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NYC Premiere: Drake Introduces “Amsterdam” Starring Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, An A List Cast, and A Supporting Player Who’s in His First Ever Film

Roger Friedman
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NYC Premiere: Drake Introduces “Amsterdam” Starring Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, An A List Cast, and A Supporting Player Who’s in His First Ever Film

All the action Sunday night was at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam” got the red carpet treatment all the way, with an A list invited audience and all the stars of this comedy ensemble on hand.

Christian Bale and Margot Robbie lead an amazing cast that includes John David Washington, Michael Shannon, Rami Malek, Mike Myers, Chris Rock and even — in a kind of extended cameo– Taylor Swift. Everyone does very good work, with some nice surprise moments from veteran players Ed Begley, Jr., Leland Orser, Tom Irwin, and Beth Grant. And wait: the effervescent Hollywood actress and social butterfly Colleen Camp has a cameo, and so does our old pal Gabe (pronounced Gabby) Doppelt, a former star magazine editor who is now the doyenne of the always very hot Sunset Tower restaurant.

And Drake, yes the rapper Drake, introduced the movie. He and rapper Future are producers on it, it comes from their company with Matthew Budman. The Marvelous Milchans are involved, too.

It’s been a while since we had a real A list opening in New York. There are still no parties, because of COVID, but the screenings are back.

Ben Stiller showed up to moderate a Q&A with Russell and most of the cast after the show. Stiller starred in Russell’s “Flirting with Disaster” many years ago.

Since I can’t review “Amsterdam” yet — except to say it’s a richly textured comedy with a serious political undertone — I’ll tell you who sat next to me. It was a young man named Vaughn Page, a 33 year old actor now from Los Angeles. He brought his girlfriend, Elizabeth. “Amsterdam” is the first movie he’s ever been in. Russell apparently liked him so much he increased his work schedule from 1 day to eighteen. Vaughn pops up all over the movie starting with the opening scene.

Get this: Page spent six years in the Air Force, where he took some acting classes. He went to a local LA college after that, took a couple more acting classes, and everyone there urged him to start auditioning. His career has taken off like a rocket. He’s picked up small parts in things like HBO’s “Winning Time” and in a new “Star Trek” series. He’s on his way! I introduced him Oscar winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher, who was sitting behind us. “Did you see Precious?” I asked Taylor. He nodded. “Well, this guy wrote it.” The young actor almost fainted. (Vaughn is on the right.)

Woody Allen Already Said He Was Retiring From Filmmaking Last June, You Just Weren’t Listening

Roger Friedman
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Woody Allen Already Said He Was Retiring From Filmmaking Last June, You Just Weren’t Listening

I see a lot of stories today about “Woody Allen announces retirement.”

Maybe you weren’t listening. Woody told Alec Baldwin in June, on Instagram, during a long interview, that he would make one or two more movies, then write plays and novels.

Here’s the link.

Lady Gaga in Tears After Cutting Miami Show Short to Basically Stay Live During Lightning Storm

Roger Friedman
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Lady Gaga in Tears After Cutting Miami Show Short to Basically Stay Live During Lightning Storm

Lady Gaga got very emotional last night after stopping her Miami show short. She has no need to feel bad. She was avoiding getting hit by lightning. This isn’t Spinal Tap, you know.

She wrote something on Instagram after posting a video that’s a little different but in the same vein (below).

She wrote:

I’m sorry i couldn’t finish the show it was too dangerous the lightening was being unpredictable and changing moment by moment, I love you. Look, for years some of you have called me “mother monster,” in my heart I knew it was better to keep you safe. Thank you for believing in me. This was the greatest tour of my life and I will cherish this moment forever—it took a long time for me to heal, but I did. Sure, OF COURSE, I wanted to sing rain on me for you in the rain. “I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive”—I guess somehow I knew this moment would happen and I am so grateful to you, my dancers, my band the whole crew everyone my family and friends. Safety first. Love you. Thank you for the flowers and the cheers and for understanding. Life matters.”

Spielberg Film “The Fabelmans” Wins Toronto’s People’s Choice Award, First Step Towards Oscars

Roger Friedman
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Spielberg Film “The Fabelmans” Wins Toronto’s People’s Choice Award, First Step Towards Oscars

Steven Spielberg never had a film in competition at a festival until he put “The Fabelmans” in at Toronto.

This morning “The Fabelmans” won the People’s Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival, setting it on its way to the Oscars. The award is a bellwether for the Oscars, with movies like “Belfast,” “Nomadland,” “Three Billboards,” and “Green Book” among recent winners.

Spielberg has to be pleased. The autobiographical story was the highlight of the festival. “The Fabelmans” begins a limited run November 11th, with a bigger rollout Thanksgiving weekend.

“The Fabelmans” stars Michelle Williams in what should be her Oscar win, Judd Hirsch in a dynamic supporting role, also Oscar bound, plus the excellent Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and breakout star Gabriel Labelle.

The first runner-up was “Women Talking,” directed by Sarah Polley, with an all star cast of actresses including Frances McDormand. The second runner-up was Glass Onion, the sequel to “Knives Out,” directed by Rian Johnson, starring Daniel Craig.

Winner of Best Documentary, by the way, went to “Black Ice,” which I told you last week is the subject of a major lawsuit.

Box Office: “Woman King” Scores a Moderating $19 Million In Opening Weekend

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Woman King” Scores a Moderating $19 Million In Opening Weekend

It’s not a flop by any means. But it’s not a blockbuster either.

Sony’s “The Woman King” scored $19 million over four days for a successful but not spectacular weekend. The best part of that news is that audiences liked it and gave it an A+ Cinemascore, the only movie to get that recognition since “Top Gun Maverick.”

The only question now is whether the Viola Davis led spearfest will grow during the coming week. Box office watchers will be paying attention to the day-to-day charts. This coming Friday, “Avatar” returns to theaters in wide release, and “Don’t Worry Darling” brings HarryStyles fans to theaters. So this may be the only time “The Woman King” can take prisoners.

“The Woman King” was followed at number 2 by 20th Century (Fox)’s “Barbarian,” with $6.3 million in its second week, followed by A24’s “Pearl” with $3.1 million.

Queen Elizabeth Possible Cause of Death: Sources Say It Was a “Thrombosis,” aka a Stroke, Just Like Her Father

Roger Friedman
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Queen Elizabeth Possible Cause of Death: Sources Say It Was a “Thrombosis,” aka a Stroke, Just Like Her Father

With all the pageantry and long lines at Westminster, we still don’t know the actual cause of death for Queen Elizabeth II. It’s easy to say she was 96 and old age finally got her. We may never be told the answer.

But the day before she took ill, the Queen saw both her outgoing PM, Boris Johnson, and her incoming PM, Liz Truss. A lot of photographs were taken and the Queen, though elderly, looked pretty well. The royal photographer, Jane Barlow, told Sky News, that she “got a lot of smiles from her.”

Now I’m told by royal sources (and who doesn’t have a royal source at this point?) that at 9am the next morning the Queen suffered what was officially called “a thrombosis” or a stroke. “She became unconscious and never woke up,” says the source, There’s some thought that in having the stroke she may have hit her head.

A stroke would make sense. First of all, last November 2021 Elizabeth was hospitalized for a mini-stroke. Second, and more coincidentally, her father King George VI, despite suffering from lung cancer, also succumbed to a thrombosis. The difference, of course, was that he was only 56. His daughter lived to be 96 and honored his legacy beyond what could have been his wildest imagination.

According to source Princess Anne was already at Balmoral Castle, and raced to her mother’s side. Charles, then prince, was summoned and arrived immediately. As we’ve surmised from other reports, the Queen passed away at 3pm, and the announcement was made at 6pm.

If the Queen, who some have said had cancer, died the same way as her father, then what happened later is all the more poignant. At a church service later at St Genny’s Church, near Crackington Haven, Cornwall, clerk staff were shocked when a leaflet from King George’s funeral fell out of a King James Bible.

“No one could quite remember when the bible had last been used… but then the leaflet fell out the front,” service leader Nick Danks told the BBC.

“It was just one of those wonderful moments that was meant to be.”

Reality Check: Jared Kushner’s Book is 3 on the NYTimes List. But It’s Number 187 on Amazon, and Worse Elsewhere

Roger Friedman
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Reality Check: Jared Kushner’s Book is 3 on the NYTimes List. But It’s Number 187 on Amazon, and Worse Elsewhere

A lot of people are asking me about Jared Kushner’s book, “Breaking History.” If you look at this weekend’s New York Times bestseller list, it’s number 3 in non fiction.

And yes, I know you think it should be in fiction, listed as “Breaking Wind.”

The Times list is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. They are also two weeks behind real time sales. (PS they let Kellyanne Conway’s book go up to the top reaches of their list, then it fell like a brick. Maybe they’re kowtowing to GOP readers.)

In the real world, “Breaking History” is number 187 on Amazon.com. On Barnes & Noble’s list, it’s number 1,885.

Most recent sales figures have it at 60,000 copies. It may be closer to 65,000. We’ll see in a few days. On Amazon, the book fell off the top 100 about a week ago. Then I wrote about its sales failure, and “Breaking Wind” shot up to number 27.

Someone has been gaming Amazon, buying up multiple copies. But no one you know has read it, or bought it, and no one will. It’s very good, however, for stacking up under a lap top during a Zoom call.

George Clooney-Julia Roberts Movie Is Playing Abroad to Mostly Good Reviews, Not in US Til October 21st

Roger Friedman
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George Clooney-Julia Roberts Movie Is Playing Abroad to Mostly Good Reviews, Not in US Til October 21st

Well, this is a little weird.

A film with two actual American movie stars is playing in other countries, but not here, not yet.

George Clooney and Julia Roberts — surely among our biggest stars — headline a romantic comedy called “Ticket to Paradise.” It’s released by Universal. When I say released, I mean elsewhere.

“Ticket to Paradise” doesn’t premiere in the US until October 21st, more than a month from now. But it is playing in other countries. So far it’s made around $2 million total in places like Spain, Brazil, and Greece. It’s also made $13,000 in Bolivia.

On Rotten Tomatoes, “Ticket to Paradise” has a respectable 69%, with 32 reviews. Of those, 20 are positive. The comedy is described as a kind of goof, not to be taken seriously, just a nice romp with good looking people. One reviewer called it “feel good escapism.”

So why isn’t here in America? Universal has to release “Bros” first, that’s a big one, and they’re concentrating on Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” for the Oscars, so they are busy. Also, they may be trying to build steam for “Ticket” around the world so there’s good of mouth when it finally opens domestically.

I actually think more of these kinds of movies would help Hollywood, the Oscars, and so on promote the brand and the idea of American cinema. Leo Di Caprio has never been in a romcom. Why not? He would be great as a modelizing bachelor trying to court Anne Hathaway. We need this stuff. I think the reason we don’t have it anymore is this kind of movie is considered dessert. No one who makes movies eats dessert. They just want a lot of grilled vegetables!

Taylor Swift Says Back Covers of New Album Form a Clock: “It could help you tell time”

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Says Back Covers of New Album Form a Clock: “It could help you tell time”

Taylor Swift says the back covers of four editions of her album form a clock.

She says on Instagram: “It’s a clock. It could help you tell time.”

The album, called “Midnights,” releases at midnight on October 21st. Swift is suggesting you buy four different LPs to get this effect. That would be around $80.

But it could help you tell time.

A Swatch costs $65.

Will Bruce Be There? Little Steven Sets Charity “Party at the Pony” In Asbury Park with Southside Johnny

Roger Friedman
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Will Bruce Be There? Little Steven Sets Charity “Party at the Pony” In Asbury Park with Southside Johnny

What should I do? I’m in tears. Although I want to be at the Hamptons Film Festival on Sunday October 9th listen to this…

Little Steven has set a “Party at the Pony” in Asbury Park for that afternoon and night. Southside Johnny is coming, so is Max Weinberg, and you know Bruce is going to show up even if its just for a minute.

The Party benefits TeachRock.org, and tickets start at $275. Packages like “Bada Bing” and “fuhgettaboutit.”

I’m so mad. This thing is going to sell out in seconds. Little Steven and Southside together? Please, someone video “The Fever” for me.

Stevie Van Zandt on Why TeachRock Matters from TeachRock on Vimeo.

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