Friday, December 19, 2025
Donate
Home Blog Page 1417

Alec Baldwin’s Memoir Will Be Published in April by His Longstanding Foe, Rupert Murdoch

Roger Friedman
-
0
Alec Baldwin’s Memoir Will Be Published in April by His Longstanding Foe, Rupert Murdoch

neverthelessAlec Baldwin was just announced as host of “Saturday Night Live” next month. It’s not like Alec hasn’t been on “SNL” in a while– he’s been killing it playing Donald Trump the way David Frye used to imitate Richard Nixon on “Laugh In.” Sheer genius.

But Baldwin’s hosting of the show is a walk up to publicity for his memoir, called “Nevertheless,” coming on April 4th. And guess who’s publishing that book? Why, Rupert Murdoch’s HarperCollins, cousin of Alec’s two favorite media outlets, Fox News and The New York Post.

The publicity campaign for “Nevertheless” should be interesting. The book covers Alec’s showbiz career from his debut on NBC’s soap “The Doctors” in 1983 to his hit run on “30 Rock.” But it’s likely it also covers this past year, his Trump imitation, his long interest in politics as a Democrat and possibly his notorious feud with the Post and Page Six.

For years — decades, it feels like– Page Six dubbed Baldwin “The Bloviator.” He fought with the paper and their paparazzi on dozens of subjects, many of which landed on the front page. The Post surely won’t ignore the Baldwin book, but then again, they’re also likely to use anything he’s written against him. Prepare for war, Rupert Murdoch style!

Controversial Director Roman Polanski Forced to Resign as President of French Oscars After Women’s Groups Complain

Roger Friedman
-
0
Controversial Director Roman Polanski Forced to Resign as President of French Oscars After Women’s Groups Complain

Oscar winning director Roman Polanski’s 1977 rape saga continues to haunt him– now even in his home country of France.

This past week, Polanski was forced to resign as president of the French Oscars, the Cesar Awards, after women’s group’s objected. The head of the Cesars really just makes a welcoming speech. But 62,000 people signed a change.org petition against Polanski after the country’s minister for family, women, and children’s rights also spoke out against his appointment.

The new anger toward Polanski may stem from this weekend’s women’s marches all over the, world, even in Paris. But I’m told the source of this new bad feeling may come from the November suicide of famed British photographer David Hamilton.

Hamilton, who was 83 and lived in Paris most of his life, was famous for his photos of very young girls and women. When Polanski was arrested in 1977, he said the pictures he took of a then 13 year old were meant to emulate Hamilton’s work. The two men were indeed great friends.

This past October, Hamilton was accused by a radio presenter and celebrity named Flavie Flement of raping her when she was 13– some 30 years ago. In November other women joined Flement with similar accusations against Hamilton. The result was a huge scandal in France similar to that of Bill Cosby here. On November 25, Hamilton killed himself.

Unlike Polanski– who has suffered from the one incident in 1977– Hamilton’s life was marked by book bannings and investigations. His photos were considered by some as child pornography, and he was often protested.

Sources in Paris say that Polanski may be blamed by his association with Hamilton, whose own controversies are freshly in the headlines.

Hollywood Has Not Forgiven Mel Gibson: Plenty of People Will Never Work with Him Again

Roger Friedman
-
0
Hollywood Has Not Forgiven Mel Gibson: Plenty of People Will Never Work with Him Again

Mel Gibson’s Oscar nods today for “Hacksaw Ridge” are instigating a lot of pieces titled “Hollywood forgives Mel Gibson.”

Not so fast.

An anti-Semite, racist, and Holocaust denier, Gibson is absolutely not forgiven in Hollywood. Believe me. I’ve checked. I thought well, maybe they’re right. Maybe Mel’s back. Then I asked around during the Golden Globes.

According to my sources, nothing has changed. Gibson, for example, is persona non grata still at WME Agency aka William Morris Endeavor. The agency’s chief Ari Emanuel vowed never to work with Gibson again. Sources tell me he has not changed his mind.

Many other studio chiefs and agents, as well as actors, will have nothing to do with Gibson. At the Golden Globes dinner in the Beverly Hilton, Gibson and his much younger babymama were kept out of the way of the main stars on the floor.

“Hacksaw Ridge” was independently produced, and released through Lions Gate. Gibson’s next movie, “The Professor and the Madman,” is directed by Farhad Safinia, who worked on Gibson’s “Apocalypto,” It’s produced through Gibson’s Icon Productions. Another project with still no details is “Berserker” with his “Braveheart” collaborator Randall Wallace. Again, it will be indie.

What you won’t be seeing is Mel in romantic comedies with the likes of Jennifer Lawrence or Jessica Chastain. I doubt you’ll even see him with Julia Roberts. Gibson’s baggage is still with him, and it’s not going away.

By the way, “Hacksaw Ridge” made $65 million in the US. If it hadn’t been for foreign sales of $92 million, “Hacksaw” would have been a total loser.

Paris Jackson Says She Was Sexually Assaulted at 14– -Where Were Here Guardians?

Roger Friedman
-
0
Paris Jackson Says She Was Sexually Assaulted at 14– -Where Were Here Guardians?

Paris Jackson says she was sexually assaulted at age 14 in a new interview with Rolling Stone. Michael Jackson’s daughter tells the magazine a few other surprising things, but this should be the most alarming. She was 14 in 2012, the same year she helped stop the “kidnapping” of her guardian, grandmother Katherine Jackson, by her uncles and aunts.

Paris was living with her grandmother and brothers in a gated community. That this terrible thing happened to her speaks volumes about how neglectful the adult supervision was for Michael Jackson’s kids three years after the superstar’s death. A year later Paris would attempt suicide. She says she tried this three times until she was sent to a school in Utah that saved her life.

She recalls: “I don’t wanna give too many details. But it was not a good experience at all, and it was really hard for me, and, at the time, I didn’t tell anybody.”

Paris has always seemed like a great, precocious, lively girl ever since she stepped forward and spoke at her father’s funeral in 2009. Until her final suicide attempt and removal to Utah she’d built up a million followers on Twitter. She seemed older than her years. Once she went to Utah, she dropped all social media. When she returned, a new more self confident Paris appeared.

She says: “I was crazy. I was actually crazy. I was going through a lot of, like, teen angst. And I was also dealing with my depression and my anxiety without any help.”

Thank goodness she was able to triumph through this pain. Paris also tells Rolling Stone she’s convinced Michael Jackson was “murdered.” She also insists that Michael was her biological father. That last part doesn’t matter one way or another. Jackson was clearly the father of his children and nothing else matters.

“I consider myself black,” she says, adding later that her dad “would look me in the eyes and he’d point his finger at me and he’d be like, ‘You’re black. Be proud of your roots.’ And I’d be like, ‘OK, he’s my dad, why would he lie to me?’ So I just believe what he told me. ‘Cause, to my knowledge, he’s never lied to me.

What seemed rather sad in the interview is that Paris (and this is likely true for her siblings) doesn’t seem to acknowledge any adult influence in her life. She’s living with her boyfriend in the recording studio at Hayvenhurst, a house still owned by her father’s estate but not really habitable. Unlike brother Prince, she’s skipped college entirely. Her Rolling Stone cover seems like the opening salvo in a quest for fame without substance, a la her neighbors the Kardashians. She already has all the money she’ll ever need. Let’s hope she finds happiness and gets what she wants. She deserves it.

Meryl Streep Scores 20th Oscar Nomination, But Amy Adams, Annette Bening Are Shut Out

Roger Friedman
-
0
Meryl Streep Scores 20th Oscar Nomination, But Amy Adams, Annette Bening Are Shut Out

The Oscar nominations were hardest in the Best Actress category this morning. Annette Bening and Amy Adams, who’d been on everyone’s lists and did tremendous work in “20th Century Women” and “Arrival” respectively, were shut out.

It seems like their spots went to Ruth Negga for “Loving,” and Meryl Streep, for “Florence Foster Jenkins.”

For Streep, this is her record breaking, historic 20th Oscar nomination. She started in 1979 with a nod for Best Supporting Actress in “The Deer Hunter.” The next year she won Best Supporting Actress for “Kramer vs. Kramer.”  She won the Oscar in 1983 for Best Actress in “Sophie’s Choice.” What followed was 12 more nominations with no wins. Finally she won again in 2012 for “Iron Lady” playing Margaret Thatcher.

Streep’s artistic triumphs cannot be denied. It’s pretty hard to be a living legend, but she handles it with grace and humor, and an occasional martini. What’s really admirable about her is that she sees herself, rightly, as guiding light and a moral compass for Hollywood. Her speech at the Golden Globes was stunning and perfectly put. I expect we’ll see and hear a lot more of her activism in the years — or maybe months– to come.

 

RIP: Marvell Thomas, Legendary Stax Records Keyboardist, Son of Rufus and Brother of Carla

Roger Friedman
-
0
RIP: Marvell Thomas, Legendary Stax Records Keyboardist, Son of Rufus and Brother of Carla

It’s a sad day in Memphis, Tennessee. Marvell Thomas, the legendary keyboardist from Stax Records, son of the famed Rufus Thomas and brother of pop-R&B star Carla– Queen of Memphis Soul– has died at age 75 following a heart attack. Survivors include his wife Najee, and younger sister Vaneese Thomas, a recording artist and famed New York backing vocalist for artists like Aretha Franklin.

rufusthomasparkMarvell was a hugely important part of the Stax Records history, having played on dozens and dozens of hits starting with William Bell’s “You Don’t Miss Your Water.” His discography includes many uncredited performances. He was the mainstay of Stax studios, filling those songs with his own sweet persona. Some of his credited work includes co-producing Isaac Hayes’s famous album “Hot Buttered Soul,” on which he played keyboards.

Marvell was also a Grammy governor, and a leader in Memphis and the R&B world. He received his own Brass Note on the Beale Street Walk of Fame in 2011.

we love you marvellThe Thomas family legacy in Memphis and in R&B in general cannot be overstated. Rufus– who cast a long shadow as a DJ and recording artist (“Walking the Dog”). He and his wife Lorene, a civil rights activist who worked with Martin Luther King, left three gifted musicians in Marvell, Carla, and Vaneese. Marvell was their guiding light and central force. He was an unwavering professional who made recording sessions work. He knew the music in his heart and in his soul. Maybe that’s why he smiled so much.

Marvell was also a great friend to me. When I went to Memphis to film “Only the Strong Survive” in 1999 he became an invaluable presence in my life. Like everyone who knew him, I will miss Marvell Thomas terribly.

Oscar Nominations: Scorsese Blanked, Best Actress Shockers as Bening, Adams Excluded for Huppert, Negga

Roger Friedman
-
0
Oscar Nominations: Scorsese Blanked, Best Actress Shockers as Bening, Adams Excluded for Huppert, Negga

Oscar noms shockers– no Annette Bening or Amy Adams. Isabelle Huppert and Ruth Negga took those spots. Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, and Meryl Streep were the other nominees.

Michael Shannon took Hugh Grant’s spot in Best Supporting Actor. I predicted Shannon back in Toronto. That’s a repudiation of the Golden Globes win for Aaron Taylor Johnson. Lucas Hedges certainly deserves his nomination for “Manchester.”

Big shout out to Sting, who was nominated for Best Song for “The Empty Chair.”

Nothing for Martin Scorsese’s “Silence.” One of the weirdest and worst calamaties in movie history.

Nominations for the 89th Academy Awards

Performance by an actor in a leading role

Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield in “Hacksaw Ridge”
Ryan Gosling in “La La Land”
Viggo Mortensen in “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington in “Fences”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

Mahershala Ali in “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges in “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges in “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel in “Lion”
Michael Shannon in “Nocturnal Animals”

Performance by an actress in a leading role

Isabelle Huppert in “Elle”
Ruth Negga in “Loving”
Natalie Portman in “Jackie”
Emma Stone in “La La Land”
Meryl Streep in “Florence Foster Jenkins”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

Viola Davis in “Fences”
Naomie Harris in “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman in “Lion”
Octavia Spencer in “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams in “Manchester by the Sea”

Best animated feature film of the year

“Kubo and the Two Strings” Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner
“Moana” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer
“My Life as a Zucchini” Claude Barras and Max Karli
“The Red Turtle” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
“Zootopia” Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer

Achievement in cinematography

“Arrival” Bradford Young
“La La Land” Linus Sandgren
“Lion” Greig Fraser
“Moonlight” James Laxton
“Silence” Rodrigo Prieto

Achievement in costume design

“Allied” Joanna Johnston
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” Colleen Atwood
“Florence Foster Jenkins” Consolata Boyle
“Jackie” Madeline Fontaine
“La La Land” Mary Zophres

Achievement in directing

“Arrival” Denis Villeneuve
“Hacksaw Ridge” Mel Gibson
“La La Land” Damien Chazelle
“Manchester by the Sea” Kenneth Lonergan
“Moonlight” Barry Jenkins

Best documentary feature

“Fire at Sea” Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
“I Am Not Your Negro” Raoul Peck, Rémi Grellety and Hébert Peck
“Life, Animated” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
“O.J.: Made in America” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
“13th” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish

Best documentary short subject

“Extremis” Dan Krauss
“4.1 Miles” Daphne Matziaraki
“Joe’s Violin” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
“Watani: My Homeland” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
“The White Helmets” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Achievement in film editing

“Arrival”Joe Walker
“Hacksaw Ridge” John Gilbert
“Hell or High Water” Jake Roberts
“La La Land” Tom Cross
“Moonlight” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Best foreign language film of the year

“Land of Mine” Denmark
“A Man Called Ove” Sweden
“The Salesman” Iran
“Tanna” Australia
“Toni Erdmann” Germany

Achievement in makeup and hairstyling

“A Man Called Ove” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
“Star Trek Beyond” Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
“Suicide Squad” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

“Jackie” Mica Levi
“La La Land” Justin Hurwitz
“Lion” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
“Moonlight” Nicholas Britell
“Passengers” Thomas Newman

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” from “La La Land”
Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“Can’t Stop The Feeling” from “Trolls”
Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
“City Of Stars” from “La La Land”
Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“The Empty Chair” from “Jim: The James Foley Story”
Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
“How Far I’ll Go” from “Moana”
Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best motion picture of the year

“Arrival” Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, Aaron Ryder and David Linde, Producers
“Fences” Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington and Todd Black, Producers
“Hacksaw Ridge” Bill Mechanic and David Permut, Producers
“Hell or High Water” Carla Hacken and Julie Yorn, Producers
“Hidden Figures” Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams and Theodore Melfi, Producers
“La La Land” Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt, Producers
“Lion” Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Angie Fielder, Producers
“Manchester by the Sea” Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck and Kevin J. Walsh, Producers
“Moonlight” Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, Producers

Achievement in production design

“Arrival” Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Paul Hotte
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Hail, Caesar!” Production Design: Jess Gonchor; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
“La La Land” Production Design: David Wasco; Set Decoration: Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
“Passengers” Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas; Set Decoration: Gene Serdena

Best animated short film

“Blind Vaysha” Theodore Ushev
“Borrowed Time” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
“Pear Cider and Cigarettes” Robert Valley and Cara Speller
“Pearl” Patrick Osborne
“Piper” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

Best live action short film

“Ennemis Intérieurs” Sélim Azzazi
“La Femme et le TGV” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
“Silent Nights” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
“Sing” Kristof Deák and Anna Udvardy
“Timecode” Juanjo Giménez

Achievement in sound editing

“Arrival” Sylvain Bellemare
“Deepwater Horizon” Wylie Stateman and Renée Tondelli
“Hacksaw Ridge” Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
“La La Land” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“Sully” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Achievement in sound mixing

“Arrival” Bernard Gariépy Strobl and Claude La Haye
“Hacksaw Ridge” Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace
“La La Land” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson
“13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth

Achievement in visual effects

“Deepwater Horizon” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton
“Doctor Strange” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould
“The Jungle Book” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon
“Kubo and the Two Strings” Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould

Adapted screenplay

“Arrival” Screenplay by Eric Heisserer
“Fences” Screenplay by August Wilson
“Hidden Figures” Screenplay by Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
“Lion” Screenplay by Luke Davies
“Moonlight” Screenplay by Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney

Original screenplay

“Hell or High Water” Written by Taylor Sheridan
“La La Land” Written by Damien Chazelle
“The Lobster” Written by Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
“Manchester by the Sea” Written by Kenneth Lonergan
“20th Century Women” Written by Mike Mills

Watch the Oscar Nominations Here Beginning at 8:15am Eastern

Roger Friedman
-
0
Watch the Oscar Nominations Here Beginning at 8:15am Eastern

NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” — Staring Down Megyn Kelly and Possible Cancellation– Hires Writer Who Saved “General Hospital”

Roger Friedman
-
0
NBC’s “Days of Our Lives” — Staring Down Megyn Kelly and Possible Cancellation– Hires Writer Who Saved “General Hospital”

NBC’s “Days of our Lives” has fired its head writer and replaced her with the man who saved “General Hospital” from the getting the axe.

Dena Higley is out, and Ron Carlivati is in at the 50 year old serial.

Carlivati has a big task because “Days” is in trouble. Since NBC News made a deal with Megyn Kelly for a daily daytime news show, speculation has been high that the former Fox News star would get the “Days” hour. At the same time, the Kelly hour could go to the third hour of “Today” at 9am or go be a competitor for “The View” at 11am.

“Days” ratings are the lowest of the remaining four soaps. That doesn’t help.

Can Carlivati resuscitate a show that once featured demonic possession and still has sets that date back to the 1960s? It’s very possible. He revived “General Hospital” right before it was due to be cancelled by bringing back fan favorites and playing to the audience. Maybe he can give Kelly a recurring character. She’d be a great villain!

Donald Trump’s Nephew Has Quietly Published 2 Novels Starring a Trump Like “Buffoonish” Character (Exclusive)

Roger Friedman
-
0
Donald Trump’s Nephew Has Quietly Published 2 Novels Starring a Trump Like “Buffoonish” Character (Exclusive)

oliver boothWe never hear much about Donald Trump’s sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry. She’s a federal judge whom right wingers paint as a left winger because she once signed off on giving constitutional protection to partial birth abortion. (If you wondered why the judge didn’t swear her brother into office, now you know.)

More interesting maybe is Judge Barry’s son, David Desmond, a former clinical psychologist and a self published novelist who– according to his bio– divides his time between Paris and Palm Beach. (He’s the product of Judge Barry’s first marriage.)

Very quietly Desmond has written two novels that he’s put on sale through Amazon. They are farces, or high society satires, starring a main character named Oliver Booth. They are called “The Misadventures of Oliver Booth” and “Oliver Booth and the Evil Socialite.”

Do Oliver and Desmond’s uncle share traits? As one Amazon reviewer puts it: “Oliver Booth is an unlikeable, unsympathetic, unethical buffoon.”

Booth is not a presidential candidate or even a real estate tycoon. But he will do anything to live “the good life” of the super wealthy, starting in Palm Beach and ending up on New York’s Upper East Side. For the first book, Uncle Donald actually contributed a quote, although it’s unclear that he actually read the book.

He said: “David Desmond has written a hilarious tale based on his insider’s knowledge of life in Palm Beach and Paris. It should be a big success.”

One Amazon reviewer who gave the book two stars out of five says: “Oliver Booth craves wealth, acknowledgment and prestige yet he goes about it in all the wrong ways. The more he scams and tries to pry up into the world that he admires the more it detests him and his slyness.”

Another reviewer said: “Desmond wanders through Palm Beach society like a porcupine in a balloon factory.”

Sound like anyone we know? “Oliver Booth and the Evil Socialite” not only sends up the locals in the elite community, we also get a taste of Russian dressing. One character is a rich Russian going by the pseudonym ‘DJ Oligarch.’He’s the king of Russian hip hop and the inventor of the bullet proof tuxedo.

And you think Donald Trump has no connection to the arts!

1...1,4161,4171,418...2,323Page 1,417 of 2,323

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com