Ann Wilson of Heart has announced she’s been diagnosed with cancer. She’s having chemo, so the Heart tour has been postponed.
As a big Heart fan, I am so sorry to hear this. Wishing Ann a speedy and full recovery!
Ann Wilson has that amazing voice that is juxtaposed by sister Nancy’s wailing guitar. They are very special to the history of rock and roll, starting with “Magic Man” and lasting for four decades.
Here’s one of Heart’s incredible performances:
If no one goes to the first film in a series, will they be interested in the sequel?
That’s the question today for Kevin Costner’s “Horizon.”
After a pretty disappointing weekend take of $11 million, the three hour Civil War drama didn’t pick up any steam yesterday.
Monday box office numbers were down 62% to just $1.2 million from Sunday. It remains to be seen if an adult audience will sample “Horizon” during the week, especially on July 4th.
And then what? Warner Bros. has to decide if they’ll put the August sequel on streaming, either day and date with theatrical, or shortly thereafter. It’s a tough call. But in the end, “Horizon” might find it audience on Max — just as it was originally intended, as a mini series.
The JLo-Ben Affleck marriage is ending its run.
The theatrical run apparently ended a few month ago. Now it’s going to be pulled from streaming. So to speak.
Keith McNally, owner of the great Balthazar restaurant in New York’s Soho, reports that Lopez was in last night with friends. His house manager wrote:
“For better or for worse, the one and only Jennifer Lopez came in as a party of 6. It was a last minute reservation and most of my large tables were already sat so J.Lo and I created an odd, but cozy 6 top in the 40s. I had a proper 6 top available but she opted for her creation. They had a nice time and were easy and quick.”
Lopez is on her way back to Los Angeles after a vacation in Italy and appearances in Paris. As you do, in these situations. Her children are presumably with their father, singer Marc Anthony.
Affleck is in LA, taking care of his children with ex wife Jennifer Garner. This poor guy is being stalked by paparazzi. LEAVE HIM ALONE, for God’s sake. According to reports, he’s moved all of his stuff out of the $60 million mansion he bought with Lopez. He’s been living in a rented house. Other reports say all the “art” from the mansion has been auctioned off privately.
Who gets custody of Dunkin Donuts? That’s what I want to know!
So the party is over. It was short but sour. We are watching the end credits. Was it fun while it lasted? Not sure. There’s a rumor JLo is moving to New York. She loves attention, and the Manhattan press is happy to provide it!
As the couple once said in “Gigli”: “Gobble gobble.”
If you want to see “Merrily We Roll Along” on Broadway this week, be prepared to pony up.
The revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical is seeing ticket prices up to over $5,200 on StubHub. Lower prices range from $500 tonight to well over $1,000 by Thursday!
Last performance is July 7th. Not only did “Merrily” win Best Revival of a Musical, but Jonathan Groff and Daniel Radcliffe each won Tony Awards for acting in the musical.
Last week’s gross was a shocking $2,321,807.00. Sondheim is no doubt paying close attention from heaven. “Merrily” was a flop when it was first produced in 1981. It was Sondheim’s first show after the blockbuster, “Sweeney Todd.” But no one liked it, and “Merrily” closed after two weeks.
This production has been extended twice. What a grand success. And it’s been filmed by the same people who filmed “Hamilton” for posterity, so we’ll be seeing it on streaming for a lot of money one day soon.
Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” — starring Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, with Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe — is the Opening Film of the 81st Venice Film Festival.
Now, I’m jealous.
Circle August 28th for the big reveal of what happened to Winona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz and her family including mom played by O’Hara and daughter played by Jenna Ortega.
Not in this one: Jeffrey Jones, who played Winona’s dad. He’s died off screen and won’t even come back as a ghost.
This sequel is a long time coming. The original film was released in 1988. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis starred as a young couple who died in an accident but were haunting their house. The Deetzes bought the house, but only Lydia could see them.
Since then, the movie has become a cult classic. It was turned into a hit Broadway show. The original film has only become more engaging over the three plus decades.
Will “BB” recapture the charm of the original? I’ll bet it does. Will we hear Harry Belafonte singing “Day O?” We better. Will this be a monster box office release? (Let’s hope Burton doesn’t make his “Sweeney Todd” mistake again!)
Warner Bros. releases “”BB” in the US on the Thursday following Labor Day weekend, September 5th.
Very exciting!
Disney and Hulu say “The Bear” Season 3 scored 5.4 million views in its first four days of release.
There’s no way to translate this statement to English. Hulu doesn’t reveal actual numbers, there’s no Nielsen to track it. And what does 5.4 million views mean? Ten minutes of watching the show?
I’ve watched six of the ten episodes of the new season. There are times when “The Bear” is so dazzling, it jumps onto every best TV list. There are other times when it feels like some filler is going on, covered by pastry.
“The Bear” is not a comedy, it’s a drama. For awards shows purposes, the drama somehow got listed as something humorous. It has some light moments, but this show is not a comedy. If it were, then “Hill Street Blues” and “Succession” could be put in that category.
This season is using a lot of time gimmicks to tell its story. We get backstory, we flash around, it’s like “Lost” in a kitchen. After all, a fourth season was filmed simultaneously. The series will probably run five seasons. The plot is thin, so it has to be spread out like remoulade sauce. This is a show about characters, and the exploration of them.
Episode 6 concerns line cook Tina, played so beautifully by Liza Colon-Zayas. She’s been amazing right along, but now we get a back story of how she arrived at The Beef, met Michael (Jon Bernthal) who eventually killed himself, and the rest of the crowd.
Colon-Zayas should get an Emmy Award for this episode and she may, but “The Bear” is a full season behind the Emmys. Meaning, this September’s Emmys is for last season, not this one. So she’ll have to wait until September 2025. She gives a masterclass in empathy as Tina loses her office job — which she’s had for 15 years — and after many rejections meets Michael by accident. Her exchange with Bernthal is one for the ages. He’s just as good.
I’m trying to savor “The Bear,” so I’m watching it two episodes at a time. There’s a lot less plot this time around, but more to chew on, so to speak!
Joe Biden spoke at the White House at 7:45pm. He forcefully addressed today’s horror decision by the Trump selected Supreme Court.
Biden is right on every subject. If Trump gets elected in November, America as we know it will cease to exist. Who would have ever thought this was possible? That this moron who we knew in New York would turn out to be the most dangerous person in the history of the country.
It’s July 1st. The year is half over, and the Oscar prognosticators must be getting nervous.
There is little on the docket so far that would qualify for Best Picture.
So far, the only real nominee would be “Dune Part Two.” It’s a long shot, but Richard Linklater’s excellent “Hit Man” could well be be a qualifier.
But “Challengers,” “Civil War,” “Fall Guy,” and so on are not the stuff of Best Picture.
Think about: last year at this time, we knew about “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon,” at least. “Past Lives” was released on June 2, 2023.
This summer brings a few maybe’s, but nothing anyone has raved about. A24 will make a push out of “Sing Sing,” but I’ve heard mixed things. July is otherwise a wasteland as we wait for “Deadpool vs. Wolverine” to be a financial hit.
August isn’t much more promising, but I’m looking forward to Zoe Kravit’s “Blink Twice,” Nathan Silver’s “Between the Temples,” Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” Jon Watts’s “Wolfs,” and Ethan Berger’s “The Line.”
But are these box office hits or actual Oscar movies?
October 1st will kick off the big ten week period when we see what’s what. Those include Jesse Eisenberg’s well received Sundance film, “A Real Pain” and Sean Baker’s Cannes winner, “Anora.”
On a larger scale, there’s the “Joker” sequel, and, of course, Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.” Everyone’s hoping for good things from “Gladiator II,” which has already started campaigning. Also already releasing PR materials: the major “Here,” reuniting “Forest Gump” players Tom Hanks, Robin Wright with director Robert Zemeckis.
And that’s when we make the turn into big studio films on the warpath for attention: “Wicked” is the front runner, as well as Best Actress possibilities with Nicole Kidman in “Babygirl” and Amy Adams in “Nightbitch.” And don’t count out June Squibb, very popular in “Thelma.”
Any surprises coming? You never know. One studio publicist indicated to me that they had something up their sleeve. We can only hope! I’m curious about “Nickel Boys,” from Searchlight, and “The Piano Lesson,” and Cannes winner, “Emile Perez,” each from Netflix.
What are hoping for? A Title hiding in plain sight that turns out to be a winner. Kate Winslet in “Lee”? An all star cast in “Concave,” directed by Edward Berger? Or maybe “The Apprentice” will get released and surprise everyone!
What actually happened to Jamie Foxx last year?
He was hospitalized for a long stretch, then went to rehab. His family held the cause close to their vests, and Foxx has never explained his condition.
This video shows him talking to fans in Atlanta in April 23rd. He tells them that he has no memory of the 20 days he was out of it after saying he had a headache.
That Foxx recovered from what sounds like a stroke and went back to life and work is a miracle. Maybe one day we’ll know more.
Jamie Foxx was spotted in downtown Phoenix, where he told a small group of people that on April 11th, 2023, he had a bad headache, asked a friend for an Advil, and then woke up 20 days later with no memory of what happened. pic.twitter.com/wIhuvN9hCC
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) July 1, 2024
COVID is on the rise, and it may be affecting rock legends.
Pearl Jam is the latest to postpone shows after Neil Young and Willie Nelson have each cancelled current tours.
UPDATE Now Heart, the classic rock band, has postponed shows because of illness. Ann Wilson announced that she’s been diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy.
The Pearl Jam shows were set for July 2nd and 3rd in Berlin. This is after they cancelled a show in England over the weekend.
The group writes:
“The impacts of this decision are not lost on us. We feel deeply that so many people spend their time, money, and emotional energy to get tickets and then to come see the band and it is heart wrenching to have to disappoint you. We also appreciate the many people whose hard work goes into making these shows happen. “
Are all of these cancellations COVID related? And if any of them are, why isn’t anyone saying anything?
Some tours — like Taylor Swift and the Rolling Stones — have steam forward without problems. But Bruce Springsteen had trouble with COVID, and have other artists.
Get the latest booster, kids!
And here’s to Eddie Vedder/getting better!
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