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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 Variety heard Janet’s brother, Randy, who claimed the apology was false, and rescinded it.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.
One of them is called Vote Liberty. It equates American patriotism with some version of Christmas.
They are the coldest, oddest ornaments anyone’e ever seen.
What’s really weird is that Melania is on tape saying she hates Christmas. Her former aide, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, recorded Melania in 2020 saying, “Give me a f****** break. I’m working like a—my a** off at Christmas stuff that, you know, who gives a f*** about Christmas stuff and decorations?”
Melania’s Christmas decorations at the White House were also strange and forbidding. Remember when she put up red Christmas trees?
The irony: MAGA’s big thing is that under the Democrats you can’t say “Merry Christmas.” It’s a lie, but now under Trump, Christmas has been removed from the equation entirely.
On Truth Social — which sees its stock price heading to the toilet — he went after MSNBC host STephanie Ruhle after she laughed at him on the Bill Maher show.
Trump called Ruhle “a bimbo” after she laughed at him on Maher’s show. We know how much he doesn’t like laughing, and this did him in.
Trump also went on a wild diatribe about women’s rights and abortion. The convicted rapist says women are less happy and safe than they were four years ago under his paws.
On abortion, Trump continues to insist that without him outlawing Roe v. Wade there would be seventh, eighth, and nine month abortions. There would also be the “Execution of a baby after birth!”
All of this is written in capital letters and NONE OF IT IS TRUE! NOT A WORD OF IT!
Truth Social is the lowest level of Hell. It’s also contributed to by the deeply stupid. One poster is very upset that Oprah Winfrey hasn’t contributed money to “MUAI” which I thinks means “Maui.” The post doesn’t actually make sense, anyway, but it’s typical of the illiterate types who live on the failing platform,
Oprah Winfrey is great at interviewing other people. But she doesn’t want us to know much about herself.
Oprah has just cancelled an Apple TV Plus documentary from award winner Kevin Macdonald. She reportedly gave Apple the money they paid her (enough to buy a warehouse of Macs). Macdonald’s work will never be seen now.
This isn’t the first time Oprah has cancelled projects she commissioned or approved about herself.
In 1993, she pulled back an autobiography that was ready to be published. That caused quite a stir because, in publishing no one does that. Oprah had been paid a stunning $3 million advance. But she gave it back just three months before pub date.
In 2015 I wrote that she had a book she planned for 2017 called “The Life You Want.” Again, the book never materialized.
Macdonald is a respected filmmaker, so the film would have been of merit. But according to sources, Oprah didn’t like the finished product, and she had editorial control.
Martha Stewart feels the same way about her doc, from RJ Cutler, which just showed at the Telluride Film Festival and will be in the Hamptons Film Festival. But ultimately Martha knew most of her life is already in the public domain. The film will come and go.
As for Oprah, we know a lot about her childhood, family life, and years in broadcasting before her show took off in 1986. We know a lot about weight loss. But her personal life with Steadman Graham and Gayle King is less transparent. She’s obviously not ready for public consumption of those details.
I’m curious about Oprah’s observations about her impact on American political life. Her involvement with promoting the Obamas would be fascinating. She’s also had wealthy Republican friends. It’s unknown if Macdonald was able to get into any of that.
During her time at the White House, Melania Trump dug up and destroyed Jackie Kennedy’s Rose Garden.
For years there have been petitions to restore it. But the Biden Administration hasn’t had a chance to do it yet. The renovation will be up to Kamala Harris when she’s elected.
Now in her book, called “Melania,” the AWOL ex First Lady will explain how she made such a mess of things. Should be interesting! She never promised s a rose garden, after all!
The book is coming October 8th, and I can’t wait. Can you? It’s designed as a distraction from Donald Trump’s campaign, just like everything else, to keep voters away from the terror of a Trump presidency. Instead of discussing Project 2025, Trump will misdirect voters to the rose garden and other nonsense.
