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Hollywood Goes on Strike! Writers Stoppage Will Mean Late Night Talk Show Reruns, Soap Operas Halted, “SNL” in Jeopardy

Roger Friedman
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Hollywood Goes on Strike! Writers Stoppage Will Mean Late Night Talk Show Reruns, Soap Operas Halted, “SNL” in Jeopardy

The Writers Guild has called a strike after months of negotiating with the studios. The issue is streaming. The studios, say the union, don’t want to pay writers for their work when it’s streaming. But streaming — on all the platforms — is the present and the future more and more every day.

The strike means late night talk shows will go into reruns beginning tonight, Tuesday. And if the strike lasts more than a month, the four soap operas on broadcast TV will either be written by scabs, or what’s known as fi-core or financial core writers (they opt out of striking as non-members who still pay dues). “SNL” set for this weekend with Pete Davidson will probably not happen.

From the Writers Guild West: “The Board of Directors of the @WGAwest and the Council of the @WGAeast, acting upon the authority granted to them by their memberships, have voted unanimously to call a strike, effective 12:01 AM, Tuesday, May 2. The decision was made following six weeks of negotiating with @Netflix, @Amazon, @Apple, @Disney, @wbd, @NBCUniversal, @Paramountplus and @Sony
under the umbrella of the AMPTP. Though our Negotiating Committee began this process intent on making a fair deal, the studios’ responses have been wholly insufficient given the existential crisis writers are facing. Picketing will begin tomorrow afternoon.”

What will make this strike different from the one in 2007-2008? Social media, of course. And even then the strike last 100 days.

What happens now? All members of the WGA drop their pens, so to speak. They turn off their computers. Scripts being written for the fall season stop. Movies being filmed and needing spruce ups will not get them. Hollywood becomes like Pepperland in “Yellow Submarine” until the executives come up with an offer that will give the writers a proper living.

What happens to members other unions? They must continue working if under contract as long as they are not writing. SAG-AFTRA members who are working actors on projects must keep doing their jobs.

It’s going to be a contentious morning.

Watch Video of Anna Wintour’s Special Red Carpet Guest at the Met Ball — A Cockroach, Dressed in Black

Roger Friedman
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Watch Video of Anna Wintour’s Special Red Carpet Guest at the Met Ball — A Cockroach, Dressed in Black

With all the freaky fashion and objectionable outfits, Anna Wintour had to have a special guest at the Met Ball.

Dressed in formal black, the guest was a cockroach. You could say a lot of the guests were of his ilk, but this guy was the real thing.

This video will get more play than any other from tonight. LOL. Karma!

RIP Gordon Lightfoot, 84, Hits Included “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald”

Roger Friedman
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RIP Gordon Lightfoot, 84, Hits Included “If You Could Read My Mind,” “Sundown,” “Wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald”

RIP Gordon Lightfoot, 84, a national treasure in Canada, a man with a lot of hits and millions of fans in the United States.

Lightfoot’s hit, “If You Could Read My Mind” was so pervasive that part of it actually found its way into “The Greatest Love of All.” The song remains a classic.

His other hits included “Sundown,” a massive number 1 in 1975, and the very long story song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It was the singer’s deep tenor set against strong folk melodies that made him standout on the radio. He was unique, which made him a huge star. God bless.

Oscars: Motion Picture Academy Issues 40 Pages of Rules: Movies Must Play in Theaters, Voters Cannot Share Anonymous Ballots, Most Socializing Frowned Upon

Roger Friedman
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Oscars: Motion Picture Academy Issues 40 Pages of Rules: Movies Must Play in Theaters, Voters Cannot Share Anonymous Ballots, Most Socializing Frowned Upon

It’s time for the annual list of rules and regulations from the Motion Picture Academy. They’ve issued a 40 page edict that should harsh the mellow of anyone who wants to have fun during awards season.

The big news, already known, is no streaming. If you want to qualify for Best Picture, your movie must play in a theater for seven days in one of the major markets– or fugeddaboutit. Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and so on will be affected. Netflix will be keenly aware of this for their Bradley Cooper movie about Leonard Bernstein. Apple will take note for the Scorsese film, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Amazon Studios is already wise to this. They’ve had Ben Affleck’s “Air” in theaters for weeks.

There are a lot of rules about campaigning for Oscars, most of them discouraging parties. A canape could buy a vote! (In reality, the voters love the cocktail parties and buffets particularly in L.A. where socializing is not so easy. No one — no one– ever voted for a movie or actor because they were given a lobster tail.)

Here’s a new rule that will affect in particular the Hollywood Reporter: the Academy now prohibits voters from speak to the press anonymously about their ballots. In the past, the minute balloting ends THR and others put out a bunch of these cloaked reports, almost none of which have any accuracy. They’re just fun. But fun is verboten! I’ll miss those things.

In particular:

You may encourage others to view motion pictures.
● You may praise motion pictures and achievements.
● You may not share your voting decisions at any point.
● You may not discuss your voting preferences and other members’ voting preferences in a
public forum. This includes comparing or ranking motion pictures, performances, or
achievements in relation to voting. This also includes speaking with press anonymously.
● You may not attempt to encourage other members to vote for or not vote for any motion
picture or achievement.
● You may not lobby other members directly or in a manner outside of the scope of these
promotional regulations to advance a motion picture, performance, or achievement.

And so it begins!

Fox News Flop: Sean Hannity’s Friday Ratings Were Lowest, Lost Half His Audience In Just 3 Weeks

Roger Friedman
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Fox News Flop: Sean Hannity’s Friday Ratings Were Lowest, Lost Half His Audience In Just 3 Weeks

Sean Hannity hit rock bottom in the ratings on Friday.

Total viewers were just 1.3 million. That’s Hannity’s lowest rating ever.

On the night before, Thursday, he was still up around 1.8 million. On the prior night, he was at 1.7 million.

But just two weeks ago, Hannity had 2.7 million viewers on April 13th. His fans have literally run away in droves.

It’s not helping that Hannity’s lead in now is not the fired Tucker Carlson but a miscellaneous show that has also dropped. The 8pm slot is getting no numbers. But if Hannity was so dependent on Carlson’s numbers, what does that say for him anyway?

Fox viewers are obviously missing Carlson because they were used to him. But also maybe they’re actually trying to find real news and not fake news. Most of the time, Fox News avoids anything positive about President Biden, his successes, or anything negative about Trump, DeSantis, or even Fox News itself.

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Ed Sheeran, Drama Queen, Says He’ll Quit If He Loses Suit But He’s Been Here Before with “Shape of You”– And Settled! (Listen)

Roger Friedman
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Ed Sheeran, Drama Queen, Says He’ll Quit If He Loses Suit But He’s Been Here Before with “Shape of You”– And Settled! (Listen)

Why is Ed Sheeran such a drama queen?

On the stand today he declared if he lost his lawsuit over the song, “Thinking Out Loud” he’d quit his career.

LOL. Ed, win or lose, “Thinking of You” sounds a lot like Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.” So let’s get a grip.

Sheen played his guitar for the jury today and said “Thinking” sounded more like a Van Morrison song. So that makes it so much better!

Sheeran should have just settled with Ed Townsend and Marvin Gaye’s estates. As I wrote last week, the singer songwriter has been sued before, settled, and so on. He had to add the songwriters of TLC’s “No Scrubs” to “Shape of You” because it was too similar to ignore.

TV Shocker: Angela Bassett’s “Rescue 9-1-1” Moving to ABC from Fox for Season 7 Even Though Fox Produces the Show

Roger Friedman
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TV Shocker: Angela Bassett’s “Rescue 9-1-1” Moving to ABC from Fox for Season 7 Even Though Fox Produces the Show

Here’s a headscratcher: Angela Bassett’s “Rescue 9-1-1” is moving to ABC from Fox TV for its 7th season. Fox actually cancelled the show despite it being produced by…wait for it…Fox TV!

Bassett, Peter Krause, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Ryan Guzman star in this excellent if ignored series that would be a hit if it had some press.

Meantime, Fox did renew the show’s spin off, “Rescue 9-1-1: Somewhere Else.” starring Rob Lowe, will remain behind on Fox for one more year.

The irony here is that ABC is part of Disney, which owns Fox TV. But I would think going to ABC is a massive upgrade for this show, to be on a real network. Bassett should have been nominated for Best Actress in a Drama by the Emmys, Globes, Critics Choice, etc. Maybe ABC PR can pull that off.

This season, “Rescue 9-1-1” averaged 4.8 million viewers, much higher than “Greys Anatomy.” Maybe ABC can do crossovers with “Greys” or “Station 19.”

PS I watched an episode of this show this season that Bassett-centric. If it had been on HBO, everyone would be getting Emmys.

UPDATED The Met Gala Guest List Like the Grammys for Stupid People, with Few Oscar Winners — But Carla Bruni and Huma Abedin

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED The Met Gala Guest List Like the Grammys for Stupid People, with Few Oscar Winners — But Carla Bruni and Huma Abedin

UPDATED: A couple of Oscar winners, Nicole Kidman and Jessica Chastain. A couple of off beat celebrities maybe more notorious than famous — Carla Bruni and Huma Abedin. Bruni just said on the red carpet that Karl Lagerfeld didn’t believe in death. “He said a person could just go into another room and come back.” Um, hmmm. So far Karl has not returned from that room. PS Kim Kardashian looks like a living nightmare.

EARLIER The proposed guest list for tonight’s Met Ball doesn’t look that promising. It’s sort of the Grammys for stupid people.

For one thing, only one Oscar winner is on the list– Penelope Cruz, because she’s a co-host.

The bulk of the list comes from bubblegum pop. That includes Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Rihanna and Rocky A$AP, Katy Perry, and Dua Lipa — who’s the night’s performer, Harry Stiles, Lil Nas X, and Nikki Minaj. Lizzo will round out that group.

Of course, there’s the whole Kardashian posse– Kim, two sisters, and a Hadid, plus Bad Bunny. Zendaya, who straddles music, TV, and movies, is expected.

PS If you see an Oscar winner on the red carpet, let me know at showbiz411@gmail.com

Meantime, tonight is the Actors Fund hala, aka the Entertainment Community Fund, honoring among others Tyler Perry. Most of Broadway will be there including Brian Stokes Mitchell. Which event would you rather be at?

More to come…refresh for updates…

The Gruesome Met Ball is On for Tonight: Ticket Prices Are So High, Many Fashionists Have Dropped Out–So Has Blake Lively

Roger Friedman
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The Gruesome Met Ball is On for Tonight: Ticket Prices Are So High, Many Fashionists Have Dropped Out–So Has Blake Lively

Anna Wintour’s irrelevant Met Ball is on tonight.

Ticket prices are so gruesomely high — $100,000 per table or more — that I’ve heard many fashionistas have dropped out. I mean, execs at the big companies. I know their names, but I won’t embarrass them. They don’t want to cross Anna.

The 2023 Met Ball has lot of other problems, too. For the first time, many publications are running negative stories because Wintour is saluting the memory of late designer Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld left a terrible legacy of meanness and bigotry. He’s the perfect honoree for people like Kim Kardashian but not so great for real celebrities like Blake Lively. She’s not coming.

Indeed, the Met Ball has been reduced to a level of celebrity lower than People magazine — forget Vogue. Co-host Penelope Cruz may be shocked to see who turns up– KPop stars, and so on. It’s not the Oscars.

And then there’s the cost: the Met Ball traditionally costs a fortune. So even if money is taken for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ball pulls the museum’s annual fundraising activities deep in the red.

Aerosmith is Putting a Wrap on 50 Years with Final Tour, One Member Missing, and Steven Tyler’s Health, Legal Problems in Question

Roger Friedman
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Aerosmith is Putting a Wrap on 50 Years with Final Tour, One Member Missing, and Steven Tyler’s Health, Legal Problems in Question

Aerosmith is saying goodbye after 50 years.

The Boston-based band will have one final tour in the fall, starting in September and playing Beantown in Boston on New Year’s Eve and finished the touring in Montreal on January 24th.. The tour is called “Peace Out.”

But peace is not assured as all members will not be on the road. Drummer Joey Kramer is already out because of health issues and disagreements with the rest of the group.

The group’s famous leader, Steven Tyler, also has significant health issues that he’s been working on for about a year. Always troubled by substance abuse, Tyler has been recovering in Los Angeles after going to rehab. Tyler is also dealing with a lawsuit from a former lover, an underage girl who he had an affair with an aborted pregnancy in the early 1970s. (He actually wrote about it in his memoir, which doesn’t help.)

Nevertheless, Tyler is one of our great rock stars, and it would be sensational to see him and Joe Perry in action one more time. Aerosmith hasn’t recorded a a new album in over a decade. It would be swell if they could add to their enormous number of hits with one blow out collection of new songs.

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