“Asteroid City” looks pretty great from this trailer, which just dropped from Focus Features.
Wes Anderson is in a return to tongue in cheek form, very dry humor, as he sends up space movies, aliens, and a kind of stylized 50s culture. It’s set in a desert, filmed in Spain. There are nearly two dozen stars. In this trailer we see mostly Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwarzman, and Tom Hanks.
“Asteroid City” will open in Cannes in May, then in June in theaters.
It’s hard to deal with HBO’s ratings announcements these days. There are now two ratings: the measured ones on HBO and the streaming ones announced by HBO Max which are unmonitored. From latter stats, we can surmise that more people are watching HBO Max either on TVs or phones or computers than those who just watch HBO on cable.
So: the hard numbers show that “Succession” returned for its fourth and final season Sunday night to a number lower than its season 3 finale. That’s 598,000 this past Sunday vs. 634,000 in December 2021. That would be weird and disappointing.
However, HBO says including HBO Max and “other platforms” their total was 2.3 million, up 33% from the December 2021 numbers that included HBO Max and other platforms.
God bless, I say. Take the higher numbers even though we have no way of knowing bupkis about them. But the Nielsen rating is like the measurement in the music biz of CDs and paid downloads. It’s a hard, physical statistic. And that means that the Roys– I love them, I love the show, it should win all awards, etc — have a niche audience that more or less returned on Sunday. More will catch up during the week.
SPOILERS In this week’s episode, the kids out bid their father on a media property that will probably wreck them. Logan Roy is furious, but he knows he’ll be back to sweep up the trash later. Cousin Greg’s odd sex life invaded Logan’s lavish apartment, and it may be on tape. The big story was the incredible end sequence between Shiv and Roy, who want a divorce, don’t want it, love each other, are children who don’t know how to operate a relationship. It was heartbreaking work from Sarah Snook and Matthew MacFadyen.
And so we wait for next Sunday.
Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider has come out of the closet…as a gun owner who’s against people owning assault rifles.
This evening he declared on Twitter: “I am a gun owner.. That said, HELL YEAH YOU CAN USE “WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT AS YOUR ANTHEM! Assault weapons were never meant for anything but combat!”
This was in response to a Tweet from a fan that reads: “Dee: If we organize and demand an assault weapons ban, may we use your anthem? #notgonnatakeit Yours in rock and the right not to be gunned down..”
And that should tell us a lot. The Twisted Sister fan base definitely owns guns. But it’s time to end these daily mass assassinations. Marjorie Taylor Greene is as wrong as she can be. “Guns kill.” It’s the guns, nothing else.
The two stupidest people I’ve heard in this conversation are Tennessee congressman Ogles and Burchett. How were they elected? I’ve been to Memphis and Nashville, the former a lot of times. No one I met seemed to be this backwards.
Now comes sense from Dee Snider speaking some sense. Listen to him. “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
The big news from last night is Mike Fleiss is leaving “The Bachelor” world. After 21 years of enduring hundreds of low IQ contestants, Fleiss is taking flight. Last night’s show was his last.
Fleiss invented “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” He stopped overseeing them on a day to day business about 10 years ago, but he’s still been very involved. He survived the Chris Harrison-Rachel Lindsay racism debacle, too. But now is time to say goodbye.
He’s right on time. Last night’s series finale of “The Bachelor” was down from last year’s by 250,000 viewers. Zach Shallcross, no genius, led one girl on and then popped the question with another. The high point of his series was when he got COVID in London and no one cared. The low point was when he slept with the girl he didn’t marry, then told everyone. Classy!
Over on NBC, “The Voice” trampled “The Bachelor” by 2 million viewers with 6.1 total overnight ratings.
Meantime, CBS aired an Entertainment Tonight special (they own that show) on the 50th anniversary of their soap “The Young and the Restless.” I fast forwarded through it this morning. There was a segment about celebrities who’d been on the show but nothing about their biggest fan, Aretha Franklin. She loved this show, and even presented a Daytime Emmy in 2005 with star Eric Braeden. What a shame ET didn’t do its homework!
Below is an interview with lying liar Donald Trump and Fox News stooge Sean Hannity. Trump — about to be indicted — says he feels like Elvis now that the “hit” record he made with a bunch of January 6th criminals is “number 1.”
According to Luminate, which measures sales and streaming, Trump’s “Justice for All” has sold a total of 48,945 copies since its release on March 3rd. That includes all iTunes, Spotify, etc.
The number of streams alone is 1.1 million, which translates into like 10,000 in actual sales. It means that between Trump’s lunatic base and press people who had to play the record at least once, “Justice for All” has been heard fewer times than a My Pillow commercial.
For a single to be certified Gold it needs 75 million streams. So that’s just 74 million more. It’s possible that Trump and his cohorts have earned $4,000. It won’t pay their bail.
Contrary to Trump’s daft assertion, he’s not beating Taylor Swift or Elvis. Swift’s “Anti Hero” has sold a total of 3.5 million.
Of course, Trump may indeed identify with fat Elvis in his twilight years. And Trump may soon be singing “Jailhouse Rock.”
Donald Trump: “The J Six is beating Taylor Swift. It’s Donald Trump and the J Six Prisoners…So now I feel like Elvis.” pic.twitter.com/b6T4uNZyn7
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) March 28, 2023
UPDATED WEDNESDAY SEE THE TRAILER HERE
It’s not that Wes Anderson won’t cast unknowns in his movies. He just can’t, apparently, under doctor’s orders.
His new “Asteroid City” has 21 bold faced names, many of which have been in his previous films. The names are below.
“Asteroid City” drops in limited release on June 16th and wide on June 23rd. It’s also probably getting a screening in Cannes a month earlier. The trailer comes tomorrow.
The prolific Anderson, with many beloved movies, got a little too convoluted with “The French Dispatch,” a couple of years ago. Here’s hoping “Asteroid City” brings him back to his one-two punch of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” The new movie also brings him to Focus Features after a string of releases for (Fox) Searchlight.
The cast features this cavalcade of stars: Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margot Robbie, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, and Jeff Goldblum.
Logline:
ASTEROID CITY takes place in a fictional American desert town circa 1955.
Synopsis:
The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organized to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
Actor Jonathan Majors is in a world of trouble. His hot-as-a-pistol movie career is in peril– dire peril — after his arrest this past weekend.
Majors — accused by his girlfriend — was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court later Saturday on six counts of third-degree assault, three counts of third degree attempted assault and two counts of harassment.
Majors’ lawyer, Priya Chaudhry — she handles high profile cases for celebrity men accused by women of a variety of misdeeds — says the actor is innocent, she the proof, and it will all come out in their favor pretty soon.
Of course, the accusing girlfriend could withdraw her complaint, say she was mistaken, and take a nice hefty settlement under a non disclosure agreement. This happens all the time. If so, we’ll never know if Majors was innocent, or if the accuser was just looking for a payday.
In the meantime, Majors’ meteoric rise in the business has been tainted. His two big movies are already well into release, and have made their money. This scandal won’t hurt “Creed III” or “Ant Man 3.”
But it’s already involved the US Army ad campaign being pulled. Even if he’s exonerated, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Majors doing recruitment any time soon.
And then there’s his big Sundance movie, “Magazine Dreams,” in which he plays a deranged body builder. Disney Searchlight bought it for Christmas and Oscar release. How can this not come up in the interviews?
Disney has a lot invested in Majors. He’s part of the Marvel Universe. His Kang the Conqueror is in “Ant Man” and set to be the villain in two new “Avengers” movies. And now former classmates of Majors from his days at Yale and Juilliard are creeping out of the woodwork to decry him as a real life villain. So far their comments have only appeared in online blogs, but things could get worse before they get better.
As I wrote over the weekend, I met Majors at the Oscars. He was soft spoken and friendly. There was no indication of trouble coming, or the behavior that’s been whispered about online.
Remember– innocent until proven guilty means more now than ever.
PS The New York tabloids, particularly the Post, are curiously quiet. Why is that? In the past this would be raw meat thrown at lions.
So here’s the big news: Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” starring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio is going to Cannes. I told you that on February 20th. Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux confirmed it to Variety today. That’s nice. I told you five weeks ago.
Separately: The Scorsese movie, meanwhile, will open in limited release on October 6th, then hit Apple TV Plus two weeks later. Apple knows how to get a Best Picture Oscar. They beat Netflix to the punch as first streamer with Best Picture for “CODA” last year. They can do it again.
Back to the Variety interview: Fremaux also confirmed — as I reported on February 20th — that “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” will premiere on the Croisette, It’s an obvious choice since “Indiana Jones 4” debuted in Cannes, too.
Also, Fremaux indicates– and I think this is true, I’ve said so– the new Woody Allen movie will have a spot this year, too.
Fremaux says the Almodovar short film won’t open the festival. I reported that it would in that February 20th article. That was the plan then. I still think it’s a good idea. Opening night is elongated by the 90 min opening ceremony. A short film is just what the doctor ordered!
Anyway, we love Cannes but obviously what’s playing there is a minor concern compared to the real news. Still, I’ll keep you posted!
Josh Groban, you know, has always wanted to be a rock star. With his gorgeous deep baritone, he’s released several hit albums trying to make modern pop music sway in his direction. A few seasons ago he went at last into a Broadway show, “Natasha, Pierre, and the Comet of 1812,” and found his calling — almost.
Tonight, he arrived in show business an overnight sensation after 25 years of success. He debuted in the title role of “Sweeney Todd,” Stephen Sondheim‘s masterpiece of a musical, first performed in 1979. This is the third revival, directed by Thomas Kail of “Hamilton” fame and co-starring Tony award winner Annaleigh Ashford, who last we saw was being punished by CBS on a terrible sitcom called “B Positive.” Also a Tony nominee for the musical “Kinky Boots,” Ashford has been waiting for her big moment.
So it’s a thrill to say that Groban and Ashford– in the much vaunted roles of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Mrs. Lovett, the devilish pie maker — come into their own at the same time. They sweep this majestic, operatic, melodic, funny, and dark musical up and carry it off as if they’ve won the lottery. And this was a tall order tonight considering two Sweeneys were in the audience — Len Cariou, the originator, who a Tony in 79 opposite the late Angela Lansbury; and Norm Lewis, who was sensational off Broadway in the famed Barrow Street Bake Shop production.
Still, they more than pulled it off thanks to Kail’s canny set up along with choreographer Steven Hoggett. “Sweeney Todd” has such a sturdy foundation that in each of its revivals, the new directors have been able to expand on Hal Prince‘s original work. Before this there was a version “in the round” at Circle in the Square; the Patti Lupone-Michael Cerveris entry with actors playing instruments. And of course the stripped down bakery version.
But Kail is smart. He sticks to Prince’s blueprint for the first act with just a few small changes (including, alas no sharp whistle to start the show or indicate Sweeney’s crimes), concentrating on telling the tale of Benjamin Barker and his quest to avenge his wife and daughter. He also lets the actors — not just Groban and Ashford but everyone including the phenomenal Gaten Matarazzo of “Stranger Things” fame, Tony winner Ruthie Ann Miles, and Broadway vet Nicholas Christopher in a breakout performance — do their magic respectively as Toby, the Beggar Woman, and Pirelli the snake oil salesman.
It’s in the second act that Kail lets loose. After all, we know he’s inventive, he directed “Hamilton.” Keeping Prince in mind he (with Hoggett’s help) starts updating several well known set pieces from the show. Let’s say, they’re “refreshed” so happily that the audience — at least night– cheered during several scenes including the opening of Act 2, the quest to rescue Johanna from Fogg’s mad house, and entire final sequence of events, which I would liken to side 2 of “Abbey Road.” From the time Sweeney loses it and kills his worst victim til the end, there isn’t a dry eye in the house. Kail has really made “Sweeney Todd” very moving as the dark story unravels toward its tragic ending.
I know this show as well as I know the way home. I was there three times in 1979, and I’ve seen all of the revivals, the bakery show, the one at the NY State Opera, and so on. (Forget the movie.) I’ve listened to this soundtrack a thousand times. And yet, there’s always something new. Kail really concentrated on the comedy for Ashford’s sake, and she steals the show with pratfalls and mannerisms that seem organic. Groban’s voice (like Lewis’s) is a whole character itself, and he receives a huge ovation in Act 1 for good reason. (The 26 piece orchestra is beyond compare– or criticism.) Special mention to Matarazzo, charged with singing “Not While I’m Around,” one of the great Sondheim songs of all time. His “Stranger Things” castmates will be agog. (One of them was there last night, red-haired Sadie Sink.)
So wow– won’t “Into the Woods” also be in Best Revival of a Musical this year? Two Sondheim shows! How could we be so lucky?
And just for fun, who else was in the audience but Christine Baranski, Jimmy Fallon, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tony winner Sutton Foster, director J.J. Abrams, Richard Kind, producer Daryl Roth, not to mention Kail’s Oscar nominated (four times!) wife Michelle Williams, her BFF Busy Phillips, three time Tony nominee Linda Emond, plus Tony Kushner, Tom Corson (head of Warner Bros. Records– he gets this soundtrack), Hamilton star Christopher Jackson.
Producer Jeffrey Seller took the stage after the curtain calls to introduce everyone who worked on this production — not just the cast, but the crew, the standby’s, the make up and hair people, costumers, etc. It was a pretty cool gesture, followed by Kail getting to take a bow and thank everyone.
The Tony’s are on June 11th. You’ll be seeing a lot of this crowd then!
Adele has discovered an easy way to make money and have fun at the same time.
The hit singer wrapped her run of 34 shows at Caesar’s Palace tonight– and she announced she’s coming back for more!
Adele will return in June, film the show for a concert movie, then come back in August and run “til the end of the fall.”
Why not? She’s making millions at Caesar’s. She doesn’t have to go anywhere. The fans come to her. The movie will rake in some good bucks, too.
Adele is our new Elvis. Crazy, too, since this all started with her cancelling 26 shows at the last minute. But now she’s got the rhythm going. She’s rolling in the deep!
Adele will be extending her Las Vegas residency, ‘Weekends with Adele,’ set to return in June.
She plans to also drop a concert film of the residency. pic.twitter.com/jYz4VpgU9C
— Pop Faction (@PopFactions) March 26, 2023