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“The Simpsons” End Season 33 with Lowest Ratings Ever, Even Hugh Jackman Couldn’t Help

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“The Simpsons” ended Season 33 on Sunday night with their sixth episode in a row under 1 million viewers. Technically two of those six rose to just above 1 million with delayed viewing. But the reality is, the smart cartoon is coming to an end.

Even with Hugh Jackman singing, Robert Reich lecturing, and an attack on Fox News, “The Simpsons” ended the 2022 season with a whimper. This week’s total viewers were the lowest ever, just 927,000.

The show is renewed by Fox for two more seasons. But if the ratings continue in this steep decline, 35 seasons will be the limit. Of course, that’s a huge record and nothing to be embarrassed about. The Simpsons will live on in syndication well after our lifetimes.

Watch the Trailer for Netflix’s Most Expensive Movie Yet, the $220 Million “Gray Man” Starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans

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“The Gray Man” hasn’t had a proper trailer yet, here it is. The $220 million movie is Netflix’s most expensive yet. Directed by the Russo brothers and starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans with Ana de Armas, the movie has a lot of explosions. It also sounds like a “Mission Impossible” knock off. Hey, maybe it’s great! We’ll see on July 15th in theaters and July 22nd on Netflix.

“SNL” Ratings For Finale Come in At Average For Season Even with Cast Farewells

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The big farewells on Saturday night didn’t do much for “SNL” ratings.

The show hosted by Natasha Lyonne with Musical guest Japanese Breakfast drew 4.6 million viewers. That was average for this season.

There were cast farewells from Kate McKinnon, Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney. Or rather, from the first three. Mooney, who’s been such a huge part of the show for years, got little love with his exit. Too bad– he deserved better.

Lyonne was very good, and Lorne Michaels brought in Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph to help see out the season. But no one knew who Japanese Breakfast was, and still they (she) remain a mystery. Why didn’t the season end with a big music star? Who knows?

Anyway, that’s it. The cast will tighten up now. Cecily Strong rises to the level of central player, she’s that good and was sometimes overshadowed by McKinnon. Kenan Thompson hangs in there as team captain. The breakout star of this season was James Austin Johnson.

Will there be new members of the cast? Maybe not since there are plenty of recurring ones who didn’t get airtime this year.

Bruce Springsteen, E Street Band Announce Spring Europe 2023 Dates Before US Tour, Album

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Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are going on tour.

Before they announce their US dates, the band has posted its dates for Europe beginning next April 2023. Those dates will be followed by the first round of American stops, and an E Street Band.

First stop on this leg is April 28, 2023 in Barcelona. That could mean US dates will commence in March. Everyone excited? Come rain or shine, pandemic or no pandemic, Bruce and the E Street Band will sell out instantly.

Audience Cannes-Not Take It: Many Walk-Outs Reported from David Cronenberg Premiere of “Crimes of the Future”

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The word from Cannes is that a lot of people could not stomach David Cronenberg’s “Crimes of the Future.”

Cronenberg predicted there would be walk outs and apparently there were a lot. The film starring Viggo Mortensen and Lea Seydoux is not easy to watch.

Kyle Buchanan of the NY Times wrote: “I counted around 15 who exited during the film’s first press screening. Maybe walkouts are the new standing ovation!”

Scott Feinberg of the Hollywood Reporter Tweeted: “CRIMES OF THE FUTURE marks a return for 79yo Cronenberg to the sort of body horror for which he made his name. It’s smart, creative, thought-provoking and yes, very f—ing weird. Viggo/Lea’s committed perfs help to make it plausible. But I wouldn’t hold my breath for the Academy.

The headline for the LA Times review: Surgery, sex and superfluous human organs converge in David Cronenberg’s ‘Crimes of the Future’

I was really sad that I couldn’t get to Cannes this year. But all I keep reading about are movies with gross scenes, movies that involve puking and other scatological messes that no one in the real wants to see for $15. But knowing the way things work now, they’ll probably put these films on IMAX screens!

After Next “Mission Impossible” Trailer Leaked, Studio Releases It — A Year Before Release

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Over the weekend there were reports of a leak- of the trailer of “Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One.” The movie won’t be released until July 14, 2023– 14 months from now.

So now Paramount is forced to release what they call the teaser trailer — it’s two and a half minutes of Tom Cruise doing dangerous stunts. But I’d wager the studio didn’t want this out this week. It interferes with the launch of “Top Gun Maverick” on Thursday night.

But here it is. Next summer looks like a blockbuster!

“American Idol” Finishes Season With Most Boring Winner Ever, Gets Rid of All Black, Interesting Performers

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The new “American Idol” is 20 year old Noah Thompson, a white country singer. He is one of the most boring winners ever hands down, someone you will never remember or think of again.

Thompson beat HunterGirl, real name Hunter Wolkonowski, a 23 year old country singer. She looked like she might win, and should have, so the end of the show was a real surprise.

Of course the sad part of “American Idol” is that they got rid of all the Black contestants, the overweight ones, the interesting people, the fringe performers. “Idol” managed to winnow down their large stable of players until they got Cheez Whiz and Gee Whiz.

The really nasty moment was when they sent home Jay Copeland, a young Black singer with an amazing voice. Every week the judges raved about him, set him up as the certain winner. And then the audience swatted him away. I just hope Copeland gets his Jennifer Hudson revenge and winds up having a HUGE success away from the show. Then “Idol” will come running back to him to promote the show, LOL.

“American Idol” is a joke. It ended with a whimper.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=q_nNhktq5-U
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vVCVahzft80

Box Office: “Doctor Strange” Flirts with $350 Mil, “Downton Abbey” Royal Start, “Men” Don’t Man Up

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Weekend box office: it all goes to “Doctor Strange,” which is now reeling in second and third timers in waves.

The Marvel phenom is now flirting with $350 million, ending the weekend just $8 below that magic number. The landmark should come by Wednesday if not sooner.

“Downton Abbey: A New Era” finished with just over $16 million, down 50% from the 2019 movie. This film will have a big life on streaming and VOD. Also, I think it was a mistake not to tell passionate fans what happens in the film. So here goes: there’s a major character death that’s beautifully acted and executed. If you loved the series, you must see this movie.

And then were “Men.” Or was? These Men are not at Work. The A24 horror film didn’t scare anyone. Total $3.3 million. It was low budget but still…

Now we wait for this Thursday night’s “Top Gun Maverick” previews. Tom Cruise is not generally a box office killer. But this film has had extraordinary marketing and publicity plus great reviews. It could be the biggest grosser of Cruise’s career.

Kate McKinnon’s Last “SNL” Sketch: She Leaves Earth with Aliens in a Tearful Goodbye

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Kate McKinnon opened “SNL” tonight in a sketch as Colleen Rafferty, raunchy UFO traveler. Interviewed by Pentagon inspectors, Colleen bade goodbye to Earth to join space aliens. It was McKinnon’s tearful exit from “SNL” after a decade of great, great work. We will all miss her on the weekly show, but her future is very bright.

Pete Davidson Says Goodbye to “Saturday Night Live”: “I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at SNL my life”

Tonight before “SNL,” Pete Davidson says goodbye to the fans after a long run. He’ been gone from the show since February 26th. I remember back in 2014 when Lorne Michaels invited a few press to dinner with then cast. I hung out with Pete and Leslie Jones and Michael Che. They were all so talented and funny. This was a long running cast for “SNL” and all its players should do well in the world of showbiz.

Here’s his exit letter:

“It’s crazy to think that today I’ll be doing my last [show]. When I got the show I was 20 years old and I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t but especially back then. I wasn’t really a sketch performer I was just a stand up. I knew I could never keep up or go toe to toe with a Kenan Thompson or a Kate McKinnon so I was super scared at figuring out what I could possibly bring to or do for such a historic, respected show and platform. I figured since I’m a stand up I’ll just try my stand up and personal bits on Weekend Update as myself and I’m so glad I did. I got to share so much with this audience and literally grow up in front of your eyes. We were together through the good and the bad, the happiest and the darkest of times. I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at SNL my life. Im so grateful and I wouldn’t be here without them. I appreciate you guys always having my back and sticking up for me even when that wasn’t the popular opinion. Thank you for always believing in me and sticking by my side even when it seemed comical. Thank you for teaching me life values, how to grow up and for giving me memories that will last a lifetime. SNL is my home. I’m so happy and sad about tonight’s show. For so many reasons I can’t explain. Can’t wait to be back next year in a Mulaney musical number.”

⁃ Resident young person Pete Davidson

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