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Tom Cruise’s “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” Comes to An End: His 10th Worst Box Office Total of 37 Films

Roger Friedman
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Tom Cruise’s “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” Comes to An End: His 10th Worst Box Office Total of 37 Films

Say goodbye to Jack Reacher. Maybe forever. Tom Cruise’s second Reacher film, “Never Go Back,” is his 10th worst box office total of 37 films. This should be the last weekend it plays in theaters, reaching just $57.5 million after 7 weeks.

When I wrote about “Never Go Back” on November 19th it was just at $56 million. This means pretty much no one has seen it in the last three weeks. Paramount was kind enough to leave it in theaters, gathering dust, maybe hopeful it would get to $60 million. It won’t.

The first “Jack Reacher” was no blockbuster. That film made just $80 million. Someone probably thought, what the hell? Maybe it will take off in the sequel. Alas, it didn’t.

Four of Cruise’s top 5 movies of all time are “Mission Impossible” sagas. His number 1 film was “War of the Worlds” in 2005. That’s eleven years ago. Cruise really hasn’t had a non-MI hit in 10 years. His next, “The Mummy,” will be of keen interest.

My guess is, we’re two or three years away from the Lifetime Achievement Governor’s Award for Tom unless something drastic changes.

Mel Gibson Said Holocaust “Was a Numbers Game” Two Years Before DUI and Infamous Anti-Semitic Rant

Roger Friedman
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Mel Gibson Said Holocaust “Was a Numbers Game” Two Years Before DUI and Infamous Anti-Semitic Rant

In 2004, Mel Gibson was interviewed for Readers Digest by Peggy Noonan. The magazine omitted some of Mel’s comments, but sent them to me in 2006 when Gibson was arrested for a DUI and had his notorious moment in which he barraged a police officer with anti-Semitic rants.

His unpublished remarks, according to the Digest’s publisher, were shocking. Gibson actually ridiculed the historically acknowledged number of Jews killed by Hitler.

Of the Holocaust, Gibson told Noonan: “I mean when the war was over they said it was 12 million. Then it was six. Now it’s four. I mean it’s that kind of numbers game …”

This was at the time that The Passion of the Christ was released. Readers Digest sent me the outtakes and I published them on August 2, 2006. Gibson was not drunk when he spoke to Noonan.

Two years later, drunk, Gibson asked the Malibu cop James Mee, “Are you Jewish? The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

Just as Donald Trump’s and Billy Bush’s decade old remarks have come back to haunt them, so too have Mel Gibson’s.

Gibson has invested $70 million into a church in Agoura Hills (Malibu), California that doesn’t support the edict of what’s known as Vatican II. They hold the Jews responsible for the death of Christ. They don’t recognize the Pope as the leader of the Catholic Church. In turn, the Archdiocese doesn’t recognize Holy Family as a Catholic church.

Gibson’s father, now 98 years old, is an infamous Holocaust denier. Mel has never repudiated his father’s statements. Hutton Gibson told Christoper Noxon in that New York Times article linked to above: ”Go and ask an undertaker or the guy who operates the crematorium what it takes to get rid of a dead body,” he said. ”It takes one liter of petrol and 20 minutes. Now, six million?”

But now I’m getting calls and emails because Gibson has made a new movie called “Hacksaw Ridge.” The movie’s supposed to be good. The message is: Mel’s back, all that anti-Semitic stuff happened a long time ago, and everyone wants a hit.

Well, not so fast.

The actor also said to Noonan in 2004: “The Second World War killed tens of millions of people. Some of them were Jews in concentration camps. Many people lost their lives. In the Ukraine, several million starved to death between 1932 and 1933. During the last century, 20 million people died in the Soviet Union.”

Gibson also proved to be prescient in the March 2004 interview, addressing criticism then that he was anti-Semitic.

He told Noonan: “Nobody wants to have their name, you know, besmirched on the front of newspapers and people say wicked things about them and their family and call them all sorts of names, accuse them of being anti-Semitic and everything else. I mean that’s not part of my design. I don’t enjoy experiencing that. That’s just coming from some place that I have no control over.”

Gibson indeed has control over this. He can be a lot clearer, a lot more apologetic, and explain his church and his father, frankly.

We just saw a movie — “The Birth of a  Nation”– ignored by the audience and distanced from its studio because of its filmmaker’s past. I don’t see any difference here. “Hacksaw Ridge” may be a terrific movie, but its creator still has a lot to answer for.

Writers Guild TV Noms Include No Shows on Network TV, And One for Soaps (General Hospital)

Roger Friedman
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Writers Guild TV Noms Include No Shows on Network TV, And One for Soaps (General Hospital)

None of the nominations from the Writers Guild for Best Drama or Comedy come from network TV today. They’re all cable or “other.” There’s 1 nom for American Crime Story on ABC for Long Form.

Funny thing: there’s just one nominee in Daytime Drama, for “General Hospital.” There are four soaps, so maybe it’s a mistake. Otherwise, I guess they win!

DRAMA SERIES

The Americans, Written by Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson; FX

Better Call Saul, Written by Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Glatzer, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith; AMC

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Dave Hill, D.B. Weiss; HBO

Stranger Things, Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix

Westworld, Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter; Dan Dietz, Halley Gross; Lisa Joy; Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO

COMEDY SERIES

Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX

Silicon Valley, Written by Megan Amram, Alec Berg, Donick Cary, Adam Countee, Jonathan Dotan, Mike Judge, Carrie Kemper, John Levenstein, Dan Lyons, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Ron Weiner; HBO

Transparent, Written by Arabella Anderson, Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Jessi Klein, Stephanie Kornick, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Our Lady J, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Studios

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Written by Emily Altman, Robert Carlock, Azie Mira Dungey, Tina Fey, Lauren Gurganous, Sam Means, Dylan Morgan, Marlena Rodriguez, Dan Rubin, Meredith Scardino, Josh Siegal, Allison Silverman, Leila Strachan; Netflix

Veep, Written by Rachel Axler, Sean Gray, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Eric Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren, David Mandel, Jim Margolis, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Alexis Wilkinson; HBO

NEW SERIES

Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX

Better Things, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., Cindy Chupack, Gina Fattore; FX

Stranger Things, Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix

This Is Us, Written by Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger, Bekah Brunstetter, Dan Fogelman, Vera Herbert, Joe Lawson, Kay Oyegun, Aurin Squire, K.J. Steinberg, Donald Todd; NBC

Westworld, Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter, Dan Dietz, Halley Gross, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO

LONG FORM ORIGINAL

American Crime, Written by Julie Hébert, Sonay Hoffman, Keith Huff, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Kirk A. Moore, Davy Perez, Diana Son; ABC

Confirmation, Written by Susannah Grant; HBO

Harley and the Davidsons, Written by Seth Fisher, Nick Schenk, Evan Wright; Discovery Channel

Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le, Written by Dianne Houston; Lifetime

LONG FORM ADAPTED

11.22.63, Written by Bridget Carpenter, Brigitte Hales, Joe Henderson, Brian Nelson, Quinton Peeples, Based on the novel by Stephen King; Hulu

American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, Written by Scott Alexander, Joe Robert Cole, D.V. DeVincentis, Maya Forbes, Larry Karaszewski, Wally Wolodarsky, Based on the book The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin; FX

Madoff, Written by Ben Robbins, Inspired by the Book The Madoff Chronicles: Inside the Secret World of Bernie and Ruth by Brian Ross; ABC

The Night Of, Written by Richard Price, Steve Zaillian, Based on the BBC Series Criminal Justice Created by Peter Moffat; HBO

Roots, Written by Lawrence Konner, Alison McDonald, Charles Murray, Mark Rosenthal, Based upon the Book by Alex Haley; History Channel

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL

“Episode 101” (Now We’re Talking), Written by Tug Coker, Tommy Dewey; go90.com

“Escape the Room” (Life Ends at 30), Written by Michael Field; vimeo.com

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” Episode 1 (Thug Passion), Written by Motrya Tomycz; vimeo.com

“The Party” (The Commute), Written by Linsey Stewart & Dane Clark; youtube.com

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ADAPTED

“Passage” Part 4 (Fear the Walking Dead), Written by Lauren Signorino & Mike Zunic; amc.com

“Under Siege” (The Strain), Written by Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, Based on the novels by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan; fxnetworks.com

ANIMATION

“Barthood” (The Simpsons), Written by Dan Greaney; Fox

“First Day of Rule” (Elena of Avalor), Written by Craig Gerber; Disney Channel

“Fish Out of Water” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Elijah Aron & Jordan Young; Netflix

“A Princess on Lothal” (Star Wars Rebels), Written by Steven Melching; Disney XD

“Stop the Presses” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Joe Lawson; Netflix

EPISODIC DRAMA

“Gloves Off” (Better Call Saul), Written by Gordon Smith; AMC

“I Am a Storm” (Shameless), Written by Sheila Callaghan; Showtime

“Klick” (Better Call Saul), Written by Heather Marion & Vince Gilligan; AMC

“Switch” (Better Call Saul), Written by Thomas Schnauz; AMC

“The Trip” (This Is Us), Written by Vera Herbert; NBC

“The Winds of Winter” (Game of Thrones), Written for Television by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss; HBO

EPISODIC COMEDY

“Kimmy Finds Her Mom!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Tina Fey & Sam Means; Netflix

“Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Robert Carlock; Netflix

“Pilot” (One Mississippi), Written by Diablo Cody & Tig Notaro; Amazon Studios

“R-A-Y-C-Ray-Cation” (Speechless), Written by Carrie Rosen & Seth Kurland; ABC

“Streets on Lock” (Atlanta), Written by Stephen Glover; FX

“A Taste of Zephyria” (Son of Zorn), Written by Dan Mintz; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Writers: Dan Amira, David Angelo, Steve Bodow, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Lauren Sarver Means, Trevor Noah, Joe Opio, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parson, Daniel Radosh, Michelle Wolf; Comedy Central

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO

Late Night with Seth Meyers, Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, Andrew Law, John Lutz, Aparna Nancherla, Chioke Nassor, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Conner O’Malley, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit, Michelle Wolf; NBC

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Writers: Mike Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Cullen Crawford, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack; NBC

COMEDY / VARIETY – SKETCH SERIES

Documentary Now!, Writers: Bill Hader, John Mulaney, Seth Meyers; IFC

Inside Amy Schumer, Writers: Kim Carmele, Kyle Dunnigan, Jessi Klein, Michael Lawrence, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Claudia O’Doherty, Dan Powell, Tami Sagher, Amy Schumer; Comedy Central

Maya and Marty in Manhattan, Head Writers: Mikey Day, Matt Roberts, Bryan Tucker Writers: Eli Bauman, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Hallie Cantor, David Feldman, R J Fried, Melissa Hunter, Paul Masella, Tim McAuliffe, John Mulaney, Diallo Riddle, Maya Rudolph, Bashir Salahuddin, Marika Sawyer, Streeter Seidell, Martin Short; Emily Spivey, Steve Young; NBC

Nathan For You, Written by Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central

Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Fred Armisen, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Jim Downey, Tina Fey, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Paul Masella, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Dave Sirus, Emily Spivey, Andrew Steele, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette; NBC

COMEDY / VARIETY – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

68th Primetime Emmy Awards, Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Robert Cohen, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Jon Macks, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Jeff Stilson, Joe Strazzullo, Alexis Wilkinson; ABC

73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material Written by Dave Boone, Ricky Gervais, Jon Macks, Matthew Robinson; NBC

88th Annual Academy Awards, Written by Dave Boone, Billy Kimball; Special Material Written by Scott Aukerman, Rodney Barnes, Neil Campbell, Matthew Claybrooks, Lance Crouther, Mike Ferrucci, Langston Kerman, Jon Macks, Steve O’Donnell, Nimesh Patel, Vanessa Ramos, Chris Rock, Frank Sebastiano, Chuck Sklar, Jeff Stilson, Michelle Wolf; CBS

Triumph’s Election Special, Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, Andrew Weinberg; Hulu

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC

Jeopardy!, Written by John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Deborah Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC

DAYTIME DRAMA

General Hospital, Writers: Shelly Altman, Anna Theresa Cascio, Andrea Archer Compton, Suzanne Flynn, Janet Iacobuzio, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Jean Passanante, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell; ABC

CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – EPISODIC AND SPECIALS

“Girl Meets Commonism” (Girl Meets World), Written by Joshua Jacobs & Michael Jacobs; Disney Channel

“Just Add Mom” (Just Add Magic), Written by John-Paul Nickel; Amazon Studios

“Mel vs. The Night Mare of Normal Street” (Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street), Written by Laurie Parres; Amazon Studios

“Mucko Polo, Grouch Explorer” (Sesame Street), Written by Belinda Ward; HBO

CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – LONG FORM OR SPECIAL/h4>

Dance Camp, Teleplay by Nick Turner & Rex New and Cameron Fay, Story by Nick Turner & Rex New; youtube.com

Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas, Written by Geri Cole & Ken Scarborough; HBO

R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet Of Souls, Written by Billy Brown & Dan Angel; Freeform

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS

“Chasing Heroin” (Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria; PBS

“The Choice 2016” (Frontline); Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS

“Inside Assad’s Syria” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“American Reds,” Written by Richard Wormser; WPTS Dayton

“Jackie Robinson, Part One,” Written by David McMahon & Sarah Burns; PBS

“Netanyahu at War” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS

NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Ambush In Dallas” (World News Tonight With David Muir), Written by David Bloch, Karen Mooney, David Muir, David Schoetz; ABC News

“Brussels Under Attack” (World News Tonight With David Muir), Written by David Bloch, Karen Mooney, David Muir, David Schoetz; ABC News

“Muhammad Ali: Remembering A Legend” (48 Hours), Written by Jerry Cipriano, Craig Wilson; CBS News

NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“CBS Sunday Morning Almanac” June 12, 2016 (CBS Sunday Morning), Written by Thomas A. Harris; CBS

Jimmy Kimmel to Host Oscars as Awards Shows Are Now Dictated to by Networks for Their Stars

Roger Friedman
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Jimmy Kimmel to Host Oscars as Awards Shows Are Now Dictated to by Networks for Their Stars

Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars, and he’ll be great. It was inevitable he’d host and he probably should have done it sooner.

But we are now in the generation of the networks using all the awards shows to promote their stars, particularly the talk show hosts. NBC’s Jimmy Fallon is hosting the Golden Globes, on NBC. CBS’s James Corden will host the Grammys, on CBS. Last year Corden hosted the Tony Awards on CBS, and he will likely again. Stephen Colbert, also on CBS, is hosting the Kennedy Center Honors on CBS. You get the picture.

It’s amazing when you think about it that Johnny Carson, who was an NBC star, used to host the Oscars. Or that David Letterman did it. But the biz has changed. Knowing ABC we’re not far from Michael Strahan as Oscars host. You say impossible? Donald Trump is…you know…

With Kimmel, expect lots of Matt Damon and the Afflecks. And that should work out nicely since Matt Damon is the nominal producer of “Manchester by the Sea” starring Casey Affleck.

Kennedy Center Honors Features JFK’s Grandkids, Aretha in the Audience, But Some Complain “It’s Become the Grammys”

Roger Friedman
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Kennedy Center Honors Features JFK’s Grandkids, Aretha in the Audience, But Some Complain “It’s Become the Grammys”

The second year of George Stevens Jr. not producing the Kennedy Center Honors yielded some interesting things, spies tell me.

It was the first time in a while that any Kennedys participated. Caroline Kennedy sent her three kids– JFK’s grandkids– to do a reading. Aretha Franklin was in the audience, not on stage, but they cut to her “a lot” during the show especially when Brian Stokes Mitchell sang the national anthem. Aretha’s dates for the night were Clive Davis and Isiah Thomas. I’m told “Color Purple” star Cynthia Erivo was magnificent singing “The Impossible Dream.”

Despite Al Pacino’s induction (by Kevin Spacey, Chris O’Donnell, and Bobby Cannavale) some people complained that the new Kennedy Centers Honors has become “like the Grammys.” There was a nod to classical music with the induction of Martha Argerich. But otherwise, the show is like a jukebox– the Eagles, James Taylor, and Mavis Staples were all inducted, with lots of acts performing their songs.

Oddly, Ringo Starr showed up for the Eagles (Joe Walsh is his brother-in-law) but never mentioned that James Taylor was the first act signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records. Bob Seger, from Detroit like the late Glenn Frey, performed a song the two wrote together– “Heartbreak Tonight.”

James Taylor was inducted by President Bill Clinton, and Taylor was feted by Garth Brooks (but not Carole King and certainly not Carly Simon). Taylor brought his twin boys from his marriage to Caroline Reynolds. Sheryl Crow and Darius Rucker also performed for Taylor, even though they have little connection to him. Like, Mavis Staples’ two biggest hits were sung by Elle King, whose “Exes and Ohs” is a great song, but really? (The Washington Post said she was a “country star.” Maybe because she lives in this country.) All the great R&B stars and they got Elle King to sing “I’ll Take You There.” Hmmm….

With three pop acts, there was no nod at all to Broadway.  Pacino represented both theater and movies, I guess. Opera was covered in the Argerich section by Placido Domingo not singing but introducing a pianist, and Itzak Perlman performed for Argerich as well. But actual opera or jazz?  Gone are the days of things like the fantastic Herbie Hancock tribute of a few years ago. Now it’s the hits, nothing but the hits.

 

How “Dear Evan Hansen” and “La La Land”– Maybe the 2017 Tony and Oscar Winners– Are Related

Roger Friedman
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How “Dear Evan Hansen” and “La La Land”– Maybe the 2017 Tony and Oscar Winners– Are Related

You haven’t seen “La La Land” yet because it hasn’t opened, but when that movie hits theatres in the next couple of weeks, you’ll see what all the excitement’s about.

Tonight (Sunday) brought that movie’s cousin, “Dear  Evan Hansen,” to Broadway and it’s a smash hit. Star Ben Platt is really a star, the whole cast is wonderful, and the songs– especially “For Forever”– are going to be almost as big as the songs from “Hamilton.”

But the show and the movie — prospective 2017 Tony and Oscar winners– are related in more ways than one. You see, veteran producer Marc Platt is the producer of each. His son is Ben Platt, now the overnight sensation of “Evan Hansen.” The kid is going to the Tony Awards in June regardless of his lineage.

Now follow this: Damien Chazelle directed “La La Land.” His pal, Justin Hurwitz, wrote the music, but not the lyrics, to all the amazing songs like “City of Stars.” The lyrics were written by Justin Paul and Benje Pasek. And that duo wrote the songs– music and lyrics– to “Evan Hansen.”

Got that?

Talking to everyone last night at the very swanky after party at the Pierre Hotel for “Evan Hansen,” it’s still unclear how all these things came together. Damien and Justin Hurwitz were sent by Lionsgate to Platt to produce “La La Land.” It was a coincidence that Paul and Plasek were working on both projects. It was another coincidence that Ben Platt was Marc’s son and he was starring in the musical. Or something like that.

The main thing to know right now is that the Platts wake up happy Monday morning with a huge hit in “Evan Hansen.” Chazelle was also there last night at the Pierre, everyone knows each other now, and it’s major synergy and synchronicity. The three guys in the picture are Chazelle in the middle surrounded by Pasek and Paul. Hurwitz is in L.A., or La La Land itself.

All the guys are 30, 31. It’s horrifying. I have shoes that old! But the whole thing also reminds me of that moment circa 1973-1974 when Marvin Hamlisch was involved with “The Sting,” “The Way We Were” and Carly Simon’s James Bond song “Nobody Does it Better.” Lots of young writers were all attached to that hub and there so much creativity. Is that moment back? Wouldn’t it be nice if it were?

Also at the “Evan Hansen” premiere: Tina Fey, Aaron Tveit, Sutton Foster, and my old pal Zachary Quinto. And the party at the Pierre? I haven’t seen a dessert table like that since Jason Schwartz’s bar mitzvah in 1970. These people know they have a hit!

PS “Evan Hansen” has an impressive supporting cast including Rachel Bay Jones, who is quite wonderful as Evan’s mom, and Michael Park of “As the World Turns” fame who finally gets a meaty featured role. He’s been working hard on Broadway since the soap folded in 2013.

Box Office: “Moana,” “Beasts” Continue Run, Brad Pitt “Allied” Hangs In, “Hacksaw” Drops

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Moana,” “Beasts” Continue Run, Brad Pitt “Allied” Hangs In, “Hacksaw” Drops

Weekend box office: blockbusters “Moana” and “Fantastic Beasts” continue their hit runs, raking millions and millions. “Moana” has made $177 million worldwide so far in two weeks. “Beasts” has $608 million so far, $183 million of it in the US.

The Harry Potter thing just goes on and on. The Harry Potter play “Cursed Child” will come to Broadway in 2018 at the Lyric Theater, which will be renovated especially for the show. The Lyric owners are not the usual Broadway theater people– Shubert, Nederlander, Jujacymyn. No, this is the Ambassador Theater Group, which wants in to the Great White Way in a big way. This should help.

Back to movies: Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard are hanging in there with “Allied.” Not a great movie, but okay. Paramount’s doing a good job of keeping it alive. Their real hit, “Arrival,” is booming and heading to Oscar status. Nicely done.

“Arrival” has been out one week less than “Hacksaw Ridge” but is already out grossing it. “Hacksaw,” violent, hokey, etc., is struggling to stay in business. The $60 million goal is looking less likely every day.

I am surprised that in the very persistent stealth Oscar campaign of Q&As for the guilds– SAG, DGA, etc– no one asks Mel Gibson whether he thinks the Holocaust happened or how many were killed, or his father’s denial of it. Didn’t the Holocaust occur during World War II, while Mel’s hero Desmond Doss was fighting in the Pacific? It sure did! The moderators of those Q&A’s can’t ask upsetting questions because they’re paid by the studios. Tsk, tsk. PS this discussion is not going away.

Madonna Says “Don’t Say No to Me,” Gives Manager Hawaii Holiday Home During Intimate 90 Min Charity Show for African Children

Roger Friedman
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Madonna Says “Don’t Say No to Me,” Gives Manager Hawaii Holiday Home During Intimate 90 Min Charity Show for African Children

Madonna’s intimate 90 minute charity show from Miami was streamed live on Facebook last night,or this morning depending on how you think about it.

Yes, Madonna is still dressed as a clown. This is her new thing. The pants don’t do a lot for her. She also insists on singing “Send in the Clowns” with a processor. This is like sucking caviar through a straw.

This was a fundraiser for her questionable Raising Malawi Foundation. Toward the end of the night, she praises manager Guy Oseary, and then tells him she’ll buy him the holiday home he rents in Hawaii. Oseary also manages U2. My guess is he can afford his own house. But this seems right during a fundraiser for African children. There’s a catch though and you can hear how Madonna plans to buy the house for him at around 1:00.

Madonna’s heart is in the right place. I’ll give her that. But the road to hell is paved with good intentions. She also says she drove everyone who worked on the event crazy because they couldn’t find red lampshades that lit up. It took two weeks for her to get her away. “Don’t say no to me,” Madonna concluded.

Pop Charts: The Weeknd Feels His Face, Scores Huge Number 1 Debut for “Starboy” Album

Roger Friedman
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Pop Charts: The Weeknd Feels His Face, Scores Huge Number 1 Debut for “Starboy” Album

The Weeknd — no e, old people– can feel his face, and his sales power! Canadian R&B star Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, who goes by the moniker The Weeknd– scored a huge number 1 debut for his follow up album to the mega hit Beauty Behind the Madness.

The new album, “Starboy,” sold 366,000 copies including about 140,000 streams. For a year with few hits, The Weeknd turned out to be a juggernaut. His 227,000 physical CDs and paid digital downloads were quite an accomplishment. Where other contemporary acts like Lady Gaga and Alicia Keys have found the charts to be problematic this fall, The Weeknd gave the one thing that was needed– a hit single. The title track from the album is a massive hit.

Also, his haircut helped.

In keeping with the new paradigm, last week’s number 1– Metallica’s “Hardwired…to Self Destruct”– fell 76% to number 5.

Good news: Lady Gaga’s Renaissance continues. Her “Joanne” album was up 34% over last week. That album will be a Grammy contender in 2018 because it missed the September 30th cut off by three weeks.

Tuesday brings Grammy nominations. In a perfect world, both David Bowie and Paul Simon would be Album of the Year noms along with Beyonce, Drake, and Adele. But that’s in a world where quality is recognized. Bowie may wind up in rock. and Simon in Traditional American. There’s a big push for Justin Bieber’s album of bird calls, called Porpoise–er, Purpose–to get a nomination.

Erica Kane Wins! ABC Regains Control of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” from Prospect Park

Roger Friedman
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Erica Kane Wins! ABC Regains Control of “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” from Prospect Park

It’s like a soap opera miracle, but one that doesn’t include hysterical pregnancy, amnesia or blindness. ABC has regained control of the daytime dramas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” from Prospect Park Productions. It’s kind of a sad irony that the shows’ creator, Agnes Nixon, passed away a few weeks ago without seeing them returned to their proper owner.

But the long and winding case of Prospect Park (owned by Jeff Kwatinetz) against ABC has been dismissed. In what seemed like a case right out of a soap opera, ABC cancelled the shows in 2013 after 40 years or so on the air. Prospect Park licensed the titles for airing online. The original deal provided that the soaps would return to ABC if Prospect Park was unable to produce shows for 18 months. But in the end they failed to produce more than 13 weeks of episodes for their online network. Prospect Park wouldn’t let go, but now it seems the case has been dismissed in ABC’s favor.

Now ABC has an interesting scenario on its hands– a full hour at 1pm that is currently filled by a daytime version of “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” and something called “RighthisMinute,” a half hour show billed “for the internet generation.” I’m not sure if you asked Bob Iger, who runs Disney, he could answer the question of what runs between “The Chew” and “General Hospital.” The network would be smart to invent some hybrid of the two soaps, or give them each hour half slots. The publicity alone would be worth millions.

There was also a problem at “General Hospital” when ABC tried to graft characters from “One Life to Live” onto the third program. When the license deal happened, ABC kept the actors but had to make them into new characters since the old ones belonged to Prospect Park. All of that could be unwound now, which would make a lot of soap fans — and probably the actors– very very happy.

So stay tuned. Will Erica Kane– aka Susan Lucci– return to “AMC”? The Emmy winning star of that show has demonstrated drawing power on other shows — prime time shows– since the soaps were cancelled. She just appeared on “Live with Kelly” and looks remarkably younger than she did when the soap was cancelled. In these situations, you never never know…

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