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Full Stop: Bono, U2 Have Left Madonna’s Manager for Harry Styles’ (Also The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, John Mayer)

Roger Friedman
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Full Stop: Bono, U2 Have Left Madonna’s Manager for Harry Styles’ (Also The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, John Mayer)

Bono and U2 have ended their relationship with Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary. They were with him for nine years.

(I must have missed this announcement, which was made a month ago on Yom Kippur. All that fasting…)

Wisely, U2 has moved on to the legendary auspices of Irving Azoff and his son Jeffrey, credited with turning Harry Styles into a superstar. Azoff, a rock and roll titan, also counts The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayer, and Earth Wind & Fire among his knockout clients.

U2 was ready for a refresh. Their last few albums — while terrific — have been sales busts. Some of this is credited to the group’s collaboration with Apple eight years ago when the iPhone came with a U2 album no one asked for. The result was very bad publicity. Bono takes full responsibility for the project in his new book, absolving Oseary.

Since then, Oseary has signed, apart from his longterm friend Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers. But they are hardly U2, which could fill a huge void in 2023 with a new album and world tour.

Signing with the Azoffs’ Full Stop is a no brainer. I have never seen anything like the Harry Styles situation in decades. The Azoffs signed Styles when he was in One Direction, and have moved him only in one direction since — UP. They deserve an award for genius in this matter.

So that’s why Oseary was not on hand last night for Bono’s “Surrender” book launch, which has been marketed and merched to the nth degree. No stone left unturned. Bravo!

UPDATED Bill & Hillary Clinton, Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Stipe Hit the Beacon for Bono’s Book Launch

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED Bill & Hillary Clinton, Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Stipe Hit the Beacon for Bono’s Book Launch

Bono — not Sonny — hit the Beacon Theater Wednesday night for the launch of his book, “Surrender.” It was not a concert, per se, with U2 although The Edge was in the house. It was a spiel, part talk, part music a la Bruce Springsteen on Broadway. It could be Bono, who can talk til the cows come home, is planning a similar show at some point.

Royalty turned up, of course. According to U2songs.com, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, and REM’s Michael Stipe were all in the house, as was Bono’s wife, Ali, and their daughters Eve (the actress) and Jordan. U2songs.com also noted the presence of U2’s longtime former manager, Paul McGuiness, who is written about very kindly and warmly in “Surrender.”

There was no sighting of Madonna manager Guy Oseary, who’s been managing U2 for nine years. Oseary was canned last month and replaced by the titanic father-son duo of Irving and Jeffrey Azoff. (more on that next item)

Bono gave a shout-out to Nancy and Paul Pelosi. Also there: Irish singer-songwriter and bon vivant, Gavin Friday, and supermodel Helena Christensen. Helena is very much featured in the book as she was the girlfriend of late INXS singer, Michael Hutchence, Bono’s good friend. (Bono calls her the “H Bomb” in the book.)

Bono reviewed the high points of “Surrender” and mixed in some songs including “Vertigo” — which he writes in the book is his current favorite (I think it used to be “Stay”), plus With or Without You,” “I Will Follow,” “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Pride (In the Name of Love”), “Where the Streets Have No Name,” and “Beautiful Day.” I’m actually shocked he didn’t play “One,” his best song. But there you go.

There are no pictures because it was a phone free event. They locked up the phones and when you got it back, you also received a copy of the book, which you already paid for. Some people coughed up thousands, hundreds, and millions for their tickets.

“Surrender” is a good read, although it’s dense, since Bono has a lot to say, and is often not economic. But after 40 plus years of fitting his thoughts into concise, superb 3 or 4 minute songs, he has every right to be as florid as he likes. I particularly enjoyed his remembrances of Luciano Pavarotti and, of course, the mistake he made forcing Apple to put out a U2 album no one wanted on iTunes and the iPod. No one, even Bono, who comes close, is perfect.

Tonight’s show was the first of 14 stops across the country. I don’t think the Clintons or Tom Hanks will be at the others, but Gavin Friday should be. I have no idea who published the book but someone did, I’m sure.

Taylor Swift “Midnights” Album Sales Projected to Drop 80% This Week After Monster Debut

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift “Midnights” Album Sales Projected to Drop 80% This Week After Monster Debut

All good things come to an end.

On Friday, sales for this week of Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” are projected to drop by 80%. First week was 1.5 million. Second week is 310,000.

“Midnights” will remain at number 1 but the party is over. The biggest part of the fall off is in physical product. Last week, “Midnights” sold around 700,000 LPs. Second week is fewer than 100,000.

Why? In the first week, people who bought vinyl purchased four albums each so they get all the collectible editions. If you put them all together you can assemble a clock. The four albums plus the clock mechanism costs about $150.

So stay tuned for Friday. BTW, the Beatles’ $100 “Revolver” super deluxe looks like it sold 55,000 copies.

UPDATE Adidas Stock Price (Real Time) Hits 52 Week Low After Kanye West Scandal

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE Adidas Stock Price (Real Time) Hits 52 Week Low After Kanye West Scandal

THURSDAY 10:12 AM: Adidas stock price is at its 52 week low, $93.63. There’s an hour left for trading in Germany.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Adidas is all laced up with no place to go.

The German sportwear company’s stock price went off the deep end around October 20th, dropping from around $115 to $103. By the time the company offoaded their deal with Kanye West over his antisemitic declarations, they’d reached $96.

Of course, Adidas finally divorced West because the stock was dropping like cement filled sneakers. They thought it would bounce back once they cut ties with the rapper. But guess what? It hasn’t.

Today, Adidas closed on the German stock market at $96.88. Six months ago, Adidas was up near $192 a share. Problems with supply chain and sales in China gradually sent the price down. But the real fall off came with Kanye’s hate filled comments. Critics suddenly started looking up Adidas’s history during World War II, calling it a Nazi company. It took too many days for the execs to separate themselves from Kanye West. And now they’re paying the price.

There’s obviously residual anger over how the company responded– considering that the Gap, Balenciaga, and even soulless Vogue magazine preceded them with quick announcements. It’s going to take longer than anyone thought to win back goodwill. No wonder Skechers kicked Kanye out of their lobby. No footwear company is going into business with West anytime soon.

Broadway Box Office Struggling as Only 2 Shows Played at 100% Capacity Last Week

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Box Office Struggling as Only 2 Shows Played at 100% Capacity Last Week

If you’re looking for signs of a recession, or even worries about Times Square, last week’s Broadway grosses may provide some answers.

Of 27 shows (not counting Mike Birbiglia’s one man show that didn’t play a full week) only 2 went over 100% capacity. They were “MJ: The Michael Jackson Musical.” And “Phantom of the Opera,” which is closing soon.

Otherwise, all attendance is down for the third or fourth week in a row. Even Hugh Jackman in “The Music Man” isn’t hitting 100%.

Also suffering are box office perennials like “Wicked,” “The Lion King,” “Harry Potter,” and “The Book of Mormon.”

Then there are newer shows like “Into the Woods,” “Leopoldstadt,” “Top Dog/Underdog,” “The Piano Lesson,” and “Death of a Salesman.” If you love Broadway, and live theater, you must see these in particular. They cannot be missed.

And let’s not forget “Hadestown,” the Best Musical from two years ago, still incredibly wonderfully entertaining.

Times Square is safe, as is all of the theater district. And this is a great time to get discount tickets online, especially at tdf.org.

Tomorrow night comes “Almost Famous,” the musical based on the beloved Cameron Crowe movie. I’ll tell you all about it Friday morning. I’m going to love it no matter what!

See the Trailer for “Avatar 2: The Way of Water,” James Cameron Dedicates Film to Bill Paxton, Unclear if There are Human Characters

Roger Friedman
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See the Trailer for “Avatar 2: The Way of Water,” James Cameron Dedicates Film to Bill Paxton, Unclear if There are Human Characters

EXCLUSIVE Here’s a lot of news for “Avatar 2: The Way of Water,” not “The Shape of Water,” by the way.

I’m told director James Cameron has dedicated the film to his late friend, actor Bill Paxton, who died in 2017. Cameron and Paxton made five films together including “Alien” and “Titanic.” The dedication should run at the end of the very long credit crawl.

Today the new trailer is out for “Water.” Between this one and previous sneak peeks, so far there is no sign of human characters. Everything is about the blue avatars. Maybe the humans appear at the beginning or end. But this would be quite unlike the original film, which mixed Sigourney Weaver and friends all the way through the film.

Here’s the trailer, which features spectacular visuals:

God Only Knows Why: Sony is Re-releasing Unwanted “Father Stu” in PG-13 for the Holidays

Roger Friedman
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God Only Knows Why: Sony is Re-releasing Unwanted “Father Stu” in PG-13 for the Holidays

You may not remember Mark Wahlberg in “Father Stu.” The execrable Christian based movie appeared earlier this year rated R and made just $20 million in the US, with an extra $1 million abroad. It was also released to video.

Now they’re bringing it back, edited for PG-13 but no better, I’m sure. It also stars the miserable antisemite and racist Mel Gibson, who is not featured in the new trailer. “Father Stu” got a lowly 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. The only positive thing to say here is that Sony hasn’t figured out a Spider Man connection.

Grammy Nominees Will Be Announced November 15th with Adele, Harry Styles, Beyonce, Bad Bunny Leading the Pack

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Nominees Will Be Announced November 15th with Adele, Harry Styles, Beyonce, Bad Bunny Leading the Pack

Grammy nominations are coming in two weeks.

The Recording Academy will unleash the 2023 nominees on the morning of November 15th via their YouTube and other social media outlets.

Expect the big artists to reap more than a few noms to be Adele, Beyonce, Harry Styles, and Bad Bunny. This year’s crop will feature a lot of women, which has nothing to do with the Academy per se, just how the 2022 releases worked out.

The strange thing is, the song of the summer was from 1985 — Kate Bush’s “Running Up that Hill.” I think it should get a special award, and Bush should perform on the show if possible.

Lady Gaga will be very much in the mix, too, for her “Top Gun” theme song, “Hold My Hand.” And Taylor Swift will make history with her “Red (Taylor’s Version)” album — it’s a re-release but all re-recorded adding new songs to an old album. How clever!

Hoping to see Elvis Costello’s “The Boy Named If” and Judy Collins’ “Spellbound” in the mix for traditional, folk, or any other category.

Stay tuned…The Grammys will be given out on February 5, 2023 on CBS.

“Friends” Star Lisa Kudrow Got a Rare Separate Copyright for Writing the Foreword to Matthew Perry’s Book, But Admits She Hasn’t Kept in Touch

Roger Friedman
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“Friends” Star Lisa Kudrow Got a Rare Separate Copyright for Writing the Foreword to Matthew Perry’s Book, But Admits She Hasn’t Kept in Touch

(EXCLUSIVE) This is weird: in most non fiction books with forewords written by celebrities, the copyright for the whole book goes to the author. Just as examples, Viola Davis wrote the foreword to Cicely Tyson‘s memoir, but got no separate copyright. This is common practice.

So I was a little surprised when I noticed Matthew Perry‘s “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” is copyrighted not just to him. Another “Friends” star, Lisa Kudrow, wrote the foreword. And she has her own copyright listed under Perry’s.

This is very odd, although sometimes it does happen. Just, not that often.

Kudrow is a strange choice even to write a foreword for Perry’s book. You’d immediately think of Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey on the show and was in almsot every scene with Perry. Or perhaps Jennifer Aniston, whom Perry credits with being concerned about his health when he was a raging addict.

Kudrow, who played Phoebe, is not many scenes exclusively with Perry. She concedes in the foreword that they have not been in close touch over the years:

“After Friends I didn’t see Matthew every day, and I couldn’t even hazard a guess with regard to his well-being. This book is the first time I’m hearing what living with and surviving his addiction really was. Matthew has told me some things, but not in this kind of detail. He’s now letting us into Matthew’s head and heart in honest and very exposed detail. And finally, no one needs to ask me or anyone else how Matthew’s doing. He’s letting you know himself. He has survived impossible odds, but I had no idea how many times he almost didn’t make it. I’m glad you’re here, Matty. Good for you. I love you.“

Hmmm…

Kudrow is a big star, you might say, so she deserves to own her own material. And her name is on the cover, which helps sell books. (“Friends, Lovers” is the number 1 non fiction hardcover on amazon.com.) But I just looked at a memoir by film critic Jeffrey Lyons and his foreword by Liam Neeson, an Oscar nominated international movie star, has no such thing. The book is just copyrighted to Lyons.

Another example: Rolling Stone Keith Richards contributed a foreword to the reissue of his late friend Ronnie Spector‘s memoir, “Be My Baby.” No mention of him on the copyright page, and he’s Keith Freaking Richards! (Keef’s name is on the cover, too.)

So, a little strange. And maybe a little telling about the real relationships among the “Friends.”

Is “Wakanda Forever”? Or A Passing Fancy? Reviews for “Black Panther” Sequel Held til Last Minute, Disney Shields Cast from Press Questions About Shut Down

Roger Friedman
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Is “Wakanda Forever”? Or A Passing Fancy? Reviews for “Black Panther” Sequel Held til Last Minute, Disney Shields Cast from Press Questions About Shut Down

Tonight, after having a strange premiere last week in Hollywood, Disney screens “Wakanda Forever” in New York. Press is not invited, just as they were shunned last week out west.

The press screenings for “Wakanda Forever,” the sequel to Disney’s $700 million blockbuster “Black Panther,” are next week. Reviews are being held until two days before the movie opens in previews on Thursday, November 10th.

The press knows the story of “Wakanda Forever,” how director Ryan Coogler had to recover from the tragic loss of star Chadwick Boseman. Disney has already leaked that the Boseman’s T’Challa, the real Black Panther, dies in the new film. Of what? I’ve heard that it’s just announced he’s passed away from a vague illness.

Disney is heavily promoting the women of “Wakanda Forever” since the only other big male actor of the first film, Michael B. Jordan, played a villain who was killed off. (He’s said to appear somehow in the sequel, maybe in a dream or as an apparition.) Oscar winner Daniel Kaluuya also opted out of “Wakanda Forever” after “Black Panther.” That leaves the most likely candidate for new Black Panther in the person of Letitia Wright. She plays Shuri, T’Challa’s sister. In the Marvel comics on which this is all based, Shuri assumes the role. So it follows that she will do the same in “Wakanda Forever.”

Wright posed a lot of problems during the filming of “Wakanda Forever.” She is a vaccine denier, rumored to have gotten COVID at one point. Shooting on the film stopped for several weeks beginning last Thanksgiving when Wright was said to have suffered an injury to her arm. But the injury happened in September, and Wright could not and did not return to the set until the following February. (I doubt her pay was docked.)

Tonight’s events include a screening for the Guilds at the DGA, another one on West 34th St.. — a theater typically used for Black films, plus a party that some of the cast will attend without being questioned about anything by rogue reporters. (This was the same in Hollywood.) Angela Bassett, who plays Queen Ramonda, will not be in attendance. Neither will Michael B. Jordan, who did attend the Los Angeles screening, but is getting ready to promote his “Creed III” coming shortly.

Disney is playing all this close to the vest, apparently, counting on “Black Panther”‘s success to cause a stampede the first weekend — predicting $175 million — before reality sets in. Will fans embrace Wright as the Black Panther? Time will tell.

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