The Roger Nichols was Steely Dan’s recording engineer for their original set of brilliant albums. His daughters have found an unreleased track in his archives called “The Second Arrangement.” I love Steely Dan’s music, which is not ‘yacht rock,’ but sensational modern jazz unlike anything else on the radio when it came out or even now.
There’s a full story here explaining the background of the whole thing. Thanks for putting this out, Nichols family! What a treat!
The folks at London’s “Charlie and The Chocolate Factory” in Wimbledon were afraid they were going to melt today.
There’s no air conditioning at the beautiful New Wimbledon Theater. And it’s 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Celsius). And the year is 1910. That’s when the theater was built.
New Wimbledon is owned by Ambassador Theater Group, which now is merged in New York with Jujamcyn Theaters. They’re so devoted to history they don’t want to change a thing! I hope they don’t mind turning up the AC in NYC!
*Important Information*
Due to outside temperatures in excess of 30°C and it’s impact on working conditions on stage. We have reluctantly taken the decision to cancel today’s performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical. Your point of purchase will be in touch. pic.twitter.com/sV6JjA0DZT
— New Wimbledon Theatre (@NewWimbTheatre) June 25, 2023
Just in case you were wondering, COVID still exists.
“Moulin Rouge” in London cancelled both shows today because of it. The announcement is below.
Here in New York, Lea Michele phoned in sick today for “Funny Girl.” Julie Benko is doing both shows. No reason was given. Lea Michele has had COVID at least twice in the last 10 months. Benko is always a welcome fill in.
There are about a dozen different standbys working today on Broadway because of sickness. Mask up backstage, everyone!
An important announcement about today’s performances of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. pic.twitter.com/0O6DCUaE1W
— Moulin Rouge The Musical – UK (@moulinmusicaluk) June 24, 2023
Invited to a party to celebrate designer/ costumer Patricia Field and the fine documentary about her life and career premiering at Tribeca directed by Michael Selditch, one ponders the question: what to wear? After the Tribeca screening of “Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field,” a colorful romp through her decades-long career: 8th Street retail shop, genius pattern combinations (plaids with florals that work) and accessories for the cultural icons populating “Sex & the City” and “The Devil Wears Prada”, the better question is, is my outfit happy enough?
We all accepted Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw in a tutu, New York street attire no less, awkwardly avoiding a splashing puddle; that image adorned the sides of buses for years, and the tasteful matching of Anne Hathaway’s dressy shirts with mini-pleated skirts, aided by Stanley Tucci for the pleasure of a white haired Miranda Priestly—that is, Meryl Streep styled to look like the supermodel Carmen Dell’ Orefice, not Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Even the detail-oriented Darren Star capitulated to Field’s eye, her unique combos and stylings—for the diva and Everywoman, trans or not.
Patricia Field in purples setting off her flame red hair was quickly ushered through the wall-to-wall crowd at Gigino Trattoria, where a person wore an entire polka dotted dress sewn to the lapel. While it flapped against others, looking disastrously askew, old friends like Bruce Weber in his signature headkerchief looked utterly himself, illustrating perhaps the secret to happy clothes.
P. S. I wore the new neutral: Barbie pink.
The Beatles have a famous song called “Paperback Writer.”
Now the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger has a girlfriend who actually IS a paperback writer.
Melanie Hamrick, the mother of Jagger’s 6 year old son Devereaux, has published “First Position,” a novel about a ballerina, in paperback and on Kindle. Penguin/Berkeley is the publisher.
Hamrick herself was a ballerina. She and Mick just attended the gala opening night for American Ballet Theater. She’s 36, he’s 79 (but with the energy of 39). The couple just sold their estate in Florida — where they were near her family — and are sticking to New York.
Reviews? Entertainment Weekly said: “Hamrick makes her debut with this erotic novel that pulses with Black Swan energy…Hamrick offers up a thrilling meditation on the tension between love, desire, and art by combining the artistry of The Red Shoes with the eroticism of Fifty Shades of Grey.”
Mick promoted “First Position,” which hasn’t gotten a lot of publicity since it came out on Tuesday, on Instagram. His quote: “Pretty saucy!”
We all know how bad The Idol is, and all about its precariously low ratings. Last Sunday just 133,000 people watched on the HBO main channel.
Now Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, gives us a preview of Sunday night’s episode. He sings John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” while his character shaves Lily Rose Depp’s legs in a bathtub. Meanwhile, Mexican housekeepers gossip about him by the pool.
“The Idol” has become peak hate watching, that’s for sure. But even the haters are staying away.
I hope John Lennon’s estate got a nice piece of change for the music license. I’ll bet they regret this now even though it’s a good cover. The Weeknd should stick to making records.
episode 4 sneak peek #THEIDOL #tedrosnation we rise Sunday pic.twitter.com/eOVMdUHEOm
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) June 23, 2023
“The Flash” is more or less dead.
I feel bad for the Warner Bros. people who send out box office numbers every day. This is a sad story.
Last night, “The Flash” fell 81% — shocking — and made just $4.5 million. Another $9 million this weekend will bring it to just $85 million over two weekends. “The Flash” won’t get near $100 million until next weekend — at least.
With a budget of well over $200 million, “The Flash” will cause a huge write down at Warner Bros Discovery. It will go down in history as one of the studio’s biggest flops.
As I’ve said before, this didn’t have to be the outcome. The movie is good. But circumstances beyond its control — the star’s massive problems, angry fanboys, and so on — have contributed to its demise.
More box office: Jennifer Lawrence’s sort of awful “No Hard Feelings” is looking at a $16 million opening weekend in wide release. The reviews are mixed to bad. The main attraction is a naked but unafraid star.
“Asteroid City” went really wide yesterday and made a very healthy $3.8 million. Reviews are similar to “No Hard Feelings,” but there are a lot of stars. Total is now over $5 million, which is one fifth of the grand total for Anderson’s last film, “The French Dispatch.”
UPDATE TUES NIGHT 6.27: Julian Sands’ remained have been found in the San Bernardino Mountains. Condolences to his family and friends. This was a long saga for them and a tragic one.
EARLIER It’s been a little over six months since actor Julian Sands went missing on a hike on Mount Baldy in the San Bernadino mountains.
Searches yielded no results then, and nothing has changed. A new search conducted on June 17th also found no evidence of his body. There were originally 8 unsuccessful searches when Sands disappeared but weather became an issue.
The 65 year old British actor had starred in dozens of movies and TV shows, including “A Room with a View” and “Boxing Helena.” Sands’ devoted family has posted a statement supporting the search efforts on the same Tweet as the Sheriff’s Department.
Although missing hiker, Julian Sands, was not located during the recent search mission, the case remains active. We want to thank all the individuals who assisted in the June 17th search and the previous search missions. pic.twitter.com/TQqSvA1wAR
— San Bernardino County Sheriff (@sbcountysheriff) June 21, 2023
Ed Sheeran’s had a weird spring in America, that’s for sure.
First there was his copyright infringement trial. He won the case, but it seems like the whole saga left a bad taste.
From the trial he went to judge “American Idol” in place of Lionel Richie, who was playing at King Charles’s coronation. How weird was that? Sheeran is British, Richie is American.
On May 5th, as he was also launching a US tour, Sheeran released a new album, called “-“. Or “Subtract.” A couple of singles came with it. Ed’s last album, released in 2021, sold 2.5 million copies. The tour was selling well. So you’d think “Subtract,” the latest in a series of math albums, would do well.
Alas, “Subtract” is now dead, after just seven weeks. Total sales according to Luminate: 252,000 albums. It’s like it never happened.
After one big week, “Subtract” just disappeared. Like the Jonas Brothers new album, it just vanished. What happened? Was it so bad no one wanted it? And if so, why did Sheeran sell out Giants Stadium? Why is he playing two nights at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass? Why didn’t these fans who bought tickets also pick up the album?
It’s a headscratcher.
PS Sheeran tickets are pretty cheap. On Ticketmaster you can buy good tickets anywhere for about 100 bucks. Much different than Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, or Beyonce. It’s kind of refreshing.
Paramount Plus is joining Warners/HBO/Max in the axing of programs. It’s also wiping them from their streaming service.
Despite being in “Star Trek” game for 50 years, Paramount is canceling the animated “Star Trek Prodigy” after one season. The producers were renewed for Season 2, but that’s not happening. And “Prodigy” is being wiped from the Paramount Plus platform.
Other shows cancelled include “The Game,” “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” and “Queen of the Universe.” They’re also being wiped from the system.
I don’t understand this rush to erase shows that have already aired, from a digital system. They’ve been paid for, and can exist for eternity taking up no space.
All four shows will be shopped by CBS Productions to other platforms. In the case of “Prodigy,” that might be the first time a “Star Trek” show went to another network. Doesn’t that defeat the whole branding thing?