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The Michael Jackson Movie’s Success Will Depend Entirely on Reviews As So Far Pre-Sales Aren’t a Thriller

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The Michael Jackson fans online, a dedicated and persistent group, are very excited.

They see online that special screenings set for Wednesday, April 22nd are sold very well and almost sold out. They think that indicates a massive box office hit for Lions Gate, which is releasing the film.

Unfortunately, they’re not looking at the real preview night of Thursday, April 23rd or opening day of Friday, April 24th — or subsequent days.

Just looking at AMC Lincoln Square in New York, those dates are far from sold out. The good news is that on the Thursday, “Michael” is well sold at the 7:30pm IMAX screening. But other shows, in the regular and Dolby Theaters, are a little meh.

At Lincoln Square, the Dolby Theater — which is where I’d like to see “Michael” for the sound — is wide open at every hour.

This scenario is much the same Friday night, as well. IMAX in good shape, everything else quite iffy.

Things are much the same for April 23rd at The Grove in Los Angeles. The prime time showings are totally open. Same at The Grove for Friday as in New York.

IMAX seems to be the best for Antoine Fuqua’s musical film. But it also feels like reviews and word of mouth are vital for this movie’s success.

A couple of things out in the public are hovering over “Michael.” First, the headlines about Michael’s daughter, Paris, suing the Estate. The details are unimportant to the moviegoing audience, but it’s a negative. There are also the posthumous sexual malfeasance accusations against Michael by the family he was close with during his life. The Cascios always defended him. Now they’re trying to get a chunk of cash from his legacy.

Smartly, “Michael” seems like it ends in 1990, just like the successful “MJ” Broadway show. Jackson is on a high from an amazing decade of “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” and “Bad.” This is because things get weird after that, and by 1993 he’s embroiled in scandals that last til the end of his life in 2009. (A sequel is ill-advised.)

Again, the only way around the darker elements is to create a real buzz beyond Jackson’s dedicated serious fans.

But with that incredible catalog of hits, and the dazzling re-enactments of Michael Jackson singing and dancing — from his nephew Jaafar Jackson — there’s a good chance that “Michael” will be starting something.

First Paul McCartney Announces New Album, Now The Rolling Stones Circle April 11th for Their Own, Call Themselves “The Cockroaches”

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The Rolling Stones always had a good sense of humor.

They’re the world’s oldest, longest running band. More than 60 years and still kicking.

Like cockroaches, they never die. That’s why their album announcement set for April 11th is at thecockroaches.com.

A spring with both Stones and McCartney albums! Total ages 1 million. Who cares?

Andrew Watt, man of the hour, produced both albums. He knows what to do with these legends!

The last Stones album, Hackney Diamonds, won a Grammy. It was a huge success!

I’m excited that as classic rock fades, the Stones and the Beatles — Ringo has an album, too — are the ones closing the doors.

Viva the Stones!

Kanye West’s Album Launch Show Today Has Thousands of Seats Available, Tickets as Low as $92 for “Bully”

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There are thousands of tickets still available for tonight’s Kanye West show.

The racist, antisemitic, ‘cancelled’ rapper is launching his new “Bully” album at SoFi Stadium tonight and Friday night.

As tonight is the first night of Passover, ticket sales are light — as if any Jewish person would give this hustler money.

The seat map for tonight’s is a sea of blue. My guess is that anyone who shows up at the arena will get if not free tickets, very cheap ones. To make the show look like a success, Kanye’s people are going to have to “paper” the crowd.

bgeIf you’ve spent money on this, ask the people around what they paid. Should be a wide range of answers.

What time will the “Bully” party? Not 9pm, that’s for sure. We will all be asleep in NYC! Fans of this guy will be complaining, stomping, and whistling, believe me.

“Bully” is nonetheless selling, streaming and being downloaded. It’s number 1 on album charts for now. But the reviews are terrible. The rapper is accused of using AI throughout “Bully.” Every track is like particle board, chopped up pieces of sampled songs rearranged. I hope all the original artists have been paid.

You can still buy a ticket — or a dozen — with the low price at $92 and falling. The stadium is pushing VIP seats in boxes for $700!

Pop Charts: Fake Singer Eddie Dalton’s 4th Single Hits iTunes Top 3 in Unprecedented Campaign by AI Producer to Replace Humans

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I’ve told you a lot about “Eddie Dalton.”

He’s an AI construct, a fake singer who doesn’t exist.

But “Eddie” has the number 1 single on iTunes, called “Another Day Old.” It’s been lodged at the top for almost a week.

Two other “Dalton” singles have been in the top three. Now a fourth one has joined them called “Stay a Little Longer.”

Are fans really downloading these singles by an unknown non-human? I’m beginning to wonder if iTunes isn’t being conned. None of these songs have any traction from streaming at all. They only exist on iTunes.

On YouTube there are a lot of views. Again, what does that really mean?

As I also told you, this is all the brainchild of Dallas Little, a mysterious content creator/possible musician who’s down in Greenville, South Carolina. He owns a company called Crunchy Records, and is producing a ton of AI music and videos under different fictional artists’ names.

The day we hear one of these songs on the radio we’ll take this seriously.

Movies: Cannes Film Festival Faces Challenging Year as So Far All Publicity Hinges on Barbra Streisand, No Other Hollywood

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It’s going to be tough for some people in Hollywood to rationalize an expensive trip to Cannes this year.

As I told you before, Hollywood is not coming. The big studios are so far not doing any splashy premieres. Directors like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan have passed on debuting their films this year for various reasons.

Today the festival announced the opening night film is French. “La Vénus électrique” is directed by Pierre Salvadori. The opening night guest celebrity is an actress named Eye Haïdara.

I’m sure in France this will be a big deal. But in the world at large, not so much. In the US, crickets. These aren’t even French names we’ve heard, let alone seen.

All the American publicity from the festival now hinges just on Barbra Streisand coming for her Palme d’Or. But that’s not enough to sustain two weeks.

Festival grand poobah Thierry Fremaux will unveil the whole line up on April 9th. It won’t be easy if James Gray is his only American director. But Fremaux is a magician. He must have something up his sleeve! I hope he does.

Broadway: “Moulin Rouge” Paused During Performance as New Cast Member Megan Thee Stallion Taken to Hospital

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Tough night for rapper Megan Thee Stallion.

She just joined the cast of Broadway’s “Moulin Rouge.”

Tonight’s performance was suddenly stopped when Megan had to be taken to the hospital. Her actual name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete.

According to Twitter account @LorenLorosa, an observer, the show eventually continued with a Black male actor playing the role of Charles Zidler, the French impresario who created the real Moulin Rouge.

The production says: “During Tuesday night’s production, Megan started feeling very ill and was promptly transported to a local hospital, where her symptoms are currently being evaluated. We will share additional updates as more information becomes available.”

Bruce Springsteen Opens Minnesota Show with ’60s Motown Declaration: “War, What Is it Good For?” Calls Trump “Racist, Corrupt, Incompetent”

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keep refreshing…

Bruce Springsteen opened his Minnesota show tonight with two bangers, fiery versions of “War (What Is It Good For?)” by Motown’s Edwin Starr, and his own “Born in the USA.”

Springsteen railed against Donald Trump as “incompetent,” among other things.

It was a thrilling start to Bruce and the E Street Band’s tour that commences today.

Bruce’s opening remarks: We pray for the safe return of the millions of men and Women of service, overseas we pray for their safe return. The mighty E Street Band is here to call upon the righteous power of art of rock and roll in dangerous times.

“We are here in celebration and defense of American ideals, democracy, our constitution, and our sacred American promise. The America I love. The America I’ve written about for 50 years that’s been a Beacon of hope and liberty around the world is strongly in the hands of a corrupt incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration.

“Tonight we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear democracy over authoritarianism, the rule of law over lawlessness, ethics over unbridled corruption, resistance over complacency university, unity over division, and peace over war– what is it good for?”

Broadway: “The Bear” Stars Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss Bachrach Barking Up the Wrong Tree in Panned “Dog Day Afternoon”

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A new Broadway play took a pasting last night with reviewers.

“Dog Day Afternoon,” based on the famous Sidney Lumet movie starring Al Pacino and John Cazale, went down in flames.

The play, adapted by Stephen Adley Guirgis, seemed like an odd project in the first place. Apparently, Guirgis and the producers were at war with each other leading up to opening night.

Stars Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss Bachrach sounded like exciting choices. They work together on TV’s “The Bear.” They have endless quality credits. What could go wrong?

Apparently, everything.

Nearly every reviewer who saw it, hated it. Only the usually reliable Bob Hofler liked it. Opening night must have been like a funeral. The reviews are devastating.

New York Times: “While Bernthal is chewing scenery, Moss-Bachrach appears in an altogether different play, delivering a nicely restrained performance of a terse, repressed man.”

New York Daily News:
“The direction is neither sufficiently cohesive or detailed to really pull all of these different strands together to offer much more than a chance to have fun with genre stereotypes or relive a favorite movie. All night, you wait for a truly visceral scene, but it never comes.”

Even the mixed reviews are bad. Roma Torre pulled the whole production — about a bank robbery gone wrong — apart in NY Stage Review, and she’s usually nice.

She writes “The play, conversely, lacks any real suspense, choosing a more comedic approach with forced humor. When the head teller is finally allowed to use the restroom, her peeing behind a closed door is amped up so that everyone hears it for a cheap laugh. The hostages all have superficial backstories that are inconsequential for the most part. And for whatever reason, when Sonny demands that the cops bring them something to eat, instead of pizza which was the food of choice in real life and in the film, the stage characters end up with donuts after a silly back and forth with the police deciding where to buy them.”

These things happen on Broadway and it’s always sad. But now what? So far, “DDA” has made $1.2 million in previews each week. But it may not make it to July 12th with these reviews. It’s a bit of a mess.

Tiger Woods Official Statement on DUI Arrest, Rollover: Superstar Golfer Will “Step Away” and Seek Treatment for 3rd Incident

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Big day for Tiger Woods.

The superstar golfer pleaded not guilty after being arrested for a DUI in Florida, turning his Range Rover over, and having prescription drugs on him.

This is at least the third time Woods has rolled over this car on a suburban street.

Now he’s issued kind of an explanation or non apology. He’s “stepping away” and getting treatment.

Right. He better get a driver. How can he still have a driver’s license? And treatment? He’s a pill popper. Detox is just the beginning. He’s in pain. We would be, too, if we were dating a former Trump daughter-in-law.

Watch Here LIVE Bruce Springsteen Opens His Tour in Minneapolis First Two Songs 8PM: Which Ones Will They Be?

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Bruce Springsteen opens his tour in Minneapolis tonight.

They’re broadcasting the first two songs live and free beginning at 8pm.

What will they be? My guess is “Streets of Minneapolis” and “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

But they could be anything.

Can’t wait!