Saturday, December 20, 2025
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“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” Continues to Struggle, with a Shocking 77% Wednesday Difference from “Force Awakens”

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Two years ago, on its first Wednesday past opening weekend, “The Force Awakens” made $38 million.

Last night, on its first Wednesday, “The Last Jedi” made just $16.8 million. That’s a 77% difference, and a little shocking, frankly.

I’m not sure what’s going. Some say it’s because more schools had already broken for holiday vacation back in 2015. Could be.

But there’s some kind of indifference or hostility to “Last Jedi” that I don’t get. I loved it. For true “Star Wars” fans, it’s a must see movie, a really big moment of closure for original fans. It’s also a beacon for the next generation.

Something is definitely wrong, however. Even kids still in school would be at 5 or 6pm shows. And now there are reports that the merchandise is doing so-so business. Me, I want a Porg!

But you can see the discrepancies: by now, “Force Awakens” had banked $363 million. “Jedi” has $278 million. And the gap is widening every day.

Oscars 2019: A Star is Moved As Lady Gaga-Bradley Cooper “Star is Born” Is Pushed 5 Months

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We won’t be seeing Lady Gaga going up the red carpet in Cannes next May after all.

Warner Bros. has decided to movie “A Star Is Born,” directed by Bradley Cooper, starring him and Gaga, from May 2018 to October 5, 2018– a difference of five months.

The May date was a perfect launch for “Star,” with Cannes the right kind of glamorous setting.

Now the thinking is October 5th is good for Oscars exposure. But that reasoning is faulty– you can see what October 5th did for “Blade Runner 2049” this year. That date– last weekend of September, first of October– is generally a dumping ground for high profile projects that didn’t work out.

“A Star is Born” could go the New York Film Festival and open there, but that doesn’t seem like the right fit for a very Hollywood-themed movie. And given the number of original Gaga songs we’re expecting from “Star,” it’s a little unclear how a soundtrack CD will tie in for then.

It’s unlikely anything’s wrong with the music. But Cooper is a first time director, this is a huge project with lots of moving parts, and time means everything. The last “A Star is Born,” starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, was a disaster right up its opening day. John Gregory Dunne even wrote a famous book about it.

My guess is “A Star is Born” needs a lot more to marinate– i.e. be edited into something coherent–and that’s the need for the extra time.

Sally Field Comes to Meryl Streep’s Defense: “We cannot allow women to take the blame for repugnant men”

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Sally Field has come to the defense of Meryl Streep in the ongoing misguided attacks against the three time Oscar winner. (Sally has two Oscars by the way.)

Posters have gone up around LA showing Streep and Harvey Weinstein, with the words “She knew” emblazoned across Streep’s face.

Listen: SHE DIDN’T KNOW. This is in such poor taste. Sally Field is RIGHT.

I do wonder if Trump isn’t somehow involved in this as retribution against Streep.

Michael Jackson: Judge Dismisses Wade Robson’s Lawsuit Against Estate for Sexual Abuse

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The last of the really big lawsuits against Michael Jackson has been won by his estate.

In Los Angeles, Judge Mitchell Beckloff dismissed the case brought against Jackson by choreographer Wade Robson for sexual abuse. It’s over.

Robson, who is Australian, had testified in Jackson’s 2005 child molestation trial that the pop star had never laid a finger on him. His sister and mother also testified in Jackson’s behalf.

But in 2013, once Jackson was dead for about four years, Robson changed his mind and decided he had been molested by the singer. Jackson wasn’t around anymore to defend himself. Robson and his lawyer may have seen the door closing to Jackson’s estate and filed the lawsuit.

Part of Robson’s case had already been dismissed. This was the part in which he sued Jackson’s corporate entities. But Judge Beckloff ruled Robson’s case did not stand up.

Robson’s lawsuit also triggered one from another “Neverland kid,” Jimmy Safechuck. His case against the Jackson estate was also dismissed.

And that may actually bring to an end all of the big controversies that surrounded Michael Jackson for most of his adult life. The estate has recently signed a new deal with Sony Music after losing a case to producer Quincy Jones for $9 million in fees and royalties. Jackson’s children are thriving. His ex, Debbie Rowe, has survived cancer and has moved on with her life. All that remains is the estate’s dealing with the IRS.

Is it a happy ending? It’s like the finale of a soap opera. You never where another cliffhanger exists…

UPDATED “Star Wars” Box Office Decline? “Last Jedi” First Tuesday Receipts Are 42% Off from “The Force Awakens”

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WEDS UPDATE: “Last Jedi” Tuesday was $20.3 million vs. $37 mil for “Force Awakens” on its first Tuesday. That’s around 42% off. $17 million is a big difference.  Monday and Tuesday are big days for adults going to the movies, so this development is a little surprising. Almost every other film increased from Monday to Tuesday by quite a lot. Only “Last Jedi” declined, by 6%. Again, Monday and Tuesday are days when adults come out and sample “smart” movies. For some reason, their interest in “Star Wars” less than was imagined.

 

TUESDAY: Monday’s box office numbers turned up a new glitch in the numbers for “The Last Jedi.”

Even the Disney experts must have been surprised. “Jedi” took home $21.5 million on Monday, an important night for adult filmgoers.

But two years ago, “The Force Awakens” reaped just over $40 million on its first Monday. It’s almost twice as much.

There’s a feeling that “Jedi” is soft at the box office. I don’t know why. It’s just as good if not better. And it has major plot developments for “Star Wars” fans.

So this afternoon’s report on Tuesday numbers will be scrutinized closely. “Force Awakens” did $37.3 million on its first Tuesday. Will “Jedi” compare favorably? Stay tuned…

Rosie O’Donnell Offers $2 Mil Each to Two Senators — Flake and Collins — to Vote ‘NO’ On Tax Bill

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Actress and TV personality Rosie O’Donnell has offered $2 million each to senators to vote NO on the tax bill. They are Jeff Flake of Arizona and Susan Collins of Maine. O’Donnell has the money and she’s avowed liberal Democrat, a smart cookie and anti-Trump to the nth degree. I don’t think senators can accept the money directly, but they could have her donate it to their charities. Why not? Two votes will keep the Republicans from winning.

When Louise Mensch, formerly of News Corp, called Rosie out for bribery, O’Donnell responded:

Completed “Billionaire Boys Club” Movie in Limbo: Kevin Spacey Can’t Be Erased from This One

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It took $10 million to erase Kevin Spacey from “All the Money in the World” and replace him with Christopher Plummer.

Luckily, the producers had deep pockets and a major studio– Sony– to support them.

Such is not the case with the one big movie Spacey still has in the can. “The Billionaire Boys Club” is an independent feature with over 25 producers and a $15 million budget.

The “BBC,” as it was known, was a Ponzi scheme run by a young charismatic guy named Joe Hunt (Ansel Elgort). Spacey plays Ron Levin, a freelance journalist and con man who fell in with the BBC and was consequently murdered. The movie also stars Emma Roberts, Jeremy Irvine, Billie Lourd, Suki Waterhouse, and Judd Nelson. Worldwide distribution was pre-sold but there’s no US distributor. And that’s a problem now that Spacey is like Kryptonite.

“Everyone in the film has been damaged by this,” says one source. “They’ve all been harmed. And we don’t have a producer who has the money to go back and reshoot Spacey’s scenes– even if it could be done.”

For now, producers will screen the film in the new year and hope that one of the distributors who saw it before Spacey’s scandal broke will still go ahead with it. The fact that Spacey’s accusers have trickled down in the last few weeks could help. And it’s not like “BBC” is a Disney musical. It’s a movie about murder, drugs, sex, etc. In that sense, Spacey’s notoriety might add some glamor to the publicity.

Gaga Going Vegas: Pop Superstar Announces 2 Year Residency at MGM Park Theater, Evident of Touring Hardships

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Lady Gaga is going Vegas.

MGM Resorts just announced that the pop superstar will start a two year residency at the MGM Grand Park Theater beginning December 2018.

In the past, most huge pop and rock stars have waited until their 40s or 50s to sit down in Vegas. Gaga is only 31, she’ll be 32 when this launches.

But Stefani Germanotta has been plagued by health issues. Rigorous touring around the world is grueling. This way, the fans can come to her. It’s a coup for MGM, I hope they’re paying her a bundle. Getting a young star in now will change the Vegas game. I’m already booking my ticket!

Next thing you know, Lady Gaga’s parents will open a branch of their Joanne restaurant in the MGM. The future is unlimited!

The Lynch Mob Mentality Turns Against Meryl Streep, For No Reason: She Knew Nothing About Harvey Weinstein’s Scandals

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The lynch mob mentality has now turned against Meryl Streep. The Hollywood Reporter has this picture up, apparently someone’s making these posters that say “She knew.”

Uh, she knew nothing. Not only did she say so, but it’s true.

I wonder if this is Trump-related, since Meryl made her famous speech last year at the Golden Globes. Could Trump people be behind this? Oh yes, definitely.

Meryl Streep, like other actors, made movies at Miramax and The Weinstein Company. Like 90% of those actors, she knew nothing about what was going on. She went to the set, and made the films. She did the publicity. That’s it. I’ve no doubt if she’d known what had happened to Rose McGowan, Annabella Sciorra or anyone else, Streep would have spoken out and stopped making movies with Harvey Weinstein.

Rose McGowan has turned into a warrior, and a spokesperson, which is great. But with that comes a certain power and responsibility. Maybe it’s time to take a look at that, as well.

In UK, Two BBC Documentary Teams Racing to Be First with Harvey Weinstein Expose Film

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Britain’s BBC is falling over itself to cash-in on what it perceives as a boom industry in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

And Britain’s financially hard-pressed public – who fund the BBC – are having to pick up the very expensive filmmaking tab for the BBC’s fixation!

No less than two separate documentaries about Weinstein are being made by the BBC with two rival filmmaking teams jostling and competing to snap up exclusive interviews with former friends, colleagues, associates and alleged victims.

Just announced today there is a 90-minute film to be directed by Ursula MacFarlane, whose credits include One Deadly Weekend in America and Charlie Hebdo: Three Days That Shook Paris, and produced by Lightbox, the company founded by Academy Award-winning producer Simon Chinn (Man on Wire, Searching for Sugar Man) and Emmy Award-winning Jonathan Chinn (LA 92, Fantastic Lies). This film is being targeted for a brief theatrical release in order to qualify for Oscar consideration – followed by TV airings in the UK and US.

But I can reveal exclusively that the BBC’s filmmakers are already squabbling among themselves because a completely different division of the BBC – its “News & Current Affairs Department” – is also making a documentary about Weinstein via its long-running (since 1953) investigative documentary show “Panorama.”  The Panorama documentary – which has not yet been officially announced – is being produced in conjunction with PBS Frontline who will air the show in the US. It’s  being made by a young producer/director named Jane McMullen who has just two TV films credited under her own name – one about North Korea and one about Brexit.

In time-honored BBC style both films are promising to be fearlessly independent, free of any temptations to exploit the story in tabloid style and state that they won’t be starting out with any pre-set conclusions about Weinstein.  As can be told by words about Harvey Weinstein in the press releases and pitch letters being sent to would-be participants: “disgraced, sexual assault, rape, harassment, abuses of power, complicity, corrosive effects of power, impunity and exploitation”
So – no rush to judgement then, just a rush to be first!  The Panorama team hopes to premiere their film first – in April.  The Lightbox film will be later in 2018.  And I’m told the Lightbox team are mighty upset that the Panorama team will beat them to the punch and arguments have already broken out at the publicly-funded BBC about the competing films and the high costs of having two sets of BBC documentary-makers in the US on taxpayer money chasing the same story.