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“Paradise Square” : I told you weeks ago this musical would shut down. Now comes the announcement that Sunday will be its last performance.
Usually when shows close they give more than a week’s notice. But “Paradise Square” has a lot of legal trouble. Actors Equity is suing the producers for around $350,000 in owed benefit contributions, wages and other fees.Â
I’m surprised that’s all. “Paradise Square” was produced by an actual criminal, Garth Drabinsky, who was only recently allowed to travel to the US from his homeland, Canada, where he was convicted of fraud.
The show has been running at a loss for weeks. Last week they played to 48% capacity houses and a total take of just $266,926. Even with a win for Joaquina Kalukango as Best Actress in a Musical, Drabinsky could not make it work. “Paradise Square” was capitalized at $15 million, all of which is lost. Just wait til the investors come calling.
Drabinsky says he plans a national tour, but with a huge cast the show would have to be retooled scaled way down before it could hit the road.
The Emmys have turned into an awards show for just a few shows.
The preponderance of nominations went to “Succession,” “Squid Game,” “White Lotus,” “Hacks,” “Mrs. Maisel,” “Only Murders in the Building.” Most of those shows are on Netflix, HBO, and Amazon.
Even Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” which got 13 nominations, had none for acting. None, not even for Matthew Modine and Sadie Sink, who deserved it.
Showtime’s “Billions” was ignored, as usual, which is disgraceful. So was HBO’s “The Gilded Age.”
Even worse, there was nothing for two Paramount Plus shows: “The Offer” and “The Thing About Pam.” The Emmys simply snubbed Renee Zellweger in the latter movie. Not nice.
But “The Offer” featured a winning performance by Matthew Goode as Robert Evans. And Miles Teller was equally good as Al Ruddy. The series was top notch. That this series was omitted is really criminal. Matthew Goode should sue!
There were plenty of other series and actors who deserved recognition. But the TV Academy went very narrow. The Academy reports these multiple noms:
Sydney Sweeney (two first-time nominations, Euphoria and The White Lotus). In addition to Sweeney, individuals with multiple nominations this year include Jason Bateman (performance and directing for Ozark), Quinta Brunson (performance and writing for Abbott Elementary),Nicole Byer (host for Nailed It and writing for Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo)), Jerrod Carmichael (performance Saturday Night Live and writing for Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel), Julia Garner (Ozark and Inventing Anna), Bill Hader (performance, writing and directing for Barry and performance for Curb Your Enthusiasm), Steve Martin (performance and writing for Only Murders in the Building), Amy Poehler (host for Making It and directing for Lucy and Desi), Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul and Cooper’s Bar), Harriet Walter (Ted Lasso and Succession) and Zendaya (performance and music and lyrics for Euphoria).
I’m sorry. Maybe no one person should be allowed more than one nomination. It doesn’t seem quite fair. Is it just that the voters are lazy and only watch certain shows, pulling all their nominees out of that group? Sure seems like it. Four of the six nominees for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy are from “Hacks.” Should that have been allowed? The sheer weight of that show hurt another potential HBO nominee, Tracey Ullmann, from “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Well, another strange year. And for broadcast TV, with nominations just from “Abbott Elementary” on ABC, a disaster. There was NOTHING on network TV of quality otherwise? I find that hard to believe, sorry. Just look up the work of Sterling K. Brown or Mariska Hargitay.
This is a real time updated list of 2022 Emmy nominations. The Emmys snubbed powerhouse show “Yellowstone” and Kevin Costner. The show got nothing.
The two network shows with potential — “This is Us and “Ghosts” – also shut out, not even Sterling K Brown.
Everyone from “Succession” was nominated for something — the entire main cast. Seven other actors from that show got noms for being Guest Stars.
Five of the nominees for Best Supporting Actress in a limited series came from “The White Lotus.” Three of the men from that show were in Best Supporting Actor in a limited series.
Congrats to Seth Meyers for finally getting his “Late Night” nominated. Should win!
Bowen Yang was the ONLY member of the “Saturday Night Live” cast to be nominated.
There were NO acting nominations for “Stranger Things.” The did get 13 noms, all below the line and Best Drama.
Julia Garner has two nominations– Best Actress in “Inventing Anna,” Supporting Actress in “Ozark.” Tom Pelphrey got a Guest Actor nom for “Ozark.”
My favorite nomination: Harriet Sansom Harris, guest actress in “Hacks.” Also, Sheryl Lee Ralph, best supporting actress in a comedy series, for “Abbott Elementary.”
list updating…
LEAD ACTRESS COMEDY
Rachel Brosnahan, Quinta, Kaley Cuocco, Elle Fanning, Issa Rae, Jean Smart
LEAD ACTOR COMEDY
Donald Glover, Bill Hader, Nicholas Hoult, , Steve Martin, Martin Short, Jason Sudeikis.
Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary, Barry, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, Mrs. Maisel, Only Murders in the Building, Ted Lasso, What We Do in the Shadows
Lead Actor Ltd Series or Movie
Colin Firth, Andrew Garfield, Oscar Isaac, Michael Keaton, Himesh Patel, Sebastian Stan
Lead Actress Ltd Series of Movie
Toni Colette, Julia Garner, Lily James. Sarah Paulson, Margaret Qualley, Amanda Seyfried
Ltd or Anthology Serises
Dopesick, Dropout, Inventing Anna, Pam and Tommy, The White Lotus
LEAD ACTRESS DRAMA
Jodie Comer, Laura L, Melanie, Sandra Oh,, Resse Witherspoon, Zendaya
LEAD ACTOR DRAMA
Jason Bateman, Brian Cox, Lee Jung-jae, Odenkirk, Adam Scott, Jeremy Strong
Emmy nominations come this morning at 11:30am. We already know that shows like “Succession,” “Stranger Things,” “Hacks,” “Mrs. Maisel” will all be in the mix.
But those are all on cable or streaming services, all “peak TV.” But what about network TV? WWill it make a comeback?
Each of three broadcast networks has a show that could score some noms. ABC has “Abbott Elementary,” NBC has “This is Us,” and CBS has “Ghosts.” All three are ratings hits, very popular, and critically praised. They could all be breakthroughs for network TV which doesn’t get much love anymore from awards groups.
“This is Us” has the most potential because this was the series finale. There should be a lot of sentiment for it.
“Abbott Elementary” is ABC’s gem right now, with Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph looking to score big time.
So hold on. The Emmys could provide some surprises this year. If only traditionally snubbed shows like “Billions” could be included. Now that would be exciting!
Here is likely my last item on Kellyanne Conway’s book, “I Was a Liar for Hire.”
No, it’s called “Here’s the Deal.” And here is the deal. After less than 2 months, Conway’s memoir of covering up Donald Trump’s mess has dropped below number 2,400 on amazon. It’s officially dead.
How this book made it to number 1 on the NY Times best seller list is a mystery. It never had a hot week, and it dropped almost instantly upon publication. Books by Trump’s crime family do not sell. Conway thought she could con everyone, but it didn’t work.
So we wave farewell to Kellyanne. It was fun while it lasted. People who be embarrassed for having her on their programs include CNN’s Michael Smerconish and HBO’s Bill Maher.
I told you on June 16th and today it was announced: Lea Michele will play Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” on Broadway. Tovah Feldshuh will play her mother.
This is perfect casting. And I told you exclusively about Lea Michele.
They replace Beanie Feldstein and Jane Lynch, who were a mismatched casting from the start.
Lea Michele has always wanted to play the role and even sang “Don’t Rain On My Parade” on the 64th Tony Awards. If this doesn’t jolt ticket sales, nothing will.
Lea and Tovah start September 6th. Beanie leaves July 31st. Popular standby Julie Benko gets the whole month of August. Everyone who sees her loves her!
Beanie Feldstein says she’s leaving “Funny Girl” on Juy 31st. She missed the Saturday matinee and has skipped a lot of other performances since the show opened in April.
Other cast members may be changing as well. Jane Lynch is likely to go with Beanie rather than wait til the late September date already announced.
Beanie’s announcement is below. I feel bad. Beanie is a talented actor with a great voice. I think she got a raw deal on Broadway from people who wanted Barbra Streisand and got a young Totie Fields.
Beanie will survive. Now we wait and see if Lea Michele got the part as I was told. If not, there’s not much we can say.
It’s indeed Hammer time, and I don’t mean Armie Hammer, who is not working selling time shares in the Cayman Islands. (Congrats to TMZ for getting duped.)
No, I do mean “Thor Love and Thunder.” The fourth installment in the Marvel series had its best ever opening weekend– $143 million. That’s about $14 million more than the last one, “Ragnarok.”
All around the world, including the US. “Love and Thunder” has $300 million under its belt already. This will go on and on for a while as Marvel rakes in the bucks, Disney does a dance, and Easter eggs are discussed and examined.
Yes. I find it tiresome. Most adults do. Blockbuster after blockbuster isn’t that interesting when the movies are not memorable except to comic book aficionados. Nothing expressed in these movies will mean anything in years to come. But for now, it means solid stock prices and Maybachs for everyone involved!
Cheerio!
PS Maybe Disney will make “Black Swan II” for Natalie Portman as a thank you.
“Top Gun Maverick” is poised to cross the $600 million mark in US box office tomorrow, Monday. Today it stands at $600 million.
For Tom Cruise, this is the cherry on top of the sundae. “Maverick” already has over $1 billion in sales counting international box office.
Cruise is not a regular player at the $100 million table. Over the years his non “Mission Impossible” movies have fallen shot, with only “Edge of Tomorrow” — kept in theaters forever — just making the mark.
Otherwise, a string of movies like “Oblivion” and two “Jack Reacher” chapters couldn’t do it. Neither could “American Made,” a good movie that was thrown away, or “The Mummy.”
But “Maverick” hit the zeitgeist. It was nostalgia delivered at the right moment, when audiences were depressed and nervous about COVID, the economy, and worried about a madman running for office again.
And now Cruise is set up for two “Mission Impossible” movies coming next summer and the summer after that. They will each be blockbusters. Cruise’s legacy as a movie star is cemented. The real life stuff? Scientology? The strange situation with Suri, his 16 year old daughter? All of that lingers and is not going away. But for the moment, Cruise is top gun at the box office.
Condolences to Oprah Winfrey. She reports on Instagram that her dad, Vernon, has passed away at age 88. On July 4th Oprah organized a grand send off for her dad with all his friends and family. It’s sort of a neat idea, a kind of pre-memorial that he could enjoy. Oprah says in the video that he thought it was for July 4th. Sweet.
PS Oprah looks very well in the video. Good for her! So sorry for her loss.
