I am trying to understand the latest release from the British Columbia coroner. This is from the office of Barb McLintock, a woman who hung up on me Tuesday when I tried to ask her a question about Cory Monteith’s heroin addiction. Today McLintok’s office thought it was important to say that there was “no Fentanyl” in Monteith’s autopsy. He just died of an overdose from regular heroin, as if that was better, I guess. The Vancouver sent out a notice yesterday that really strong heroin was suddenly making its way around town. But apparently Cory only had the regular kind. Still, no one’s said who was visiting Monteith in the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel the day he died, and who supplied him with the heroin. His mother decided to cremate his body rather quickly rather than have a funeral for friends. She also, according to TMZ, refused to let Cory’s dad see him. Now everyone will head to probate court, where the real action will take place.
“NCIS” Star Wanted Pay Parity With Other Actors, May Have Talked Herself off Show
And now to Cote de Pablo, the beautiful Chilean actress who’s played beautiful, mysterious Ziva on “NCIS” for eight of the show’s 10 years. Who isn’t a fan of Cote de Pablo? No one more than Mark Harmon, star and executive producer of the number 1 blockbuster CBS series. Harmon and Cote are very tight, I am told. He was encouraging her to sign a new contract after all the other deals on “NCIS” had been achieved. But Cote, sources say, wanted pay parity with scene partner and on air love interest Michael Weatherly.
And now Cote de Pablo is gone from “NCIS.”
“She was asking for $225,000, closer to what Michael is making per episode,” says a source. “And the show wouldn’t do it. It wasn’t going to happen. She was being offered about $200,000, which is pretty good, and was up from what she had been making.” Indeed, that would come to over $4 million a season. You can’t beat that with a stick.
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“Mark Harmon was urging her to take it,” says my source. “And she waited and waited, figuring they’d cave in.” But it didn’t happen. “NCIS” is a show with a big cast. Harmon gets the big money, Weatherly follows, then Cote de Pablo. Pauley Perrette and the rest of the cast follow including David McCallum, formerly but always Illya Kuryakin.
A rep for Cote de Pablo would only say, “So far this has been handled in a very business like way. Your numbers sound wrong to me.” As for Harmon and Cote falling out on this issue: “They remain best of friends.”
Well, it won”t be the same “NCIS” without Zima, that’s for sure. I am told that Weatherly, who started on the ABC soaps 20 years ago, is very popular at CBS. “Les Moonves loves him,” says a source. “And they’re thinking of new things for him.”
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Watch: Snoop Dogg Teaches Larry King to Rap (Video)
What can I say? Snoop Dogg aka Lion teaches Larry King to rap. And Snoop interviews him. Snoop Dogg has come the longest way I think of any rapper. Next year he’ll be ready to host the Miss America pageant. Larry also talks about Jackie Robinson for real, not the way he’s portrayed in “42.” Snoop and Larry talk about having waffles at Rosco’s.
Terrence Malick Produces Stepson’s Film with Incest Theme
Terrence Malick–his story just keeps getting weirder and weirder. His latest movie, “To the Wonder,” was completely unwatchable. It made slightly more than a half million dollars. Ben Affleck spoke not a word in it. Before that, Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain spoke not a word to each other in the alternately interesting and extremely confounding “Tree of Life,” which was the Emperor’s new Clothes. Sean Penn is still wondering what he was doing in that movie. So are we.
Now Malick has executive produced a film for his stepson, Will Wallace. Will is the son of Malick wife Alexandra “Ecky” Wallace. “Red Wing” is based on a novella by French literary giantess George Sand called “Francois le Champi.” The story is one of incest, which seems to be hammered home in the new clip for “Red Wing.” A young married mother takes in a homeless little boy. Her husband gets rid of him when he’s older because the mother-son relationship is too close. Later, the kid, now a hunk played by Glen Powell– billed as the last actor signed by Ed Limato– comes back and romances and marries the foster mother.
Wallace has moved this all to Malick’s Texas, where there are many beautiful shots of the flora and fauna, and knowing unspoken looks among the various players. Luke Perry plays the cuckolded husband who doesn’t like what he sees between his wife and the boy. Let’s hope this comes to Toronto. Last year “To the Wonder” played there, and it was a memorable screening.
RIPD, Red 2, Kristen Wiig Comedy Compete for Weekend’s Box Office Disappointment
Get ready because this weekend is going to be some weird blood bath at the box office. It’s Wednesday morning and things don’t look so good for Friday. First the good news: wherever I go, “The Conjuring” is mentioned as a surprise hit. Warner Bros.’ entry into the “Paranormal Activity” field cost $13 million to make, and maybe $25 million all-in. Vera Farmiga, one of our favorite actresses, is the star. “The Conjuring” also has a 90% on rottentomatoes.com among critics and bloggers. That should help.
On the downside, three movies that will vie for lower rungs: “RIPD,” “Red 2,” and “Girl Most Likely,” which was formerly known as “Imogene.” I liked “Imogene” when I saw it in Toronto. But since its name change and acquisition by Roadside Attractions, things have gone downhill. The RT score is only 18% this morning, and it’s been as low as 14%. Kristen Wiig may have squandered her currency from “Bridesmaids.”
Then there’s “RIPD” which so far has no critics score. Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges star. As amiable as Ryan Reynolds is, and as much of a tabloid magnet as he’s become, he seems destined for a hit TV show. He’s this generation’s Rob Lowe– good looking and funny, but unable to get much going at the movies.
And then there’s “Red 2,” which had a smallish premiere in New York last night. Let’s put it this way: star Helen Mirren made it to the red carpet for the screening but skipped the after party completely. Bruce Willis and Mary Louise Parker each showed up but played it very cool. “Red 2” has a lot of explosions. There’s some good natured joking around. Mirren, aka “The Queen,” returns as the Queen of of hit women, which is always amusing. Catherine Zeta Jones has a too short extended supporting role. John Malkovich is a welcome presence. But the movie feels like a middle chapter, like it’s marking time until the final chapter. And you know that’s coming. “Red 3” will wrap up all the stories. You can feel it now.
And then, slowly making its way into wider release, “Fruitvale Station” is out there winning over audiences. While we were watching “Red 2,” last night at the AMC Lincoln Square, “Fruitvale” was playing to a paid sold out house. Both movies ended around the same time. The “Fruitvale” audience was overwhelmed, and moved. They were the only ones who’d seen a great film last night anywhere in New York.
Cory Monteith Heroin Revelation Now Raises Questions About Death
Now that the coroner has revealed Cory Monteith’s cause of death– heroin overdose with alcohol–there will be a lot of questions. What kind of rehab was he in? Why was he in the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel for a week? What about all these people who saw him or who were with him in the days leading up to this event? If Monteith was shooting heroin, didn’t anyone see tracks on his arms? This isn’t to lay blame. But it’s a little perplexing that this went on and on without any red flags. The coroner won’t say anything more about the heroin, so the precise descriptions are hard to get. But this isn’t like an overdose from pills too much cocaine, drinking to excess. This is the hard stuff. Stay tuned…
Jay Z Reaches Holy Grail of 500K Debut, Number 1 with “Magna Carta”
Jay Z reached his own Holy Grail: his “Magna Carta” album sold 528,802 copies and debuts this week at number 1. That amount is ten times the copies of the number 2 album, singer Ciara’s self titled new collection. Indeed, for mid summer, this past week was pretty ho ho, sales wise. The number 50 album sold only 6,525 copies for example. And Kanye West’s “Yeezus” album, lacking a real hit single,” is still in the top 10. But the 28,000 copies it sold is what Kanye spends on hoodies. On the upside, Kanye’s been selling $120 t shirts to someone this week.
“Magna Carta” also sold 1 million copies at half price to Samsung, which gave them away to holders of their devices. No one knows how many of that million actually went to people. But since Samsung hasn’t made an announcement of any kind, it could be the numbers were lower than hoped for. A lot of people didn’t like giving all the info Samsung was requesting in exchange for the free download. Anyway, the million Samsung copies don’t count on the charts.
The album is already number 2 in real time on iTunes. It may not have “legs.” But the Justin Timberlake single “Holy Grail” is a hit. Maybe Justin will include a non-rap version on his album the way Alicia Keys did with “Empire State of Mind.” We can only hope.
PS “Magna Carta” broke a record at Spotify– 14 million streams. Biggest ever. One of them was mine. You’re welcome, Jay Z!
“Glee” Star Cory Monteith Autopsy Results: “Primarily Heroin,” Drug Toxicity and Alcohol
UPDATE: “Glee” star Cory Monteith died of a mixture of heroin, drug toxicity and alcohol according to the Vancouver coroner. Barb McLintock of the British Columbia coroner’s office says in this video “primarily heroin.” Wow. Some rehab. Heroin has to be a result much more severe than anyone expected. And I do wonder how he could have been in that condition for week and no one noticed.
Earlier I told had been told by the coroner’s office that the results of the autopsy would be inconclusive and I went with that. Well, blame it on Canada.
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Kinky Boots: First the Musical, Now the Actual Boots (Are You Surprised?)
“Kinky Boots” as a movie was so-so in the U.S. But now thanks to Cyndi Lauper and Harvey Fierstein, it’s a Tony Award winning musical. How long did you think it would take for someone to make the actual boots? Into the fray jumps publicity-loving marketing expert Kenneth Cole. He’s manufacturing a line of Kinky Boots for the fall. All proceeds will go the Kenneth Cole Foundation which is in turn supporting the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBT advocacy group. It’s all good! The boots are priced from $150-$400, but if a buyer presents a “Kinky Boots” ticket stub, they get 20% off.
Listen: Sting — First Song from Coming Broadway “The Last Ship”
The first single from Sting’s new album, “The Last Ship,” is released today officially on iTunes. “Practical Arrangement” has been on You Tube for about a week (who knew?). The song is also from the coming Broadway show of the same name. It’s a nice lead single release but don’t expect this to be Top 40. This is purely for the enjoyment of hearing a beautiful ballad that will fit like a jigsaw puzzle piece into the whole show. “The Last Ship” is Sting’s first new original work in several years. It’s going to surprise people, because as much as we might want a new rock album, he continues to expand and grow as a composer. Lovely song, and wait til you hear the rest.