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Weekend Box Office Ho Hum as Audiences Wait for “Fate of the Eight,” “Lost City of Z”

Roger Friedman
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Weekend Box Office Ho Hum as Audiences Wait for “Fate of the Eight,” “Lost City of Z”

The box office waits for a very Good Friday this coming Friday, and not the Friday we just had. The weekend was tepid to say the least, with “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Boss Baby” still on top, and not much else happening.

There are plenty of duds, from “Life” to “CHiPS,” to “T2: Trainspotting” and “Ghost in the Shell.” The misery is pretty much spread around the studio system. Only Disney is crowing, and Fox can enjoy “Boss Baby” for what it is.

And so we wait. “Fate of the Furious” comes this Friday, as foes “Lost City of Z.” They should be audience pleasers if not great movie making. They may give a jolt to the April box office. We really don’t get a blockbuster til May 5th and “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2” — which is Disney again. And then Disney comes back again May 26th with “Pirates of the Caribbean: Here Wee Go Again.”

The only potential bright spot for adults is Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn in “Snatched” on May 12th from Fox. Let’s cross our fingers on that one!

Janet Jackson Says “Beat It,” Leaves Husband of 5 Years After Finally Having a Baby

Roger Friedman
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Janet Jackson Says “Beat It,” Leaves Husband of 5 Years After Finally Having a Baby

What has he done for her lately? Reports are Janet Jackson has split from her billionaire husband of five years, Wissam Al Mana.

She gets the baby, the house, the cars, the cash. Al Mana is said to be worth $1.6 million. He’ll be paying child support for 18 years. And Janet should get a nice piece of change in the settlement.

This is a better deal than when Michael Jackson screwed the Prince of Bahrain. Michael only got $7 million.

The Jacksons love to do business with wealthy Arabs. And they always come out on top.

Prior to Janet’s marriage, her career was not in good shape. Her tours weren’t selling and neither were her records. She took a break. After the marriage, Janet got Al Mana to bankroll her 2015 comeback album, “Unbreakable.” It was a dud, selling just 253,000 albums through April 2016. The consequent tour had a lot of problems, as well, and Janet finally cancelled the major portion of it when it was announced she was pregnant at 50 — unlikely, but a miracle!

So now Janet is in London, she’s got a three month old baby boy named Eissa, and is well positioned financially. She’s in “control.” (And I’ll bet with that baby, she’s getting ‘no sleeeeeeeeppppp.’)

What next? Baby books, albums of standards, smaller venue tours, a return to her career. Go for it, Janet!

Rock Hall of Shame: Steve Perry Wouldn’t Sing with Journey, Nile Rodgers Gets Short Shrift, Neil Young Doesn’t Show

Roger Friedman
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Rock Hall of Shame: Steve Perry Wouldn’t Sing with Journey, Nile Rodgers Gets Short Shrift, Neil Young Doesn’t Show

Another year, another Rock and Roll Hall of Shame induction ceremony.

This year the winners were Pearl Jam, Journey, Yes, Joan Baez and the late Tupac Shakur. Nile Rodgers was voted in for a Musical Excellence Award, which is BS for we’ve made you wait forever.

His group, Chic, wasn’t inducted, Rodgers– one of the most important musicians and songwriters– didn’t play anything and wasn’t tributed. None of his songs– from David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” to Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family”– were heard in the Barclays Center. No Chic songs like “Le Freak” or “Good Times.” And this was with Pharrell on hand to induct Rodgers. Huh?

Instead, Lenny Kravitz performed a tribute to Prince.

Journey was inducted and played, but their lead singer, Steve Perry, wouldn’t sing with them.

David Letterman, looking like Heidi’s grandfather come down from the mountain with his goat, had to substitute for Neil Young. Letterman inducted Pearl Jam, with whom he’s been obsessed since having a heart attack.

Alicia Keys performed the tribute to Tupac with T.I. Snoop Dogg did the induction. She sang Tupac “songs” like “Changes” which is actually Bruce Hornsby’s “The Way it Is.” (All of Tupac’s songs are his raps– which are poetry– over existing music.)

Dhani Harrison, George’s son, inducted Jeff Lynne and ELO. ELO got in but Chic didn’t. Think about that.

Don’t stop believin’!

 

Jay Leno on Thursday’s Tonight Show: “If Trump were any more of a p***y he’d have to grab himself”

Roger Friedman
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Jay Leno on Thursday’s Tonight Show: “If Trump were any more of a p***y he’d have to grab himself”

Jay Leno was brilliant on the Tonight show Thursday night. Jimmy Fallon invited his predecessor on to deliver a monologue. And boy, it was great. Watch:

Broadway: After “Sunset Boulevard” Performance, Glenn Close Sells Her Eyelashes, Gloves for $2000 for Charity

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: After “Sunset Boulevard” Performance, Glenn Close Sells Her Eyelashes, Gloves for $2000 for Charity

Last night on Broadway: Superstar Glenn Close sold her eyelashes, gloves, and signed photos for $2000 after a stunning night playing Nora Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard.” The money went to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and the auction– similar to those around town this month– was hilarious.

But more importantly: what a performance Ms. Close is giving night after night at the Palace Theater. Remember, she played Nora on Broadway for three years in the 1990s. Now in this new, pared down and much improved version, she’s found new depths and reserves. She is the consummate actress.

It’s funny, too, because Nora– who’s over the hill in Hollywood– is only 50. Glenn, who’s a little older than that now, is in the prime of her career. She’s mesmerizing. The Palace is a big, big theater and it’s filled in every seat. But the audience is with her all the way. When Nora finally arrives at Paramount Studios in Act 2, and a bright key light is turned on her, the audience starts cheering. When Glenn sings one Andrew Lloyd Webber’s top three songs, “As if We Never Said Goodbye,” a standing ovation erupts mid show. Every single night. It’s one of the few really thrilling moments on Broadway right now.

Every night the audience is full of Close admirers. Last night it was writer-director Paul Schrader and his actress wife Mary Beth Hurt– old, old friends. They were as dazzled as the rest of us. Kudos to Michael Xavier, Siobhan Dillon, and Fred Johanson who make for a mighty supporting cast.

Listen, Glenn Close has three Tony Awards including one for playing this role in the original production. But we’d better see her on this year’s Tony show. Maybe she’ll sing “As If” and bring down Radio City Music Hall. Maybe she can present Best Musical. But this is a moment on Broadway for us, and for her.

Trump Impeachment Prediction Book to Be Published Next Week by Rupert Murdoch Company

Roger Friedman
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Trump Impeachment Prediction Book to Be Published Next Week by Rupert Murdoch Company

Rupert Murdoch is about to get up in Donald Trump’s grille again. In ten days Murdoch’s HarperCollins will publish “The Case for Impeachment” by Alan Lichtman.

The book lays out a path to impeachment for Donald Trump by a serious political historian. This is not fake news. Lichtman, professor at American University in Washington, DC., has accurately predicted all the presidential elections since 1984.

Lichtman has been on TV since last fall discussing a Trump impeachment. In the book, he fully explains all the reasons he thinks this will happen.

HarperCollins is a curious place for him to be publishing this book. Although HC often publishes celebrity books that might be at odds with its parent companies (NewsCorp, 21st CenturyFox), those books are considered frivolous in the end.

But this one takes on Trump with precision. And Lichtman will be pushing it everywhere come April 18th– maybe even on Fox News.

Oscars: Academy Sets New Documentary Rules That Would Have Eliminated This Year’s Winner

Roger Friedman
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Oscars: Academy Sets New Documentary Rules That Would Have Eliminated This Year’s Winner

This year’s Oscar winner for Best Documentary, Ezra Edelman, has been slightly rebuked by the Academy. New rules announced today would have made it impossible for his multi part project, OJ: Made in America, from being nominated.

The Academy now says multi part films or limited series will not be eligible at all to compete for an Oscar. This is a big deal because the doc community was upset over “OJ.” For one thing, it was made for ESPN, for TV, and many felt it shouldn’t have been in the running for that reason alone.

Whoops! So sorry then to Ava Duvernay and the others who worked on single films as in past years and then got knocked out by OJ. It’s not going to happen again.

The Academy also says that prior to nominations, if you want to serve food to an Academy member in conjunction with a movie, there’d better be a screening attached to it. This is more of the campaigning rules which frankly, I think, have contributed to the low ratings of the Oscar show. After the nominations are announced, the Academy now frowns on all campaigning.

This means all parties cease, as does publicity. Next year, this means that between January 23rd and March 4th there will be silence in the press regarding the Oscars. It’s a big mistake. Without the press stoking the Oscar campaigns during those six weeks, there will be even fewer viewers for the big night. These are the Oscars– they’re supposed to be fun. It’s not a federal election.

CBS Drops People’s Choice Awards After 4 Decades, Show Moves to Low End E! Channel

Roger Friedman
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CBS Drops People’s Choice Awards After 4 Decades, Show Moves to Low End E! Channel

The four decade run of the People’s Choice Awards at CBS is over. The people have apparently voted– low ratings finally sent the annual celebrity debacle into oblivion.

Yesterday, the E! Channel– popular among pets and coma patients– announced they would broadcast the January sweepstakes themselves.

The People’s Choice Awards began on CBS in 1975 when there was no social media or internet, and publicists could control the outcome of the show. Even though someone supposedly voted on the People’s Choice, the results were uniformly dismal and predictably commercial, lacking any merit.

Plus, the winners were always sitting in the front row of the show, grinning, ready with memorized speeches. Losers didn’t bother getting dressed for the night. The ‘fix’ was in.

Over time, ratings have eroded as even the most clueless viewer in Sheboygan could figure out that “Batman” was not the best movie of the year, and Tom Cruise was not the Best Actor. Someday maybe someon will write about the horse trading that brings People’s Choice winners to the forefront.

Anyway, it’s off to the E! Channel, where maybe the Kardashians can host and Caitlyn Jenner will do interviews from the red carpet. CBS would be better off showing the Critics Choice Awards in that slot. They’re real, respected, and would cut the Golden Globes off at the pass by being first.

Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” vs. Prince’s “Sign o’ the Times”: New Song is Pop Version Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi Commercial

Roger Friedman
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Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” vs. Prince’s “Sign o’ the Times”: New Song is Pop Version Kendall Jenner’s Pepsi Commercial

Only because the announcement of the new Sign of the Times was linked to the anniversary of the Prince song. I make the correlation. I knew Prince, this is not Prince. This is the pop version of Kendall Jennder’s Pepsi commercial. It’s all full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. I won’t say it’s a tale told by an idiot, but what is it? Running from bullets is a sign of the times? We got to get out of here? The Animals told us that 50 years ago. At least Prince told stories that showed the sign of the times. There is no story in the Styles song. Just styles.

“Sign O’ The Times”

Oh yeah
In France a skinny man
Died of a big disease with a little name
By chance his girlfriend came across a needle
And soon she did the same
At home there are seventeen-year-old boys
And their idea of fun
Is being in a gang called The Disciples
High on crack, totin’ a machine gun

Time, time

Hurricane Annie ripped the ceiling of a church
And killed everyone inside
You turn on the telly and every other story
Is tellin’ you somebody died
Sister killed her baby ‘cuz she couldn’t afford to feed it
And we’re sending people to the moon
In September my cousin tried reefer for the very first time
Now he’s doing horse, it’s June

Times, times

It’s silly, no?
When a rocket ship explodes
And everybody still wants to fly
Some say a man ain’t happy
Unless a man truly dies
Oh why

Time, time

Baby make a speech, Star Wars fly
Neighbors just shine it on
But if a night falls and a bomb falls
Will anybody see the dawn

Time, times

It’s silly, no?
When a rocket blows
And everybody still wants to fly
Some say a man ain’t happy, truly
Until a man truly dies
Oh why, oh why, Sign O the Times

Times, times

Sign O the Times mess with your mind
Hurry before it’s to late
Let’s fall in love, get married, have a baby
We’ll call him Nate… if it’s a boy

Times, times

Times, times

Harry Styles “Sign of the Times”:

Just stop your crying
It’s a sign of the times
Welcome to the final show
Hope you’re wearing your best clothes
You can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky
You look pretty good down here
But you ain’t really good

[Pre-Chorus]
If we never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets
We never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets

[Chorus]
Just stop your crying
It’s a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here
Just stop your crying
It’ll be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here

[Verse 2]
Just stop crying
Have the time of your life
Breaking through the atmosphere
And things are pretty good from here
Remember everything will be alright
We can meet again somewhere
Somewhere far away from here

[Pre-Chorus]
If we never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets
We never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets

[Chorus]
Just stop your crying
It’s a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here
Just stop your crying
Baby it’ll be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here

[Pre-Chorus]
If we never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets
We never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets

[Bridge]
We don’t talk enough
We should open up
Before it’s all too much
Will we ever learn?
We’ve been here before
It’s just what we know

[Outro]
Stop your crying baby
It’s a sign of the times
We gotta get away
We got to get away
We got to get away
We got to get away
We got to get away
We got to, we got to
We got to, we got to
We got to, we got to

One Direction’s Harry Styles Releases “Sign of the Times,” 5 Minute Retro 70s Power Ballad

Roger Friedman
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One Direction’s Harry Styles Releases “Sign of the Times,” 5 Minute Retro 70s Power Ballad

Harry Styles seem to be 70s styles. Or some kind of take on Adele’s “Hello.” Anyway, it’s a five minute power ballad, very retro, right out of 1977. Will kids like it? Will radio play it in this ADD world? (Funny since record companies go for ‘adds’ as in plays on stations.) I guess the idea was to combine Journey and Queen and see what happens. The chorus is catchy. I’ll say that. I’m sure this will go straight to the top of iTunes this morning. And does it mean anything? Ha ha. No. It’s not exactly “Masters of War” or even “American Skin.” It’s the equivalent of Kendal Jenner’s Pepsi commercial– social theme LITE.

Just stop your crying
It’s a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here
Just stop your crying
It will be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here

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