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BAFTA First Round Goes Big for “Anora,” “Conclave,” Emilia Perez” Snubs Angelina Jolie “Maria”

Roger Friedman
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BAFTA First Round Goes Big for “Anora,” “Conclave,” Emilia Perez” Snubs Angelina Jolie “Maria”

BAFTA — the British Academy — announced their first round of voting this morning for movie awards. They went big time for “Anora,” “Emilia Perez,” and “Conclave.”

Shockingly, Angelina Jolie didn’t make the cut for the 10 best actress nods. Jolie plays the title role of Maria Callas in “Maria,” and is nominated for a Golden Globe Award this Sunday. She’s also nominated for a Critics Choice Award which will be revealed next Sunday, January 12th.

Snubbed with a twist: Pamela Anderson didn’t make it as Best Actress, but her “Last Showgirl” co-star Jamie Lee Curtis made it in as Best Supporting Actress.

Also almost completely cut out of the BAFTAs: is “Gladiator II” from Brit, Ridley Scott. Only Denzel Washington got a nod for Best Supporting Actor. Pedro Almodovar’s “The Room Next Door,” with Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, was also omitted.

The second and final round of nominees will be announced on January 15th. The BAFTAs are handed out on February 16th in London.

Some nice surprises, though: Ellen Kuras was nominated for Best Director for “Lee,” as was star Kate Winslet. Saorise Ronan in “The Outrun” made the lists as well as the film itself.

Best Film

Anora
The Apprentice
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Kneecap
The Substance
Wicked

Director

All We Imagine as Light, Payal Kapadia
Anora, Sean Baker
The Brutalist, Brady Corbet
Conclave, Edward Berger
Dune: Part Two, Denis Villeneuve
Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard
La Chimera, Alice Rohrwacher
Lee, Ellen Kuras
The Outrun, Nora Fingscheidt
The Substance, Coralie Fargeat

Leading Actress
Amy Adams, Nightbitch
Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
Demi Moore, The Substance
Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez
Kate Winslet, Lee
Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Hard Truths
Marisa Abela, Back To Black
Mikey Madison, Anora
Nicole Kidman, Babygirl
Saoirse Ronan, The Outrun

Leading Actor

Adrien Brody, The Brutalist
Colman Domingo, Sing Sing
Daniel Craig, Queer
Dev Patel, Monkey Man
Hugh Grant, Heretic
Jude Law, Firebran
Kingsley Ben Adir, Bob Marley: One Love
Ralph Fiennes, Conclave
Sebastian Stan , The Apprentice
Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

Supporting Actress

Adriana Paz, Emilia Pérez
Ariana Grande, Wicked
Emily Watson, Small Things Like These
Felicity Jones, The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini, Conclave
Jamie Lee Curtis, The Last Showgirl
Margaret Qualley, The Substance
Michele Austin, Hard Truths
Selena Gomez, Emilia Pérez
Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez

Supporting Actor

Clarence Maclin, Sing Sing
Denzel Washington, Gladiator II
Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Harris Dickinson, Babygirl
Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice
Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
Mark Eydelshteyn, Anora
Stanley Tucci, Conclave
Yura Borisov, Anora

First Diddy Documentary Trailer Drops But Still No Sign of MIA Witnesses Fonzworth Bentley and Nathalie Moar

Roger Friedman
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First Diddy Documentary Trailer Drops But Still No Sign of MIA Witnesses Fonzworth Bentley and Nathalie Moar

No one seems to know what’s happened to Nathalie Moar or Derek Watkins, aka Fonzworth Bentley.

Of all the people in Sean Combs’s world — aka Diddy, Puff Daddy — they know everything in detail and beyond. There are theories that they are helping the prosecution in Combs’s upcoming trial. Each of them has been totally radio silent for a year.

Moar has acted as Combs’s PR person for at least 20 years, maybe longer. If anyone has the guest lists, the phone numbers, etc. it’s her. Moar’s testimony at a trial would be sensational.

Then there’s Watkins aka Bentley. He’s also gone underground and like Moar hasn’t been mentioned in any of the lawsuit publicity. Anyone who was around in 2000 will remember Bentley — dressed as a dandy — acting as Diddy’s butler or valet, following him around with an umbrella lest the rap star got warm or wet.

Now comes the trailer for the first of what will undoubtedly be many Diddy documentaries, called “Making of Bad Boy.” It will be shown on Peacock on January 14th. The trailer boasts a lot of inside info, but if they don’t have Moar or Watkins the film still will miss the mark.

Golden Globes Field Eclectic Group of Presenters Including Vin Diesel, Elton John, Demi Moore, Dwayne Johnson

Roger Friedman
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Golden Globes Field Eclectic Group of Presenters Including Vin Diesel, Elton John, Demi Moore, Dwayne Johnson

You know the Golden Globes are coming on Sunday.

Still struggling to overcome decades of embarrassment, the Globes will be hosted by comedian Nikki Glaser on CBS.

Their list of presenters is eclectic, to say the least. It looks like they got Elton John to present Best Song and Score with Brandi Carlile, which is inspired. We always love to see Sir Elton!

The actors cover a wide range. They include Gal Gadot, Vin Diesel, Dwayne The Rock Johnson, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, Colman Domingo, and Kathy Bates; 2025 Cecil B. DeMille Award winner Viola Davis. Also in the lineup: Andrew Garfield, Anthony Mackie, Anthony Ramos, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ariana DeBose, Aubrey Plaza, Awkwafina, Brandi Carlile, Catherine O’Hara, Colin Farrell, Édgar Ramírez, Elton John, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, Jennifer Coolidge, Kaley Cuoco, Kate Hudson, Ke Huy Quan, Kerry Washington, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Keaton, Michelle Yeoh, Miles Teller, Mindy Kaling, Morris Chestnut, Nate Bargatze, Nicolas Cage, Rachel Brosnahan, Rob McElhenney, Salma Hayek Pinault, Sarah Paulson, Seth Rogen, Sharon Stone, and Zoë Kravitz.

Will it all work? Will anyone watch? Hard to say. Most of the films nominated are independent. The big exception is “Wicked.” So far almost no one has seen many of the smaller films like “The Brutalist.” So the real news will be the ratings report on Monday.

Meantime, the Critics Choice Awards come January 12th on the E! channel. Unlike the Globes, the people who vote for the CCA are actual critics, not just mysterious junketeers.

Mariah Carey’s Christmas Song Drops Off the Charts as the Holidays Come to an End

Roger Friedman
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Mariah Carey’s Christmas Song Drops Off the Charts as the Holidays Come to an End

All Mariah Carey wants now is a hit during the year other than her Christmas song.

With the holidays over, “All I Want for Christmas” is, too. The perennial hit has dropped of the iTunes top 100, and is 99 on the Christmas song chart.

It’s amazing how fast it disappeared, too, after being ubiquitous for two weeks. Carey promoted it wherever she could, especially on her tour — even though she missed some dates because of illness.

Now “All I Want for Christmas” blissfully goes to sleep and with it, Carey’s record sales. The holiday song drives her whole catalog at this point. She hasn’t had a legitimate non holiday hit since “Touch My Body” in 2008. Carey hasn’t released a new album since 2018’s “Caution,” which didn’t sell many copies.

At 55, Mariah has nothing to prove. She’s wealthier than anyone can imagine. She can rest on her laurels and do the annual tour and spend the rest of the year eating bon bons. One thing she should prioritize is making a great album of standards to show off her voice before it starts to lose power. (This happens to everyone.) Of course, she can’t get publishing royalties on Cole Porter or Richard Rodgers but at this point, it’s probably not necessary.

So until next Thanksgiving, goodbye “All I Want for Christmas.” Your work is done.

Broadway Boomed Last Week Even with “Gypsy” Shut Down Because of Cast Illness

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Boomed Last Week Even with “Gypsy” Shut Down Because of Cast Illness

Except for “Gypsy,” every other show on Broadway boomed during Christmas week.

Total receipts were up by $11 million over the previous week to $55 million. That’s a high for the year.

Poor “Gypsy” made just $280,000 after cancelling all but one performance. The week before, the sold out musical revival made over $1.5 million. The show is back on now and will be sold out even more as ticket holders try to get new reservations.

“Wicked” led all shows despite the movie having made almost $450 million in the last month. It seems the movie sent everyone back to the live show. Total take was an unheard of FIVE MILLION DOLLARS.

Runner up was “The Lion King” with $4 million! And this is despite the release of “Mufasa,” spin off movie that wasn’t warmly welcomed but has still made $120 million. “Mufasa” also sent fans back to the real thing!

The $2 million plus club included “Hamilton,” “Back to the Future,” “MJ The Musical,” “The Outsiders,” “Harry Potter,” and “Aladdin.” Many house records were broken. Even the great “Maybe Happy Ending” cleared $1 million.

Believe it or not, “Chicago” yielded $1.3 million! How could this be? Tourists love it. Co-composer John Kander, age 97, is just hearing ka-ching ka-ching ka-ching. Kander and Fred Ebb wrote all the famous songs and numbers. They also wrote “New York, New York.” which was used last night on TV to wrap up the New Year’s Eve special on CNN. Amazing. In 1981, “New York, New York” lost the Best Song at the Grammy Awards to Christopher Cross’s “Sailing.”

As for “Gypsy,” it’s hoped they’re back on track. Why they didn’t have understudies ready to go is a mystery. Did they have COVID? RSV? Norovirus? At least the ordeal is over. But it’s a strict lesson to be learned from.

Kate Beckinsale Speaks Out About Rough Times on Movie Sets, Points Finger at “Drunk” Co-star: Nick Nolte?

Roger Friedman
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Kate Beckinsale Speaks Out About Rough Times on Movie Sets, Points Finger at “Drunk” Co-star: Nick Nolte?

Kate Beckinsale is beautiful and talented. But she’s had an uneven career to say the least.

Now she’s speaking out, in light of Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Justin Baldoni. Beckinsale admits she knows neither of them, or what happened on the set of “It Ends with Us.” But her descriptions about being called a “c*nt” and bitch are unacceptable. They’re also not isolated to Beckinsale.

Kate recalls one incident in which her co-star, she says, showed up drunk every day. He also made everyone wait 6 hours before he arrived. The scenario was so bad, Kate says, that it made the director cry!

The film Kate seems to be alluding to is 2013’s “The Trials of Cate McCall.” She co-starred with Nick Nolte, a fine actor whose drinking problems are well known over the years. “Trials” was directed by Karen Moncrieff, who’s no push over but may have burst into tears on a shoot this unnecessarily grueling.

Watch the video below, and don’t comment on Beckinsale “not looking the same” as usual. It’s just makeup and hair. Her words are more important.

Outlets Didn’t Bother Fact Checking Claim James Franco Melted Down After 2011 Oscars (Exclusive)

Roger Friedman
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Outlets Didn’t Bother Fact Checking Claim James Franco Melted Down After 2011 Oscars (Exclusive)

Things that are said on podcasts aren’t fact checked. They are just blah blah blowing smoke in the air.

To wit: many outlets has picked up a story told by a comedian named Paul Rust on a podcast he has with Matt Gourmley. Rust recalls that “literally two days after [Franco] had hosted the Oscars” Franco purposely screwed up a promotion he was filming for the comedy, “Your Highness,” with Danny McBride.

Rust says: “So he was upset because the reviews were not good. He was in a bad mood.” Rust says Franco mumbled during the taping, and then abruptly left but not before he kicked a chair.

Unfortunately, Rust’s memory may be fuzzy.

I have no interest in defending Franco, but I knew him pretty well back then. At the time, the Oscar nominated star of “12 Hours” was on a bewildering tear through graduate schools –including NYU — after quickly finishing up – as an adult — his credits at NYU. As I remember it, he returned to Yale when the Oscars were over.

The New York Times confirmed it in an article on March 3rd, 2011. Franco was back in New Haven for classes. His fellow students were talking about his quick return. Franco himself posted a Tweet against his naysayers that afternoon.

That whole story about the 2011 Oscars is vivid in my mind. On the Monday of Oscar week, I called Franco thinking he was in Hollywood and assembling the show he would host with Anne Hathaway. When I reached him, I was shocked to discover he was still in New Haven. He thought he’d come in on Thursday, rehearse, and return to Yale.

“I can’t leave class,” he told me.

He wasn’t stoned, as his critics said. He was lost. That’s because in his absence, Hathaway and her team diligently worked on the show with the writers. They didn’t wait around. Nature abhors a vacuum, you know. The result was a famous disaster of an Oscars.

But this item is not about saving James Franco’s reputation (in tatters because of his sex scandals). It’s more about how almost nothing I’m reading from podcasts, blogs, aggregated posts, etc is checked for any veracity. The worst culprits are outfits like Newsbreak App and Smartnews, which just regurgitate anything from any published site without caring about its truth. Everything is clickbait. Most of the internet, particularly in the field of entertainment, is a dumping ground.

As for Franco, I don’t care where he was personally. But he wasn’t doing promos and throwing chairs. At least, not that time.

Beware New Book by Whitney Houston’s “Bodyguard” Who Claims Inspiration for Kevin Costner Character (Exclusive)

Roger Friedman
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Beware New Book by Whitney Houston’s “Bodyguard” Who Claims Inspiration for Kevin Costner Character (Exclusive)

It must be a slow news week.

A British former cop named Dave Roberts is getting a lot of attention today for a book he’s about to self-publish called “Protecting Whitney.” He claims, among other things, that he was the inspiration for the Kevin Costner character Frank Farmer in the movie “The Bodyguard” which co-starred Houston.

It’s a bunch of malarkey. “The Bodyguard,” as is well documented, was written by “The Big Chill” and Indiana Jones writer Lawrence Kasdan in the 1970s for Diana Ross and the late Steve McQueen. Roberts, now 73, would have been in his early 20s, making this claim preposterous.

Roberts did eventually do some security for Houston, freelance and full time. But he was not her bodyguard during the making of that movie. That job fell to Peter Weireter, says Alan Jacobs, who was Whitney’s personal bodyguard in the later 1990s and early 2000s.

Jacobs tells me Roberts “is an odd fellow and is obviously still obsessed with Whitney. It is beyond my imagination to think how narcissistic he is to think that anybody cares about his personal infatuation with Whitney. Nobody knows who he is, no one cares, there’s nothing he can say that hasn’t been said by numerous other people.He just wants to do this for his ego. There’s nothing new here. He always had a huge ego. That was his main problem.”

Roberts thought he was so important to Whitney that at one point he wrote a letter to her father, John Houston, and others in management about her drug use. He was immediately fired, which he owns up to. He never saw Whitney again. That was roughly 20 years ago.

In one anecdote, Roberts says Houston wrote Post-It notes and slipped them under his door. Jacobs — whom I’ve known since 1999 at least — laughed. He asked me, “You knew Whitney. Would she do something like that?” The answer is a resounding ‘no.’

Jacobs, meantime, went on to do personal security for Penny Marshall, Rodney Jerkins, Jessica Alba, and for Meg Ryan on the film “In the Cut.”

Chicago Review Press is a self-publisher that obviously doesn’t do much research into their authors. They just accept manuscripts and publish them for a fee. It might have helped them to a little vetting in this case. I’m told Whitney’s still loyal employees — through her estate — are having a good laugh on this one.

As for the Daily Mail, and People, et al.: what do they care if it’s true? It sounds true and they need stories this week.

RIP Beloved “Alice” Actress and Broadway MVP Linda Lavin, 87, Tony Award Winner

Roger Friedman
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RIP Beloved “Alice” Actress and Broadway MVP Linda Lavin, 87, Tony Award Winner

Linda Lavin’s death was announced last night. She was 87 and apparently had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer.

What a shock. We saw her back in May at Lincoln Center’s fundraising gala and she couldn’t have looked better.

Lavin was famous for her 1970s TV sitcom, “Alice,” based on the Martin Scorsese movie, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.”

Her list of TV credits is endless, and she has been working on a new series, “No Good Deed” right now. She also just appeared in CBS’s “Elsbeth.”

A Most Valued Player on Broadway, Linda had a Tony award for Neil Simon’s “Broadway Bound,” and a Tony nomination for “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife” with Michele Lee and Tony Roberts. In 2012, Lavin was sensational in “The Lyons,” playing a totally self-possessed Chanel wearing woman who never stopped talking and complaining. She was brilliant.

All of Lavin’s credits are on Wikipedia, of course. But she was one of those great character actresses who you always looked forward to seeing in a show. She was married three times. Her first husband was the late, great Ron Leibman.

Condolences to her family and friends.

Grammy Awards 2025: A Beatles Reunion with Paul and Ringo Is Possible, They Have Two Major Nominations

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Awards 2025: A Beatles Reunion with Paul and Ringo Is Possible, They Have Two Major Nominations

The Grammy Awards are coming on February 2, 2025.

Among the surprise nominations are Record of the Year and Rock Performance for “Now and Then” by The Beatles. The record was made by Paul and Ringo from the remnants of a John Lennon song, with guitar by George Harrison added.

Would the surviving Beatles come and play the song? Paul’s been doing in his concerts with the video playing in the background. It would certainly be an historic moment. Not only that. but Sean Ono Lennon may be at the Grammys, too. He’s been nominated for the excellent new edition of John’s “Mind Games” album.

The Beatles have won 7 Grammys, and about 17 other nominations. Believe it not, Abbey Road got zilch. Hey Jude lost Best song and record. Simon & Garfunkel won each of those times. The White Album wasn’t even nominated for anything, neither was Let it Be.

Is this just a fantasy? The Grammys producer Ben Winston oversaw Paul McCartney’s award winning visit to Liverpool with James Corden. Winston can work magic.

The possibility of an appearance boggles the mind. Of course, the Grammys say they don’t tell the nominees in advance who won. It would a little awkward if all this came to fruition and “Now and Then” didn’t win anything. But the Best Rock Performance category is a likely win for the song. Best Song puts it up against some powerhouse pop princesses. But you never know. Now and then, good things happen!

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