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Simon Cowell X Factor Season Finale Beaten by Charlie Brown Xmas Re-run!

Roger Friedman
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Simon Cowell X Factor Season Finale Beaten by Charlie Brown Xmas Re-run!

Simon Cowell’s “X Factor” came to an ignominious end on Thursday night. The battered series not only finished third in its time slot, it drew fewer viewers than a rerun of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” first aired on CBS in 1965. It’s been on TV every year since then. Last night the ABC special pulled 6.41 million total viewers vs. “X Factor” with 6.22 million.

“Charlie Brown” was only from 8 to 9pm. “X Factor” was on from 8 to 10pm. Adding insult to injury, CBS’s “The Millers” aired from 8:30pm to 9pm on that network and scored 7.54 million pairs of eyes.

The only good news for “X Factor” is that in its final hour, people did tune in for the curiosity value. But Cowell’s assertion this week that “X Factor” would be back certainly doesn’t seem that certain. The show has drifted downward all this season. It’s fair to say that both “X Factor” and “American Idol” are ready for retirement. If “Idol” doesn’t do well this coming season, that should be it.

Musically, “Charlie Brown” was more of a success too. Between Vince Guaraldi’s famous instrumental theme and the song “Christmastime is Here,” the special is a musical classic.

 

Beyonce Physical CD: 14 Songs, 17 Videos, Not a Single Thank You or Acknowledgment

Roger Friedman
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1
Beyonce Physical CD: 14 Songs, 17 Videos, Not a Single Thank You or Acknowledgment

The surprise “Beyonce” album is a real physical CD. I received it this afternoon. It may not be in stores yet. But any minute now. Funny: wasn’t it last Friday that it was just a digital release? Seems to me the physical CD was already manufactured at that point. Sony couldn’t have produced and shipped it in three days!

Granted there isn’t much album art. “Beyonce” comes in a black matte box. The accompanying booklet has a bunch of artsy pictures, some “provocative” but nothing too shocking for Blue Ivy’s mom. The cover of the booklet is a black and white pic of Bey’s backside exposed, with a leather thong and some jewelry protecting it. Bey’s hands are on her hips.

There are no lyrics, however. And get this: no thanks to anyone, no shout outs, nada. Someone managed to produce 14 songs, 17 videos, and a bunch of photos. But Beyonce gets the only credit, as Executive Producer.

The song credits are in such small type that the writers and producers should be a little pissed off. The all caps white on black font is maybe 1 pt– far smaller than the phonebook. I can make out Pharrell and Justin Timberlake. This is someone’s way of saying, You guys don’t matter. Nice.

I tried using the flashlight on my Galaxy S3 but that didn’t help matters. A magnifying glass is my next option. But that won’t add the thanks that most artists annotate.

Also Beyonce’s name is on every song, whether she wrote it or not. But you know, since the mid 90s, it doesn’t matter who wrote the song. That ship has sailed. It’s all about who constructed it.

Hitsdaily double predicts another 200K this week of “Beyonce” downloads. Then a new wave of peeps who buy the physical CD on amazon and in stores. Except Target, because they’re mad.

Xmas Treat: Watch Exclusive Video of Darlene Love and Paul Shaffer’s Soaring “Please Come Home”

Roger Friedman
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Xmas Treat: Watch Exclusive Video of Darlene Love and Paul Shaffer’s Soaring “Please Come Home”

Tonight, Darlene Love performs “Christmas (Please Come Home)” with Paul Shaffer and the band on David Letterman. It’s the 20th year in a row that they’ve done it. So by the time Darlene finished the taping, she she was a little tapped out on that particular song when she arrived at the Rum Room at the Edison Hotel for some Christmas caroling in honor of the documentary “20 Feet from Stardom.”

How-ever: about a half hour after Darlene arrived and warbled with Lisa Fischer and Judith Hill, Shaffer himself came down to West 47th St. from the Ed Sullivan Theater. You can see the results right here: an impromptu version of the song with Shaffer on piano, Fischer and Hill backing him up, along with Glenn Close, Robert Wuhl, Richard Kind, Ilene Kristen, Paul Haggis, Rutanya Alda, and “20 Feet” director Morgan Neville. All you can say is “Wow!”

We were also treated to a spectacular “Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas” from Lisa Fischer with Robbie Kondor on piano, and a holiday number, on piano, from the amazing new talent Judith Hill. She’s just finishing her first album to be distributed by Sony/Red.

Not only that: the great Peter Cincotti, who came just as a guest, sat down at the piano and led the group in wild version of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

I was just two feet from all this stardom. Darlene Love, live, is the greatest Xmas treat. She performs tonight at BB King’s in New York for her own annual show, singing songs from Phil Spector’s famed “A Gift For You.” Spector, in jail for life after murdering Lana Clarkson, screwed Darlene and Ronnie Spector and just about all his artists. Their sweet revenge has been surviving, thriving, and continuing to make great music.

“20 Feet from Stardom” is eligible for the Academy Award. Don’t miss it! The DVD arrives January 14th.

PS It was great to see Ilene Kristen, who does not age. Besides being the funniest and freshest soap actress (Ryan’s Hope, One Life to Live), Ilene is a fantastic singer. She’s just finished recording a jazz album which should come out early next year!

 

UPDATE Katherine Jackson Removes FundAnything Appeal for Documentary

Roger Friedman
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0
UPDATE Katherine Jackson Removes FundAnything Appeal for Documentary

UPDATE FRIDAY 11PM: The fundanything.com page for “Remembering Michael” is kaput, gone, vanished from the company’s website completely. So much for this latest attempt to exploit Michael Jackson’s memory.

EARLIER FRIDAY The end may be near for Katherine Jackson’s FundAnything appeal. I told you first and exclusively that Mrs. Jackson (with silent partners Sonia Lowe and Howard Mann) had put up a crowdfunding drive to raise money for a documentary called “Remembering Michael.”

The appeal offered donors several different options from $10 up to $6,000. For different amounts, donors could receive in exchange a Michael Jackson baseball hat, or more elaborate memorabilia like photographs or online access to the doc.

Alas, it is all gone now. All the items have been removed. All that’s left is a chance to donate to the film. So far Mrs. Jackson has raised a paltry $4,275– and a lot of ire. Jackson fans, who are very astute at this point, regard the whole thing as a scam. They say so in the comments section of the FundAnything page.

What a crazy plan this was: Mrs. Jackson doesn’t own the rights to Michael’s image or his music. She tried an end run around the Estate–John Branca, John McClain, and Howard Weitzman. Why didn’t she have her attorney set up a meeting and ask the Estate to help her do this? These things always end in tears and recriminations. I don’t think it will be long before the appeal is removed altogether.

Katie Couric Talk Show Officially Cancelled at ABC-Disney

Roger Friedman
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Katie Couric Talk Show Officially Cancelled at ABC-Disney

Katie Couric’s talk show is over after two seasons on ABC. The official announcement comes on the heels of the news that Katie has also left ABC News for Yahoo! to do something. “Katie” was never a hit. Couric was never comfortable in the talk show format, much as Jane Pauley wasn’t eons ago.

Talk shows are no place for people with news backgrounds. Couric just couldn’t adjust to the daily routine of churning out nonsensical chit chat. She also wasn’t good with ‘regular’ people. While Oprah thrived on the audience, Couric seemed mystified by them. Her forte is interviews with top leaders and celebrities. And that is not the stuff of talk shows.

The “Katie” cancellation is ironically timed since ABC just released those great figures on “General Hospital.” Couric’s show was meant originally to replace the soap opera. It was part of a larger scheme that did cancel “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.” Now ABC has a vacant hour again. Meanwhile, Meredith Vieira, who succeeded Katie on the Today Show, will come in the fall with her own talk show on NBC.

Soap Operas Become a Soap Opera: “General Hospital” Overcomes Producer Plagued “Y&R”

Roger Friedman
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1
Soap Operas Become a Soap Opera: “General Hospital” Overcomes Producer Plagued “Y&R”

The backstage stuff at soap operas are more like a soap opera than a…soap opera. ABC’s nearly-cancelled “General Hospital” just whomped CBS’s long running hit “The Young and the Restless” for the second week in a row. “GH” finished first in the two key demos– women 18-49, and 25-54. This means that the only women watching “The Young and the Restless” are 55 and above. They’re either sleeping during the show or watching it as a background noise.

This was the biggest week for “GH” in seven years. What changed? They fired executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, perhaps the most loathed EP in soap history. Phelps is known for firing actors who cross her, killing off favorite characters, and doing just about anything to piss off what’s left of the audience. She did at “Another World,” Santa Barbara,” “Guiding Light”– all gone by the way– and “GH.”

For some unknown reason, CBS and Sony hired her to be EP of their number one show “Y&R.” This week she fired popular young actor (late 30s) Michael Muhney. This has caused a firestorm on the internet. Emmy winner Billy Miller is leaving, too. The show has basically been in chaos since Phelps arrived. It doesn’t look or feel the same. Now “GH” is gaining on it rapidly. The whole thing has turned into a soap opera. CBS and Sony had better act quickly, or the next murder mystery is going to be “Who Killed Y&R?” The culprit is usually Jill Farren Phelps.

Ben Stiller’s “Walter Mitty” So Bad that NYPost Reviewer Calls it a “Lifeless Flick”

Roger Friedman
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0
Ben Stiller’s “Walter Mitty” So Bad that NYPost Reviewer Calls it a “Lifeless Flick”

Talk about corporate synergy! The NYPost and 20th Century Fox are each owned by Rupert Murdoch. You’d think that an expensive Fox movie with a Christmas Day rollout might get a little love from the Post even if it’s not that great. Ben Stiller’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has a 42% on Rotten Tomatoes, so you know some people liked it a little bit. It’s not like it’s totally slammed.

But who really didn’t like it? The NY Post! Kyle Smith, who bashed “Philomena” for being anti-Catholic, has been on a tear all season. Now he’s gone after his own company’s Christmas jewel in the crown, “Walter Mitty.” In his 1 and a half star review titled “Walter Mitty is a Lifeless Flick,” Smith in unsparing in his disgust over Stiller’s take on the Danny Kaye classic.

He writes: “This meaningless excuse for special-effects spending is like watching a wheezing arthritic horse dragging a tractor-trailer full of big-budget digital equipment.”

Ouch!

Yes, there’s more: He says Stiller’s directing is “what looks like one of his last desperate reaches for artistic importance.”

Smith concludes: “That this movie got made at all demonstrates that Hollywood thinks that if it can design a project so as to yield half a dozen different digital sequences for the trailer, no one will much care about whether they add up to anything. Walter’s fantastic trip to faraway lands of adventure was superfluous, making his movie “The Wizard of Zzzzzz.”

Well, “Mitty” is a so-so effort. Stiller is not a great director. “The Cable Guy” remains a low point in movie history. But he is an excellent writer and I enjoy him as an actor. He was especially good in “Greenberg” and very funny in “Tropic Thunder.”

More to the point, Fox has not had a great year. They’ve just had 3 duds in a row with “Runner Runner,” “The Book Thief,” and “The Counselor.” Earlier this year, “The Internship” was an embarrassment. Their highest grossing film of the year was the animated “The Croods,” which you never saw. They also flopped in the US with “A Good Day to Die Hard,” although its awfulness wasn’t realized abroad where it made $237 million. (Thank god for China, Japan, and South Korea!)

As for the NYPost: you only hurt the ones you love. Families are never easy at Christmas time.

Grammy Awards Announce Country Superstar Segment, Plus Daft Punk, and Pink

Roger Friedman
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1
Grammy Awards Announce Country Superstar Segment, Plus Daft Punk, and Pink

The Grammy Awards are juicing up for their CBS broadcast on January 26, 2014. Producer Ken Ehrlich is putting together his usual performance segments that match and combine unlikely stars- and some that just never have been on TV together before.

Just announced: Kendrick Lamar will play with Imagine Dragons. Pink is going to sing with Nat Ruess for the first time–their hit is nominated even though it came out in 2012.

There’s also an all star country set up with Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and newish guy Blake Shelton. That should be amazing.

Also, Daft Punk will do “Get Lucky.” They’d better bring Nile Rodgers with them.

LL Cool J is hosting again.

Ehrlich really has to work magic this year since the Grammy voters– whoever they are– managed to snub Justin Timberlake out of the top 3– Album, Song or Record of the Year. Timberlake’s “20/20” albums should have been the centerpiece of the Grammys this year. I can’t imagine CBS is pleased, let alone JT.

Michael Jackson’s Mom in Hot Water Because of Former Partner Sued by Son’s Estate

Roger Friedman
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1
Michael Jackson’s Mom in Hot Water Because of Former Partner Sued by Son’s Estate

You cannot make this up. Remember Howard Mann? He was the guy who went into business with Michael Jackson’s mom, Katherine. He had the contents of the warehouse with a lot of Michael’s memorabilia. He bought it out of bankruptcy. Then he published a book with Mrs. Jackson and (no one really knows) 25,000 copies. The Michael Jackson estate sued him and won a defining settlement. The Estate got back all its copyrights. Mann was supposed to ante up $2.5 million. Everyone thought it was over.

But you know, with Michael Jackson’s family, it’s never really over.

The estate did not sue Mann’s girlfriend and/or business partner, Sonia Lowe, who was working with him on all those projects. Now it turns out — are you ready for this? — she’s behind the so-called documentary with Mrs. Jackson and Michael’s kids that’s being promoted on fundanything.com.

I mean, really.

Lowe was dumb enough to list her credit as producer of the doc on LinkedIn. She also answered fans’ queries on Twitter about her involvement. She admitted that the documentary was her project and tried to explain crowdfunding to angry Jackson fans.

sonia lowe1

And lurking in the background, inevitably, is Howard Mann. I’ve sent them each emails. Neither of them has responded.

If Mann is operating through Lowe to get the doc made, he could be in violation of the settlement agreements he signed with the Michael Jackson estate last year.

Meantime, the proposed doc– called “Remembering Michael”–has so far raised only $3,736 toward a $3.2 million goal on fundanything. Yikes.

The Estate has issued this statement:

The Estate of Michael Jackson has no involvement with the solicitation of funds for the completion of the purported documentary film being promoted on the FundAnything.com internet site. The Estate would never ask Michael’s fans to contribute their money to finance any speculative project.  


Furthermore, the site is offering merchandise bearing the Michael Jackson name, likeness and/or trademarks which are the intellectual property of the Estate of Michael Jackson and which may be legally exploited only by the Estate and by its authorized licensees.


The Estate will continue to release only the highest quality finished, professional projects showcasing the genius and humanity of Michael such as the This Is It film and the two very successful shows with Cirque du Soleil (Immortal and ONE).

(Exclusive) Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio Make White House Visit Today, Bring President Obama a DVD

Roger Friedman
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13
(Exclusive) Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio Make White House Visit Today, Bring President Obama a DVD

Director Martin Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio flew to Washington this afternoon for an important date. Sources say they were guests of President Obama at the White House. Indeed, they brought him a DVD screener of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” The pair was supposed to attend a lunch today at the Four Seasons in New York for the movie, with guests including other actors, directors and some press. DiCaprio came and spent exactly 9 minutes making perfunctory greetings before going to join Scorsese for the plane ride to Washington.

A rep for Scorsese declined comment.

Meantime, a lot of “Wolf” cast was on hand to smooth things over including Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Margot Robbie, as well as famed producer Irwin Winkler, superstar film editor Thelma Schoonmaker.

Scorsese and DiCaprio missed noshing with another superstar, Sigourney Weaver, who brought her just-graduated from college daughter, Charlotte, with director Jim Simpson. Other guests included Joel Grey, producer Wendy Finerman, Eleanor Bergstein (Dirty Dancing), Bob Dishy, Rutanya Alda.

A popular table included “August: Osage County” producer Jean Doumanian  and Danny Strong, who wrote the amazing original screenplay for Lee Daniels’ “The Butler.”

read today’s other Showbiz411 breaking stories click here

The Obamas had better push Sasha and Malia to bed, and lock the door to the screening room. “Wolf of Wall Street” is a hard R rated comedy that features explicit sex scenes, lots of cursing, orgies, naked women, Jonah Hill’s prosthetic penis, and a naked Leo DiCaprio with a lit red candle inserted into his rear end. The dominatrix involved then drips hot wax on Di Caprio’s backside.

There’s also a lot of drugs. I mean, more drugs than anyone’s ever seen in a movie.

“Wolf of Wall Street” is also one of the best movies of 2013. It’s wildly funny and absurd, and not to be taken seriously. It’s also not really about Wall Street, but about the bottom feeders who try to break into the business of finance by committing illegal acts. No one in that movie went to the Wharton School of Business or Harvard, Princeton, or Yale. And none of them work at the respected, venerable Wall Street firms.

 

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