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Taylor Swift Guarantees Many New Albums of Songs, Ends 6 Year Relationship with Actor Boyfriend Joe Alwyn

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Guarantees Many New Albums of Songs, Ends 6 Year Relationship with Actor Boyfriend Joe Alwyn

Everything comes to a natural conclusion, and so it is with Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn.

The blonde couple had been dating for six years. Alwyn even got to the point where he was getting songwriting credits on her recent albums. If he owns his publishing, he’ll be getting checks forever.

Swift is famous for writing songs about exes like John Mayer and Jake Gyllenhaal. With this breakup, Swift fans are guaranteed years and years of new failed romance songs, exigeses on ending long term relationships. The fans will be parsing these songs for years to come, even though no one else cares. Alwyn should prepare himself.

Swift, of course, is on a major tour through August 9th. And that’s just the first leg. She should be on tour for two years or more, around the world. Alwyn has a job — to make movies. It’s a classic “A Star is Born” story. If there hadn’t been pandemic, this probably would have happened two or three years ago.

Credit for the break up news I guess goes to Entertainment Tonight. Apparently Alwyn has been absent so far from the tour, which gave someone the idea they were kaput.

Some suggestions for new Swift beaus: Pete Davidson, of course, and Rupert Murdoch.

Review: “Chantilly Bridge,” a Female “Big Chill” Meets “Boyhood,” A Sensitive Portrait of the Passing of Time with Ally Sheedy, Lindsay Crouse, Jill Eikenberry

Regina Weinreich
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Review: “Chantilly Bridge,” a Female “Big Chill” Meets “Boyhood,” A Sensitive Portrait of the Passing of Time with Ally Sheedy, Lindsay Crouse, Jill Eikenberry

If “The Golden Girls” weren’t a sitcom, or if “The Big Chill” had an all-female cast, they might look like Linda Yellen’s new movie “Chantilly Bridge,” a bringing together of old friends for a reunion.

A thirty-year jump from Yellen’s movie “Chantilly Lace,” “Bridge” features the same actresses, all with big careers: JoBeth Williams, Jill Eikenberry, Lindsay Crouse, Helen Slater, Talia Shire, Patricia Richardson and Ally Sheedy. We haven’t seen them in a long time because in film life as in real life, older women are simply not seen. To the point, their lives matter.

“Chantilly Bridge” opens with a quote about the function of bridges to connect the living with those departed. The characters come together to hug, mourn, remember, console, and deal with the matters that death brings—disposal of ashes, dispensing of “things,” discussion of lives lived, the demands of friendship, and of aging. There’s hardly a guy in the whole film.

A coup: flashbacks to the women thirty years before as vibrant 40-year-olds, especially resonant because we’ve known and loved their work so well. Director Linda Yellen — a seasoned Hollywood veteran whose work dates back to the stunning 1980 TV film “Playing for Time” with Vanessa Redgrave –and “Jacobo Timmerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number” — said she waited until she could secure the rights to the earlier film from Showtime. Using the footage is an artistic achievement: “Chantilly Bridge” is a sensitive portrait of what time takes away and what time gives.

Box Office: “Super Mario” Astonishing $55 Mil Friday Points to Stunning $200 Mil Easter Parade

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Super Mario” Astonishing $55 Mil Friday Points to Stunning $200 Mil Easter Parade

Give the people what they want.

Universal Pictures has certainly done just that with “The Super Mario Brothers Movie.”

Last night, Mario and Luigi brought home a shocking $55 million. In one day. Yes, I am not kidding.

If that keeps up tonight and tomorrow, Universal is seeing a $200 million five day take from Thursday through Sunday.

That is literally insane.

“Super Mario” is certainly entertaining the masses, and there will be many sequels to this thing in coming years. It’s also hard to imagine what this means for Nintendo, or the Super Mario world of electronic games. It should be a blow out if film fans who already have some games go back and buy more to continue the experience. Nintendo already brings in about $14 billion a year.

But success always brings jealousy, so look for Luigi and the other characters to start griping about not getting their fair shares and demanding their own movies. It’s just a matter of time!

Rock Hall Fan Vote So Far: Three of the Top Five Are Dead, Hip Hop Stars Rejected

Roger Friedman
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Rock Hall Fan Vote So Far: Three of the Top Five Are Dead, Hip Hop Stars Rejected

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fan vote for 2023 is steaming to an end. The finale is April 28th.

So far, three of the top five vote getters are dead, more or less. They George Michael, the top candidate so far, at number 1. Warren Zevon is number 3, and Soundgarden — which is really Chris Cornell — is at number 5.

Number 2 so far is Cyndi Lauper, who must be inducted this year. Number 4 is Iron Maiden, which is ridiculous.

Hip hop has been rejected so far. Both Missy Elliott and A Tribe Called Quest are at the bottom of the list.

If the Hall wants to honor Seymour Stein, a founder, this year, they must induct The Spinners. They’re R&B royalty with tons of hits. Their classic sounds resonate today with “I’ll Be Around” and “Could it Be I’m Falling in Love” heard every day on satellite and terrestrial radio.

The number 6 vote getter is Willie Nelson, who’s turning 90 this year. You think of him as country music, but Willie could still rock most of these people under the table. I’d go with him. And he’ll come to the ceremony, memorably.

Most of the other nominees were bad ideas. It’s a little early for Sheryl Crow, who will get in one day soon. Ditto Jack White. Kate Bush is too much on the fringe. Rage Against the Machine, also too early, although Tom Morello will get something someday. Joy Division/New Order– I always liked them a lot, but not going to happen.

There are plenty of living people who are still not in the Rock Hall including Judy Collins, Cher, Dionne Warwick, and Chaka Khan. Also Chubby Checker. In memoriam, Mary Wells, a Motown superstar. The Monkees should have gone in already. Sting as a solo artist is a sore spot at this point. Paul Rodgers isn’t in despite having hits as Free and Bad Company. And Rufus and Carla Thomas, the linchpins of Stax Records.

Box Office Bomb: Music Bio Film “Spinning Gold” Had a Shorter Life than Its Subject, Record Label Chief Neil Bogart

Roger Friedman
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Box Office Bomb: Music Bio Film “Spinning Gold” Had a Shorter Life than Its Subject, Record Label Chief Neil Bogart

Last week, “Spinning Gold” — about the short, hot career of record label exec Neil Bogart — played in 775 theaters.

This week, it’s down to fewer than a dozen from what I can tell.

The story of Casablanca Records, how it came and went, should have been a doozy. But it didn’t get very good reviews. And the minute it arrived, a lot of people complained about it.

The Village People were made they weren’t included, and claimed the producers — Bogart’s adult sons — could clear their music because he had no money.

That was theme. When the movie was being made in Montreal back in 2019, it ran into pay problems. The local talent union issued a “Do Not Work” order until the company came up with $600,000 in back pay. (They did.)

Not only that: Alex Habrich, CEO of Montreal-based SolidXperience Group, filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit in 2020 against director Timothy Scott Bogart (the eldest son of the late Neil Bogart), alleging contractual fraud. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 16 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

None of this is a surprise. Neil Bogart, who died at 39 from cancer in 1982, had a roller coaster run during his short career. He had massive hits with KISS, The Village People, Donna Summer, Parliament, and so on. But Bogart, however, couldn’t keep control of the artists after he broke them. He also cashed in too early to stay alive. When the company was hot, Bogart sold a piece of it to Polygram, which forced him out.

Now the movie is who knows where. The distributor, Variance Films, has never reported box office numbers, but we all know they were very low. Despite Broadway’s Jeremy Jordan playing Bogart, and a bunch of contemporary music stars playing Bogart’s acts, there was probably no money to promote “Spinning Gold” beyond a few days.

Maybe we’ll see it on a streamer or HBO, where it can catch on. But for now “Spinning Gold” has spun out.

New “Star Wars” Movie Will Pick Up Where Last One Ended, with Daisy Ridley as Rey, from Female Director

Roger Friedman
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New “Star Wars” Movie Will Pick Up Where Last One Ended, with Daisy Ridley as Rey, from Female Director

“Star Wars” is coming back.

The next film will star Daisy Ridley again as Rey, and be directed by a woman, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) is writing the screenplay.

LucasFilms’ Kathleen Kennedy made the announcement today in London at the Star Wars Celebration.

The film picks up the action after the events of “Rise of Skywalker.” Now even Luke is dead, so is Leia, so it’s up to Rey to start a new generation of Jedi’s.

It’s unclear if anyone will be back from other films in this new chapter. My guess is R2D2 and C3PO are eternal.

“Star Wars” will never die. We will, but it won’t!

Trailer: Harrison Ford Returns for a Fifth Indiana Jones Film, Phoebe Waller Bridge is His Goddaughter in Final (?) Thriller

Roger Friedman
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Trailer: Harrison Ford Returns for a Fifth Indiana Jones Film, Phoebe Waller Bridge is His Goddaughter in Final (?) Thriller

Indiana Jones is back in his fifth and maybe final thriller, “The Dial of Destiny.”

Phoebe Waller-Bridge is his goddaughter, a female “Indy,” which may set her up for another film. We’ll see.

The trailer hearkens back to the first three beloved Indiana Jones movies from Steven Spielberg. This one looks almost like an homage, directed by James Mangold. Since “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was itself an homage, to B movies from the 40s and 50s, this would be a meta homage!

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” premieres at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18th, and then opens around the world in June.

Grammys News: Eligibility Deadline Two Weeks Shorter than Usual This Year, Second Revision of Schedule This Month

Roger Friedman
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Grammys News: Eligibility Deadline Two Weeks Shorter than Usual This Year, Second Revision of Schedule This Month

The Grammy Awards are zigging and zagging.

A few days ago, the Recording Academy announced this year’s eligibility would end on August 31st, a full month before the traditional September 30th.

But someone must have objected because now they’ve reversed that decision and revised the date to September 15th. It’s still two weeks earlier than usual.

Why all this? Who knows, really? September 30th already made the Grammys a little out of date by the time the CBS show rolls around in late January, early February. It means that the broadcast show doesn’t reference any current hits.

So now any artist thinking they’d sneak in under the wire in late September has to rejigger their schedule. But frankly, so far, Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers” and its album have a clear lead. U2, Pink, Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan, and Taylor Swift will all be in the mix. And who know what surprises lurk out there? Hopefully, something good, new, exciting, original. We can only pray.

Kanye West Private School Exposed in Lawsuit from Two Teachers: No Nurse, Janitor, No Food, No Crossword Puzzles, No Forks or Spoons…

Roger Friedman
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Kanye West Private School Exposed in Lawsuit from Two Teachers: No Nurse, Janitor, No Food, No Crossword Puzzles, No Forks or Spoons…

You remember that Kanye West, noted anti-Semite, owns a private Christian school in California called Donda Academy. It’s named for his late mother.

Now the school’s only two Black female teachers are suing Kanye and the school for wrongful termination.

Their names are Cecilia Hailey and Chekarey Byers. Each of them has long resumes in education and juvenile justice. They say when they complained about a lot of things that seemed wrong at Donda, including safety, education, not having a school nurse, offering only sushi for lunch, no janitorial services, and a whole litany of logical, sensible components to a proper school, they were dismissed.

keep refreshing…details coming shortly…

The whole complaint can be read here, and it’s a doozy.

Aside from the safety, education, etc problems at the school, the former teachers also called out these Kanye West pecadilloes:

(1) Defendant WEST did not allow crossword puzzles or coloring sheets;

(2) Classes could not take place on the second floor as Defendant WEST
reportedly did not allow children or staff to go upstairs since he was reportedly afraid of stairs;
(3) Defendant WEST did not allow children to use forks or utensils;

(4) Defendant WEST
required that cups and bowls be the color gray;

(5) Defendant WEST did not allow color in the
classrooms or artwork hung on the walls;

(6) Teachers and children were not allowed to wear
jewelry, because Defendant WEST reportedly did not like jewelry;

(7) Defendant WEST did not allow chairs, so children had to sit on foam cushions or stand, and teachers had to stand or use a stool;

(8) Everyone was required to wear all black from head to toe. Only Defendant WEST’s
issued or designed apparel was allowed to be worn. Nike and Adidas brands were forbidden;

(9)
The school was physically locked from the outside during the school day; and (10) Students were not allowed to go outside. The entire school had the same “lunch/recess” time which was taken indoors. Students had to eat their lunch on the floor as there were no tables.

also, my favorite:

the only lunch available for
students was sushi, every single day. Students were not allowed to bring any outside food or
anything other than water. It was widely known that Defendant WEST spends $10,000.00 a week
on sushi.

Box Office: Super Numbers for Animated Super Mario Brothers $31 Mil Opening Night Despite Terrible Reviews

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Super Numbers for Animated Super Mario Brothers $31 Mil Opening Night Despite Terrible Reviews

Well, what can you say? If the audience wants to see a movie, they will find it.

Last night, “Super Mario Brothers” made $31 million. It’s animated movie for children, no? And star Chris Pratt was criticized for his accent as Mario. John Leguizamo is upset about the casting. But there it is.

Thirty one million dollars. Four more days of that and you’ve got $150 million, which doesn’t seem possible.

Mind you, this is a movie with a 53 on Rotten Tomatoes among critics and bloggers. But it has a 96 audience rating. The people want to see their favorite video game on the big screen!

Hey– one day, this will be on TCM. (LOL, no.) Congrats to Universal Pictures. They know what they’re doing. This is how they can afford to release “Chevalier” and the new Wes Anderson movie.

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