Saturday, December 20, 2025
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Rolling Stone Magazine Raises Ire of Michael Jackson Family By Dubbing Harry Styles “New King of Pop”

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Uh oh.

Rolling Stone may have bitten off more than it can chew. On the cover of their UK issue they’ve dubbed Harry Styles “the new king of pop.”

You know, there is only one King of Pop, and that’s Michael Jackson.

Michael’s nephew has responded quickly on Twitter. Taj Jackson writes:

“There is no new King of Pop. You don’t own the title @RollingStone, and you didn’t earn it, my uncle did. Decades of dedication and sacrifice. The title has been retired. No disrespect to @Harry_Styles, he’s mega talented. Give him his own unique title.”

Truly, Harry would be best known as the Prince of Pop. To be the King of Pop would mean a much longer resume of hits and successes. Harry’s doing well, but not Michael Jackson good. Not yet.

Rolling Stone now is all about throwing out the previous generations of pop culture, particularly Baby Boomers. In a recent note on their website, editor Noah Schactman said they’d redesigned it so Rolling Stone no longer requires wearing “bell bottoms.” That’s really unfortunate. First of all Baby Boomers haven’t worn bell bottoms for 40 years. Second, they’re the generation that actually knows where the title of the magazine comes from. Don’t insult us.

And don’t cross the Michael Jackson fans. Word of wisdom to RS. You don’t need that headache.

Did Tina Fey, I Mean Cinda Canning, Really Kill Bunny? “Only Murders” Comes Clean at Midnight

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Don’t ask me why, but I’m obsessed with “Only Murders in the Building.”

The Steve Martin-Martin Short-Selena Gomez comedy thriller murder mystery on Hulu is like eating a dessert every Tuesday when it’s on. You almost don’t care whodunit or how the puzzle is pieced together. It’s more about the witty writing, the top notch acting, the incredible apartments everyone lives in.

Tonight at midnight, Hulu drops the final episode of Season 2. Who killed Bunny? I don’t know because I like to watch the show as it unfolds. I didn’t binge watch the press viewings. Too fast. I want to savor the moment.

Last week, it seemed like Tina Fey’s Cinda Canning, a preening self absorbed podcast queen, for some reason might have done it. The week before, the red herring was Michael Rapoport‘s detective. You know, it could still be anyone, even Amy Ryan’s Jan, who’s in jail for committing the season 1 crime. Did they have her back just because everyone loves Amy Ryan? (Maybe.) How about Cara deLevingne‘s art dealer? Why is she always hanging around?

The introduction of secret passages in the Arconia was an inspired idea, that’s for sure. It’s kept our sleuthing trio inside double time in their investigation.

To me, “Only Murders” owes a huge debt to Woody Allen. In many ways, the show echoes Woody’s 1993 hit, “Manhattan Murder Mystery.” Woody and Diane Keaton are convinced there’s been a murder in their building and set out to reveal the culprit. Also, Selena Gomez made a huge acting leap in Woody’s “Rainy Day in New York,” playing a similar character. So there’s that.

“Only Murders” has its shown share of “Easter eggs.” One of them was Steve Martin’s bleeding nose, which seemed like a nod to “Stranger Things.” There have been a few others, too. But that’s part of the charm. It’s always sophisticated asides, and little moments that propel the action along smartly.

No offense to Steve Martin, but I think even he knows Martin Short steals the show. If he doesn’t get the Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Comedy, there will be murders in the TV Academy. Short just makes every scene his own as Oliver, who’s a unique send up every New Yorker on the Upper West Side who’s had something to do with show business in the last 50 years. Oliver’s references are beyond obscure. If you get them, you feel relieved and also a little embarrassed that you even know what he’s talking about.

Thanks to Hulu for such a lovely summer treat. They should always show “Only Murders” on this timetable. It’s so refreshing, it’s the best way to beat the humidity!

Knives Out Sequel “Glass Onion” May Confirm the Walrus Was Paul: Title Taken from Beatles Song, Movie Set for Holidays

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I told you on June 29th that the title of the new “Knives Out” movie, “Glass Onion,” was from the Beatles song on The White Album.

Now director Rian Johnson says in a Netflix press release: “I’m always fishing for something fun that Blanc can grab onto as an overwrought metaphor that he can beat to death,” he says.  “This is all in plain sight from the very start. So, the idea of glass came to me, something that’s clear. I’ll be very honest. I literally got out my iPhone and searched my music library with the word ‘glass.’ There’s got to be some good glass songs. I was like, “Oh, is it a glass fortress? Is it a glass castle? Is it a glass man?” The first thing that came up, because I’m a huge Beatles fan, is ‘Glass Onion.’” (We may find out if the Walrus was Paul.)

The “Knives Out” sequel — I first reported that there would be more movies starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc — will play in some theaters beginning December 23rd, holiday time, as well as on Netflix. (The streamer must do this for Oscars consideration.) The new movie stars Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick , Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson, and Dave Bautista.

“Glass Onion” was shot in Greece on a yacht and takes its inspiration from the 1973 cult film, “The Last of Sheila.” directed by Herb Ross and written by, oddly, Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins. That movie featured a murder on a yacht with a starry cast that included Richard Benjamin, Dyan Cannon, Raquel Welch, James Mason, and James Coburn.

No word yet if Netflix shelled out the requisite million bucks to get the Beatles song in the movie, but I wouldn’t put it past them!

Jake Tapper Says of Mar-a-Lago Raid: “I can’t defend anything” And Flushes His Integrity Down the Toilet

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If you slept in a little this morning, you missed the end of Jake Tapper on CNN.

While Brian Stelter interviewed Carl Bernstein on the last episod of “Reliable Sources,” I watched Jake Tapper take a dive on his “State of the Union.” The State of Tapper’s integrity is dead, frankly. After endorsing Jared Kushner’s book, Tapper let despicable eye patched conservative creature Dan Crenshaw spout lies about the January 6th committee, promote the Former Guy, and talk almost uninterrupted. Watch below as Jake actually says, “There’s a lot we don’t know, so I can’t defend anything,” referring to the raid on Mar-a-Lago. You will throw up your cereal.

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Tapper has obviously been ordered by the new CNN to go along with their new mind control, aiming at “less partisan” discussion. The result is that the inmates are running the asylum. Why didn’t Tapper just quit? High mortgage payments? Big private school commitments? This is so beneath him. Between this and the Kushner endorsement, Twitter is raging. CNN may have no viewers by Monday. James Earl Jones may take his voice away.

Box Office: Lesson Learned as “Dragon Ball” Made $20 Mil But Deflated Every Day

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Box office lesson learned this weekend: “Dragon Ball Super Super Hero” did make $20 million from Thursday night.

But the Ball also deflated every single day, starting strong with $10 million Thurs-Friday and ending with a $3.4 million Sunday. The Crunchyroll-20th Century-Disney release was a novelty and very limited in its reach.

Meanwhile, “Bullet Train” chugged along with an $8 million weekend, bringing it to $69 million total. It’s a slow train coming, certainly, but with nothing on the track behind it, “Bullet Train” will keep boarding passengers until someone throws all the puns out the window.

“Beast” garnered $11.5 million, not enough to sustain a jungle. A misfire.

I never saw “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” and now I’ll wait until maybe A24 sends screeners for awards season. They’re going to finish with less than $6 million. Maybe Marcel should have kicked the shoes off and put his feet in the sand!

Facebook Billionaire Sheryl Sandberg Has Married Actor Jon Bernthal’s Brother

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So weird: People magazine doesn’t seem to realize that the man Sheryl Sandberg has married, Tom Bernthal, is the brother of actor Jon Bernthal. (I guarantee you People and other outlets update their stories when they read all this.) They don’t mention it in their big story tonight about the wedding.

Tom Bernthal is Jon’s older brother. They are the sons of retired Washington DC powerhouse lawyer Eric Bernthal (Latham & Watkins law firm, incredibly big time) who is the former Chairman of the Board of The Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal welfare and advocacy organization in the country.

Sheryl, the exiting billionaire COO of Facebook, did ok for herself. Tom Bernthal sounds like a nice guy. He’s a producer and former NBC News producer. He won an Emmy. He’s divorced and three kids.

Jon Bernthal is about to star in the “American Gigolo” TV series. He has a long list of credits including “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Both brothers attended the elite Sidwell Friends School in Potomac, Maryland. He plays rough around the edges characters, but he comes from a hard core top DC family.

Sheryl’s late husband, Dave Goldberg, died suddenly on a family vacation in 2015. He and Sheryl have two kids.

Mazel tov!

“Ozark,” A Show with One Black Character, Wins Best Drama from African American Critics, “This is Us” Snubbed

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“Ozark,” a Netflix show with one Black character, has won Best Drama from the African American Critics Association.

“Pachinko,” an Asian show on Apple TV Plus, won Best International Drama.

The shows are certainly of quality, but they have nothing to do with the Black community.

The AAFCA basically has ignored the best Black shows on television. There are plenty of all-Black dramas across TV, cable and streaming. For example, “This is Us” has a strong Black cast and could easily have been celebrated. Instead of “Pachinko,” there are several Black international series like the fantastic, “Lupin.”

Jessica Frances Dukes played FBI agent Maya on “Ozark.” She was wonderful on the show, but she was a secondary character at best. And Dukes didn’t even get her own award from AAFCA!

Some of these winners are ridiculous and laughable.

  • BEST TV COMEDY – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
  • BEST TV DRAMA – Ozark (Netflix)
  • BEST NEW SHOW – Bel-Air (Peacock)
  • BEST DOCUMENTARY – Black and Missing  (HBO)
  • BEST LIMITED SERIES/SPECIAL – Women of the Movement (ABC) 
  • BEST INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION – Pachinko (Apple TV+)
  • BREAKOUT STAR – Quinta Brunson 
  • BEST ENSEMBLE – Swagger (Apple TV+) & Winning Time: the rise of the Lakers dynasty (HBO) 
  • BEST WRITING – A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)
  • BEST TV DIRECTING – Salli Richardson, The Gilded Age (HBO) 
  • BEST TV ACTING (Female) – Patina Miller, Power Book III: Raising Kanan  (Starz) 
  • BEST TV ACTING (Male) – Courtney B. Vance, 61st Street (AMC)
  • IMPACT AWARD – Insecure (HBO)

Animated Friday Night Box Office: “Dragon Ball” Wins the Night, Pawing Idris Elba’s “Beast” Into Submission

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Friday night: anime movie “Dragon Ball Super Super Hero” scored such a big Thursday — $4.3 million– that you might think the numbers would rise exponentially. “DBSSH” put together a $10.7 million opening with Thursday and Friday counted. Another $12 million is likely coming, giving the anime a $22 mil weekend.

Can Idris Elba and his crazy lion from “Beast” jump forward? Well, “Beast” will be the highest grossing live action movie, so that’s something. Thursday-Friday is at $4.3 million. It should come in between $10-$11 million. Maybe reviews shouldn’t have been held til the last minute. The studio couldn’t build excitement. It’s a little strange since “Beast” had a great premiere party that Universal put a lot into. Also, a 68 on Rotten Tomatoes ain’t bad.

And get this: “Top Gun Maverick” is now the 6th highest box office movie, passing “Avengers: Infinity War.” It’s within striking distance of “Black Panther.” Amazing. “Maverick” comes to streaming services on Tuesday.

(See Photo) NYC’s Hottest Congressional Race: Why Did One of Carolyn Maloney’s Rivals Crash Her Party Last Night?

This is EXCLUSIVE, kids.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney got a big surprise last night at a fundraising cocktail party on the Upper East Side.

One of her rivals in Tuesday’s coming election, Suraj Patel, crashed the party and pulled her aside for a confab. Luckily, someone at the fabled Beach Cafe got a photo of the pair, plus their aides, standing next to the Beach Cafe’s famous lifeguard stand.

It’s almost a metaphor. Does someone need help from drowning?

Maloney and Patel are each trailing Rep. Jerry Nadler in the three way race that will end on Tuesday. The race exists because the districts of Nadler and Maloney — each popular, effective, long time New York-Manhattan members of Congress — were combined in redistricting. They are now running against each other with Patel as the spoiler.

Patel has been seen hanging around the Maloney campaign in the last couple of weeks. But to crash a party in public? You can tell from the look on Maloney’s face, she was caught off guard.

Patel, a former Obama aide, almost beat Maloney in 2020. If he threw his support to her now, Nadler could be toppled. (It will be a shame to lose either Nadler or Maloney, frankly.)

Or maybe they were there for the Beach Cafe’s glorious Bolognese sauce. I’ve been dreaming about it since dinner last night!

PS Why are we covering it? First, because it happened. Second, because I’m a fourth generation New Yorker. And whoever wins this election will have a huge impact on my life, my family’s, and the future of many things in our amazing city!

Here they are. Photo c2022 Showbiz411.com

 

Box Office: Japanese Anime Movie “Dragon Ball Super Super Hero” Made Shocking $4 Mil in Thursday Previews

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Huh.

Last night, the big Thursday preview movie was not Idris Elba in “Beast,” a good thriller that made $925,000.

No, the winner was a Japanese anime movie called “Dragon Ball Super Super Hero.” Distributed by Japanese company Toei and Crunchyroll via 20th Century Studios — meaning Disney– “Dragon Ball” made an astounding $4 million. That’s a very animated response!

“Dragon Ball” heads into 3,100 theaters this weekend. The new chapter follows 2019’s “Dragon Ball Super: Broly,” which lit up $7.04 million on its Wednesday opening and went on to score $30.4 million in the U.S.

“Bullet Train” rolls on, having crossed $60 million yesterday. And even though “Top Gun Maverick” will be available for streaming at midnight on August 23rd, it’s still in 2,969 theaters.