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4PM UPDATE Trump Media closes the day at $12.74 after hitting an all time low of $11.75. What caused it to rebound by a dollar? Monkey business. It’s still at its low point. What is really going on? Did Donald start selling shares? To be continued…
Stay tuned…
If you invested in this stock, please do not jump out a window. Just vote for Kamala Harris.
Seriously, Trump Media may be on the pink sheets soon. It’s worthless. Down 83% in six months.
But Trump thinks it’s a great stock. He vowed not to sell his shares. We’ll keep an eye on that this morning!
PS UPDATE Just after I wrote this, the stock rose out of nowhere to $12.80. Very mysterious. At 10:58am it’s at $12.40. Let’s see what tricks come as the day proceeds…
A lot of people saw Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” last night. A lot of people didn’t like it.
We knew that was going to happen.
“Megalopolis” was shown in a bunch of IMAX theaters along with a live streamed Q&A with Coppola, Robert De Niro, Spike Lee, and some of the cast before — not after– the movie. That was a clever move so no one could react to actually seeing the extravaganza.
Star Adam Driver was absent because he’s beginning performances tonight in his off Broadway play.
De Niro declared during the Q&A “Just imagine Donald Trump directing this film. It’ll never go anywhere, He cannot do anything. He cannot hold anything together … He wants to destroy the country. And he could not do this movie. He could not do anything that has a structure.”
Coppola added, “I know him. We went to military school together.” It seemed odd, but it’s true. The difference was that Coppola ran away from the New York Military School, while Trump’s father made him stay.
Coppola has spent 40 years getting this film together. He’s put more than $100 million of his own money into it. This is a passion project by a visionary director. But the audience received it as a mess. To be fair, a few people liked it for its audacity, and a couple of them complimented the cinematography.
And yes, an actor came on stage and spoke to the screen during the film. But this will not happen when the movie begins showings tomorrow night.
Megalopolis Q&A was painful lmao. Spike Lee said something like “do they eat cats and dogs in Rome?” laughing crazy at his own joke and Francis Ford Coppola was like “funny you mention that cause I do have a Haitian subplot in my film and they’re all beautiful people”
Megalopolis is a fascinating, ambitious, unfiltered, unintentionally hilarious, incoherent jumble of disorganized ideas from the greatest filmmaker of the 70s half a century past his prime with nobody to rein him in. I encourage everyone to experience it and I'm sorry in advance.
MEGALOPOLIS – man that was one crazy movie!! Preceded by the most awkward livestream Q&A I’ve ever seen. Shia LaBeouf (in a dress) stole the show. Aubrey Plaza doing terrible acting. Lots of UNOBTAINIUM. Hard to even describe this. Felt like STRANGE DAYS meets THE PHANTOM MENACE.
Eric Clapton is releasing a sort of new album. It’s called “Meanwhile.”
The album features a first single that sounds a lot like his 1974 cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff.” It’s called “One Woman,” which is like a combo of Marley’s “One Love” and “No Woman, No Cry.”
Maybe it’s a tribute to the late reggae superstar.
The album includes Clapton’s anti-vax song, “Stand and Deliver,” which he did with the off his rocker Van Morrison during pandemic. The song equates the COVID lockdown with slavery. Eric is still hawking the whole anti-vax deal, even thought it saved millions of lives including his own.
Considering Clapton has long been accused of racism, maybe these lyrics weren’t the brightest idea: Do you wanna be a free man Or do you wanna be a slave? Do you wanna be a free man Or do you wanna be a slave? Do you wanna wear these chains Until you’re lying in the grave?
Donald Trump’s Truth Social is dying. It’s almost dead.
The stock price for Trump Media is just $12.15. It’s dropped more than 80% since last winter. There’s nothing left of it.
By all accounts, investors who put in $10,000 back then would have just $2,000 now.
I know people who are shorting the stock for fun to make money. Why not?
Meantime, Donald has tripled down on the diatribe he posts. It’s all complaints about Kamala Harris not liking Catholics, that she can’t prove she worked at McDoald’s 40 years ago, and so on. He’s also issued a meandering screed on everything that’s bothering him. None of it is true.
As for the stock, who would want Trump to run a country like this? An 80% drop in value in six months? Swing states, pay attention, please.
The biggest excitement of the “Megalopolis” release was having a live actor on stage asking Adam Driver — on screen — a question.
Alas, when Francis Ford Coppola’s extravaganza rolls out on Thursday, there will be no actor. The question asked is now edited into the movie.
Maybe an actor will be on stage tonight at the IMAX theater in New York, when “Megalopolis” unspools for New York press and others. Robert De Nirp will be on stage to ask Coppola questions after the show.
The Q&A will be live streamed to a few IMAX theaters in the New York area. I will probably wait til Thursday night to see this controversial and much maligned operatic achievement. Rotten Tomatoes right now has it at just 51%. But maybe that number will rise.
Coppola can do anything he wants. He’s made some of the best movies of all time. He’s put his heart, soul, and bank account into “Megalopolis.” It will be argued about for years to come.
Trump Media stock has dropped to just $12.63. There are many who think that below $12, the stock will be worthless to Trump. That’s how good a money manager he is, right? You want him to run the country!
Meanwhile, Melania is selling trinkets on her website. First was Christmas tree ornaments for $75. Now it’s cheap jewelry marked up to $100.
But you know, someone has to bring home the bacon!
The pop star sister of Michael Jackson and the rest of them gave an interview to The Guardian in England. She actually repeated Donald Trump’s lies about Kamala Harris not being black. She said she heard Harris’s father was white — which he’s not.
Mayhem has ensued. A person named Mo Elmasri, who’s listed as Janet’s agent on the IMDB, was smart. He immediately emailed Variety an apology on behalf of Janet, claiming that she respects Harris enormously.
Elmasri wrote: “Janet Jackson would like to clarify her recent comments. She recognizes that her statements regarding Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity were based on misinformation. Janet respects Harris’ dual heritage as both Black and Indian and apologizes for any confusion caused. She values the diversity Harris represents and understands the importance of celebrating that in today’s society. Janet remains committed to promoting unity and understanding.”
But now things get interesting. Variety heard Janet’s brother, Randy, who claimed the apology was false, and rescinded it. Randy has acted as Janet’s pro-forma manager ever since Michael died and he couldn’t turn his life into a disaster anymore. Randy has the distinction of being the only Jackson brother not in the Jackson 5. He’s always acted on the periphery, without a purpose.
Elmasri wrote to Variety, after they asked: “I no longer work for her. I was fired by Janet and Randy, after attempts to improve her image in front of public opinion and her fans, and this is something I do not deserve.”
Probably not. Elmari did the right thing to get Janet out of this mess quickly. Knowing Randy — I’ve been covering the Jacksons for decades — he didn’t like that. So he fired Mo — who’s listed on the IMDB as a client of CAA — and took back the apology.
What can Janet do now? Not apologize for saying something stupid? Undo the non-apology from Randy? And be left with what? People thinking she’s MAGA?
Are the Jacksons political? Well, Michael did perform in 2002 at the Apollo Theater for the Democratic National Committee fundraiser. Diana Ross was also on the bill. I was there. So was Bill Clinton, who hosted the show. (The great publicist Norah Lawlor oversaw the night, and Michael.) This was after the 2001 30th anniversary concerts. It was before the Arvizos came into his life, wrecked it with lies, and Randy took over Michael’s life for a time.
So Michael would not approve of Trump, despite knowing him in the 80s when Trump photo bombed lots of celebrities, and took them on his helicopter. Michael never turned down a free ride, or hotel rooms.
R&B and pop star Usher’s 11.5 million fans on Twitter are getting a rude awakening this morning.
It’s gone.
The account is still there but all the posts have been wiped clean.
His Instagram is still in place but with pictures from his current tour, sold out through the fall.
But Usher’s move today feels like it’s connected to the arrest and scandal surrounding Sean P Diddy Combs. Diddy is locked up in a dirty Brooklyn jail cell after accusations of sexual malfeasance that makee the hair stand up.
Usher was a child star groomed and launched by Diddy in the 90s. Diddy was actually his legal guardian. There is a lot of gossip and speculation on the web now about their relationship, and what Usher may have seen or experienced over the years.
There’s also a lot of talk about Justin Bieber, who was then mentored as a child by Usher. Bieber at 15 spent a lot of time with Diddy, all recorded on video, by themselves. In recent years, Bieber has had a number of mental health issues. He’s dropped out of a couple of tours, and stopped recording.
Of course, one person who might shed some light on all of this is Scooter Braun, who managed Bieber and promoted all these relationships. This year Braun dropped out of managing artists entirely so he could be part of KPop’s Hybe company. But Braun is where all roads lead back to.
Meantime, Usher’s feed is gone, with all his comments and all of his fans.
This clip of P Diddy (40) and Justin Bieber (15) has been going viral along with the clip of Diddy asking a 17 yr old Justin Beiber why he doesn't wanna hang out with him anymore…
It’s super creepy seeing all these videos of Diddy coming to light, but what's really concerning… pic.twitter.com/3yRcsW8vm2
It obviously incensed Donald that Oprah Winfrey put on a big town hall for Kamala Harris. Oprah has thrown all her support behind Harris, and that has a huge impact on the election.
Trump says he and his family were guests on the Oprah show before it went off the air. He thinks she invited him because he was important. No, she knew what a carnival he was barking. The Trumps were and will always be a side show.