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Not What We Needed: Paulina Porizkova Changes Story of Ric Ocasek’s Death in New Book That Throws Cars Singer Under Bus

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Paulina Porizkova has turned out to be the anti-Olivia Harrison. While Olivia has spent her life since George Harrison’s death building his legacy, Paulina has done nothing but trash the Cars’ Ric Ocasek since his demise.

Paulina has given dozens of interviews, in print and on TV, going over the events of her marriage and the last time she saw Ric, ad nauseum. He cut her out of his will, he said she’d abandoned him, she has no clue why? None whatsoever.

So now she has a book coming out on Tuesday. It’s called “No Filter” but it should be titled “Alternative Facts.” Paulina throws the Cars leader under the bus. She trashes him as much as she can but always does it lovingly. Poor Ric. He was a musical genius but obviously not smart about women (he was married three times and had six kids).

Detective Columbo would have fun with Paulina. Her story always changes just a bit. In the past she’s always said she went over to their town house, made Ric coffee and brought him cookies on the morning he was found dead. He’d just had surgery. He had no aide with him upstairs in the house, no buzzer or Life Alert. She says in the book she left him to go to a friend’s birthday.

OK: the friend was her boyfriend, a screenwriter she was living with. He is not named in the book. I’ve written about him before, but his name is easily Googled. Paulina has been pretending lately that he didn’t exist. Here’s a link to my past story.

In every retelling, there’s the coffee. In the book, the coffee is gone. There’s just a box of cookies. So this is what you bring a man who is gravely ill and recovering from surgery. And who, by the way, had cancer. She also neglects to say that.

It’s curious: she is and always has been only concerned about Ric’s will. His Last Will and Testament. The word “will” is in the book but online the word is not searchable on amazon. Very strange.

In the end, Paulina got what she wanted. She got the money. She probably got the rights to Ocasek’s songs. She sold her townhouse and got that money. She’s been posing naked wherever she can. Everyone grieves in their own way. Her way is without clothes. To put a twist on Ric’s song “Just What I Needed,” this book is not what we needed.

By the way, I guess this isn’t a full memoir, just a bashing of Ric Ocasek. There’s no mention of Paulina’s only movie of note, “Anna,” or her co-star Sally Kirkland. I guess that’s just as well.

Hey Jude: Julian Lennon, “Uncle” Paul McCartney Have an Accidental, Warm Beatles Reunion in Airport Lounge, Someone is Playing “Mind Games” in Heaven! (See Photos)

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You could cry.

Julian Lennon, eldest son of Beatle John, posted a pair of beautiful pictures this afternoon on Instagram.

Julian ran into Paul McCartney in an airport lounge. Look at their faces. They are beaming.

You know, Julian has an album out right now called “Jude,” in which he returns to form. He had a bunch of hits in the 80s.

When Julian was a wee lad, McCartney drove up to see him and his mother Cynthia after John left with Yoko. When he returned home, Paul wrote a song called “Hey Jules” that became “Hey Jude.” And now, this. Just lovely.

PS The first person to respond on Insta was Sean Ono Lennon, Julian’s younger brother, with three heart emojis. That was followed by Mary McCartney, Paul’s daughter: “makes me happy x” Also we learn that Paul carries a folding phone, probably a Samsung, not an iPhone. Now, I want one!

Also PPS: Who do ya think arranged that meeting? Someone is playing Mind Games in heaven!

“Saturday Night Live” Looks for Controversy and Ratings Tonight as Dave Chappelle Hosts, Ice T is a Guest Star, Heidi Gardner Summoned In for Work

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Hmmm…

It’s going to be a very different “Saturday NIght Live” tonight.

Dave Chappelle has already caused controversy as the host. He’s said a lot of offending things in the past. His choice has caused something of a writers’ strike for the week. Also, except for Kenan Thompson, none of the cast turned up in promos.

On Thursday night, Heidi Gardner — who was going to miss working on the show because she was supposed to interview recently departed cast member Melissa Villasenior at the 92nd St Y — suddenly cancelled. The reason given was “Work related.” Someone must have figured out she was AWOL.

Now NBC star from “SVU” Ice T says he’s a guest on tonight’s show. This is in addition to Black Star as the musical guests. Was Ice T needed to fill gaps in the cast who are unhappy?

All of this could be good ratings for NBC tonight. Everyone loves a car crash. The numbers go up, up, up!

FTX Purported Private Plan Keeps Flying Back and Forth to Argentina After Bankruptcy Filing

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If a private plan with the registered letters LV-KEB belongs to FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried it’s causing a stir in flying circles.

The Gulfstream Jet has been tracked going back and forth from Nassau, the Bahamas to Argentina several times in the last 8 days.

Fans of flight tracking sites have picked up the activity.

Yesterday, Bankman-Fried declared bankruptcy for bitcoin operation FTX. He may have losses between $8 billion and $50 billion.;

One snarky commenter suggested Bankman-Fried might be taking in World Cup soccer games. If it is his plane, there are other suggestions that the disgraced investor is visiting hidden money, mining more bitcoin. He could also be on a high protein diet and only eating Argentinian steak.

One thing is for sure: The FTX logo will be coming off Major League Baseball uniforms next season. It was planted on all the umpires and everyone in a massive sponsorship last season.

Box Office: “Wakanda Forever” Huge $84 Mil Opening Night Should Ease the Pain of Disney’s Coming Layoffs, Cutbacks, and Hiring Freeze

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The “Black Panther” sequel, “Wakanda Forever,” was as big as a hit as everyone predicted last night. It made $54 mil. On top of Thursday previews of $28 million, the total opening night reads as $84 freaking million!

“Wakanda Forever” also got an A Cinemascore from audiences. So word of mouth is very good.

This news is especially good for Disney, which announced this week that massive layoffs are coming throughout the Mouse Kingdom. A hiring freeze is going to effect, and employee travel is being restricted. Travel to and from Wakanda will have to be approved by execs at Stark Industries.

Disney’s next blockbuster is “Avatar 2,” the 13 year late sequel to James Cameron’s original movie. Length of the film is a daunting three hours plus. It’s unclear from the trailers they’ve released so far if it’s all animated or if there are some live humans on screen.

Meantime, Universal has played “Ticket to Paradise” just right. Last night the George Clooney-Julia Roberts romcom took in $2 million as it garnered $53 million US and tot al worldwide coming on $150 million. And it’s also the number 1 most watched home video of the week. They’re playing it from both ends and winning like crazy!

Exclusive: “Grey’s Anatomy” Ellen Pompeo Last Show February 23, 2023, More Greys Coming (UPDATE)

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UPDATE FRIDAY NOV 11: Ellen Pompeo is leaving Grey’s Anatomy. Her final is February 23, 2023. More Greys coming– as I wrote last week…

Republish Nov 11th..,

LAST WEEK: Word on the street is Ellen Pompeo is almost out of “Grey’s Anatomy” after 19 seasons. She said she’d only be in 8 episodes this season and five of them have aired. Meredith Grey may be gone pretty soon.

So how do keep calling the show “Grey’s Anatomy”? Bring back some other family members, Meredith has a sister, Lexie, and a dead mother, Ellis. I’m told they’re likely returning for duty.

Ellis Grey in the person of the great Kate Burton may be haunting Seattle soon. She was killed off years ago, but Ellis always manages to return in some form.

If Meredith is gone, who can Ellis haunt? That could be Chyler Leigh as Lexie Grey, Meredith’s half sister through her father. She’s been off the show for a while, but actors now come and go from “GA” through a revolving door.

Of course, it could be revealed that Burton’s Ellis had a kid no one knew about — this is a soap opera — or Ellis might just haunt Meredith to her new locale. On the Grey scale, she’s the best actor the show has ever had. So it’s smart to bring her back.

You might want to know where Thatcher Grey, the father of Meredith, is? Jeff Perry, the actor who also was featured on “Scandal,” is now on “Alaska Daily” starring Hilary Swank. This guy never stops working!

Plus he and his first wife, amazing Laurie Metcalf, are the parents of Zoey Perry. She plays Young Sheldon’s mom on that series. Just FYI. (But Kate Burton has it over them– her dad was Richard Burton and her step mom was Elizabeth Taylor.)

Broadway Bible Playbill Says They Will No Longer Use Twitter For Any Accounts– They Have Over 400K Followers

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Playbill is off Twitter. The Broadway bible has over 400,000 followers.

Read below. Keep refreshing…

To our dear friends and valued followers,

This year Playbill celebrated its 138th anniversary. We, as a family-owned company, have always strived [sic] to be a constant source of support for the entire theater community, engaging fans and spotlighting the incredible professionals who work tirelessly to keep the lights of Broadway shining brightly across our nation. Our core values have always centered around community, kindness, collaboration, inclusion, and truth.

In recent weeks, Twitter, Inc. has greatly expanded its tolerance for hate, negativity, and misinformation. As a respected news outlet for the Broadway community, we feel we can no longer continue to utilize a platform where the line between actual news and insidious rhetoric has become blurred beyond recognition.

As of today, Friday, November 11, Playbill will no longer be active on Twitter.

The following accounts will no longer be active: @Playbill, @PlaybillTravel, @PLAYBILLder, @PlaybillArts, @PlaybillStore. Regardless of blue or gray checkmarks, if you see a tweet from a Twitter account that contains our name, please understand that it is not us.

Moving forward, we hope you will continue to follow us on Playbill.com. We will also continue to participate in Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Our participation on those three social media platforms are subject to ongoing review.

This decision reflects the standards that we hold dear at Playbill.

Stem Player Inventor Alex Klein Declines to Cut Ties with Kanye West: “He is an incredible artist and I’m a Ye fan,” Wants to Sell Shares in Company (UPDATED)

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Alex Klein, the founder of Stem Player, declined to say he’d cut ties with Kanye West today in a Q&A on Discord.

Last year, West’s album “Donda 2” was included in the $200 Stem Player.

Klein said that West had not made an investment in his company, Kano Computing. He said he was against hate speech — I’m paraphrasing — but hedged when he was asked by people on Discord if he would cut ties. “I don’t believe in that,” Klein said.

“Ye is an incredible artist and I’m a Ye fan,” Klein said. “It’s very difficult to collaborate with someone who’s telling lies that resulted in your family members being killed,” Klein conceded. Would he work again with West, who he called “Ye” over and over during the hour plus discussion? “Never say never.”

Klein’s discussion with at least 200 people listening seemed naive to me. He’s afraid of making a definitive statement about West, whose antisemitic statements have caused many companies to sever their relationships with him. He did say that new devices from the company would not carry the Yeezy brand name.

“Donda 2,” however, will remain on the Stem Player, Klein says. “There’s nothing on it that’s antisemitic.”

But Klein would not commit to ending the relationship, and seemed to want to keep the door open to working with West should he somehow come around, apologize for offending a whole race of people and agree to work against hate speech.

So far West has not indicated any interest in this. I think Klein will have trouble getting new customers for his electronic products until he confronts this situation– especially if, as he says, he’s going to sell shares in the company possibly via crowdfunding.

A new Stem Player, without West’s music, and associated products will be available shortly. PS What is a Stem Player? It’s an audio device that lets you take music uploaded to it and reorganize it by vocals, music, etc. The new products include a mini projector.

What Klein said about Kanye West, whom he called “Ye” (promounce “Yay”)

from the transcript:

…”I mean you know I still care about Ye I don’t want him to I pray for you and I pray I pray that we can meet again in fellowship and and I’II pray that he is given a spirit of warmth and kindness that I know hes been given before and it’s given that the correct information because good engineering is about having correct information and acting upon it and mine is only as good as the information it receives but you know at the end of the day as long as what’s flowing through Ye is is hatred towards a particular ethnic group and if that’s such a major racial enough that focus of his work it’s gonna be very hard for us to collaborate creatively because that’s just not what I feel and we know we feel it’s a company…”

Bruce Springsteen Hits Number 1 on iTunes, Amazon with Sensational R&B Covers Album

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Bruce Springsteen opens a new week of record releases at number 1!

Bruce’s “Only the Strong Survive,” a joyous collection of R&B covers, has made the top of the iTunes and Amazon charts this morning. It’s so much fun, and so heartfelt, you’ll be playing it over and over.

Of course, my favorite track is a cover of Dobie Gray’s “Soul Days” featuring the legendary Sam Moore. Sam, 87, is the singer of “Soul Man,” “Hold On I’m Coming” and dozens of other classics as the leader of Sam & Dave in the 60s. Since then, Sam has had an incredible career as many consider him the all time R&B singer, and just a great singer in any realm. He’s also the first artist ever to be featured this way on a Springsteen album. (He can be heard, too, on the William Bell cover of “I Found Another Lover.”

Bruce will be on Jimmy Fallon’s show next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and back again on Thanksgiving. I hope he sings this song!

Box Office: “Wakanda Forever” Has $28 Mil Preview Night, $1 Mil Less Than Last Big Marvel Movie, “Thor: Love and Thunder”

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Wakanda is forever.

The much anticipated sequel to “Black Panther” took in a huge $28 million last night in previews.

Disney is hoping for more than $175 million for the whole weekend including last night. I think $150-$200 million is more likely. After all, “Thor Love and Thunder” — the last big Marvel release — opened to $29 million in previews. So it’s good to keep expectations in order.

As I wrote yesterday, the film is not great as its own movie. As a tribute memorial to Chadwick Boseman, it’s excellent and reverential. And it sets up a third movie down the line in two or three years.

But Boseman himself is sorely missing from “Wakanda Forever.” The film has no star, and there are some long, very dull stretches that audiences may enjoy for bathroom breaks. They key to the film’s success is a good third act with a couple of surprises.

The weather is dreadful tonight in New York-New Jersey-Connecticut which may affect some box office. But tomorrow morning we should wake up to $75 million opening (including that $28 million). Let’s see!