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Who would know better about hostages than a top Scientologist?
The religious cult has long been cited — in lawsuits, documentaries, and books — for separating family members, and causing individuals to disappear into their sci-fi world.
So now Donald Trump has named his favorite Scientologist, John P. Coale, to be his Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs with the rank of Ambassador.
Coale, 79, is also the husband of conservative news personality Greta van Susteren. She’s a long time Scientologist, too.
According to the site truthaboutscientology.com Coale got into the cult in 1989 to take their drug course. As of 2017, he’s an Operating Thetan VI. This means he can “operate freely outside his body.”
According to Wikipedia, OT is a concept in Scientology referring to a state of spiritual ability in which a person is said to be “cause over life, thought, matter, energy, space and time.”
Trump has used Coale for various jobs since the 1990s.
What will Coale do with hostages once he’s freed them? Maybe send them to one of Scientology’s mother ships where they can become slaves to a dangerous cult leader. Or, force them to watch Tom Cruise’s movie, “Digger,” over and over.
You can’t make this stuff up, even though L. Ron Hubbard did years ago.
New correspondent Ross Douthat accepted a dare from Senator Thom Tillis as they waited in the Capitol for the Senate subway.
Tillis, who’s 66, looks older, but prides himself on being fit. He challenged Douthat to jump over the train tracks on the “subway” while they waited for the train.
At first, Douthat demurred, but then he just took a leap of faith. A big heftier than Tillis, Douthat actually made it. Then Tillis did the same.
Has “60 Minutes” jumped the track? I wouldn’t say we learned a lot about Tillis except that he could make the jump. Otherwise, he was a laundry list of contradictions regarding Donald Trump, their party, and his own stand on many subjects.
If Douthat is going to turn “60 Minutes” into a game show, this will always be remembered as the first go. Trying to imagine Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, Harry Reasoner, Scott Pelley etc going this direction.
What’s next? Lesley Stahl playing horse with Caitlin Clark?
The jump conversation begins at 8:00.
It seems like David Ellison has canned Stephen Colbert for a second time.
Reports from Middle Earth are that David Ellison, who now Warner Bros, has shit-canned Colbert from “The Lord of the Rings” movie the ex-talk show host was writing with his son and Phillipa Boyens.
That news should put a chill through everyone in Hollywood. Colbert already got cancelled by Ellison when he took over CBS via the Skydance Paramount deal.
Colbert seemed safe at Warner Bros. But now Ellison is closing his deal to own a second studio, which means Colbert was suddenly vulnerable to the nepo baby studio head one more time.
This begs the question: will Ellison cancel contracts throughout Warner’s/HBO of people he doesn’t like or has a bumpy past with?
If Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of “South Park,” hadn’t signed a $1 billion deal with Comedy Central/Viacom/Paramount they might have seen the same problems. “South Park” returned to skewering Ellison pal Donald Trump this week, putting him back in bed with Satan. (Their second episode ticks like a time bomb.)
The Colbert news is bad, and certainly disappointing for him. He’s had a nice break, maybe he’ll revive his talk show somewhere soon — we miss and need it. And maybe Ellison will not retaliate against anyone else. Otherwise it’s going to be a rough ride.
By Friday I was getting a little tired of everyone saying we should support “Digger” because it was original, and not a franchise.
OK, but “Digger” is boring and convoluted.
Then I saw the New York Film Festival centerpiece film, “Behemoth!”
Tony Gilroy is such a good filmmaker that I knew he wouldn’t let us down. (He also wrote the screenplay.) In “Behemoth!” he gives Pedro Pascal his chance to star in a major release and win all the kudos.
Pascal is 51, and has been chipping away at stardom since he appeared in “Game of Thrones” in 2014. I don’t know what he was doing before that, but since then it seems like the Chilean born actor has been everywhere all at once. He even starred in the first season of “The Last of Us” on HBO, then he was the revealed face of the Mandalorian in that movie, and Reed Richards in “The Fantastic Four.” If he hadn’t turned up in tabloid long lens photo from a yacht this summer, you’d think Pascal just went from film to film hoping next one would hit.
And so it has. In “Behemoth!” he plays a well regarded classical cellist. Alex Serian is the son and grandson of famous musicians, as well. He plays with different symphonies around the world, and gets gig work on movie soundtracks. Alex is not married and has a cloudy love life. He’s being stalked by the hilarious Olivia Wilde when we meet him, she won’t accept their break up.
Alex also has a brother, Andy, in Los Angeles, played by Will Arnett for comic relief. This gives us some insight into their parents, particularly their mother, played by Jobeth Williams (although looking nothing like the actress I remember).
Gilroy presents us with an unusually fractured timeline of a screenplay that introduces the glorious Eva Victor as a love that gets away. Her Nadia is sleeping with Alex upon meeting (or standing, as it were) but she’s going to marry a wealthy guy who owns a lot of things and has a mansion.
Once Nadia disappears from the story, we forget about her for a bit because Alex has all those family complications — the brother, the mother with dementia, and, you know, work. This is not at all like Cate Blanchett in “Tar,” by the way. Alex has no interest in running a symphony, let alone drive everyone crazy with a domineering attitude. He’s just trying to survive.
This is where the other major character comes into play: the movie’s soundtrack and score. Gilroy enlisted no fewer than nine composers to collaborate on something called “The Behemoth Collective.” As we watch Alex’s performances in various situations, the music is all written by this group that includes heavyweights such as Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri, Emily Bear, and Lukas Frank.
They’re like the Avengers of swelling soundtracks. If Searchlight doesn’t do a live concert at Carnegie Hall with all these people, I will be severely disappointed. (I guess they’ll do it Disney Hall, since the studio owns it.)
There’s a twist in Alex’s life, of course, with clues that are dropped bit by bit. Not a total shock, but Nina — who passed away in the following 15 years — left him a gift. One of the best scenes in the film is Pascal entering and then escaping that mansion during her funeral. It mirrors an earlier scene of him ducking Olivia Wilde, and I was a sucker for the whole thing.
Pascal gives Alex a lovely nonchalance, a world weariness of having to carry the nepo baby Hollywood history and try and keep going despite lessening interest in the game. It looks easy, but it’s not. It’s the best work Pascal has done, and I think he knows it. For the Q&A on stage at Alice Tully Hall after the premiere he wore a more less normal outfit. Usually he dresses flamboyantly, but I think at that point he knew he was going to be accepted at last.
Let’s see “Behemoth!” in the mix for Best Picture, Pascal for Best Actor, and Olivia Wilder for getting applause in the middle of a premiere. I’d see this movie again just for that performance.
UPDATE: Reports out of Kansas City were premature. Taylor didn’t make it to the game after all. It’s sort of relatable that she’s not Superwoman after all.
EARLIER: Taylor Swift is living the dream.
Last night she made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, joining pal Dakota Johnson for the opening monologue.
Taylor stuck around to present Dakota with a birthday cake at the end of the show — at 1 am.
Then she went on the after party at L’Avenue at Saks Fifth Avenue, where she may have met hardcore punk band Turnstile which made a racket on the show.
Let’s say she got home at 2 or 3am.
And now Taylor has arrived in Las Vegas for the KC Chiefs game against the Raiders.
It’s all a blur, isn’t it? Especially when you have four of the top 10 singles on iTunes, and the the number 3 album. And a private plane!
CBS News usually releases the promo for “60 Minutes” on Thursday.
They did that this week for a piece on the restoration of the Basilica of St. Assisi, anchored by Bill Whitaker.
But the two other segments were mysteries until the last few hours.
One piece is about Artificial Intelligence, and maybe a rah-rah supporting the idea of things “AI is really good at.” Donald Trump loves AI, so it sounds like Jon Wertheim’s segment is going to be positive about destroying jobs and lives.
The other piece is about Sen. Thom Tillis, who’s facing retirement. Ross Douthat, who has the charisma of a cardboard box, is going to follow Tillis around and ask him questions that mean nothing. Tillis is a Trump supporter by and large. He’s not going to be wearing a Vote Blue pin.
Douthat will also not ask Sen. Tillis why he kept the ‘h’ on Tom or if anyone calls him Thom.
So there will be no look at anything of real value on “60 Minutes” tonight. The show will follow an NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders.
But there won’t be anything about Macklemore and Free Palestine, or Robert Kraft, or “Naza” the film, or the “Musk” documentary, or anything remotely controversial. A month before a huge election, there won’t be a visit to the Heartland where farmers will express their feelings or any of that.
I think they still have the Funniest Home Video show on ABC, which may be more diverting.
As he prepares to leave the Senate, Republican Sen. Thom Tillis opens up about his tension with President Trump and his fears for the future of U.S. democracy. Sunday on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/Uabzp98dhw https://t.co/ZGmNqTLITG
Hiring has slowed for young people in jobs highly exposed to AI, like software development. Workers in their 20s are feeling the squeeze.
Watch 60 Minutes tonight. https://t.co/cjRYz8kzqT
It survived war, fire, and flood. Then two earthquakes devastated the Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, which has stood for more than 700 years.
Now, art historians and software engineers are using cutting-edge artificial intelligence to help restore its damaged art treasures. Sunday.
Tom Cruise’s odd foray into character acting yielded just $8 million this weekend, and another $12 million overseas.
“Digger,” directed by Alejandro Innaritu, puzzled most people went to see it. Reviewers pasted it, and the Cinemascore was C — which was polite.
On a budget of $150 million are more, “Digger” is dug.
“Digger” finished in 5th place behind two horror films, Brad Pitt and a German shepherd in Alaska wilderness, and Robert Pattinson chasing pedophiles.
The story of a buffoonish billionaire who destroys the environment and then tries to save it should move from Warner Bros. theatrical to HBO Max before the end of the year. Razzie Awards are in its future, not Oscars. But maybe also some Golden Globes nominations.
Some people will say this is a blow for original, non franchise films. But this kind of movie has to make sense for it to work. I’ve just seen Pedro Pascal in “Behemoth!” and that one works beautifully. Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut” is said to be terrific. So it can happen. “Digger” won’t kill off original ideas, but it will encourage everyone involved to read the script and make sure it’s ready for filming.
I saw Neil Young live a short time ago. He played a short, decisive show that included only two songs from his album, “Second Song.”
The album, released on Friday, is at number 38 on iTunes, and 288 on amazon. It’s getting less attention than any of the other legacy acts releasing new music, like Paul McCartney, the Stones, and so on.
The reason I went to the show was because I’d posted the 11 minute title track “Second Song,” which I heard once and thought was impressive. I thought I’d hear the songs in concert, but that didn’t happen.
Now I’ve finally spent time with this album, no phones or other interruptions. I was right about the main song. It’s a masterpiece. But the other six are equal to it in every way. For anyone who’s loved albums like “Harvest,” “Second Song” is a top five Neil Young album. It certainly his saddest since the dreary “Tonight’s the Night” way back in 1975.
“Second Song” reminds me of David Bowie‘s final record, “Blackstar,” in that in sounds like a great life summation. I really hope Neil Young is healthy and we have no bad surprises coming. What he’d done here is one of those rare instances where a great artist has experienced a mesmerizing Renaissance. Lightning, out of nowhere, has stuck again.
One reviewer called the album meandering, although it’s not. It’s personal and political. It’s also sweet and melancholy. Neil refers in one song to his marriages and his three children for the first time. This is his great looking-back, and taking stock of his life at 80. It’s not meandering at all. Each of the seven songs is brilliantly constructed, with strong melodies and hooks supporting the lyrics. Listen to it carefully, and you’ll hear the music repeating. The guy who wrote “Ohio” and “Heart of Gold” knows what he’s doing.
The two songs the album hinges on, I think, are the title, the penultimate track, “Soon I Might Be Going.” While the former sounds hopeful about the future while mourning the past, the latter will stop you in your tracks. “Second Song” lives on this verse: I need to talk to someone, someone who smiles and answers back/Someone as old as I am who still remembers some of that/I dream a way of living, a way of sharing what we find/A way of walking slowly through the smoky leaves of time.”
But “Soon I Might Be Going” is a different story. It’s a goodbye, much like Bowie’s “I Can’t Give Everything Away.” Now there’s a special lyric video to go with it. Again, I hope nothing is wrong.
“Soon I might be going, and I wanted just to say
If I’m not here to see it, it doesn’t mean it’s gone away
Trying to make it simple, but I tell you, it’s not
‘Cause here and there and everywhere, the truth is getting caught
And disguised like a celebration waiting for a song
But no one knows the melody and it feels like it was strong
When we all sang together and the children sang along”
The song brackets the album’s opener, another masterwork of melancholia, called “the Foggy Edge of Time,” a farewell to arms if ever there was one.
This is not an album that should just come and go, and be known to a few faithful fans. “Second Song” is important, certainly more than anything in the slots above it on any chart.
Kanye West is not going to perform in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The government and the promoter, Say Agency, have shut down his planned concerts on October 10th and 11th.
This makes Russia smarter than Chicago, Tampa, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and other US cities where the antisemitic rapper — known for his “Heil Hitler” music — was allowed to put on shows.
Say Agency posted on Telegram:
Friends, with sincere regret we inform you that the concerts of YE in St. Petersburg on scheduled dates will not be able to take place. In the near future we will come to you with an official statement on the status of the project and further plans.The opportunity to return funds for purchased tickets will open on Monday, October 12, 2026. We will publish details about the rules and conditions of return a little later.Say Agency is very grateful to everyone who was there for these one and a half months: supported us, worried and, like us, waited for these concerts with all our heart. We stay in touch and continue to work.
Kanye aka YE, has three American shows coming soon, one each in Houston and Arlington, Texas and one in Glendale, Arizona. Maybe the people from those municipalities will wise up and take note of the Russian cancellation. PS What does it say for Texas that Kanye has found a fanbase there? Pretty frightening.
