Support independent journalism, free from the trades and other publications that are part of the tinsel town machine.
For 12 years, Showbiz411.com has been covering Hollywood, Broadway, the music business and the business of celebrity. Ads are our main source of funding, but contributions (not tax exempt) from readers who enjoy the scoops, exclusives, and fact based reports are always welcome and very appreciated. To inquire about ads, email us at showbiz411@gmail.com.
There are 36 movies ahead of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Story” on the all time Memorial Day opening weekend list.
“Furiosa” today become number 36 on the list. That breaks an all time low, or high, depending on how you look at it.
For “Furiosa,” the take from Thursday through today, Sunday, is $25.5 millon.
The movie ahead of it on the Memorial Day weekend list is “Rambo: First Blood, Part 2” with $25.52 million.
This isn’t about the quality of “Furiosa.” George Miller’s film has B+ Cinemascore, and high numbers from Rotten Tomatoes. It’s a well made movie. But the studios have taught the moviegoing audience that if they don’t come out to theaters now, they’ll see “Furiosa” at home by the middle of the summer. So why get off the couch?
The box office is in shambles, also partly due to the strikes from last year. Aside from “Deadpool and Wolverine,” there isn’t a lot of light at the end of the tunnel. Will Smith’s “Bad Boys” movie will be more a test of his popularity two years after he lost his mind at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock on stage (followed by cursing him out).
The new “Garfield” movie, also out this weekend, has turned into a disappointment, as well.
All of this may be a blessing in disguise for “The Fall Guy” and for “If,” two films that got written off. But they may hold up a bit in theaters for the people still wanting to get out of the house.
Cannes Film Festival winners are being announced right now on the Croisette. Keep refreshing…
The Palme D’or has gone to Sean Baker and his “Anora.” Baker, an American who works on a small budget, also directed the much admired “The Florida Project,” “red Rocket,” and “Tangerine.”
The Award for Best Director goes to MIGUEL GOMES for GRAND TOUR.
This means the Cannes jury has shunned Francis Ford Coppola and his $120 million bet, “Megalopolis.” The film still has no US distributor as well. Putting “Megalopolis” into competition was a mistake, of course. Last year, Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” was shown out of competition. Coppola’s legacy, besides his great films, is one of taking huge chances that don’t always work out.
So now what? Coppola will return to the US with a lot of foreign distribution deals but nothing at home, and no awards with which to promote the film. This is going to be tricky. But we always root for him!
The Jury Prize goes to EMILIA PÉREZ by JACQUES AUDIARD.
The Grand Prize goes to ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT by PAYAL KAPADIA.
The Award for Best Actor goes to JESSE PLEMONS in KINDS OF KINDNESS by YÓRGOS LÁNTHIMOS.
FOUR WAY TIE! The Award for Best Actress goes to ADRIANA PAZ, ZOE SALDAÑA, KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN, SELENA GOMEZ in EMILIA PÉREZ de JACQUES AUDIARD.
The Award for Best Screenplay goes to CORALIE FARGEAT for THE SUBSTANCE.
The Special Award for Best Screenplay goes to THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG by MOHAMMAD RASOULOF
La Mention Spéciale de la Caméra d’or est remise à MONGREL de WEI LIANG CHIANG & YOU QIAO YIN, présenté dans le cadre de la Quinzaine des Cinéastes.
–
The Special Mention for Caméra d’or goes to MONGREL by WEI LIANG CHIANG & YOU QIAO YIN, presented at the Directors’ Fortnight.… pic.twitter.com/2vbSQG2P5B
— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 25, 2024
Bruce Springsteen has cancelled his Marseille, France show tonight at the last minute.
He posted an announcement: “Due to a loss of voice and on medical orders, Bruce Springsteen is unable to sing and perform this evening. This evening’s concert planned at the Orange Vélodrome in Marseilles has unfortunately been postponed to a later date.”
The very young at heart 74 year old Springsteen and the E Street Band have been burning it in the US and recently in England and Ireland. Marseille would have been show number 17 on this leg. Bruce has had health issues cancel shows a lot this last year, including an 8 month break because of a painful peptic ulcer.
But the Boss is only human. His next show is three days from now in Prague. Speedy recovery!
PS Bruce was certainly singing up a storm in Dublin. See below.
1/2 En raison d’une extinction de voix et sur ordre médical, Bruce Springsteen n’est pas en mesure de chanter et de monter sur scène ce soir. Le concert de ce soir prévu à l’Orange Vélodrome de Marseille est malheureusement reporté à une date ultérieure. pic.twitter.com/mnk6670oso
Saturday: today, tonight are crucial for the new releases of the week.
So far, “Furiosa” is making everyone nervosa. The “Mad Max” story has made just $10.5 million from previews through last night. It’s actually following the path of the most recent new release, “If.” It’s hoped that “Furiosa” will add $20 million on Saturday and Sunday.
The return of “Garfield” the cat for family viewing is also scratching the furniture. We need some purring. “Garfield” has grossed $8.4 million over the two day opening. Its claws could be sharper After all those mixed metaphors, let’s hope it doesn’t cough up a hairball. Are families too complacent at home?
It does look like a historically low Memorial Day weekend is coming to the box office. If only “Hit Man” were reporting numbers, we’d have something exciting to report. But it’s not playing anywhere. Thanks, Netflix. This is no help.
There are plenty of seats today at the Paris Theater, by the way. No surprise, everyone’s away for the weekend. What a mess.
Will Smith’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” is getting a worldwide promotional tour.
So far Will and Martin Lawrence have been in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, Mexico, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Miami.
The film opens June 7th but so far Sony has kept Smith away from any real press in the US, especially Los Angeles and New York. I’m told some outlets in Los Angeles pulled out of a junket because they were told not to ask about “the slap.”
That’s right. Will Smith’s famous live slap or punch of Chris Rock on the stage of the Oscars is being avoided at all costs. Smith was punished with a 10 year ejection by the Academy. He immediately lost work. Smith has been mostly persona non grata in Hollywood for the two years since the slap.
So, of course, now he’s back, starring in a big studio film. Has Hollywood forgiven and forgotten? Can you really attack someone on live TV in front of a worldwide audience and get away with it?
Maybe you can.
So far no entertainment reporter has been brave enough to ask a single question about the Slap. Will Will Smith get away with it? And what about Martin Lawrence? I’m hearing odd things about his appearance from those who’ve talked to him. He didn’t look well at the Emmy Awards back in January. Everyone is rooting for him, whatever is wrong.
We’ll see how the Slap figures into all this on June 6th, when “Bad Boys” plays previews.
A judge in Santa Fe has dismissed Baldwin’s motion to end his involuntary manslaughter case in the “Rust” case.
In October 2022, Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer of Baldwin’s indie movie, “Rust,” was killed, and the director wounded when a prop gun discharged on the New Mexico set.
The armorer on the set, Hannah Gutierrez, has already been found guilty on involuntary manslaughter. She was given the maximum sentence of 18 months.
Baldwin, who had the gun in his hand, and was also producer of the movie, has been charged by the state after several moves back and forth. A grand jury finally decided there was sufficient evidence that he acted negligently by pointing a loaded gun at Hutchins without first checking the weapon. If found guilty Baldwin also faces 18 months in jail.
Baldwin thought by reaching settlements with Hutchins’ husband, and others on the set, he’d escaped this situation. But the Santa Fe DA’s office is determined to prove they can beat a Hollywood star and his lawyers — even if it doesn’t make sense.
Baldwin’s lawyers said in the motion that prosecutors were bending over backwards to prove a shaky case. But New Mexico First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she didn’t see prosecutorial misconduct. So the trial goes forward in mid summer. Stay tuned…
You can now count one degree of separation between the Upside Down and Bon Jovi, the rock band.
Millie Bobby Brown, just age 20, has married Jake Bon Jovi, 22, son of of rocker Jon. According to The Sun, the small surprise wedding took place last weekend.
Millie is the star of “Stranger Things,” in which she plays a character named Eleven. So now Eleven is Two.
Congrats to the couple! Can these two crazy kids make it in the modern world? At least they won’t have to worry about money. She’s already made a pile from the Netflix series, and will always have work as an actress. Brown is currently shooting the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things.”
The groom is a model, and not exactly livin’ on a prayer.
Getting married so young with no college degree? That’s the way they do it now, you know.
Either Jennifer Lopez is in total denial, or she doesn’t care.
JLo is having a very bad year, that’s for sure.
First of all, it does seem that her marriage to Ben Affleck is in trouble after less than two years.
Now comes her new film, “Atlas,” on Netflix. Apparently it’s unwatchable. The Rotten Tomatoes rating is 10%. That may be the lowest ever for her.
Just a couple of months ago, Lopez released a new album called “This is Me…Now,” which was dead on arrival. A longform video went with it, called “The Greatest Romance Never Told,” and is also flopped like a sea lion at the Central Park Zoo.
“Atlas” is futuristic, I guess, and has something to do with artificial intelligence. How about some genuine intelligence? JLo should send up an SOS soon before all hope is lost.
Mick Jagger is the 8th wonder of the world, that much we saw last night at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.
Two months shy of 81, Jagger remains remains remarkably lithe, trim, and agile. Still fronting the Rolling Stones after 60 years, he not only runs the width of the stadium back and forth, skipping sometimes, but then prances down a runway stage into the middle of the audience with wild abandon and precision. The whole thing is quite mad.
The Rolling Stones put on a two hour show last night that is both economical and textured. It’s like a military exercise it’s so well planned, but it also seems off the cuff and improvised. That’s the beauty of it. But when you have three front men — Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood — whose total ages are over 300, there’s no room for error. Plus, they’ve been playing these songs for six decades.
The set list of greatest hits (mixing in a couple of songs from the very good new “Hackney Diamonds” album) varies a little from city to city, but last night the New York-New Jersey crowd got “Shattered,” because it’s got local references. “Miss You,” also a New York song, took off slowly and then built into an incantation. Every single entry including Richards’ two solo bits — “You Got the Silver” and “Little T and A” — had surprises. (Richards joked about the latter song, “I wrote it but I don’t remember what it’s about!” Oh, he does.)
Jagger gave the obligatory “Welcome to (blank city)” salutations a couple of times. But he finally got a little cheeky. “New York — I know you have your trials and tribulations,” he said, emphasizing trial. “I was worried about the weather,” he joked, “I thought we were going to get a little Stormy Daniels!”
The Jagger-Richards canon of songs never ceases to amaze after all these years. Numbers like “Paint it Black,” “Gimme Shelter,” and “Sympathy for the Devil” remain as sinister as they were originally. “Tumbling Dice” and “Wild Horses” are R&B classics. Richards, Wood, and co made “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and “Honky Tonk Woman,” to mention, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” into dizzying jams of blues and rock.
Jagger’s voice is equal to his physical presence. How can he still be singing like that? He had some falsetto runs last night that were spine chilling. It can’t just be lots and lots of sex and yoga, can it? His face has grown into a chiseled replica of his former visage. When he spreads his arms wide while dancing, he lifts into the air. You can see the ballet moves. He’s Nureyev and Tina Turner rolled into one.
Kudos to the band, plus Chanel Haynes with her blistering vocals on “Gimme Shelter” (a tribute to the original, Merry Clayton). Haynes was playing Tina Turner in the West End of London when got this job and was immediately fired by the production. She gets the last laugh here– touring with the Stones, playing to 100,000 people a night, and ripping the paint off the metal girders.
Is this the last Stones tour? I don’t think so. I really believe we’ll see them back in two years. Impossible but likely. Richards, who’s seen a lifetime of indulgence and health issues, never looked stronger than last night. While Jagger never sits nor barely pauses for water, Richards briefly — like two seconds — took a breather. But then he was up quickly, not missing a beat.
The Stones return to Met Life for a second show on Sunday. I’m too tired to be there, but they’ll be back as a life force.
“Knives Out” director is about to start production on the third installment of his mystery series.
This one will be called “Wake Up Dead Man.” It stars Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc and we’ll see it in 2025 via Netflix.
Johnson says: “We’re about to go into production on the 3rd one, and I’m very, very excited to share the title, which gives a little hint of where it’s going.”
He adds: “I love everything about whodunnits, but one of the things I love most is how malleable the genre is. There’s a whole tonal spectrum from Carr to Christie, and getting to explore that range is one of the most exciting things about making Benoit Blanc movies.”
I hope he learned a lesson from “Glass Onion.” More is more, as they say. The low-fi charms of the first movie were lost in the second one, which was over the top and repetitive. “Glass Onion” was also more about the set, and the logo. Now there’s a new onion like egg object below. Please, don’t over do it!
The next Benoit Blanc mystery, the follow-up to Knives Out and Glass Onion, is called Wake Up Dead Man. pic.twitter.com/pdDXRDmwcI
