Monday, September 28, 2026
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George Michael: The Faith Tour Concert Film Shows the Famed Late Singer At the Height of His Powers, A Great Talent’s Life Cut Short

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George Michael’s “Faith Tour” is an exciting concert film that shows what a tragedy the singer’s death was in 2016.

The movie is assembled from rediscovered, previously unseen and unheard 35mm footage of his 1988 performance at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, this new concert film captures George at the height of his creative power during the record-breaking Faith Tour.

There’s also a soundtrack, and advance orders begin this week. The movie hits theaters on December 11th — just two weeks shy of the tenth anniversary of his death.

Epstein Collaborators Named in Congress Tonight by Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Including Frederic Fekkai, David Copperfield, Les Wexner

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Some of the names of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients and collaborators have been revealed tonight.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky read them into the Congressional record.

It only took a minute. Massie named among them hair stylist Frederic Fekkai and financier Glenn Dubin, whose wife, Eva, worked for Epstein, had been his girlfriend, and had her medical school education paid for by him. In the released Epstein files, her name and participation are major.

Also, Lapo Elkann, once featured in Vanity Fair, heir to the Fiat car fortune through his mother, Maria Agnelli. (I knew Lapo’s father, Alan, a long time ago when I was his book publicist.)

Also: magician David Copperfield, who had to retire from Las Vegas because of scandal, and Leslie Wexner of The Limited fame.

Massie rattled them off. Of course he did not mention Epstein’s best friend, Donald J. Trump.

He says:
“Jes Staley.”

“Leon Black.”

“Les Wexner.”

“David Copperfield.”

“Lapo Elkann.”

“Tom Pritzker.”

“Glenn Dubin.”

“Frédéric Fekkai.”

“Edoardo Teodorani.”

“Jean-Luc Brunel, conveniently dead by suicide in prison.”

“Daniel Siad, recently discovered dead in Paris.”

“Ramsey Elkholy.”

“And Prince Andrew, who committed sex crimes in the United States too.”

“And women like Lesley Groff, not a victim, who conspired with Epstein to traffic other women.”

“We’ve introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act II to bring the fight to the state courts, accountability to the Department of Justice, and closure for survivors.”

“We want perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted.”

Internet Rumor Squelched: Barbra Streisand Admired Dolly Parton But She Didn’t Donate $3 Million to Country Star’s Imagination Library

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Barbra Streisand.

All over this internet there are stories repeated about her donating $3 million to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Who thought this up is a mystery.

Streisand was a fan of Dolly’s but no such thing has happened.

I queried Barbra’s long time rep, who replied “Not true.”

That doesn’t mean anything negative about Dolly’s wonderful project, which I’m sure would donations from anyone. Also, nothing bad about Barbra, who is very philanthropic.

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Real Life “Jaws” on Martha’s Vineyard Where Movie Was Shot: Woman Reportedly Pulled from Shallow Water with Possible Shark Bites

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Real life “Jaws”?

On Martha’s Vineyard’s South Beach, a woman was pulled out of the water with shark bites on her legs.

The Beach has been closed down since early this afternoon.

The Vineyard is where Steven Spielberg shot “Jaws” in 1974. Things didn’t end well for “Bruce,” the shark from the movie. But I guess younger sharks haven’t seen the movie. You’d think someone would have told them.

Hope this woman is okay. Great way to start Labor Day week!

Zachary Levi-Liam Neeson Coming B Movie “The Fix” Sets a Record All Time High for Number of Producing Credits: 46! List Longer than the Film

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Liam Neeson used to be a fine actor.

Then he started making crappy straight to video films. Usually they’re about rescuing someone from a ridiculous situation.

His new one is called “The Fix,” and things are so bad that he’s second on the call sheet to right wing nutcase Zachary Levi.

The movie will have a distinction by setting a record for the number of producer credits. Drum roll…FORTY SIX! The credits will be longer than the actual movie!

The only other recognizable name in this thing is Titus Welliver. The director is someone named Guy Moshe. Neeson is a long way from “Schindler’s List” by now. Levi, well, what can you say?

There have been many movies called “The Fix,” which should tell us something about the originality factor. Distributor is an outfit called Inaugural Entertainment. Release date is September 11th, the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

Howard Stern Will Stream His Weekly Monday Sirius XM Radio Show on HBO Max on Thursdays After Firing Staff and Losing Channel

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Howard Stern is saving face, and it’s all good.

Howard will stream the video of his weekly Monday Sirius XM show on HBO Max beginning next week.

The HBO Max part will air Thursdays. It’s a good complement for fans who don’t have Sirius and/or want to see Howard and his guests in person and not just listen to them on the radio.

On Sirius, for the rest of each week, Stern’s show will be archival, from his vast library of interviews.

Howard will unveil a new lineup for his long-time SiriusXM channel Howard 100, including Wrap Up Wednesday, an expanded version of Howard’s Wrap Up Show hosted by Gary Dell’Abate and Jon Hein, plus new ways to hear his multi-decade library of past shows. The Howard Stern section of the SiriusXM app is also expanding to include “Howard Stern Decades” for instant access to Howard’s content from, or about, the 80’s, 90’s, 00’s and 10’s.  

That decision resulted in letting go 12 veteran staffers who are no longer needed to provide daily entertainment.

It’s a happy ending for everyone as Sirius eases Stern into retirement. His show appears on Channel 100, but his other channel, 101, now goes to Andy Cohen.

Meantime, I’m listening Little Steven’s Underground Garage, Smokey’s Soul Town, and the Beatles channel. Can’t live without them!

Anna Wintour Stands Down, Cancels Antisemitic Fashion Designer John Galliano for Next May’s Met Gala, Sustains Rare Blemish

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The Met Gala has cancelled its John Galliano tribute.

Anna Wintour has sustained a rare blemish and embarrassment after trying to push through Galliano, convicted for antisemitism in France, as her honoree for next May’s gala.

The Metropolitan Museum’s own fundraising was imperiled by Wintour’s plan as major donors were horrified by her plan.

To make things even worse, the date of the Gala — May 3rd — coincides with Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Everything here was a debacle. As it is, the Met should not have the Gala on that day, anyway. (I’m surprised Wintour wasn’t celebrating Holocaust fashion!)

The Museum is positioning the change as Galliano withdrawing from the Gala. But it’s clear he was told the party was, indeed, over.

“Following thoughtful discussions with John Galliano, we have together decided not to proceed with the exhibition,” Max Hollein, director and CEO of the museum, said in a press release.

Galliano added: “After much reflection and discussion with The Met and all those involved, I have decided, with great sadness, that it is best for the exhibition not to take place at this time. I remain fully accountable for the pain caused by my words in the past, particularly the hurt I caused to the Jewish and Asian communities, and I remain deeply sorry for it.”

The Met had to put an end to this scandal. Last week they received a letter from New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin to reconsider the plan. After that, there was nowhere to go.

Now Wintour must find a new theme and honoree, and a sponsor willing to get involved with this calamity.

Whatever.

Exclusive: Justin Timberlake’s Next Move Is New Music and a World Tour in 2027 Called “The Next Move” Said to Be His Most Ambitious Project Yet

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Justin Timberlake is starting to put together a big project.

“The Next Move” — sources tell me — will be a new album and a world tour starting in March 2027.

I’m relieved to hear Justin is back on track after taking time off to deal with Lyme disease and spend time with his family.

Justin’s last album, “Everything I Thought It Was,” was not everything we hoped for. A very modest hit, the album had a great single called “Selfish” that didn’t do as well as expected. The Forget Tomorrow tour ran from 2024-25 and was by most terms very successful.

What Timberlake needs now is a single along the lines of his 2016 hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” one of the most infectious dance singles of all time. (Side note: I was in Walgreen’s last week, the song came on the radio, and I heard two people singing along to it.) And the market is ready for a huge Timberlake smash considering the other Justin, Bieber, never went on tour. And new singers like Magnus Ferrell have come along, doing School of Timberlake music.

Unknown: Will there be any NSYNC involvement this time? And can we finally get past all that Janet Jackson Super Bowl crap that’s followed him around? Enough already. Also will Timbaland be part of the project? I’d love to see Justin team up with Gregg Alexander of New Radicals. That could be amazing.

I’ll tell you a little story: back when Justin was part of NSYNC, he and his bandmates plus the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears were all invited to Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel. When the time came for a spur of the moment jam with other famous singers, Justin was the only one from that table to get up and join in. It was clear then that he was going to be a breakout star.

New Movie, Music Merch Alert: Butcher Knives for “Superman,” “Batman,” “Lord of the Rings,” Gene Simmons’ $1100 Collectors Hellfire Meat Axe

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Looking for a nice Christmas gift for local psychopath?

Forget about popcorn buckets. Here’s a whole new batch of merch.

May I recommend a website called StudioForge.com?

They sell shiny very sharp butcher knives branded from Warner Bros. studios.

The movies included are “Superman,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Masters of the Universe,” and “Batman.”

The latter 8″ knife, called “The Gotham City Edge,” is totally sold out. It was priced to sell at $599.00.

But there seem to be plenty of KISS star Gene Simmons’ $1100 Hellfire Demon Meat Axe. (I’m not kidding.)

Aside from the Simmons knife, the others are all licensed from Warner Bros. So the promise is there for some “Dunes” weapons down the line. Since Warner Bros. own the Looney Tunes brand, why not something from “Coyote vs. Acme”?

I particularly like the $999.99 “Lord of the Rings” Flame of Udun set up, described thusly: “A collector blade crafted from 110 layer damascus steel, rising from a resin-sculpted, hand-painted Balrog™ statue. Wreathed in fire powered by concealed LED lights, its glows on your shelf after dark.”

What could possibly go wrong?

Sam Smith Says Even Now He’s Fighting Copyright Battles After Turning Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” into His Hit, “Stay with Me”

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Singer Sam Smith burst onto the scene in 2014 with a hit called “Stay with Me.”

Not too long after, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne recognized that Smith had lifted the chorus from their Petty hit, “I Won’t Back Down.”

Smith said at the same he’d never heard of Tom Petty (lol) or the song.

A court ordered him to give the songwriting duo 12.5% of the proceeds, forever.

Now the great Anthony Mason of CBS and his podcast Alchemy brings up the subject in a new interview.

Smith still denies knowing Petty’s music. “The only male singers I ever listened to was Stevie Wonder and George Michael.”

But they (their pronoun choice) conceded that wasn’t the last time he’s had a problem with their (singular) songs.

Smith tells Mason, “I mean, I’ve now had it happen a few times and and still battling something right now.”

Smith won four Grammys for the song and the album it was on. Smith says the night before the Grammys, Petty sent him a letter, but he never responded to it.

“He wrote me a letter the night before the Grammys and it arrived in my room and I was so pissed off when I read it,” Smith tells Mason. “I never wrote back to him. I was just a little sassy.

Now that the rocker is dead, Smith says,  “I love Tom Petty’s music and um I’m very inspired by it now.”