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Diversity is Dead: CBS News Hires Five White Journalists for Investigative Team, “White Lotus” Fields 99% White Cast

Roger Friedman
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Diversity is Dead: CBS News Hires Five White Journalists for Investigative Team, “White Lotus” Fields 99% White Cast

Here is Donald Trump’s legacy in broadcasting. We know he hates “DEI.” But now diversity in media is just being ignored by people who could do something about it.

CBS News’s Bari Weiss, a Trump puppet, has hired five new investigative journalists. Not to say they aren’t well qualified. But they have one matching feature: they are all white.

They are former Washington Post journalist Daniel Gilbert, The Free Press writer Gabe Kaminsky, and CBS News’ Laura Geller, Jake Rosenwasser and Callie Teitelbaum.

You may notice that four of the five are also Jewish. I support Israel and I’m Jewish. But even I have to say, this is overkill. It’s too much. And it’s embarrassing that Weiss is conducting business in this way. She’s already done so much damage to CBS News shows. But now she’s narrowed the focus preposterously. She’s succumbed to Trump’s clouded vision of America.

At the same time, HBO’s “The White Lotus” has announced more cast members for Season 4, which will be shot in St. Tropez and environs. Except for the great Rosie Perez, the similarity of the cast is astounding. I suppose they don’t care if they have a single Black or POC viewer.

There are only three non white people in this group: Dylan Ennis is actually African American. Corentin Fila is Franco-Congolese. The very talented Oscar nominee Kumail Nanjiani is Pakistan-American.

The rest –Heather Graham, Ben Schnetzer, Tobias Santelmann, Frida Gustavsson and Laura Smet have been added to Chloe Bennet, Sandra Bernhard, Helena Bonham Carter, Vincent Cassel, Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Ari Graynor, Max Greenfield, Charlie Hall, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, Chris Messina, AJ Michalka, Jarrad Paul and Nadia Tereszkiewicz.

It’s not to begrudge these people jobs. But this season is being filmed in France. I’ve been there a lot in my life thanks to the Cannes Film Festival. It’s a pretty diverse area. The American tourists are not all white. The many international visitors come from all over the world, including a lot from Asia. What a shame for “White Lotus” to miss the opportunity of having a multicultural cast.

Donald Trump has really set this country back in ways that will be hard to recover from. It’s easy for me to say, but if you were a Black or Asian actor or journalist training for a career or at a point where these jobs were goals, these choices are blocked now by the equivalent of border walls. That’s what Trump is about: keeping everyone out.

Celine Dion Announces Return to Performing: 10 Paris Dates for this Fall As She Celebrates 58th Birthday

Roger Friedman
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Celine Dion Announces Return to Performing: 10 Paris Dates for this Fall As She Celebrates 58th Birthday

Celine Dion gave herself a nice 58th birthday present.

She’s going back to work.

Well, we were right and wrong about Celine Dion.

She’s not singing at the Eiffel Tower this summer.

She is, however, doing 10 dates in September and October in Paris.

The famed singer will take over the La Defense Arena from September 12th to October 14th. There are many rest days so she doesn’t overdo it. Dion is just recuperating from Stiff Person Syndrome.

It’s all coming back to her now.

Justin Bieber Played a Private Show Last Night in LA Rehearsal for Coachella: No Past Hits Because of Catalog Sale?

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber Played a Private Show Last Night in LA Rehearsal for Coachella: No Past Hits Because of Catalog Sale?

The big news in LA this weekend was the Paul McCartney shows at the Fonda Theater.

Less glitzy was Justin Bieber rehearsing for Coachella with a private show at the Roxy music club on Sunset Boulevard.

Bieber performed a set of 25 songs, almost all live debuts, with no hits like “Peaches” or “Sorry” or “Love Yourself” or any of the catalog he sold recently for $200 million. He doesn’t own the rights to those songs anymore, and probably doesn’t want to pay for them to be performed. It was all “Swag” material, which should go over like the proverbial lead balloon at Coachella. (There’s nothing better than a pop star’s show with songs no one cares about.)

Strange? Yes. Also Bieber, looking like a scrawny ad for a tattoo parlor, was shirtless. (He always looks like he smells bad.) He brought his cosmetics queen wife Hailey and baby Jack, who is no longer being hidden from photographers.

According to Spotify, Bieber was the 16th most streamed artist this weekend.

Bieber’s Coachella show is April 9th. Last night’s rehearsal was his first real show in four years, not counting his nearly naked turn at the Grammy Awards.

AI Creator Dallas Little Drops Another Single by Singer “Eddie Dalton” with Three Titles Already in the iTunes Top Five

Roger Friedman
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AI Creator Dallas Little Drops Another Single by Singer “Eddie Dalton” with Three Titles Already in the iTunes Top Five

Yes, it’s true.

“Eddie Dalton” has a new single.

He already has three in the top 5 of iTunes. His new one, “Stay a Little Longer,” just dropped.

I told you this is all being generated by a content farm run by Dallas Ray Little out of Greenville, South Carolina, who’s already got dozens of these faux songs and videos by different “artists” on YouTube.

So far there’s not much streaming. But people are downloading these songs thinking they’re real!

I suppose Dallas Little could just keep releasing these “records” until iTunes and YouTube say no. I’m sure they won’t!

Exclusive: AI Generated Singer — Not a Real Person — “Eddie Dalton” Hits Number 1 on iTunes with Two More Hits in the Top 10

RIP Mary Beth Hurt, 3 Time Tony Award Nominee, Starred in “Interiors,” “Garp,” Other 80s Hits, Wife of Paul Schrader

Roger Friedman
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RIP Mary Beth Hurt, 3 Time Tony Award Nominee, Starred in “Interiors,” “Garp,” Other 80s Hits, Wife of Paul Schrader

The great actress and lovely person, Mary Beth Hurt, has died at 79.

A three time Tony Award nominee, Hurt was the wife of director-writer Paul Schrader. They had two children.

Mary Beth lived with Alzheimer’s for the last few years. A couple of years ago Paul moved her into a new facility on the West Side of Manhattan where he lived in an apartment a few floors away. He and their children were constants in her life. She had many friends visit often, including Glenn Close.

Mary Beth Hurt became famous overnight in the 1970s when she starred in Woody Allen’s “Interiors.” After that she shined in a string of hits including “The World According to Garp,” “Chilly Scenes of Winter,” and “The Age of Innocence.”

From Iowa originally, Hurt (she got her last name from a first marriage to the late William Hurt) became a quintessential New York actress. Her list of theater credits is long including “Crimes of the Heart,” which earned her an Obie Award and a Tony nod. She went on to play the same role in the movie.

In that early time, from the late 70s through the 80s, it was always exciting to Mary Beth hurt in a play or movie. She was a serious fine actress who oozed with charm. She will be much missed.

Noah Wyle Is Top Donor to Late Star Valerine Perrine’s GoFundMe for Funeral: How About It, “Superman” Studio Warner Bros?

Roger Friedman
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Noah Wyle Is Top Donor to Late Star Valerine Perrine’s GoFundMe for Funeral: How About It, “Superman” Studio Warner Bros?

“The Pitt” star Noah Wyle is the top donor to famed actress Valerie Perrine’s GoFundMe page. Perrine died at 82 on March 23rd.

Wyle, a mensch, donated $9,547. Runner up is screenwriter John Logan, with $2,000.

Organizer Stacey Souther — who made an excellent documentary about the actress — says he needs $4,000 to get to the goal of $50,000 to pay all the expenses incurred.

That would seem like a nice gift from Warner Bros. Valerie starred in two gigantic Warner’s hits back in the day, “Superman” and “Superman II.” Of course she played Eve Teschmacher. She was hilarious with Gene Hackman and stole the show.

Didn’t Valerie Perrine have a lot of money, you ask? She suffered from Parkinsons Disease for years, requiring enormous amounts of dough for home care. Anyone who’s been through that it with a family member knows you can be wiped out easily.

When I was 16, Perrine definitely caught my attention in “Steambath” on PBS. She left indelible mark on my young psyche. For years she turned small roles into big ones in movie after movie. I doubt she ever made big money. She made a living.

Again, here’s the link.

Paul McCartney Plays 2 Nights of Different Sets at LA Theater, With Ringo, Elton John, Taylor Swift, Lots of Stars in Audience

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney Plays 2 Nights of Different Sets at LA Theater, With Ringo, Elton John, Taylor Swift, Lots of Stars in Audience

When I saw Paul McCartney play the Bowery Ballroom last year, the celebs were few.

Of course, the Bowery had no seats and a capacity of 575. Larry David was the hottest guest.

Over the last two nights things were quite different at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Then again, the Fonda seats 1200, like a Broadway house.

Early reports say McCartney’s green room must have been fun. Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach, Elton John, Stevie Nicks, Taylor Swift, Steven Tyler, Seal, Chad Smith and Anthony Kiedis, Margot Robbie, Sabrina Carpenter, Joey King, Christina Aguilara, and Jimmy Kimmel were spotted in the theater.

Not bad. But no sign of Jane Fonda, for whose dad the theater was named. She was in Minneapolis with Bruce Springsteen and Joan Baez.

Paul played two nights of two different sets. But no songs from his coming album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” or its single. Also, no songs from the great “Ram” album. But plenty of Beatles and Wings hits including “Now and Then,” with the John Lennon video. For some reason, “Band on the Run” only made the second night.

A Facebook poster, Christine Bramblett, observed: “There was also a fan in the front row who had a sign that said it was his 146th time seeing Paul McCartney. Paul called it out – also making a funny comment it seemed ‘a bit obsessive.'”

Naaaaaaah…

Exclusive: Fake AI Singer Eddie Dalton Has Sold Over 13,000 Records and Had 525K Streams In One Week

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Fake AI Singer Eddie Dalton Has Sold Over 13,000 Records and Had 525K Streams In One Week

Is this the future of music?

I told you yesterday that “Eddie Dalton” is not a human singer, but an AI created character.

“Eddie” — who seems like he’s a 70 year old blues singer — is really a computer generated product, from his song to his video to his persona..

This AI generated figure has three songs in the iTunes top 100 right now including one called “Another Day Old,” something he will never be.

The three songs have generated 13,000 in sales, and 525K streams. In the comments sections of the videos on You Tube, people are really enjoying the music and wonder about the backstory of the singer.

Almost no one realizes the whole thing is a fabrication.

Is there where we’re headed? I’d love to talk to the people at Crunchy Records who seem to have a whole line of invented music uploaded to YouTube, Spotify, and iTunes, but they have not returned any messages.

This weekend, Paul McCartney, almost 84, is playing three wildly sold out shows at the small Fonda Theater in Los Angeles. Then he’s releasing his 18th solo album. He may be the last human to accomplish these feats.

Exclusive: AI Generated Singer — Not a Real Person — “Eddie Dalton” Hits Number 1 on iTunes with Two More Hits in the Top 10

Bruce Springsteen Sings at Minneapolis No Kings Rally for Renee Good and Alex Pretti: “Their names will not be forgotten”

Roger Friedman
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Bruce Springsteen Sings at Minneapolis No Kings Rally for Renee Good and Alex Pretti: “Their names will not be forgotten”

Bruce Springsteen sang this afternoon at the No Kings Rally in memory of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

Springsteen performed his song “Streets of Minneapolis” in that city, introduced by Governor Tim Walz.

Bruce said of the two people murdered by ICE in the Twin Cities: “Their names will not be forgotten.”

Springsteen opens his tour in Minneapolis this week. He was so incensed by what ICE did this winter, he wrote this song in one day and recorded it the next, and it released it in with 24 hours.

Bruce is a hero. He stands up for what he believes. Where are the stars of THIS generation to support him? We’re waiting for young people to stand up, too.

Friday Box Office: “Project Hail Mary” Hopping Past “Hoppers” in One Third of the Time, “The Bride” Runs Away to Drive-Ins

Roger Friedman
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Friday Box Office: “Project Hail Mary” Hopping Past “Hoppers” in One Third of the Time, “The Bride” Runs Away to Drive-Ins

First, the sad news.

“The Bride” has run away. After three weeks of cliches and metaphors, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s wedded drama has taken off to parts unknown.

It’s a sad story. “The Bride” is now playing in one theater in the NY tri-state area. She’s holed up at a drive-in theater in Amenia, New York.

You think I’m kidding. She’s got one show tonight at the Four Brothers Pizza Inn, at 9:05pm. I didn’t know there were any drive-ins left!

Seriously, there should be 90 theaters across the country where the bedraggled spouse is still playing maybe one show a day. Warner Bros. is no longer reporting numbers after three weeks. Maybe we’ll get to see it on HBO Max soon.

For the record, the domestic total was $12.6 million, with another $10.5 mil in some other countries.

Meanwhile, “Project Hail Mary” made $14.7 million last night, bringing its 9 day total to $124 million.

Compare that to $129 million for Disney’s “Hoppers” in 23 days. “Mary” is hopping right past the animated feature.

“Mary” still hasn’t had big international runs yet. This is only the beginning.

I finally caught up with Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes’s appearance on Jimmy Fallon last night. It was from a week ago, and boy oh boy, that was the promotion of a lifetime. Very cute and heartfelt. I meet each of them for the first time years ago, and they could not be nicer. Mazel tov!

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