Saturday, December 20, 2025
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Box Office: Top Notch Ben Affleck-Matt Damon “Air” Has Made a Tremendous $25 Mil in 9 Days

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“Air” is a hit.

The Ben Affleck directed comedy about how Nike got Michael Jordan to be their spokesman is a rarity these days.

Starring Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Affleck, and Jason Bateman, “Air” has taken in $25 million in just 8 days.

“Air” is an original film, not based on other material, and not a sequel. This is almost unheard of these days.

Eventually, “Air” will come to Amazon Prime. And in the fall it will be in all the awards races. Amazon paid a fortune for it, but it was worth the money. “Air” sends a signal that Amazon Studios movie side is serious now about being in the game. (TV side is another story.)

“Air” is by far the best movie so far of 2023. Nice to see how it’s worked out!

Exclusive: That’s Suri Cruise Making Her Singing Debut in Mom Katie Holmes’s Moving New Film, “Rare Objects”

Suri Cruise, daughter of Katie Holmes (and yes, Tom Cruise), makes her singing debut over the end credits of Katie’s new film, “Rare Objects.” The film opens today in limited release and on amazon.com. I watched it tonight and it’s a lovely piece, the third film directed by Holmes as she peels away more and more layers of her talent for us. Nicely done.

Back to “Rare Objects” in a minute. (Oh? You want to know? Suri, who’s almost 17, has a terrific voice. If she wants to be a pop star at some point, she could pull it off with aplomb.)

I ran into Katie Holmes last night at Newel Antiques on East 61st St. where a little reception was thrown for “Rare Objects” by owner Jake Baer. It’s the most charming antiques store in New York, and they were happy to identify with cards all their rare objects that were used in the film. The great set decorator Beth Kushnick invited me, along with Jill Brooke (flowerpowerdaily.com) so we could see where she gets her amazing ideas. I didn’t realize until I got there that Katie would be there, too, along with some of the cast and production people.

Katie was not the one who told me about Suri singing with the band in the movie. Talk about “dropping the lede”! I only figured it out when I went right home and downloaded the film for a very worth it $14.99. There at the end of the music credits among the musicians, it reads: “Vocals: Suri.” Bravo! Aerial East is the featured singer.

I’ve known Katie Holmes a long time but I haven’t seen her in a long time, either. She’s turning into quite the indie film director, with three under her belt. She did tell me that she and Alan Cumming — who’s in this film — are writing a new screenplay but it’s still hush hush.

What did we talk about? A little about Suri, who’s in high school and “a great kid.” We talked about Katie’s love of theater, how she’s added “director” to her achievements, the difference between theater and film acting, and how much she loved her “Dawson’s Creek” co-star Michelle Williams in “The Fabelmans.”

“She always delivers,” Katie said of Michelle. “She’s going to get that Oscar eventually.”

I was impressed. When I met Katie it was in April 2005 at the opening night of “Steel Magnolias” on Broadway. She’d just moved to New York after having an indie hit with “Pieces of April.” She was learning about the city and excited to start the next phase of her career. Eighteen years later, Katie Holmes is confident, forthright, funny, and the mom of a teenager! Talk about a success story!

Go see it in a theater or download “Rare Objects” from amazon. You won’t be disappointed!

Nepo Crazy: Denzel Washington’s Other Son, Malcolm, to Direct “The Piano” Lesson Movie, His Film Debut

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Someone has to explain this to me, slowly.

One of the highlights of the past Broadway season was La Tanya Richardson Jackson’s production of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” She directed it and it was superb. A plus. Everyone involved deserves Tony nominations.

“The Piano Lesson” starred John David Washington, Samuel Jackson, and Danielle Brooks in a most amazing performance, a stage turn for the ages.

So now comes word of the movie. LaTanya is out, and so is Brooks? Huh? Malcolm Washington, Denzel’s other son, will make his directorial debut. Another Danielle — Deadwyler, the star of “Till” — will take Brooks’s place. I really like Deadwyler, but she’s wrong for the part and the wrong Danielle, I’m afraid.

How do these things happen? It’s the mystery of Hollywood. I hope the Broadway production was taped for posterity. LaTanya did a great job. She should be back on Broadway again soon, I hope. She should have done the movie.

Buried News: NBC Gives Only 13 Episode Order for “Organized Crime,” Raising Questions About Chris Meloni’s Elliot Stabler

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Buried in their renewal news the other day was an NBC nugget: while “Law & Order” and “SVU” each got 22 episode orders for the fall season, “Organized Crime” got only 13.

Huh? “SVU” and “Organized Crime” have run in tandem every since the latter show arrived as a spin off. “OC” has never aired on its own independent of the 25 year old “SVU.” It’s just been used as an opportunity to milk the pseudo romance between Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson and Chris Meloni’s Elliot Stabler. They even killed off Stabler’s wife to achieve that goal.

But “OC” has never caught on. Its ratings are way below the other two shows. The Meloni show is now on its fifth show runner and never has achieved its own identity. No one knows what its purpose is, why it exists other than to have Stabler ready to flirt with Benson at a moment’s notice.

The idea was that “OC” would be the third part of an all-Thursday Dick Wolf block on NBC, the way he has the “Chicago” shows on NBC Wednesdays and “FBI” night on Tuesdays on CBS. To get “OC” on the air, NBC had to knock off the popular “Manifest,” which led to protests and Netflix taking on the other show so it could play out its cliffhanger plots.

So now what? What happens when “OC” runs out of shows? Will Wolf cede his third hour on Thursdays? Will Meloni move to “SVU”? Will all of “OC” be used as crossovers with “SVU”? And will we ever know what “Organized Crime” was about?

Literally, stay tuned…

Bob Dylan Releasing “Shadow Kingdom,” Streaming-Only Pay Per View Event from July 2021 on CD, DVD, Everything Else

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Remember a couple of years ago? Bob Dylan had a pay per view streaming only event called “Shadow Kingdom.” It cost 25 bucks and included a bunch of newly recorded Dylan hits with black and white videos. It was very cool.

So now Bob is releasing it for everyone via Sony Legacy on June 2nd and June 6th. All of it — LP, CD, the full film, rent, keep, etcetera. It was worth the original 25 bucks and it’s worth it now.

The song list:

Bob Dylan – Shadow Kingdom

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)

Queen Jane Approximately

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

Tombstone Blues

To Be Alone With You

What Was It You Wanted

Forever Young

Pledging My Time

The Wicked Messenger

Watching the River Flow

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

Sierra’s Theme

Cannes 2023 LIVE UPDATING Scorsese, Indiana Jones, Johnny Depp, Cate Blanchett, The Weeknd, Wes Anderson, Julianne Moore & Natalie Portman

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keep refreshing your browser…
LIVE UPDATING Selections of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival…already announced films by Martin Scorsese, James Mangold (Indiana Jones), Maiween (Johnny Depp in Jeanne DuBarry)…also Sam Levinson’s pilot for HBO’s “The Idol” with The Weeknd, a film produced by and starring Cate Blanchett called “The New Boy”…Wes Anderson’s “Asteroid City”…Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman in Todd Haynes’ “May/December”…Jude Law, Alicia Vikander, Eddie Marsan in “Firebrand”…

No sign of Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance…” Woody may be going to Venice Film Festival instead…we’ll see what he’s decided…

Here are the rest, live from the announcement…

Review: “Mrs. Maisel” Series Ends with A Bang, a Sensational Emmy Worthy Final Season Full of Precise Acting, Writing, and Directing

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I’m going to start backwards here.

The final episode of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” doesn’t come until the end of May. We’re not allowed to say much about it yet. Only you should know that the Emmy winning show comes to a glorious ending, the kind you hope for in every beloved TV series. The voices of both Bob Dylan and Barbra Streisand are heard and the final thank you is to Kitty Bruce, daughter of Lenny. Amen.

On the 14th of April, first three episodes of the last season pick up where we left off: Midge, returning from walking around in a blizzard, comes home and has to make decisions about her career. She’s burned a lot of bridges. Nearly always self-destructive in her quest to become a famous female comic, she has to figure out a way to make it work.

This much I can tell you: each episode of this season begins with a flash forward. We learn what happens to all the characters in the future, a neat little device that tells its own story over nine installments. I won’t tell you their fates, but it;’s enough to say almost everyone gets what they want, which is nice. It’s not all perfect, and it’s kind of realistic in a Maisel-type way.

Throughout this season, as in the past, the writing and direction are superb. All the group scenes, musical numbers, and so on are like mini productions within “Mrs. Maisel.” They are choreographed with wit and intelligence, and designed to the nth degree. Every single below the line artisan deserves an award. Daniel Palladino’s direction if it were on Broadway would get a Tony Award. The precision of these executions is mind blowing.

The acting, though, and the writing that informs it what gives the show charm and heft. Rachel Brosnahan is like a combination of Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas from the 60s. She sails through her scenes, making the light and dark seem easy. Alex Borstein’s Susie is a wise cracking fluid Rhoda and Ethel Mertz. Tony Shalhoub — especially in an episode where he has a Woody Allen like sit down dinner with four colleagues — is wise and wonderful.

The rest of the cast deserves every ensemble award. The Maisels– Caroline Aaron and Kevin Pollack, Rose Weissman, played by Marin Hinkle, all the supporting people are so sharply drawn, each pulling out new unexpected textures. The Palladinos manage to give everyone something to do — Susie’s sister appears in a live industrial musical, the Maisel maid gets married in the Weissman living room.

Some info: Stephanie Hsu, who made and got nominated for an Oscar in “Everything Everywhere” between “Maisel” seasons, has a farewell scene and leaves Joel high and dry. It’s a little awkward to move on. Joel. who’s always a bit of a rat, acquits himself by making a life changing sacrifice for Midge. Other guest stars wander in and out, like Hank Azaria and Sutton Foster. The very good Reid Scott, from “Veep,” becomes Midge’s foil as Gordon Ford, a New York talk show host a la Jack Paar. Jane Lynch makes a cameo as Sophie Lennon. There are nods to pretty much everyone we’ve seen in the series. The whole enterprise is more than just satisfying.

RuPaul’s Ratings Are a Drag So Far This Season as Series Drops 38% Since January

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Maybe it’s because of its age — 15 seasons.

Or maybe all the trash talk about drag queens reading books to children has turned people off.

For some reason, “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” a show with a ton of awards, has taken a precipitous drop in the ratings.

The VH-1 show won Emmys for Best Reality Show in 2018, 2019, and 2020. But this year, Viacom moved the show from VH-1 to MTV, as they have done with other reality shows. Fans may be confused but at this rate, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” could be in trouble by the time its season ends.

Viacom, aka Paramount, announced last fall it was separating VH-1 from sister network MTV and moving it under BET Media Group. The idea is to spin off the latter– Tyler Perry and Byron Allen are those who’ve expressed interest — maybe taking VH-1 with them. Why? Because if you can screw something up, corporations will do it.

When MTV and VH-1 were in their heyday, the former played music videos for younger people. VH-1 was for an older generation. But as music has becoming increasingly bad, and videos are not in demand, the two networks have been programming a lot of reality TV and game shows. If VH-1 leaves with BET, Paramount will be down to just moribund channel instead of two.

Lethal Liability? Mel Gibson’s Face and Name Appear Nowhere in Trailer for Peacock Limited Series, Actor’s First TV Show

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This is pretty weird.

Of course, no one wants to be associated with Mel Gibson. So it should come as no surprise that neither Gibson’s face nor name appear in the teaser trailer for a new Peacock three part series called “The Continental.”

The show actually stars Colin Woodell. It’s set in the New York in the 70s where the only Continental was a gay bath house. It’s unlikely Mel is the proprietor. The Holocaust denying anti-Semite and racist doesn’t seem like he’d be doing that.

There’s plenty of gun play, as seen below, but no hint of Gibson, Hollywood’s most reviled Public Enemy Number 1. I can’t believe anyone agreed to work with him at all.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=S4GmiggFXRI

“Succession” First Post-Logan Episode: He’s Still Present, and the Talk Becomes Much More Brutal (Plus, Best Line)

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The biggest spoiler in “Succession” is from this past Sunday: Logan is dead.

Well, he’s still in the room and present as ever in Episode 4. All the talk is about him, good and bad. Mostly bad. The man is not in his grave yet but his memory and reputation are being used as ping pong balls and bargaining in chips at the board of Waystar comes to pay its respects in his lavish Park Avenue apartment.

The whole episode should be titled “Sitting Shiva, with Swords.”

Everyone who should be in this episode appears or is mentioned except for Logan’s brother, Greg’s father, played by James Cromwell.

There are many revelations and plot twists. The conversation seems more raw and brutal as characters appear to be telling each other off in more unguarded ways than ever. Tom and Greg are particular targets, which leads to Geri giving my favorite line of the show to Tom, who has just taken an hors d’oeuvres from a tray: “You might want to put down that fish taco. You’re getting your melancholy everywhere.”

Shiv gets a few surprises, Kendall gets one, and special kudos go to Peter Friedman, who is quite touching, and Zoe Winters, very moving work.

Much more cannot be said til Sunday. But if this is a foreshadowing, the funeral episode — presumably a week from Sunday — should be titled “Monster’s Ball.”

PS This year HBO should bring back their Emmy party. They’re going to have truckloads of them when you factor in “House of the Dragon,” “Hacks,” “Barry,” and “The Last of Us.”