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This past Saturday’s “SNL” showed the 51 year old show is on a comeback.
For some reason, maybe because there’s a lot of new cast members, season 51 hasn’t been easy. After Bad Bunny opened with 4.4 million viewers, the show trended downwards until Miles Teller and Brandi Carlile bottomed out with 3.36 million. That was pretty shocking.
But every episode since then has restored order, with the most recent episode, featuring Melissa McCarthy and singer Dijon, getting back to 4.3 million again.
Still, “SNL” has not had a blockbuster episode this season so far.
This Saturday brings actor Josh O’Connor and singer Lily Allen, which looks perilous. O’Connor is the star of “Wake Up, Dead Man” and a few other films this fall, but his appeal is unknown. Lily Allen made a splash with an album about her divorce from “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour.
Even if this weekend is a bust the big pre-Christmas ender should go through the roof. Ariana Grande is hosting, and Cher is the musical guest. If they don’t bring in viewers, no one can, particularly if they sing “I Got You, Babe” and Cher — the queen of all celebrity — is in some sketches.
Who knows? Maybe Jeff Goldblum will show up. He and Ariana are releasing a single together this week. And Cynthia Erivo? What about a “Wicked” reunion with Cher? The mind boggles.
Vanity Fair is ditching its famous Oscar party tent.
The floundering magazine is moving the party from its long held spot at the Wallis Annenberg Center on Santa Monica Boulevard to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
LACMA could be a fun place, but not the behemoth of the massive tents. It’s unclear if they’ll let guests eat In-and-Out Burgers near all that expensive art.
One guest who won’t be on the list: now ex West Coast editor Olivia Nuzzi. Although you never know: her notoriety of having a big flop of a book and being fired might be just what new editor Mark Guiducci wants on his red carpet.
Vanity Fair’s whole relationship with Hollywood has changed since Guiducci took over from the former editor. The magazine has mostly ignored all the new releases heading to awards season. For its Hollywood issue — out now — they couldn’t get a lot of stars. All actresses turned them down. Only a couple of the male stars warranted a cover.
From Guiducci’s quote on the VF website today, it does seem like doesn’t care about Hollywood per se. He’s looking at tech bro’s as the new stars. I’m surprised no one’s decided yet to launch their own big Oscar winner party now that VF is fading away.
“Wicked for Good” has been a slow starter at the box office.
After a big take off, the Oz sequel slowed down quite a bit. Yesterday it hit $300 million after 20 days.
For any other movie that would amazing. But the first “Wicked” was at $330 million in the same time frame.
“Wicked 1” took in $475 million in theaters by the end of its domestic run. It doesn’t seem like “For Good” will get near there, but there could be a Christmas resurgence.
On the international side, “WFG” has not gone over so well in foreign countries. The lag is big. But Universal is still waiting for numbers in China and Japan, which should help the bottom line.
Certainly not getting Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture Musical or Comedy was disappointment. But the Critics Choice is something they can advertise, and I can’t imagine a total snub from the Oscars.
He says on Truth Social the newspaper of record should “cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful “source” of information.”
Why is he is a snit this time? Because he thinks no one believes his medical test results, especially for cognition. His long rant is below.
The man who falls asleep in public regularly says: a’I will know when I am “slowing up,” but it’s not now!a’
He says it’s treasonous for anyone to say that a 79 year old man who stumbles around and can’t keep his eyes open during public events, who filibusters even in short comments about nothing to do with the subject at hand, is impaired at all.
“Trump writes: “After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean “THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it.”
I feel bad that he’s so disturbed. After all, he said last week he didn’t even know why he had an MRI, or what it was for.
You can buy 12 white ping pong balls at Target for $2.99.
A six pack of orange balls are on sale at Dick’s Sporting Goods for $4.99.
But on ebay right, now orange ping pong balls emblazoned with the logo for the movie, “Marty Supreme” are selling for twenty bucks apiece — and higher.
The movie, starring Timothee Chalamet and directed by Josh Safdie, doesn’t open until Christmas.
Chalamet plays a real life motor mouth kid named Marty Mauser who rises from the Lower East Side circa 1959 and becomes an international table tennis champion. The movie is a hit with critics who’ve seen it, and Chalamet is on his way to an Oscar nomination.
Last night, Chalamet appeared at the Hollywood premiere in an orange suit, albeit with much more material than his girlfriend Kylie jenner, also in orange but wearing basket balls.
The movie should be a hit on its down, but themarketing and merchandising machine behind it is in overdrive. And let’s not forget, almost one one has seen this movie.
“Marty Fever” is in the air. Yesterday, Doni Nahmias, the designer who got the license to may “Marty” clothes, staged a pop up shop in a trendy LA neighborhood. The lines were around the block, with people sleeping overnight. Some intrepid Tik Tok videographers determined that the prospective buyers weren’t really interested in the movie or were fans of Timothee Chalamet. They were resellers anticipating a big market when the movie opens.
Indeed, on ebay, someone is selling a medium sized Nahmias made Marty Supreme jacket for $6,969,69. (See below.) The seller assures me this is the original, unopened, “real” jacket, and not the the fakes also selling ebay for $72.99.
There’s also an A24 Marty Supreme Wheaties Box Cereal + Ping Pong Orange Ball Glass Ornament Set priced to sell at $150.
The movie studio, A24, just sent out a promo gift box for Christmas. There’s an attractive pop corn container with the names of all their 2025 movies including “Marty,” “The Smashing Machine,” and others. There are also a great deal of orange ping pong balls. I noticed that recipients have removed the plastic encased popcorn from the bucket, and replaced it with all the ping pong balls. Someone is selling the bucket now for $99.
Other than playing ping pong in our basement in the 70s, my only other reference to them is in the video below. I’m surprised A24 hasn’t found a tie in between the movie and “Captain Kangaroo,” but there’s still time!
The famed drummer for The Who (for thirty years) is hitting the road to tell stories and pound some skins this winter.
Zak, son of Ringo Starr, is actually 60 years old. How is this possible? He’ll explain on February 20th at the Gramercy Theater on West 23rd St. The evening is called “Zak Starkey…Who?: An Evening of Drums and Conversation,” a very special one-man show set plus Q&A.
Starkey left The Who after being fired, then quitting, and whatever this past year. I can’t wait to hear him tell stories about Harry Nilsson, Marc Bolan, Jeff Beck, Debbie Harry, and Joe Walsh to Mick Jones, Primal Scream, Johnny Marr, The Sex Pistols, The Damned, Richard Ashcroft, Oasis, and of course Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band.
He’ll being playing live, too. Starkey will step behind the kit for performances of songs by Toots and the Maytals, his new supergroup Mantra of the Cosmos, Johnny Marr, and the Who, the latter featuring original backing tracks contributed by Pete Townshend himself. More surprises will be announced soon.
You can buy tickets here. I want to find out if Ringo sang “Good Night” to his kids when he was home!
Prepare for a long night. When Zak was 12, Keith Moon named his new band The Next. Other local bands followed, getting Zak onto the London and UK club and college circuit. During this time, Kenney Jones and Andy Newmark were occasional drum tutors for Zak, and while visiting his father in Los Angeles, he would regularly jam with Stephen Stills, Dr. John, Rick Danko, Billy Preston, and Garth Hudson.
The stories will go on for hours. It’s time for Zak to write a book!
She’s kicked out John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois at CBS Evening News.
Her replacement? Tony Dokoupil, one of the CBS Mornings trio. Dokoupil was once a hair model, and doesn’t have much gravitas.
Is he the next Dan Rather? Walter Cronkite? No. Will this end in tears? Definitely.
Dokoupil’s main attraction to Bari Weiss is that he converted to Judaism in 2014. Then, last fall 2024, he had an on air blow up with author Ta-Nehisi Coates over anti-Israel book. Dokoupil was tough on Coates, whose book he called “extremist” in criticism of Israel’s right to exist. That made him a star in the eyes of then-CBS owner Shari Redstone, and now no doubt Weiss and new CBS owner David Ellison.
Dokoupil has subbed at the CBS Evening News as anchor over the years. Below you can see his past auditions. What do you think?
Despite the lockout from his ABC talk show this fall, Kimmel has agreed to extend his contract through May 2027.
Will that be the end? No one knows. There was a good chance ABC wouldn’t renew after the Charlie Kirk episode this fall that found Kimmel suspended.
But the audience protested vehemently, and Kimmel was back on the air within days.
One issue with the network might be that they have no plan for the 11:30pm time slot. Simply moving “Nightline” back to its original time after all these years would not be a workable idea.
And despite Kimmel’s nightly political monologues — loved by his fans — he also offers ABC a way to promote their shows. He might even return to hosting the Academy Awards again in 2027, you never know.
Now CBS would be wise to work out a deal with Stephen Colbert after announcing his show is cancelled following May 2027. CBS is in such flux with Bari Weiss’s news department, they’d be wise to retain Colbert, who will obviously land a spot with Netflix and/or HBO now that those companies are in an arranged marriage.
Last night’s Kennedy Center Honors show was the most starless in its history.
Although there were some highlights, most of the show — set for airing on December 23rd — is just plain weird.
The best parts will be the country segment honoring George Strait, and the rock element for the group KISS.
In the former, Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill, and Brooks & Dunn will appeal to the CMA crowd.
In the latter, Garth Brooks and Cheap Trick will be of interest to their fans.
But “disco queen” Gloria Gaynor had one big hit in her career, “I Will Survive.” The song is performed but there isn’t much else to say.
Sylvester Stallone — walking with a cane and struggling with a hair piece — gets a tribute from Kurt Russell, who acted with him in “Tango and Cash” many years ago. Composer Bill Conti and Arturo Sandoval perform “Gonna Fly Now,” the “Rocky” theme song. But absences of other Stallone co-stars and friends, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, are glaring. So also is no sign of Russell’s partner, Goldie Hawn, who declined the opportunity to be there no doubt.
The worst section is for Michael Crawford, the Broadway star of “Phantom of the Opera.” He appeared in “Hello, Dolly!” in 1970 on Broadway. The performers are underwhelming. They include Laura Osnes, a pariah in the theater community stemming from the pandemic; and unknown singers David Phelps, and Carrie Manolakos.
The show’s producers will struggle with editing around host Donald Trump, who went on and on when on stage, talking about nothing relevant to the proceedings. The show will be punctuated by interviews with the honorees.
R&B legend Gladys Knight is 81 years old but you’d never know it from her singing.
Knight’s amazing voice, a signature sound of classic pop and R&B, remains a wonder of the world. She sounds almost no different now than she did in 1973 when “Midnight Train to Georgia” sent her and the Pips to number 1 after more than a decade of hits. There’s no age defined raspiness or lack of strength. The richness of her light baritone is undiminished.
We’re lucky she’s still touring — not just solo but also on a Divas tour with Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan, and Stephanie Mills. But why is this member of the Rock Hall, Grammy winner, one time variety show host, still riding around in a caravan of gigantic streamlined silver showbiz buses from town to town? She could be home in North Carolina or even Las Vegas enjoying her grandchildren, and signing autographs.
One reason might be that she didn’t write her hit songs, so she gets no publishing royalties. Every time you hear her records playing on the radio, in a store, or anywhere, the writers of the songs are the ones getting paid. Until Congress okays a performance royalty, that won’t stop. So if Knight wants regular income, this is the only way to get it.
There may be other reasons she’s still on the road, that aren’t totally clear. Another is that this exercise makes her happy. Don’t worry — on stage she’s clearly enjoying herself.
When she appeared Saturday night at the sold out beautiful Ridgefield Playhouse in tony Fairfield County, Connecticut, Gladys was guided by three backup singers. The audience was wildly happy to see her. The legendary singer of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine’ and “Neither One of Us” got a proper, revved up standing ovation of applause and hoots of appreciation.
Once upon a time, a Gladys Knight and the Pips (her brother and cousins) show was a big affair with lavish shiny costumes and killer dance moves. It could also run from 90 minutes to 2 hours. Now the show is one hour, which surprised the audience expecting something from the old days. The costumes are gone, replaced by fashionably cut earth tone suits. The band is six, plus three back up singers. All of them are top notch, and on the spot versatile.
The singers, in particular, are required to be the creme de la creme because Gladys only sings parts of songs now. In most cases, she does the opening verse and then vamps on the chorus. Her singing is a muscle memory. It’s almost as if she’s in a trance. As she did say at another show, in a video, “I’ve been doing this since I’m three years old.” The music is hard wired into her and comes out of her mouth with the most magnificent sound. She’s letter perfect even when she’s improvising or studying her Teleprompter. Hearing Gladys Knight sing is as exciting was it was in the 60s and 70s.
There are some concerns. Noticeably thin, Gladys — who was once voluble telling stories on stage — doesn’t speak to the audience. She smiles widely and continuously, almost robotically, and often blows kisses to phantom fans that seem stored in her head. In a couple of numbers, the gospel ones, she suddenly gets very teary eyed to the point of crying. She holds the hands of the three lady singers behind her, sitting on stools, often looking at them for prompts of words to start the songs. But once she’s up on her metaphoric bicycle — like a little girl learning to balance — she rides off triumphantly.
Saturday night’s show ran just under one hour, but it satisfied the audience to hear glimpses of Gladys’s many hits. On the pop ballads — like “Neither One of Us ” or “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” — she seemed to lose concentration as the singers guided her to the end. But on the funky numbers — like “(I’ve Got Use My) Imagination” or “On and On,” she shimmied as if no time had passed, and her eyes lit up.
By the end of the hour, a condensed version of “That’s What Friends Are For” — the hit she had with Dionne Warwick, Elton John, and Stevie Wonder — is mostly performed by the backup singer. It’s a signal that it’s time to take a bow, blow a kiss, and say goodnight.
PS The band is not introduced, so if anyone knows who’s who, please send me names at showbiz411@gmail.com
Below: some short videos from the thrilling if perplexing night.
