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Melania Trump 1st Week Book Sales Fraction of Michelle Obama’s: 85K vs. 1.4 Mil

Roger Friedman
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Melania Trump 1st Week Book Sales Fraction of Michelle Obama’s: 85K vs. 1.4 Mil

When Michelle Obama published her first book after being First Lady, the sales were enormous: 1.4 million in the first week.

Now the numbers are in for Melania Trump’s “Melania,” and they are a small fraction: just 85,000. Numbers are from Circana Book Scan.

“Melania” has since been knocked off its perch at number 1 by Bob Woodward’s “War” and the posthumous memoir by Lisa Marie Presley.

“Melania” is a dud on Amazon’s Kindle ebooks at number 161. Amazon lists a large print paperback at 6,856.

There is no audio version of “Melania,” unlike most bestsellers. Her Slovenian accent might be the reason. Finding someone to read the book wouldn’t be easy unless Dennis Quaid could do a proper imitation.

“Melania” is largely a book of fiction that addresses almost nothing substantial about the former First Lady’s life before, during, or after her time in the White House.

Jennifer Hudson’s Outstanding Christmas Album Shows Off Her Extraordinary Voice for 1st Time in 10 Years

Tragic Story of Liam Payne: Couldn’t Find a Musical Identity, Dropped by Capitol Records

Jennifer Hudson’s Outstanding Christmas Album Shows Off Her Extraordinary Voice for 1st Time in 10 Years

Roger Friedman
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0
Jennifer Hudson’s Outstanding Christmas Album Shows Off Her Extraordinary Voice for 1st Time in 10 Years

Believe it or not, Jennifer Hudson hasn’t released a new album in a decade.

It’s shocking because for me she has the single richest voice in popular music, a throwback to when singers modulated and expressed personality in their readings. The voice is a wonder. But she’s been busy making movies, and starring in her daily talk show. There isn’t time for everything!

“The Gift of Love” is a quasi Christmas album executive produced by Ryan Tedder with lots of superstar guest producers including Greg Phillinganes and David Foster.

I’m not a particular fan of Christmas songs, but the takes on each one here are stunningly personal and unique. The non Christmas songs standout as much as the holiday numbers. Hudson has been singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” for a few years now, making it a signature number. A new song called “Find the Love” finds its delightful groove in its simplicity and show off Hudson’s remarkable range.

Among the holiday numbers, Hudson opens up with creative arrangements that make the standards hers. “Santa for Someone” shows her gorgeous R&B talents with jazz overlays. “Carol of the Bells” with South African quintet The Joy, is a vocal gem. Hudson’s take on Nat King Cole’s “Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting)” is superb and for the ages. I can’t imagine not hearing it everywhere from this season on.

There’s still so much for Hudson to record. It’s time her for to do more albums, and concentrate on arrangements like these. She has a reservoir of talent that still hasn’t been mined.

Ringo Starr, 84, Releases First Single from T-Bone Burnett Produced Country Album

Roger Friedman
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Ringo Starr, 84, Releases First Single from T-Bone Burnett Produced Country Album

Ringo Starr is eternally youthful. It’s amazing. He’s been releasing EPs with four songs each for the last four years, and touring with his All Starr Band like crazy.

Now Ringo announces he’s made a country album with superstar produced T Bone Burnett. It’s called “Look Up,” and will hit the world on January 10th, 2025.

Ringo has always been a country music fan. Think of him singing “Honey Don’t” with the Beatles. It’s in his wheelhouse.

The first single is called “Time on My Hands,” and it’s terrific. Can’t wait to hear more!

Box Office: “Joker 2” Loses 1,245 Screens, “Megalopolis” Finishes Theatrical Run in 75 Locations

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Joker 2” Loses 1,245 Screens, “Megalopolis” Finishes Theatrical Run in 75 Locations

The end is near for two of the fall’s biggest flops.

Last night, “Joker Folie a Deux” made just $410,000 total on over 4,000 screens. With just $54 million total, today the Todd Phillips sequel loses 1,245 of those locations. It’s still playing at 2,857 screens, but they will be empty houses by and large.

“J2” has only run in theaters for two weeks. So the misery will go on for two more weeks. Then “Folie a Deux” heads to streaming.

Meanwhile, “Megalopolis” has been cut down to just 75 theaters for its final week. Where it goes next is anyone’s guess. The Francis Ford Coppola labor of love has yet to hit $7.5 million in the US.

On life support: “Saturday Night,” the SNL movie, and “The Apprentice.” The latter is likely losing a lot of screens today, sadly.

Melania Trump Book #1 on NYTimes, But Bob Woodward’s War and Elvis Presley Outsold it Elsewhere

Roger Friedman
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Melania Trump Book #1 on NYTimes, But Bob Woodward’s War and Elvis Presley Outsold it Elsewhere

Donald Trump boasted tonight at the Al Smith dinner that Melania Trump’s book, “Melania,” is number 1 on the NY Times best seller list.

But that will be for one week only.

“Melania” has not made it to number 1 on USA Today, Amazon, or at Barnes & Noble. It’s been outsold by Bob Woodward’s “War” and by Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley’s posthumous memoir.

At Barnes and Noble, “Melania” is number 40.

The Times list is ten days old when it appears. Initial sales and back orders propelled “Melania” to number 1. But the momentum wasn’t there.

Strangely, tonight Melania herself appeared at the Al Smith dinner in New York. Maybe it was in exchange for Trump mentioning the book from the stage. She has rarely appeared to back her husband at any campaign event.

But Melania is Catholic, which is the theme of the Smith dinner. Trump is not and has no actual religious affiliation. So he needed his third wife to be present.

At the dinner, Trump spoke from a Teleprompter after being told that no one would use it, the remarks are meant to be spontaneous. He praised currently indicted Mayor Eric Adams lavishly. But he called former Mayor Bill De Blasio “a shit mayor” in his usual graceless way. For the whole speech there was stone silence from the guests on the dais.

Tragic Story of Liam Payne: Couldn’t Find a Musical Identity, Dropped by Capitol Records

Roger Friedman
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Tragic Story of Liam Payne: Couldn’t Find a Musical Identity, Dropped by Capitol Records

Liam Payne’s death yesterday — whether an accident or on purpose — is a horrible tragedy.

Just 31, Payne — formerly part of the giant pop group One Direction — had a hard time since hi massively popular boy band broke up.

Payne watched as Harry Styles, the star of the group, went on to even bigger success as a solo act.

His bandmate, Niall Horan, learned to deal with that. He’s had lowered expectations but has sold records, concert tickets, and appeared as a judge on The Voice.

Payne’s one album release, “LP 1,” has sold just 1.1 million copies over five years, mostly from s streaming. Actual physical sales were just 32,000. In its first week in 2019, “LP1,” sold just 9,500 copies. The songs were hammered out by committees of writers and producers.

Like Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, the two other members of One Direction, Payne could not find a musical identity apart from the group. That was obviously frustrating.

Payne signed with Capitol Records, part of the Universal Music Group. But his picture no longer appears on the Capitol website. Horan’s picture, however, is there still as he’s continued to release records.

The Triumph of Jane Fonda: 2 Time Oscar Winner to Receive SAG Lifetime Achievement Award

Roger Friedman
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The Triumph of Jane Fonda: 2 Time Oscar Winner to Receive SAG Lifetime Achievement Award

It’s about time.

Two time Oscar winner Jane Fonda, 86, will get the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award next February.

Fonda is not only an acting legend, but she’s a lifetime political activist and philanthropist. Her work on Climate Change through her Fire Drill Fridays has brought more attention to the environment than any one personality.

Fonda’s Oscars were for “Klute” and “Coming Home,” although she’s had many other nominations. Her resume also includes an Emmy Award for “The Dollmaker” and nominations for “Grace and Frankie,” Netflix’s longest running series.

She also has two Tony Award nominations and seven Golden Globe awards.

The SAG Award is a real vindication for Fonda who suffered undue criticism for her political activism for decades. But Fonda was a visionary with incredible courage who has always stood up for her beliefs and what is right. She deserves not just the SAG Award, but a Kennedy Center induction as well.

Bravo to one of Hollywood’s few actual heroes!

CBS Executive Fired in 2021 for Alleged Racist, Sexist Conduct Files Motion to Confirm $7 Million Breach of Contract Award

Roger Friedman
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CBS Executive Fired in 2021 for Alleged Racist, Sexist Conduct Files Motion to Confirm $7 Million Breach of Contract Award

In 2021, Peter Dunn, the president of CBS television stations, and David Friend, the senior vice president of news for TV stations, were fired by the network for making racist and sexist comments to and about Black and female employees.

Now Dunn has filed a motion in a New York court confirming that an Abritrator has awarded him $7 million from a lawsuit he filed against th network in 2022.

According to an LA Times report in 2021, Dunn was accused of frequently denigrating a Black news anchor at KYW, the CBS station in Philadelphia, calling him “just a jive guy” and that at least four current and former female CBS executives said they had been bullied by Mr. Dunn between 2017 and 2019.

But the motion Dunn filed this week says an Arbitrator found CBS guilty of breach of contract.

Friend was cleared of all accusations in 2022.

According to the motion, the Arbitrator wrote: CBS breached Section 7 of the Employment Agreement as a matter of New York law on October 1, 2021, when it purported to “convert” Mr. Dunn’s prior termination to “for Cause”, and thereafter ceased all severance payments and
disclaimed all accrued obligations to Mr. Dunn. While the Arbitrator
specifically determined in the February 26, 2024 Decision and Order
that CBS’s purported conversion on October 1, 2021, was
“ineffectual”, the inescapable upshot of that determination was that
CBS breached the Employment Agreement. The Arbitrator so
concludes, and so clarifies the February 26, 2024 Decision and Order.”

 

Exclusive: Barbra Streisand Enlists Bob Dylan for Historic Collaboration on New “Duets” Album

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Barbra Streisand Enlists Bob Dylan for Historic Collaboration on New “Duets” Album

Last May I told you about Barbra Streisand’s upcoming Duets album, set maybe for this winter.

Streisand has been getting huge stars to record with her, hoping for another number 1 album. Paul McCartney and Sting were among those confirmed.

It would give her the record for number 1 albums in seven decades.

Now I’m hearing that Streisand has recorded with the most unlikely of duet partners: Bob Dylan.

The Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning Dylan doesn’t have a lot of duets on his resume. Most of them are derived from spontaneous live performances. His collaborators in the past included Johnny Cash, George Harrison, and Eric Clapton, among the few.

Streisand and Dylan together are a historic meeting. They’re the two longest running artists on Columbia Records going back to the early 60s. (Dylan had a one off with David Geffen’s Asylum Records but then returned immediately. Streisand has never left.) It’s amazing they’ve never crossed paths in the past.

What are they singing? Maybe a Frank Sinatra song. Dylan has a penchant for Sinatra so thought would make sense. But you could also imagine Bob and Barbra singing one of Dylan’s songs like “Forever Young” or “Make You Feel My Love.”

The new Duets album is said to be coming in January or February. There’s also a multipart documentary coming, produced by Frank Marshall, which we might see this winter as well.

Al Pacino Reveals in New Book That Teleprompters Are “Greatest Thing I Have Found Late in My Acting Life”

Roger Friedman
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Al Pacino Reveals in New Book That Teleprompters Are “Greatest Thing I Have Found Late in My Acting Life”

Al Pacino’s “Sonny Boy” memoir is the most refreshing celebrity autobiography I’ve read since Keith Richards’ “Life.”

Pacino just lets loose on everything like lots of girlfriends and romances, his personal finances (always a mess), and his whole approach to acting.

The Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award winner recounts one of his Broadway failures — acting in David Mamet’s undercooked “China Doll.” Pacino was lost, the play wasn’t really written, and he was going out on stage every night not knowing what would happen.

And then Pacino, one of my personal favorite actors of all time, delivers a startling candid revelation.

He writes:

“So I’m going to tell you a secret. This is the greatest thing that I have found late in my acting life. Teleprompters. You have teleprompters carefully placed on the stage, providing you with the text. Now it takes a while, but if you know the character and you’ve worked through it and you understand what’s inside you coming out, you start to really free up and get this sucker. In the old days, they had a guy under the stage who would shout out lines to the actor if they somehow missed a line—they were actually called prompters. It was an old-fashioned device, even in Shakespeare’s time. I’m sure even then they would get new line changes the night before. Can’t you see it? Some guy onstage up there, saying, “To be, or—” and just stalling till he hears from near the floorboards: “Not to be.” Maybe that’s how that pause got built in.”

He continues:

“So here I am in China Doll, and I had them strategically pop teleprompters all over that stage. Now I realized why Marlon had oak tags with his lines put up all around the sets of his films. This was the first time since The Indian Wants the Bronx when I really didn’t know what I was going to say each night—I would just go out there and see what came to me. Hallelujah, hallelujah, I finally got back there. And I was practically being thrown out to be eaten alive by the press. But I knew I was going somewhere with this part, and after the sixth week and the seventh week and the eighth week, I turned that corner.”

Bravo to Al, who I hope got paid a lot of money from his publisher. “Sonny Boy” is really a page turner!

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