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“Hamilton” Cancels Kennedy Center Run in Pre-emptive Strike Before New Trump Board Can 86 Them

Roger Friedman
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“Hamilton” Cancels Kennedy Center Run in Pre-emptive Strike Before New Trump Board Can 86 Them

A year from now, no one will be in the room where it happened.

Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway musical “Hamilton” has cancelled its March 2026 run at the Kennedy Center.

It’s a pre-emptive strike, producer Jeffrey Seller says, instead of waiting for the new Trump led all white Trump board cancels them.

The irony is that “Hamilton” was honored with a Kennedy Center honor just a couple of years ago.

Seller notes in a statement that “Hamilton” did a run at the Kennedy Center during Trump’s first administration.

But with the replacement of Deborah Rutter, and everyone else who ran the Center, it was wise to make this decision now.

Here’s Seller’s statement:

“Political disagreement and debate are vital expressions of democracy. These basic concepts of freedom are at the very heart of Hamilton. However, some institutions are sacred and should be protected from politics. The Kennedy Center is one such institution.

“The Kennedy Center was founded over 50 years ago with a sincere bipartisan spirit. Indeed, it was founded during the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower, named after President John F. Kennedy, and opened in 1971 under the administration of Richard M. Nixon. The Kennedy Center was meant to be for all Americans, a place where we could all come together in celebration of the arts. Politics have never affected the presentation of thousands of shows and the display of extraordinary visual arts.

“However, in recent weeks we have sadly seen decades of Kennedy Center neutrality be destroyed. The recent purge by the Trump Administration of both professional staff and performing arts events at or originally produced by the Kennedy Center flies in the face of everything this national cultural center represents. This spirit of nonpartisanship ended on February 7, 2025, with the firing of Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter, the Chairman of the Board David Rubenstein, numerous other Kennedy Center board members, and the cancellation of important programming. These actions bring a new spirit of partisanship to the national treasure that is the Kennedy Center.

“Given these recent actions, our show simply cannot, in good conscience, participate and be a part of this new culture that is being imposed on the Kennedy Center. Therefore, we have cancelled the third engagement of Hamilton at the Kennedy Center, originally scheduled for March 3-April 26, 2026.

“Hamilton was proudly performed at the Kennedy Center in 2018 during the first Trump administration. We are not acting against his administration, but against the partisan policies of the Kennedy Center as a result of his recent takeover.

“Our cancellation is also a business d

ecision. Hamilton is a large and global production, and it would simply be financially and personally devastating to the hundreds of employees of Hamilton if the new leadership of the Kennedy Center suddenly cancelled or re-negotiated our engagement. The actions of the new Chairman of the Board in recent weeks demonstrate that contracts and previous agreements simply cannot be trusted. This is sad, because basic integrity and the rule of law have long been great American principles that help serve as a foundation for our Nation.

“I have personally loved the Kennedy Center since touring it as a seventh grader in 1977 along with the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial. I watched the first Kennedy Center Honors in 1978. Regardless of the political climate, I have always felt at home at The Kennedy Center, and I am grateful for every person who has spent the last 50 years making it a beacon of nonpartisanship and celebration. But we cannot presently support an institution that has been forced by external forces to betray its mission as a national cultural center that fosters the free expression of art in The United States of America.”

Donald Trump — On Social Media –Threatens to Kill Everyone in Gaza, Not Just Hamas (Read Post)

Roger Friedman
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Donald Trump — On Social Media –Threatens to Kill Everyone in Gaza, Not Just Hamas (Read Post)

On Truth Social, at about 4:4pm today Donald Trumo wrote:

“Also, to the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD! Make a SMART decision. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW, OR THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY LATER!”

While we are all concerned about the remaining hostages, dead or alive, this is a frightening threat from a sick man.

He’s not addressing Hamas, which you can see in the full post below. He’s threatening all the people of Gaza, people who are suffering regardless of how pro-Israel you are. It’s revolting, and way beyond ‘unbecoming of a US president.”

Everything Trump says and does is spoken like a demented bully on a playground. He’s not going to get Greenland or the Panama Canal, he just blows smoke up you know where.

I’m as pro-Israel as you can be, but this is unacceptable on every level.

NBC De-Ages Nightly News Anchor as Tom Llamas, 45, Succeeds Popular Lester Holt, 65

Roger Friedman
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NBC De-Ages Nightly News Anchor as Tom Llamas, 45, Succeeds Popular Lester Holt, 65

Tom Llamas is in as Lester Holt’s successor.

Llamas is taking over as anchor of NBC Nightly News as the network sunsets Lester.

Holt has been very successful, but he’s 65 years old. (He doesn’t look it.) Llamas is 45. He was born in 1979. (I still have a jacket from 1979!)

It’s a young man’s game, you see, and Holt is being sent back to “Dateline” to cover the weekly murder of a young wife or girlfriend by her insane other half.

Llamas was at ABC, hoping David Muir would keel over. But Muir is too young for that, so Llamas came over to NBC and bided his time. He’s the first Cuban American to anchor a network news show.

The result is that he will pick up the torch left behind by people like Huntley and Brinkley. Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams, and Holt.

Llamas will start during the summer.

Meantime, CBS Evening News with John Dickerson and Maurice Dubois remains an enigma, trailing way behind ABC and NBC.

Oscars Ratings Were Actually Up 1% Counting Every Device You Could Possibly Watch Them On

Roger Friedman
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Oscars Ratings Were Actually Up 1% Counting Every Device You Could Possibly Watch Them On

The first reports of the Oscars ratings had them down 7% from last year.

Now ABC says they were actually up 1% from last year, with 19.69 million viewers.

Where did the extra 1.60 million viewers come from in between the reports?

ABC says they came a bunch of places that aren’t publicly monitored: Hulu, smart watches, computers, bus stops, ham radios, and dolphins.

Is it true? Why not? The increased numbers sound better than the lower ones, and considering everything else going on in the world, we need that.

The good news is that the number of young people watching was way up, with more people watching between 18 and 49 totally, and 18 and 34 even more. That’s very important because it speaks to the future of Hollywood.

A lot of that may have to do with the Chalamet effect. “A Complete Unknown” was an actual box office hit because it starred Timothee Chalamet. The Oscars basked in that glory (even though the movie didn’t win anything).

Inside Vanity Fair Party From Hollywood’s Number 1 Guest: “I Don’t See Stars, These Are Just a Bunch of Average People”

Roger Friedman
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Inside Vanity Fair Party From Hollywood’s Number 1 Guest: “I Don’t See Stars, These Are Just a Bunch of Average People”

Carl Tabor is Hollywood’s number 1 party guest. His dance card is filled constantly, and he posts pictures and videos from the events with the tighest guest lists and most diligent security.

Of course Carl was at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, where he filmed the main room and got some portraits with actors. Among them: Jon Hamm, and Sofia Vergara.

Scanning around the room on video, Carl observed: “I don’t see stars like I normally did. These are just a bunch of average people.”

The whole thing looks pretty tacky, in fact, not the way I remember it when Graydon Carter was the host. Times have changed!

Love Carl’s intrepid work covering the scene, and posting it to Instagram!

Not a Shock: Oscars Ratings Down Slightly from Last Year without a “Barbenheimer” or Big Stars

Roger Friedman
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Not a Shock: Oscars Ratings Down Slightly from Last Year without a “Barbenheimer” or Big Stars

Don’t blame Conan.

Ratings for last night’s Oscars were down by about 7% from last year.

It’s not a surprise since fewer people saw the nominated movies, and there were few big stars on the show. There was no “Barbenheimer.” The Academy ignored “Gladiator II.” Otherwise, all the films were indie, or streaming. Big mistake.

The stars that did come — Mick Jagger, Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan — were not advertised.

This year 18 million people across ABC and Hulu watched the show. Last year it 19.5 million.

With Harrison Ford becoming ill, Goldie Hawn was the only “old time” real Hollywood name. Morgan Freeman eulogizing Gene Hackman was unexpected.

I wish they’d bring in more past winners, like Michael Douglas, Denzel Washington (he was probably pissed not to be nominated), Mel Brooks and Dick van Dyke, Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sally Field, Dustin Hoffman. The Oscars should be using these people before they can’t anymore!

The show was almost four hours long and mostly very entertaining. But the two musical numbers– Queen Latifah singing “Ease on Down the Road” and the James Bond segment — were unnecessary. Producers should have showcased the nominated songs.

My biggest other quibble was In Memoriam, which they can’t seem to get right. Missing: Tony Roberts. That was a huge omission. Michelle Trachtenberg, who died this week. James Darren, from the Beach Blanket movies. Others have expressed disappointment over a few other names. French actor Alain Delon. Sacre bleu!

I’ll say it again: I volunteer, no fee, to make the list. Please.

Paul McCartney Endorses the Late Great Joe Cocker for Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney Endorses the Late Great Joe Cocker for Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

This speaks for itself. The late Mr. Cocker should been in a long time ago.

Also this year Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, Bad Company, White Stripes, Soundgarden.

Note to Sir Paul: Cocker continues to send you royalties for his versions of “With a Little Help from My Friends” and very much also “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window.” Two songs, Paul. Not just one.

Jeff Bezos Welcomed to Vanity Fair Party After Oscar Show Swipes: Maybe He Can Buy Conde Nast

Roger Friedman
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Jeff Bezos Welcomed to Vanity Fair Party After Oscar Show Swipes: Maybe He Can Buy Conde Nast

Vanity Fair didn’t get it. They will one day.

The magazine that no one reads anymore welcomed Amazon/Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos to their charity-free party last night.

Maybe Conde Nast, their publisher, wants to be bought by Bezos. He’s wrecked the Post, sacking important journalists and forcing others to exit.

Of course, the funniest part of that would be Lauren Sanchez taking over Vogue.

What Vanity Fair didn’t get is that the Oscars took two shots at Bezos and Amazon last night on the Academy Awards show.

First, they had a funny bit of Amazon delivering a package to the foot of an Oscar statue, then having the delivery guy take a picture of it.

Then, the Oscars put on a huge end of an era tribute to the James Bond movies with three singers performing past theme songs, with dancers. This was a salute to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who gave creative control of James Bond to Bezos for a suspected billion dollars.

The message was clear: Oscars were acknowledging the end of James Bond’s 62 year run in the cinemas. Bezos and co will take a sledgehammer to Bond the way he did to the Post.

Bezos has sold out to Donald Trump in the Washington Post situation. He refused to let them publish an endorsement of Kamala Harris. Then he forced out the Editorial section editor David Shipley and announced the editorials will now focus on “open markets” and not politics. There will be no criticism of the Trump adminitration.

Vanity Fair loves to suck up, so does Chanel. They each invited Bezos without a care to what has happened to journalism thanks to him. Maybe Radhika Jones and Anna Wintour will get a ride on a rocket one day.

How Timothee Chalamet Lost the Oscar: No One Would Tell Him to Leave Kylie Jenner at Home, And to Dress Up

Roger Friedman
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How Timothee Chalamet Lost the Oscar: No One Would Tell Him to Leave Kylie Jenner at Home, And to Dress Up

Last year, Bradley Cooper — in the running for Oscars for “Maestro” — was dating Gigi Hadid, the model.

Hadid was very busy on social media promoting “Free Palestine” and coming across as antisemitic.

Cooper didn’t need that baggage. Leonard Bernstein, whom Cooper played, was a huge Zionist who would have been appalled. Hadid was a flashpoint for Academy voters, and even for audiences.

So, as the Oscar campaign heated up, Hadid disappeared. Cooper took his mom to the Oscars. If “Oppenheimer” hadn’t been such a force, Cooper might have gotten his Oscar for “Maestro.” But the damage was done.

Did someone speak to Cooper and tell him to cool it with Hadid? I don’t know. I do know that the big stars’ “teams” are afraid to offer advice because they might be fired.

I can tell you that no one in Timothee Chalamet’s inside circle was brave enough to tell him the truth about two things. The first was about his fashion choices, which were fun for a young guy but no good for Academy voters. Outlandish styles and colors, or looking like he’d rolled out of bed, didn’t endear him to anyone. He looked like an ice cream cone last night, which is fine for 29 but not in a room of adults.

But the big problem was Kylie Jenner, a Kardashian who dressed scantily in public when she was on his arm. The Kardashians are jokes, and Chalamet comes across as their latest punchline. (Think of all the past K suitors and hsubands.) But she’s hot, he’s in love, and couldn’t stay away. If he’d been five years older, he might have said, ‘Kylie, I’m taking my mom to these things.’ But the more she was in the picture, the Academy soured on her.

Why did he win the Screen Actors Guild Award? The actors didn’t care. They rightly so respected his intense work on playing Bob Dylan — a five year investment — and wanted to reward him. But beyond the SAG contingent, it was Adrien Brody — elegant, with a classy looking dame on his arm — who came off as sincere, and serious.

One of the great things about Chalamet is that he’s incredibly articulate. He’ll get an Oscar one day, but the next time the opportunity arises he’ll be older and wiser about his public identity.

Best Oscar Show in Years — Fun, Apolitical, Engaging: Conan O’Brien Turns Out to Be the Host We Needed

Chanel Opts for Knock Offs at Oscar Party with Jeff Bezos, Kim Kardashian, No Donations for Wildfire Relief

Demi Moore Shouldn’t Worry: Almost Guaranteed An Oscar Opportunity Next Year for “Devil Wears Prada” Type Film

Roger Friedman
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Demi Moore Shouldn’t Worry: Almost Guaranteed An Oscar Opportunity Next Year for “Devil Wears Prada” Type Film

In the end, Demi Moore didn’t make it to the finish line.

After winning a ton of awards, including SAG, Moore was upended by Mikey Madison for Best Actress in “Anora.”

Her performance wasn’t lacking at all. But “The Substance” was not a great movie, and it had a small distributor. It also had no momentum except among a niche of voters.

“Anora” did well at the box office, was raved about by reviewers, and had the inside lane. The three Oscars “Anora” won during the night made Madison a cinch to win Best Actress.

For Demi, it’s not over yet. She’ll be back, probably next year, and will likely win. This is the history of the Oscars with out of the box, unusual winners. Look at Cher losing for “Mask” and then winning for “Moonstruck.”

Following that path, Demi has a shot with a Boots Riley movie called “I Love Boosters.” She plays a Miranda Priestly type character — a fashion maven preyed upon by a group of shoplifters. It’s obviously a comedy, and one that — distributed the right way — could be gold for Moore.

In meantime, Demi Moore will have a lot of other scripts to choose from. I don’t think she’s done by any means. But the film she’ll win with will be a little more accessible that the stomach churning “The Substance.”

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