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Foot Fetish Flops: House of the Dragon Ratings Take Precipitous Fall Down Another 200,000

Roger Friedman
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Foot Fetish Flops: House of the Dragon Ratings Take Precipitous Fall Down Another 200,000

The big foot fetish scene from “House of the Dragon” didn’t boost ratings. If anything, it hurt them.

Sunday night’s episode turned up just 1.55 million viewers. That’s down 200,000 from last week and 300,000 from the previous week.

What’s going on? At least on the main HBO channel, fans are giving up. The show is dark and hard to watch, yes, as far as the lighting goes. But the show is ‘dark’ in the sense that there is no fun, plots have zoomed by, all the actors but one or two have changed. (I do not understand how Criston Cole remains the same age while everyone else has gotten older.) The show is confusing, it’s hard to know who to root for.

As The “House of the Dragon” comes to a season close it should have increased viewing or at least remained stable. And it’s not football that hurt it. I hope producers are thinking about next season so it’s not just a bloodbath war every week.

By the way, if you go to Leslie Jones’s Twitter feed her commentary is hilarious and right on the money.

PS The foot fetish? Don’t get me started.

Ratings: “SNL” With Megan Thee Stallion Steady at Season Low, No Improvement Over First Week

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: “SNL” With Megan Thee Stallion Steady at Season Low, No Improvement Over First Week

Megan Thee Stallion was not a big draw for “SNL” viewers.

Saturday’s ratings for the second installment of the season remained at a perilously low 3.7 million. The show is off by around 900,000 viewers from its season finale last May.

“SNL” this past week started with promise but fell apart quickly. Some of it was incomprehensible without closed captioning. By the time Weekend Update was over, I checked out at exactly 12:35. There was no reason to continue.

This malaise feels like more than just the transition from the old cast to the new cast. There’s no buzz. And this new strategy of doubling up the host as musical guest isn’t working either. The next episode, with Jack Harlow doing both jobs, doesn’t look promising.

Kevin Spacey Says His Father was a Neo-Nazi: Yes, We Wrote About All of It in 2004

Roger Friedman
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Kevin Spacey Says His Father was a Neo-Nazi: Yes, We Wrote About All of It in 2004

Kevin Spacey announced something in court today that we wrote about in 2004: his father was a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist. Apparently this is part of his defense in his current sex scandal trial with actor Anthony Rapp.

Well, it’s not news, and Spacey has discussed it a lot over the years. We heard this story in the early 2000s at Elaine’s. By 2004 it was well known, and written about in other tabloids. So I don’t know what kind of defense this is, but it’s an old story being trotted out again.

Here’s a link to the original.

“Glass Onion” Director Says Benoit Blanc is Gay, Partner’s Identity Hiding in Plain Sight

Roger Friedman
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“Glass Onion” Director Says Benoit Blanc is Gay, Partner’s Identity Hiding in Plain Sight

The big news today is that Benoit Blanc is gay.

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” director Rian Johnson said in a press conference that his detective, played by Daniel Craig with a sweet potato pie accent, is “queer absolutely.”

I guess this came up after someone somewhere saw the movie. We saw it in Toronto six weeks ago. I guess I forgot all about it. Yes, in “Glass Onion” we do see where Benoit Blanc lives, and who he lives with.

Since “Glass Onion” doesn’t arrive for another month at least, I don’t think I can reveal the name of the actor who plays Benoit’s partner. But I can tell you the answer is hiding in plain sight. And he’s a very good choice. He’s a big name. Maybe he has an expanded role in part 3.

“Glass Onion” is a big entertainment with lots of highlights, but I predict now everyone will be more interested in Janelle Monae’s character than Benoit’s home life. It’s handled so subtly in the movie that you don’t really think about it.

Patti Lupone Gives Up Equity Card, Indicating Possible Retirement from US Theater Career

Roger Friedman
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Patti Lupone Gives Up Equity Card, Indicating Possible Retirement from US Theater Career

I guess Patti Lupone has had enough. The mega Broadway star Tweeted this morning that she’s turned in her Equity card, meaning she’s retired from performing in US theater productions.

She can still perform in Europe, and around the world, and in the US in one woman shows, cabaret, TV, and film. She just won’t be doing Broadway. She recently won her third Tony Award, for “Company.”

During the spring, Lupone famously got into it with an audience member who wasn’t wearing a mask. The incident became viral. But Lupone wasn’t wrong, and I can’t imagine this new turn of events has anything do with that.

Whatever happens next, Lupone’s place in Broadway history and theater lore is secure. She’s one of the biggest stars ever to appear on the New York stage. Nothing can change that.

Critics Choice Doc Nominees Include the Beatles, Lucy & Desi, Bowie, Poitier, George Carlin

Roger Friedman
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Critics Choice Doc Nominees Include the Beatles, Lucy & Desi, Bowie, Poitier, George Carlin

Here are the nominees for the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards:

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Aftershock (Hulu)

The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Descendant (Netflix)

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (Briarcliff Entertainment)

Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

The Janes (HBO)

Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Sidney (Apple TV+)

BEST DIRECTOR

Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio – George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)

Margaret Brown – Descendant (Netflix)

Sara Dosa – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Reginald Hudlin – Sidney (Apple TV+)

Brett Morgen – Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Laura Poitras – All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (HBO/Neon)

Daniel Roher – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Ryan White – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Andrea Arnold – Cow (IFC Films)

Lisa Hurwitz – The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Jono McLeod – My Old School (Magnolia Pictures)

Amy Poehler – Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)

Alex Pritz – The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

David Siev – Bad Axe (IFC Films)

Bianca Stigter – Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Benjamin Bernhard, Riju Das – All That Breathes (HBO)

Magda Kowalczyk – Cow (IFC Films)

Lucas Tucknott – McEnroe (Showtime)

Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, Sam Holling – Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)

The Cinematography Team – Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

Alex Pritz, Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau – The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST EDITING

Jabez Olssen – The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Joe Beshenkovsky – George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)

Helen Kearns, Rejh Cabrera – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

Brett Morgen – Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Langdon Page, Maya Daisy Hawke – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Katharina Wartena – Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST SCORE

Hummie Mann – The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Nicolas Godin – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Blake Neely – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

Max Avery Lichtenstein – The Janes (HBO)

David Schwartz – Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)

Marius de Vries, Matt Robertson – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST NARRATION

Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story (Fin and Fur Films)

   Written by Ben Masters

   Performed by Matthew McConaughey

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

   Written by Shane Boris, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Sara Dosa

   Performed by Miranda July

Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

   Written by Helen Kearns, Ryan White

   Performed by Angela Bassett

Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

   Performed by Barack Obama

Riotsville, U.S.A. (Magnolia Pictures)

   Written by Tobi Haslett

   Performed by Charlene Modeste

Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

   Written by Bianca Stigter

   Performed by Helena Bonham Carter

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Nothing Compares (Showtime)

Riotsville, U.S.A. (Magnolia Pictures)

Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Descendant (Netflix)

The Janes (HBO)

Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (Peacock)

Still Working 9 to 5 (Mighty Fine Entertainment)

Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)

The Last Movie Stars (HBO Max)

Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (Peacock)

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (Sony Pictures Classics)

Sidney (Apple TV+)

Sr. (Netflix)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song (Sony Pictures Classics)

If These Walls Could Sing (Disney Original Documentary)

Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple TV+)

Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Nothing Compares (Showtime)

The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile (Sony Pictures Classics)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

Aftershock (Hulu)

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (HBO/Neon)

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (Briarcliff Entertainment)

The Janes (HBO)

Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Retrograde (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (Netflix)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

All That Breathes (HBO)

Cow (IFC Films)

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)

Return to Space (Netflix)

The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

Citizen Ashe (Magnolia/HBO)

Hockeyland (Greenwich Entertainment)

Kaepernick & America (Dark Star Pictures)

McEnroe (Showtime)

The Redeem Team (Netflix)

Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

38 at the Garden (HBO)

Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From a Plantation Prison (MTV Documentary Films)

The Flagmakers (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Four Seasons Total Documentary (MSNBC)

My Disability Roadmap (The New York Times Op Docs)

Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)

Stranger at the Gate (The New Yorker)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Hostages (HBO)

The Last Movie Stars (HBO Max)

The Lincoln Project (Showtime)

Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS)

We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

30 for 30 (ESPN)

American Masters (PBS)

Cheer (Netflix)

The Circus (Showtime)

Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix)

Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu)

About the Critics Choice Awards

The Critics Choice Documentary Awards are an offshoot of the Critics Choice Awards, which are bestowed annually by the CCA to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Historically, the Critics Choice Awards are the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.

The Critics Choice Awards ceremony will be held on January 15, 2023 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, CA, and will be broadcast live on the CW.

Diane Warren Has Smashing Night at ACLU Dinner After Glass Award Shatters on Stage (See Video)

Leah Sydney
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Diane Warren Has Smashing Night at ACLU Dinner After Glass Award Shatters on Stage (See Video)

Famed songwriter (and Lifetime Achievement Oscar winner) Diane Warren had a smashing night in Los Angeles last night at the big star studded ACLU dinner. After receiving her Bill of Rights Award on stage, which was made of glass, she promptly dropped it and the award splintered into a lot of pieces.

Warren promptly thanked the ACLU “for this award, this award and this award.” She quipped, “Mazel Tov,” cracking up RuPaul, who’d just handed it to her. Warren riffed on one of her hits, “please Un-Break my award!” 

See video here

Warren wrote “Un-Break My Heart,” as well as so many other including “If I Could Turn Back Time, ““Because You Loved Me” and so many more classics which were performed by drag queens in a quite the the unusual night for the ACLU, which is more serious minded.  Warren’s songs like “Till It Happens to You” and “Stand Up For Something” are used to advice social justice which is why she deservedly received the award.  

Warren handled the situation fast on her feet and had the crowding roaring.  She then spoke about what is closest to her heart besides her music, which is her love of animals.  She explained, “for me, it’s not just human rights, it’s also animal rights.  As a committed animal rights activist, my heart is with that.  I use my voice to do all I can to protect animals. It’s all about the innocents.  They need us to look after them.  Music is the most powerful thing in the world, because it doesn’t go to the brain, it goes to the heart.  There is a lack of kindness in the world right now. So be kind to all living creatures.  This isn’t just our world it’s theirs too.” 

The evening’s host, “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jason George, had the crowd laughing still when he came on stage with a broom and started to clean. Warren joked, “he’s sweeping my award away!”  Nah, Diane. You are multi award winning, have 13 Oscar Nominations, you’re getting an Honorary Oscar on November 19th, and have a talked about song “Applause” that Sofia Carson sings from the film “Tell It Like a Woman.”  So you’re good! 

The ACLU also gave the same award out to civil rights lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham and Berlanti Prods. Partners Greg Berlanti and Sarach Schecter.  The awards are designed to shine a spotlight “on those who have meaningfully challenged the status quo.” Congrats to the ACLU for the work they do.  They are much needed and truly valued in these crazy times we live in. Watch Diane Warren’s breaking of the award and her funny, moving speech here:

Kanye West Buys Conspiracy Social Media App Parler from Right Wing Mercer Family: Will Music Biz Look the Other Way?

Roger Friedman
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Kanye West Buys Conspiracy Social Media App Parler from Right Wing Mercer Family: Will Music Biz Look the Other Way?

Kanye West has left the building.

The right wing rapper who this week declared himself an anti-Semite has exited mainstream culture for the world of QAnon and conspiracies. He’s bought Parler, a website for nutjobs who share his crazy beliefs, after being censored and suspended by Twitter and Instagram.

Parler is owned now by Rebekah Mercer of the right wing Mercer family, which has funded a lot of the conspiracy messaging that created January 6th and off the wall politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene.

More interestingly, Parler is run by a man named George Farmer who is the husband of conspiracy theorist and hatemonger Candace Owens. In recent days West, who calls himself Ye, has been quoting Owens in his anti-Semitic rants. It seems a little like Farmer and Owens have played Kanye, but he gets what he deserves. Despite his claimed $2 billion worth Kanye has lost of his business lately including deals with the Gap, Adidas, and his banking with JP Morgan.

The move puts Kanye on a level with Donald Trump, who has his own right wing app, Truth Social. In the last week, a former employee of Truth Social has made startling claims about the site’s business practices.

For Kanye, the purchase of Parler is notable in that Alex Jones, of “Info Wars,” was just ordered by a jury to pay nearly a billion dollars to the families of Sandy Hook children for claiming their murders never happened. Just as Jones is being adjudicated against for spreading lies, Kanye has been claiming that George Floyd, who died at the hands (and knee) of Minneapolis police, actually died from fentanyl. Floyd’s family is considering filing a lawsuit against West.

The next questions regarding Kanye will involve his music distributor, Universal Music Group, and entertainment attorneys who are representing him in these business deals. Will they all pretend this isn’t happening? Or will they have the guts to cut ties with Kanye for good?

Kanye Kancelled: Watch Ye Double Down on Anti-Semitism, Claim George Floyd Died from Fentanyl

Roger Friedman
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Kanye Kancelled: Watch Ye Double Down on Anti-Semitism, Claim George Floyd Died from Fentanyl

Kanye West must be cancelled now if he hasn’t already been.

Kanye has turned into a dangerous joke. He’s spouting anti-Semitism anywhere he can. He also says this in interview that George Floyd died from fentanyl, not from a knee on his neck for nine minutes. Kanye also suggests that his late friend, designer Virgil Abloh, died of something other than cancer. Did Louis Vuitton kill Abloh?

It’s enough already for this blowhard. I’m only republishing the video so people can see what he’s doing, and that’s being allowed to do it. His contacts with the Gap and Adidas are over. He’s committing financial suicide. But Kanye’s going far beyond just his business. His assertion that George Floyd died any other way that police violence should ensure that the Black community shuns him, as well.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=pvjLUW_HQ54

Is “SNL” Having Trouble Getting Hosts? Next Show Will Again Feature Double Duty Musical Guest (Jack Harlow)

Roger Friedman
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Is “SNL” Having Trouble Getting Hosts? Next Show Will Again Feature Double Duty Musical Guest (Jack Harlow)

Not sure what’s going on at “Saturday Night Live.” They appear to be having trouble booking hosts.

Last night the host and musical guest was Megan Thee Stallion. Double duty hosts are rare and not always a ratings grabber. At least when “SNL” has two different stars coming in, they’re pulling from a variety of areas for an audience. If the host is young and hip, then at least the musical act is broader, or vice versa.

So it was a shock to learn during the show that the next live installment, on October 29th, would be hosted by musical guest Jack Harlow. Huh? Harlow, a white rapper, seems to be a favorite in Lorne Michaels’ office. He recently co-hosted Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. Why? Not made clear. He seems like a nice guy, but he’s not exactly a superstar. Many are scratching heads wondering exactly what he does. I guess we’ll find out on October 29th.

But aren’t there a plethora of TV and movie stars standing on line to host the show? What happened to the campaign for Carol Burnett? Why hasn’t Whoopi Goldberg ever hosted? Why aren’t we seeing Cate Blanchett, Movie Star of the Moment?

Meantime, what we do know is a lot of money is being put into 24 year old Harlow, who comes from a Louisville horse racing family, to build him as a star. He’s just filmed the remake of “White Men Can’t Jump,” had a solo hit single, with “First Class,” and a featured hit with Lil Nas X. He’s everywhere suddenly. The fix, as they used to say, is in.

As for “SNL,” we won’t know until late Monday or early Tuesday if the Megan Thee Stallion plan worked with viewers. I watched it for an hour, happy to have closed captions thanks to the amount of mumbling. And the show did not use the Herschel Walker sheriff’s badge episode as a sketch, which was too bad.

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