Harry’s first solo hit, “Sign of the Times” — which is in Ryan’s movie “Project Hail Mary.” The result was that the song is up on the iTunes top 20, ahead of most of Styles’ new songs.

Box Office: Honeymoon Ends for “The Bride!” with Disastrous $7.3 Million Opening Weekend, “Melania” Makes Strudel on Amazon Prime

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Honeymoon Ends for “The Bride!” with Disastrous $7.3 Million Opening Weekend, “Melania” Makes Strudel on Amazon Prime

There will be no honeymoon for “The Bride!”

Sadly, all trips are canceled as Maggie Gyllenhaal’s $80 million plus adventure is a disaster.

Total weekend take was just $7.3 million, according to Warner Bros. Exhibitor Relations says it was $7.2 million. All the gifts have been returned. The wedding dress has to be returned by the end of today.

The movie starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, among others, has worked out best for headline puns and not much else. I’m so sorry for everyone involved, but “The Bride!” was fun to write about.

No word on the popcorn buckets.

The number 1 movie this weekend was “Hoppers” with $46 million. “Scream 7” followed with $17 million.

“Melania,” playing in a theater near Palm Beach, made strudel and went to bed.

Seriously, the infomercial starts playing on Amazon Prime tomorrow. So far, they haven’t said how much it will cost t0 rent or buy, but considering it lost $75 million, the price per person might be $100.

Watch Stevie Wonder Performing Note Perfect “Always” from “Songs in the Key of Life” at Jesse Jackson Memorial Service

Roger Friedman
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Watch Stevie Wonder Performing Note Perfect “Always” from “Songs in the Key of Life” at Jesse Jackson Memorial Service

Only Stevie Wonder could do this: sit down and perform a note perfect version of his timeless classic “Always” at Rev. Jesse Jackson’s memorial service.

That’s Stevie’s long time aide and friend Brian LaRoda holding the microphone for him.

Stevie just sits down and plays that keyboard with certainty and abandon. His voice is youthful as ever. And the whole audience sings along.

RIP Jesse Jackson, who also had all the living presidents in attendance.

Box Office: “The Bride!” Wedding Gifts Will Be Less Than $10 Million Weekend After Dismal $3 Mil Opening

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “The Bride!” Wedding Gifts Will Be Less Than $10 Million Weekend After Dismal $3 Mil Opening

“The Bride!” is getting very weak wedding gifts.

Thurs previews plus Friday came to $3 million. The Weekend total looks like $7-$8 million.

“The Bride!” cost between $80 and $90 million, so it’s a wipe out, the first real Warner Bros. flop in over a year.

The movie, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, with an all star cast, will go down in the annals of box office disasters.

Box Office: “The Bride!” Stood Up at Altar, Makes Just $1 Million in Thursday Preview, First Warner Bros Flop in a Year

Hilary Duff’s “Luck” Has Run Out: Pop Renaissance Was Short-Lived as Sales of New Album Crater by 94% in Second Week

Roger Friedman
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Hilary Duff’s “Luck” Has Run Out: Pop Renaissance Was Short-Lived as Sales of New Album Crater by 94% in Second Week

I never understood the revived interest in Hilary Duff.

The star of TV’s “Lizzie McGuire” and “Younger” had had a minimal pop career, but it was over 15 years ago. Her most recent album was released in 2005.

Suddenly, Atlantic Records thought the 38 year old would make a huge comeback. They signed her to an album deal and a docuseries was announced.

Last week, Duff’s new album, “Luck…or Something” debuted and sold a respectable 78,000 downloads/CDs/stream equivalents. But no single track took off. And to be realistic, the album didn’t sound so good.

Well, the other shoe has dropped. Atlantic didn’t turn in numbers for the second week of sales to hitsdailydouble. On Luminate, you can see why. Physical sales dropped 94%, and all sales including streaming dropped 88%.

“Luck…or something” sold just 4,100 copies (downloads/CDs) and 10,300 including streaming. Radio ignored the album. Song sales were actually just 406.

That first week, the “Lizzie McGuire” fans came through with nostalgic excitement. But there was nothing more to back “Luck” up.

What happened? The album wasn’t very good, there was no buzz. The first two songs had lyrics about cunnilingus. Radio is modern, but not that modern. The only “going down” is to the corner store.’

The whole deal was a little strange, anyway. Atlantic jettisoned most of their staff and brought in new, hip people who were going to revive the famed legacy of the Erteguns, and even Jason Flom, Craig Kallman, and Julie Greenwald. They have a big hit with Bruno Mars, but he was there from long ago. With Duff, there was no there there.

Next up for Duff is a major tour that includes two nights at Madison Square Garden in August. Sales are decent if only because only half the venue is being sold. They might have been smarter to put her in Radio City Music Hall for a sellout. But no one asked for opinions.

Box Office: “The Bride!” Stood Up at Altar, Makes Just $1 Million in Thursday Preview, First Warner Bros Flop in a Year

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “The Bride!” Stood Up at Altar, Makes Just $1 Million in Thursday Preview, First Warner Bros Flop in a Year


I knew The Bride when she used to rock and roll.

But that was a long time ago.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” is DOA at the box office. Last night the all star feature made just $1 million in previews.

It’s likely to take in less than $10 million this weekend.

For Warner Bros., after a spectacular year of hits, this is their first flop.

This means a total write off of $80-$100 million.

“The Bride!” has been panned by critics. It’s sitting at 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, up from 47% a day ago.

The cast is all A list, including Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, Christian Bale, Penelope Cruz, and Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and brother, Jake Gyllenhaal.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is such a smart actress and director it’s hard to understand how this happened. But it does. Think of “Megalopolis,” or “Babylon,” or “Amsterdam.” Or “Ishtar.” The scale is too big, and it all goes out of control.

Anyway, we’ll keep track of this unfortunate turn of events. I hope Maggie gets a chance to make another, smaller film and isn’t punished for “The Bride!”

Magician Copperfield Makes $50 Million a Year But His Philanthropy is His Biggest Illusion: Just 4 Grants Totaling $30,000 in The Last 5 Years

Roger Friedman
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Magician Copperfield Makes $50 Million a Year But His Philanthropy is His Biggest Illusion: Just 4 Grants Totaling $30,000 in The Last 5 Years

David Copperfield has made at least a billion dollars over the last 25 years.

You’d think there would be a Copperfield Wing at a Las Vegas hospital. Or a museum. A fund for education.

But a look on GuideStar.org shows just one tax free entity in his name. Project Magic Fund is supposed to use magic to help people with “physical, psychological and social disabilities.”

But according to GuideStar, “David Copperfield’s Project Magic Fund Inc has made 4 grants to 3 recipients totaling $30,100 over the most recent 5 years of available data.”

In 2001, Copperfield claimed $226,529 in fair market value of the Project Magic Fund. According to the Form 990 filed every year, he often adds a small amount just to make it seem like Project Magic Fund. In 2023, total revenue was $50. Copperfield pays an accountant and distributes about $1,400 annually. Otherwise, Project Magic is a shell operation. It does nothing. The current net balance is $123,787.

Meanwhile, Copperfield owns a chain of islands in the Caribbean, and has spent a great deal of time in the last few years fending off accusations of sexual impropriety and rape. He owns a $20 mil-plus mansion in Vegas, and an abandoned $7.4 million penthouse in New York.

On April 30th, he will cash in his Vegas chips and end a 25 year run at the MGM Grand. He’s leaving money on the table — three months of sold out shows that are being cancelled and presumably refunded.

Epstein Curse: David Copperfield’s Sudden Vegas Exit Will Mean Millions in Refunds for May, June, July as People Are Still Buying Tickets

Roger Friedman
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Epstein Curse: David Copperfield’s Sudden Vegas Exit Will Mean Millions in Refunds for May, June, July as People Are Still Buying Tickets

You can still buy tickets to see David Copperfield in Vegas this spring and summer.

The ticketing machine in Las Vegas is so complicated that it hasn’t caught up with last night’s abrupt announcement.

After 25 years, Copperfield is ending his 25 year run at the MGM Grand on April 30th.

This decision must have come very quickly because plenty of brokers and websites are still selling tickets to Copperfield’s magic show for May, June, and July 2026.

Plenty of tickets have been sold in advance. Even more are selling right now. Even on the MGM Grand website.

But this is the curse of Jeffrey Epstein, the gift that keeps on giving. Overnight, Copperfield’s career is being destroyed.

Copperfield is a prominent presence in the FBI files, accused of rape and sexual misconduct. There are numerous transcripts of his various depositions in such cases.

There’s also lots of correspondence between Epstein’s office and Copperfield’s. The two men were close friends with similar interests.

The MGM Grand is going to have to refund millions of dollars to people who made plans to see Copperfield during their Vegas trips. But now Jeffrey Epstein has made David Copperfield disappear.

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