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The FBI has released pictures of a masked man thought to be involved in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie.
It’s been 10 days since the kidnapping and this is first evidence we’ve seen.
Many questions remain: was this a targeted abduction? A home invasion gone wrong? Is Nancy Guthrie still alive?
New images in the search for Nancy Guthrie:
Over the last eight days, the FBI and Pima County Sheriff’s Department have been working closely with our private sector partners to continue to recover any images or video footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home that may have been lost,… pic.twitter.com/z5WLgPtZpT
The news, which had escaped attention up that point, caused Fox Searchlight to dump the film, which had been a potential Oscar contender.
What made the story worse: well after the rape trial, the accuser committed suicide. Parker seemed in the press unmoved by that news, and “Birth” died.
Now AMC Theaters has announced it will release “Newborn,” a psychological thriller starring David Oyelowo and directed by Parker. The two men are producing the movie under their partnership called Mansa Studios.
This isn’t Parker’s first film since “Birth.” In 2019, he went with “American Skin,” which was dumped itself and received little attention.
Obviously, Parker can’t go the studio route. Even after a decade he remains a controversial figure. But Nikkole Denson-Randolph, Chief Content Officer, AMC Theatres says: “Newborn is the kind of bold, provocative, and original storytelling that comes alive on the big screen. We’re proud to be the exclusive exhibitor supporting a release model that prioritizes theatrical.”
The movie follows Chris Newborn (Oyelowo) who, after serving seven years in solitary confinement, seeks to rebuild his life and reconnect with his family only to find that freedom has become a terrifying psychological battleground.
It’s an amazing turn of events especially since it involves Oyelowo, a great actor and director himself. It’s unclear if Parker can escape his past. But maybe 10 years is enough punishment for a talented director.
There’s a lot of griping, I’m told, about the Vanity Fair Oscar party next month in Hollywood.
This is the first one hosted by 36 year old editor Michael Guiducci, who was chosen by Anna Wintour to do her bidding.
This is also the first party away from the Annnenberg Center on Santa Monica Boulevard. Vanity Fair had a giant space there, and filled it with advertisers. The big stars were hitting the red carpet for a photo op, then taking off for parties held by Madonna and Guy Oseary, Jay Z, and others.
But the Conde Nast mag is downsizing, and moving to the almost opened David Geffen Galleries at the new Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The new building is smaller and weirder than the old Vanity Fair space, looking like a Spielberg space ship with a lizard sculpture outside.
The new space is also smaller than the Annenberg set-up. Because of that, sources say the magazine is cutting way back on guests, disallowing agents and publicists from accompanying their stars. Well, not all. Some top agents will get in, of course. But most will be left out on Wilshire Boulevard, far from the Dolby Theater.
“They’re wrecking the one good thing they have,” snarked an insider.
Those advertisers? Vanity Fair needs them so badly, they’ll be at the front of the line.
Some of the guests could include the members of the Trump Administration that the mag fangirled over recently. Now, that would be interesting. Maybe Stephen Miller will show off tricks from his planet. (That outdoor sculpture is him in his original form.)
Oddly, the main museum is selling tickets for the same day, March 15th, right through 6pm. It should be a madhouse!
Meantime, the magazine is rolling the dice on its next issue with cover subject actress Margaret Qualley. Her comedy with Glen Powell, “How to Make a Killing,” A24 will be released on February 20th, maybe the same day the magazine is out. Not much is known about “Killing,” but the trailer looks like fun. (See below.) If it’s not a hit, March 15th is a long three weeks away.
Qualley is a good choice for a celebrity profile if the interview covers her marriage to rock star music producer Jack Antonoff (which makes her Taylor Swift adjacent), and Qualley’s terrific mom, Andie McDowell. If it’s just another press release, forget it.
The whole redneck thing is a cleverly designed act to bring in right wing, Christian fans.
Sunday night, Kid Rock headlined the Turning Point alternative Super Bowl show and everyone mocked him, even me.
What we didn’t know was that he had other things in mind besides Bad Bunny and Donald Trump. He used the Turning Point show to rebrand himself and release new music. And it worked.
On the show, Kid Rock rebranded under his real name, Robert Ritchie. He also performed a cover of Cody Johnson’s 2021 country hit, “Til You Can’t” with strings and orchestration. It was all designed a while ago. When the show was over, Kid Rock dropped the single. And now it’s number on iTunes.
Kid Rock, aka Ritchie, hasn’t had a hit like this in decades. But he played off the Charlie Kirk audience for himself.
“Til You Want” by Cody Johnson was just a good country song about nostalgia for simpler times. Ritchie added lyrics about Jesus, turning the song into a Christian plea for the old days. It was a good move. Now his version and Johnson’s are in the top 5 on iTunes (although they don’t show up so far on Spotify).
And while Kid Rock will always remain identified with MAGA, the Ritchie version of “Til You Can’t” has nothing to with politics. It just pulls on heartstrings. The underlying message is “Make America great again,” but never explicitly says so.
A seismic shift is happening as we speak in Hollywood.
Pop star Chappell Roan has just posted notice that she’s left her management company owned and run by a heavyweight.
It’s all about Jeffrey Epstein.
Casey Wasserman’s very powerful firm is called Wasserman Agency. The grandson of MCA/Universal founder and legend Lew Wasserman has made his company into a huge deal in the music world.
Casey is also leading the LA28 Olympic organizing committee, a very glamorous position that entails all of Hollywood’s involvement with the 2028 international competition.
But Casey (whose real last name is Myers, it was switched when he was a child) has turned up in the Epstein files. It’s not pretty. His emails with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, now a convicted sex offender, are vulgar and disarming. More on that in a minute.
There are calls from all over Hollywood for Wasserman to step down as head of LA28 that have so far gone ignored. Chappell Roan isn’t the first client to leave the agency, but she’s the biggest. If the others bolt over this, Wasserman Agency will be in serious trouble. Casey’s clients include Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Phish, Raye, SZA, Joni Mitchell, Janelle Monae, newish hit band Geese (they were just on “SNL”) and leader Cameron Winter, plus performer and “Marty Supreme” actor Tyler the Creator.
Chappell Roan is about as hot as you can get right now. Her “Pink Pony Club” is one of those hits that will never go away. Roan wrote on Instagram: “No artist, agent or employee should ever be expected to defend or overlook actions that conflict so deeply with our own moral values. I refuse to passively stand by.”
Wasserman is in Milan right now for the Winter Olympics. But the pressure is building fast to get him out of LA28 ASAP. His newly discovered texts with Maxwell, for which he’s apologized, are being described as either racy or “flirty.”
Wasserman was married to his now ex-wife in 2003 when he wrote to Maxwell: “Where are you, I miss you…“can we book that massage now?” The next message to her reads: “I thought we would start at that place that you know of, and then continue the massage concept into your bed…and then again in the morning…not sure if or when we would stop.”
Maxwell answers: “Umm – all that rubbing – are you sure you can take it? The thought frankly is leaving me a little breathless. There are a few spots that apparently drive a man wild -I suppose I could practise them on you and you could let me know if they work or not?”
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Of course, what went on between Wasserman — who ultimately was divorced by his wife and married a flight attendant on his private plane — and Maxwell — currently in prison — would just be their business ordinarily. They could never have imagined that one day all of their private correspondence would be published by the Department of Justice. Many businesses and careers have already been destroyed by the Epstein revelations. This could be another one.
The Academy of Motion Picture Sciences is giving up some old traditions.
They say they won’t be showing Oscar films to Academy members in their screening room.
The reason? They say they’ve been averaging five people per screening.
Everyone’s staying home and watching the films on the Academy app, it appears.
What will they do with their enormous, beautiful theater? Bad Bunny concerts?
It used to be there was a big schedule of Oscar nominated films always running at the Academy. But like everything else, the crowd has moved on. How can you expect audiences to go to cineplexes for twenty bucks if Academy members won’t go see them for free?
This news comes on the heels of the Academy saying the Oscar telecast will feature live performances of only two of the five nominees this year. The other three will be hummed outside by those people who stand along the limo route with placards.
That’s not all. Two weeks ago, the Academy announced it was laying off its five archivists from the library and dissolving its decades old oral history project. The reaction was not met with enthusiasm. See the full statement below.
And so it goes…
Here’s the letter that was sent:
Thank you for your dedication and participation this Oscars season. We hope all of you were able to watch the Oscars Nominations Announcement this week. It was historic!
Over the last several months, we were thrilled to host for members more than 300 first-run Oscar-qualifying film screenings in Los Angeles, the Bay Area, New York and London. This included nominated films as well as all shortlisted International Feature films and the shortlisted films in our three short film categories. Many thanks to all members who participated.
In addition, we have increased member connectivity to FYC screenings by our industry partners via our FYC screenings calendar on the member site. It’s been incredible to see the commitment from industry partners to providing additional opportunities for members to see these films on the big screen. If you have not opted in for this function yet, please do so on the member site.
Moving forward, as turnout for our post-nomination screenings has been incredibly small over the last few years (an average of five members attended these screenings in the last two years), we will not rescreen these films. Please note that, in addition to FYC screening opportunities, all nominated films are available for members to watch on the Academy Screening Room.
Thank you for taking advantage of all these offerings — we appreciate your continued support and passion for watching movies!
Believe it or not, we are at the 10th anniversary of Love Rocks.
This is the annual monster show put on to raise money for God’s Love We Deliver. This year’s show is set for March 3rd at the Beacon Theater.
Producers Greg Williamson, Nicole Rechter and John Varvatos have assembled an amazing talent roster that includes Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Mary J. Blige, Billy F Gibbons, Goo Goo Dolls, Hozier, Jon Batiste, Linda Perry, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Susanna Hoffs, Trombone Shorty, and Warren Haynes.
If that’s not enough, JB Smoove, Jeff Ross, Julianne Moore, Paul Shaffer, Whoopi Goldberg, and Zarna Garg will make appearances on stage.
Usually Bill Murray comes, too, so we’ll see if he’s a surprise guest.
Bloomberg Philanthropies underwrites the night.
Here’s the link to read more about Love Rocks and buy tickets that will sell out in two minutes.
Just a note because Greg Williamson and John Varvatos came up with this idea a decade ago and it’s been a huge success. Congrats to them!
During the Super Bowl tonight we got a look at two hot movies for 2026.
One is Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day,” about aliens really having been here a long time. (I believe they have, and they’re the reason for MAGA.) It’s coming from Universal on June 12th with Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor.
Also David Fincher’s “Cliff Booth” movie about the Brad Pitt character from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” This one is from Netflix, which had better give it a big theatrical release. I’m curious about this film although not sure I understand why they made it.
Jason Alexander, Ted Danson, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Alfonso Ribeiro, Jasmine Guy, and Jaleel White are all featured in the send up of “Good Will Hunting.”
But who’s not there? Matt Damon. And it’s pretty glaring.
Damon and Affleck won their Oscar for writing the “Good Will Hunting” screenplay in 1998. The movie is a classic and should not have been diminished in this way. Apparently, Damon agreed.
The whole Dunkin’ thing with Affleck has worn out its welcome. Affleck won a Best Picture Oscar for “Argo.” He’s played Batman, a lot. No matter how much Dunkin’ offers, it’s enough already.
Bad Bunny aka Benito Ocasio showed his enormous heart, and understanding of his audience. The whole thing was in Spanish except for “God Bless America!”
One important note: you can set Lady Gaga down in any setting she’s a winner. She was absolutely captivating.
