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“Sex and the City” Review: Carrie Flips What Looks Like a $10 Mil Apartment, Buys a Mattress from a Defunct Company

Roger Friedman
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“Sex and the City” Review: Carrie Flips What Looks Like a $10 Mil Apartment, Buys a Mattress from a Defunct Company

The sixth episode of “Sex and the City…And Just Like That” arrives on HBO Max Thursday after 12 am. It’s kind of slow and a little depressing, although I did laugh a couple of times, albeit ruefully.

The main story concerns Carrie, now widowed, buying what looks like a $10 million apartment in the West Village. They never say the price, but from the size, the views, the windows and height of the ceilings, she didn’t buy this place with the money earned from writing sex columns. She buys it with Mr Big’s money. What isn’t addressed is that Carrie is very rich now, financially independent after earning about 8 bucks a year.

Weird error: Carrie tells her pals she bought a new bed from 1-800-Mattress. It’s not possible. 1-800 Mattress– leave off the last s for savings — was sold to KKR Investments, which turned it into MattressFirm about five years ago. This is a dated reference, like a lot of others in this series.

Meantime, Miranda’s lesbian sex scene from last week is recalled graphically, this time to Charlotte, who is appropriately horrified. But Carrie gets off a good line sitting at a picnic table, so the whole thing was worth it.

Carrie also attends some kind of celebration with her Indian realtor, played by Sarita Choudhury, who really needs her own show. She is a superstar in her own right. Sarita’s mother is played by a real superstar, Madhur Jaffrey, who should have had a special credit. (Oh well. Carrie’s dress at the Diwali celebration may not go down well, especially her hair style, but I’ll leave that to others.)

“And Just like That” has ground to something of a halt since there’s no Samantha, meaning no sense of humor, and no fun. Last week, Carrie had hip surgery. This week, she investigates a face lift. Next week it will be liver pills. She’s 55 and acts like she’s 75.

There are many weird things about this series. Among them: Carrie has no interest whatsoever in her friends’ kids. The kids have no interest in her or the respective other women. Miranda’s son is supposed to be 17, looks 25 (is 27 in real life) and talks so disrespectfully to her someone needs to slap him fast. He also bears zero resemblance to his father, who has disappeared (but I’m sure will get an earful soon). Also, I’ve never understood how none of these people have any family whatsoever. Are they all orphans?

“And Just Like That” is a Grimm fairy tale. PS They mention Samantha again, I don’t know to what purpose.

Maybe this just isn’t a series for me. I’d really like Carrie and co. to run into Siobhan Roy at some fundraiser, and let the latter make mincemeat of all of them. Now THAT’s a crossover!

PS The big winner this season is Todd Rundgren. HBO used “Hello It’s Me” in the first two episodes, and this week they scored it in the background when Carrie was thinking about Big. I hope Todd got a nice piece of change from this clearance!

Sex and the City: And Just Like That the Theme Music from the TV Series is Gone, Did Anyone Notice?

Netflix Top 10: Even with Streep, DiCaprio, Blanchett Costly “Don’t Look Up” Finishes in 3rd Place Among Most Viewed Films

Roger Friedman
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Netflix Top 10: Even with Streep, DiCaprio, Blanchett Costly “Don’t Look Up” Finishes in 3rd Place Among Most Viewed Films

How many stars does it take to be number 1 at Netflix?

The TV platform has released its top 10 films of all time. “Don’t Look Up” with several Oscar winners finished not in first place or second but third among all Netflix films viewed in their fist 28 days.

The number 1 movie? “Red Notice” with The Rock, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds.

Number 2? Sandra Bullock’s “Bird Box,” which is already a few years old.

And number 3? Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up.” It’s good, but not great considering how much money went into it. And curiously, some other powerhouse Netflix films aren’t on the list at all. Happily, “The Irishman” holds its own as others have come and gone.

So let that be a lesson. As I reported a while ago, “Don’t Look Up” was wildly expensive to make. Salaries just for Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence totaled $55 million. Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, and Tyler Perry didn’t come cheap. So the top line actors probably cost $100 million. And that doesn’t count everyone else including McKay and the production.

Bullock, by the way, has TWO movies in the top 10. The other one is her current one, “The Unforgivable.” You have to love this woman! Bravo to her. She’s a much bigger star than some others in her age range who thought they were number 1.

UPDATING: Sunday’s Golden Globes Winners Announcement Will Be Late (9pm EST) and So Far No Livestream

Roger Friedman
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UPDATING: Sunday’s Golden Globes Winners Announcement Will Be Late (9pm EST) and So Far No Livestream

5PM TUESDAY UPDATE: The Globes still have no livestream or broadcast plan. They plan a ceremony at Beverly Hilton at 9pm Eastern time. No celebrities or press. Select members of the HFPA and some miscellaneous people will be invited to have COVID tests and proof of vaccination. They’re trotting out their diveristy guy and will emphasize their charitable giving. As of today, the HFPA doesn’t have an available Form 990 for their 501 c3 for 2020.

EARLIER TODAY You may recall the defrocked Golden Globes. They are supposed to announce winners of their 2022 awards on Sunday.

So far, no one knows what’s happening. I’ve talked to members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and they are clueless.

Is there a live stream on Sunday? Does it come from a specific venue? Will any stars show up?

The answer is: Who knows?

I’m told no invites have gone out to HFPA members. And no announcement has been made.

As you know, the Globes were cancelled by NBC because of their scandals concerning diversity in membership. There are also financial issues.

Over time, the HFPA managed to hire a diversity officer after the first one quit. They added several new members, six of whom are Black. (The HFPA had no Black members.)

The group also retired a few of its older members who didn’t want to go along with changes. They are now listed as “Emeritus.” I’m told this means they are out, basically, and can’t vote.

With their January 9th date with NBC gone, the HFPA was supplanted by the Critics Choice Association. The CCA took the date and booked the CW and TBS Networks and the Fairmont Century City Hotel ballroom.

But the HFPA decided they would proceed with January 9th in some form even with the CCA broadcast now taking their date.  That seemed like a low ball on the part of the HFPA but hey, at this point, what did we expect?

Alas, the CCA had to cancel January 9th because of the rise of COVID cases in Los Angeles. They are not eyeing a date in March.

Now we wait to see what the HFPA will do on Sunday? A livestream? A Zoom show? Facebook Live? Twitter? Or maybe they’ll use aol. Hah!

 

Seth Meyers Tests Positive for COVID-19, Week of “Late Night” Shows Cancelled

Roger Friedman
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Seth Meyers Tests Positive for COVID-19, Week of “Late Night” Shows Cancelled

Seth Meyers has tested positive for COVID. The rest of the week of shows is cancelled after last night’s return. The show will return next week in some form, maybe.

Get well, Seth! Sorry to all the guests who were booked.

Yesterday Jimmy Fallon revealed to his audience that he’d tested positive at the beginning of the Christmas break. But he was back last night, looking and feeling fine. He thanked all the medical professionals who helped him.

The beat goes on…

“NCIS” Returns With Record Low Ratings, Drops Below 7 Million Viewers, Down 31%

Roger Friedman
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“NCIS” Returns With Record Low Ratings, Drops Below 7 Million Viewers, Down 31%

It’s a new year but not a good one for aging procedural soap “NCIS.”

The 10th episode of Season 19 dropped a stunning 31% in the key age demo, and 7.4% in total viewers.

The other part of the bad news is that “NCIS” fell to its lowest ratings ever with just 6.7 million total fans. The drama has fallen every week since it premiered last September without star Mark Harmon.

The good news is that CBS still won the night and crushed “The Bachelor” on ABC. So there’s a silver lining to this dark cloud. But it’s a sketchy victory if “NCIS” just keeps collapsing. A planned “NCIS” cross over is coming with its sister show “NCIS Hawai’i.” Maybe that will lift the whole enterprise. But I think season 20 may be the end.

NBC gave the returning Kenan Thompson sitcom a double shot hour at 8pm and scored just 2.29 million viewers. It was demolished by the CBS sitcoms. I love Kenan but he needs a different platform. (I love Chris Redd, too. But the rest of those people can all go somewhere else.)

“The View” Is Down Another Host as Sara Haines “Exposed” to COVID, Whoopi Still Out

Roger Friedman
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“The View” Is Down Another Host as Sara Haines “Exposed” to COVID, Whoopi Still Out

And then there were two.

Joy Behar just announced on “The View” that co-host Sara Haines is out and “laying low” after being exposed to COVID 19.

Yesterday it was revealed that Whoopi Goldberg is home recovering from COVID.

The show is down to Joy, Sonny Hostin, and guest hosts.

Joy voiced her frustration over “everyone getting it” and we can identify with her. Everyone is ‘over’ COVID. But it’s a real thing, it’s dangerous, and it’s still here.

Hope everyone gets better fast!

Exclusive: People Magazine’s Betty White Cover Story “Final Interview” Conducted by Email, No One Spoke to Her

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: People Magazine’s Betty White Cover Story “Final Interview” Conducted by Email, No One Spoke to Her

Was Betty White well enough to be interviewed for People magazine this fall?

The answer is: we don’t know.

But People magazine has made a business out of its big so called final interview with White, which made a cover story for their end of the year double issue. And then, in a twist of luck right out of “The Front Page,” White died while the issue was on sale.

It turns out, however, that the three quotes in the cover story by Liz McNeil were sent to People by email. No one at the magazine spoke to White. The rest of the cover is a clip job from old People interviews, and quotes from friends and her manager.

I asked McNeil via email whether she’d spoken to White. I was emailed back by People’s publicist, Julie Farin. She wrote: “Liz McNeil conducted PEOPLE’s interview with Betty White via email a few weeks ago.” In a second email she added: “the answers are Betty White’s direct responses to Liz’s questions.”

So McNeil never saw White and didn’t speak to her. No one at People did, which is not mentioned in the article. The cover story begins with three quotes from White that looked like this– minus the italics:

In this week’s cover story, White tells PEOPLE exclusively how she feels about turning 100 years old. “I’m so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good at this age,” says the veteran actress. “It’s amazing.”

According to White, being “born a cockeyed optimist” is the key to her upbeat nature. “I got it from my mom, and that never changed,” she says. “I always find the positive.”

As for her diet, White jokes: “I try to avoid anything green. I think it’s working.”

There’s nothing wrong with a clip job. People has been doing them for four or decades. It’s just maybe important to put that in the piece and not make it seem like McNeil was yakking with White shortly before she died.

PS People trumpeted White’s agent’s announcement today that the star died from “natural causes.” Yes, she was 99. Ninety-freaking-nine.

 

Whoopi Goldberg Tested Positive for COVID Over Christmas Break, Off “The View” For Now

Roger Friedman
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Whoopi Goldberg Tested Positive for COVID Over Christmas Break, Off “The View” For Now

Joy Behar had a surprise announcement this morning on “The View.” Host Whoopi Goldberg tested positive over the break.,Joy said, for COVID.

“Her symptoms are very very mild,” Behar said, “she’ll probably be back next week.”

And that’s the way it is these days. Feel better, Whoopi! And when you do, come back and host the Oscars.

UPDATE: Grammy Awards Postponement Signaled by Cancellation of NY Nominees Party

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE: Grammy Awards Postponement Signaled by Cancellation of NY Nominees Party

I told you exclusively on December 24th that the Grammys were being postponed.

EXCLUSIVE Now I hear the NY chapter of the Recording Academy has canceled their annual nominees party set for January 10th. No new date has been announced.

With the NY party scuttled, it’s a signal say sources that my original story was correct: the Grammys, Musicares, and Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy dinner are leaving the weekend of January 30th and heading to April in all likelihood. The announcement should come shortly.

The Grammys are stuck with a lot of scheduling issues. The Super Bowl is set for the first week of February. Then comes two weeks of the Olympics. On February 26th we get the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

So March becomes the target. But March 27th is set for the Oscars. And any minute the Critics Choice Awards are going to take a prior Sunday. Other movie gatherings will happen in March as well. And this is all dependent on the COVID situation improving quickly. Right now Los Angeles has record numbers of cases every day.

So Grammys in April? Why not? As I said before, the first weekend marks by coincidence the 90th birthday of Clive Davis. Dedicate the whole weekend to him, I say!

Waiting for The Weeknd: R&B Star Will Drop New Album, “Dawn FM,” This Friday with Eclectic Guest Stars

Roger Friedman
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Waiting for The Weeknd: R&B Star Will Drop New Album, “Dawn FM,” This Friday with Eclectic Guest Stars

The Weeknd is starting off 2022 with a new album.

Abel Tesfaye is dropping “Dawn FM” this Friday, his first new album since his mega hit “After Hours.” The new album has an eclectic group of guest stars including Quincy Jones, Jim Carrey, and Tyler the Creator.

No word yet on a track list, etc or even a lead track. But “Dawn FM” will put an end to Adele’s run at number 1 for good. And it’s a welcome surprise to start the new year. We need more previously unknown releases!

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