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Sylvester Stallone’s Wife Jennifer Flavin Files for Divorce, Says Marriage “Irretrievably Broken”: Is This Why He Wanted “Rocky” Rights Back?

Roger Friedman
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Sylvester Stallone’s Wife Jennifer Flavin Files for Divorce, Says Marriage “Irretrievably Broken”: Is This Why He Wanted “Rocky” Rights Back?

Just last month we thought Sylvester Stallone had lost his mind publishing screeds against “Rocky” producer Irwin Winkler and his family.

Sly said he wanted the rights to “Rocky” returned to him even though he never owned them. He wanted to leave something to his daughters.

Now it seems that whole meltdown — which included anti-Semitic drawings of the Winklers — was part of a large brewing storm. Today, Sly’s wife of 25 year, Jennifer Flavin, filed for divorce saying the marriage was “irretrievably broken.” She claims he’s hiding assets.

Closer Weekly broke the story.

The Stallones have four gorgeous grown daughters. This was third second marriage. Flavin is 54 and could walk away with a fortune. Stallone is 76 and has probably been trying to marshal those assets. Since “Rocky” was written and sold well before his Flavin marriage maybe he was thinking this was something he could grab back and not share in the divorce. Tricky!

The signs were there Just a few days ago, Stallone visited a tattoo parlor to cover up a picture of Flavin with one of a bulldog. That was a sign things were bad.

The tabs note that the Stallones celebrated their 25th anniversary in May and that everything seemed hunky dory. But you, Sly’s been very busy filming a Yellowstone spin off called “Tulsa.” He’s been away from home a lot. And you know what means, Looks like Flavin wasn’t interested in dealing with the Flavin of the Month.

“Morning After” Singer Maureen McGovern Says She’s Been Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, will Retire

Roger Friedman
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“Morning After” Singer Maureen McGovern Says She’s Been Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, will Retire

The great singer Maureen McGovern has posted a sad announcement to her website.

She writes: “I’ve been diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy with symptoms of Alzheimer’s and/or Dementia.”

McGovern has the distinction of singing two songs that won Best Song at the Oscars. “The Morning After,” which went to number 1, was from ‘The Poseidon Adventure.” Then “We May Never Love Like this Again” came from “The Towering Inferno.” The songs were written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn.

McGovern became more famous still for appearing in the great comedy, “Airplane” as the Singing Nun.

She’s been recording and touring for the last four decades and has always been a popular presence around the world.

The diagnosis is alarming although every day there are breakthroughs.

A forthright McGovern says:

“What I do, or what I am still able to accomplish, has changed. I can no longer travel or perform in live concerts. In fact, I can no longer drive — how’s that for a kick in the butt?

“Of course, it’s a challenge, but it certainly is not going to keep me from living my life. At first, I began having trouble finding, in my brain, the words I wanted to say. I struggled with the inevitable shock with fear and frankly hopelessness.

“But slowly I realized that my inner life has not changed. My passion for music, for singing, remains profoundly robust. To me, music is a language that expresses what often cannot be said with just words – it elevates, expands, and heals – brings joy and comfort and can eliminate barriers by creating meaningful experiences. So, accepting this new stage in my life, I began to embrace what I have and let it be.”

Cecily Strong Will Miss the First Month of New “SNL” Season Doing Play in Los Angeles

Roger Friedman
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Cecily Strong Will Miss the First Month of New “SNL” Season Doing Play in Los Angeles

Cecily Strong, one of the most popular members of the “Saturday Night Live” troupe, will miss the first month of the new season this fall.

Strong will instead star in Jane Wagner and Lily Tomlin’s “The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe” in Los Angeles. This is the same production from New York that took place last winter.

Last year, the “SNL” season began on October 2nd with four shows in a row. Strong’s run in “The Search” is set for September 21st through October 23rd. It could extend if successful, although the one thing in “SNL”‘s favor is that L.A. is not a theater town. A four week run is considered a triumph.

It’s strange that the theater run was scheduled to overlap with “SNL” and not when the show is on hiatus. Strong is much needed right now on the comedy show since several of its performers left in June after long runs including Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant. Strong, when she does return, would be the show’s leading lady without question.

On the plus side, I saw Strong in “The Search” in New York and she was terrific. She was the first ever performer that Wagner and Tomlin ever allowed do the one woman show other than Tomlin. So of course Strong, who is likely in her last year at “SNL,” wants to show off for her L.A. friends and industry types.

But who will play Judge Jeannine Pirro guzzling her box of wine?

Broadway: Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford Eyed for $14 Million “Sweeney Todd” Next Spring

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford Eyed for $14 Million “Sweeney Todd” Next Spring

Is it true? I don’t know. But the blog broadwayjournal.com says the following.

“Hamilton” produced Jeffrey Seller is raising $14.5 million to stage a super duper version of “Sweeney Todd” next spring.

Seller, the blog says, has lined up Josh Groban to play Sweeney, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Annaleigh Ashford to play the kooky but in-love Mrs. Lovett, baker of the best pies in London.

Thomas Kail, of “Hamilton” fame, would direct.

“Sweeney Todd” is my all time favorite musical. I’ve seen it in every form, including in a bake shop. So I hope this story is correct. After “Company” set Broadway on fire, and “Into the Woods” is going strong, we need more Sondheim!

There’s also a revival of “Merrily We Roll Along” heading to New York Theatre Arts Workshop with Daniel Radcliffe heading up the cast.

Groban and Ashford are perfect. Now, who to play Anthony? Is Josh Henry too old? (Maybe. Groban is kind of a young Sweeney.) There are plenty of choices for all the roles, that’s for sure.

Two of Paul Newman’s Daughters Sue Family Foundation Over Getting Pushed Aside by Board: “The whole family is demoralized”

Roger Friedman
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Two of Paul Newman’s Daughters Sue Family Foundation Over Getting Pushed Aside by Board: “The whole family is demoralized”

Two of Paul Newman’s daughters have sued the Newman’s Own Foundation over their feeling that they’ve been increasingly pushed out and minimized by the board of directors.

The suit has been filed by Susan and Nell Newman. Their three other sisters are taking a back seat at the moment, according to sources.

News of the suit was first reported in the Wall Street Journal. But back in 2015, I covered the simmering issues between the family and the foundation. So did Mark Seal in Graydon Carter’s Vanity Fair. My 2015 story is below.

The amount of the suit is $1.6 million– the sum of $400,000 times four. Each sister has always had that amount to give to charities of their choice. (One sister, Stephanie, does not participate.) But now the board has cut their budgets to $200,000 apiece, they say, and they fear this will not be the end.

Important to know: The Newman children do not receive any personal money from the Foundation, no salaries, and no benefits. (I’d told the five children don’t receive an inheritance until Joanne Woodward passes away.) Their whole connection to Newman’s Own has been for them to be able to donate money at their discretion to charitable organizations.

But over time, the sisters say in their complaint, the board of Newman’s Own has tried to edge them out — despite their father’s intention that the family always be part of the hugely successful foundation that makes its money from marketing salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and popcorn.

When I wrote my story in 2015, the person running the foundation and already causing trouble for the Newmans was Robert Forrester. You can read about him below. I assumed  at some point, because the Newmans retreated, they had resolved their differences. Forrester was removed from power. Miriam Nelson is the new chairman of the board. But I’m told “the whole family is demoralized by the way they’ve been treated.” Why didn’t they speak up over the last seven years? Says a source: “They were told to keep quiet, everything would work out.”

“Paul Newman had tremendous interests in the arts and things like climate change,” says an insider. “The board under Nelson has changed the focus to funding food insufficiency. Nelson’s background is she’s a nutritionist.” The meager $1.6 million divided among four of the daughters (one of them doesn’t participate) was designed to fund those charities. Cutting it to $800,000 is alarming, frankly.

Why the Newman’s Own board isn’t embracing Newman’s daughters and how they let things reach this point is the question. The foundation, which has meant so much to so many around the world, doesn’t need this kind of bad publicity. And after all, it’s called Newman’s Own. Newman’s own children should be front and center.

There is certainly more to come.

Paul Newman Foundation President Nearly Doubled Salary in Four Years

I Know Who Killed Bunny Folger But I Can’t Tell You: “Only Murders” Best Season Finale Since “Who Shot JR?”

Roger Friedman
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I Know Who Killed Bunny Folger But I Can’t Tell You: “Only Murders” Best Season Finale Since “Who Shot JR?”

I just finished watching the series finale of “Only Murders in the Building.” It’s a good thing I skipped the press link. I could not have kept quiet.

As it is, John Hoffman and Steve Martin pulled off the best season finale I’ve seen in a long time, maybe since “Who Shot JR?”. They even set up Season 3 in the last few minutes. Paul Rudd has evidently signed on to appear next season in flashbacks.

So who killed Bunny Folger? Was it Tina Fey’s Cinda Canning? After all the red herrings we’ve seen, there are more in this episode. Fingers are pointed, let me tell you. There’s a big twist, too. And the whole episode is hilarious.

Not to give it away, but slow motion and a tomato steal the show.

Watch it. We’ll talk later.

Hint: It wasn’t Jan, and neither Teddy nor his deaf son are in the episode. Neither is the woman who runs the building now. Best line: “They chintzed on the cake!”

Indie Spirit Awards Raise Budget Limit for Films to Laughable $30 Mil, Go Very Woke with Gender Neutral Awards

Roger Friedman
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Indie Spirit Awards Raise Budget Limit for Films to Laughable $30 Mil, Go Very Woke with Gender Neutral Awards

The Independent Spirit Awards have become the joke of all time.

They’ve now raised the budget limit for eligible films to a freaking $30 million! Come on, where’s the spit take? They just want to compete with all the other awards shows like the Oscars, Critics Choice, and so on.

An indie film that costs more than $5 million is not indie nor in the spirit of independent filmmaking. Recently the limit had gotten up to $20 million. But now with $30 million, all bets are off.

On top of that, they’re switching over to very PC ‘gender neutral’ awards, so there’s no Best Actress or Best Actor, just Best Performance. The woke community has taken hold.

No one really cares about Film Independent or the Spirit Awards anymore. They have no viewers on their telecast. Last March their rating was so low it failed to make the Top 150 Cable shows of that day.

I guess they think the remedy is to let in as many movies that can overlap with the Oscars as possible. It won’t work, but good luck.

As for gender neutral awards, no one cares about that either. It’s also a real slap in the face to the men and women (yes there are still actual men and women) actors who would claim their own gender status. But no one cares about that anymore either.

Scratch the Spirit Awards off any list of meaningful awards.

PS The only value the Spirit Awards had in the past was a really amazing gift bag on every seat. But they cut that out years ago.

UPDATE: “House of the Dragon” Scored 2.2 Mil for HBO’s First Showing Sunday Night, Giving HBO Max Possible Huge Win

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE: “House of the Dragon” Scored 2.2 Mil for HBO’s First Showing Sunday Night, Giving HBO Max Possible Huge Win

According to Nielsen now with hard numbers:

“House of the Dragon” scored 2.170 million viewers for Sunday night’s first showing on regular HBO Prime at 9pm.

Right now, there are no numbers for the second showing which followed directly after at 10:06pm.

HBO said yesterday that nearly 10 million people watched the premiere across all networks. This would suggest that a whopping 7.7 million people watched on HBO Max.

For HBO Max, that would certainly guarantee its continuation as Warner Discovery’s streaming system going forward. The Max people should be opening bottles of Champagne, not laying anyone off.

“Dragon” had a small effect on John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight.” The acerbic and amusing news show was up around 100,000 viewers as a spill off. It also aired much later than usual, at 11:20pm and not at 10:30pm, so that’s pretty impressive.

HBO Says “House of the Dragon” Scored 10 Million Viewers Sunday Night, Largest Premiere Ever in Their History

Roger Friedman
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HBO Says “House of the Dragon” Scored 10 Million Viewers Sunday Night, Largest Premiere Ever in Their History

HBO says last night’s premiere of “House of Dragons” was their biggest ever. Just a notch under 10 million people watched on HBO or HBO Max.

A release says:

The premiere of “House of the Dragon” drew 9.986 million viewers across linear and HBO Max platforms in the U.S. Sunday night, the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO. The premiere also marked the largest series launch on HBO Max across the U.S., LatAm, and EMEA, driving an unprecedented level of concurrent streams on the platform. Typically, Sunday night viewership for a HBO series will represent just 20%-40% of the show’s total gross audience.  

The series was also a hit on social media, where fans showed up in droves to celebrate the return to Westeros. On premiere day, House of the Dragon was the longest trending topic on Twitter, ranking #1 for 14 hours straight, and trended #1 on Google Trends. 

What does this all mean? The initial response is huge, of course, “Game of Thrones” fans were salivating to see something new. But it was hard to say from the first episode how this is going to play out. To me, “House of Dragons” felt a little like “The Colbys,” spin off of “Dynasty” that just recycled familiar material. There wasn’t a sense of humor at all, just death and gloom. The Lannisters were really missing.

So maybe as the episodes broaden out, things will lighten up. But right now, it also felt like “HOD” burned through a lot of plot right away without much character development. Even the dragons could use a good backstory.

But production wise, “HOD” was top notch. You really felt like you were in Westeros years before they built the strip malls.

What Year Is It? Three of Top 5 Songs on iTunes Singles Charts are Oldies as Beyonce, Other New Acts Struggle for Space

Roger Friedman
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What Year Is It? Three of Top 5 Songs on iTunes Singles Charts are Oldies as Beyonce, Other New Acts Struggle for Space

Ok, so what year is it?

The top 2 songs today on iTunes are from 1971 and 2003.

The number one song is “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence. It was released March 4, 2003.

The number two song is “American Pie,” the full 8 minute version by Don McLean, released at the end of 1971.

Number five is “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Credence Clearwater Revival, released in 1971. Number 10 is Sia’s “Unstoppable,” which is six years old.

Meanwhile, current acts like Beyonce and Harry Styles have been unable to launch second hits from their albums. While Styles’ album, “Harry’s House,” is still selling, Beyonce’s “Renaissance” has reached a period.

Demi Lovato’s album and single are out there, but not blockbusters by any means. The single, “29,” is at number 51.

What is going on here? Old records are ruling the roost at the end of the summer, a summer which was swamped by Kate Bush’s 1985 hit “Running Up that Hill.”

The iTunes singles chart should be full of new music. For example, Ryan Adams’ “When She Smiles” should be right up there. So should Jon Batiste’s “Sweet” with Diane Warren and Pentatonix. Instead, 20 of the records from number 50 to 100 are all oldies. Isn’t that a little frightening?

The music business is so different nowadays, Very few new artists are being broken, radio is so compartmentalized that few new songs are played, there’s little diversity or thinking outside the box. And it’s not just unknown artists. Ask Billie Eilish. She released two singles a month ago and they died on impact.

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