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Her first night guest hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live was a grand slam homerun.
Rosie is a natural at stand up and live performance and she knows how to keep a talk show moving and entertaining.
That’s what came through tonight as she arrived on stage in a festooned pink jacket with her gray locks shining. She made only a slight acknowledgment of Donald Trump at the top of the show before launching into material from her hit off Broadway show, “Common Knowledge.” She did call him “the Mango Mussolini,” drawing big laughs. At one point she taunted him not using his name. She said to the camera, “I know you’re watching!”
The audience ate up her stories of moving to Ireland with her autistic child and getting away from Trump and the looming threat of things like Project 25.
If nothing else, Rosie’s move to Ireland was a big step in her renaissance. She’s returned to the US fresh as a daisy, totally revived, and funnier than ever. The live Kimmel audience could not have been more delighted. Plus, they went home with copies of Madonna’s new album, “Confessions II,” a nice touch since the two women have been best friends for decades.
Rosie’s interviews with Hannah Waddingham and Ana Gasteyer were just the right speed — upbeat and well researched. Rosie knows how to lay back and let a guest tell their stories but still maintain obvious interest in the conversation. She knows how to steer them to a point.
A nice touch: a separate taped moment remembering Hayden Panettiere, who died overnight. Hayden, Rosie recalled, had been a charming child on her original talk show.
So the week has begun, with Rosie, again, heckling Trump a little but not enough to make the hour about him. That shows a lot of restraint. We’ll see how long she can keep that up. But really, it’s a great relief to have Rosie back on TV.
UPDATE TUES 8/18 1:30PM I’ve confirmed that the Carnegie is coming back. An opening date hasn’t been set yet, but it seems like September or October at the latest. The original family is behind it, spearheaded by third generation granddaughter Sarri Harper.
More details are coming. The Carnegie is also sponsoring a pop up at the US Open starting this week in Forest Hills. The smell of pickles is in the air! Also, yes, the signage is up on Seventh Avenue and 52nd St where the Roxy Deli aka Stage Deli used to be.
Now, we need is the 21 Club, Toots Shor’s, Lundy’s, and Luchow’s, and all will be right with the world!
MONDAY NIGHT: What’s going on here?
The Carnegie Deli — the real one — closed at the end of 2016.
The famed salon of salted meats was made memorable in Woody Allen’s “Broadway Danny Rose.”
But well before that, the Carnegie was known for its lean pastrami and corned beef, and gigantic sandwiches.
Family disagreements closed it down, and life has never been the same.
But now the Carnegie Deli is dropping hints on social media at an imminent return. To the old space on Seventh Avenue and 54th St? Unclear. But the video looks like they’re moving into the old Stage Deli space two blocks down on Seventh in what has been recently the Roxy Deli.
If the Carnegie is coming back even for a week, there will be lines around the block 24/7. I can smell the pastrami now. Oy vey! Call my cardiologist!
Final voting for the Emmy Awards starts today and runs all week.
Over the weekend the big guns came out for last minute campaigning. These shows want votes more than Trump in Georgia in 2020.
HBO’s “Hacks” put on a live show Friday night at the Fonda Theater. Jean Smart, looking for a fifth Emmy, performed as her character, Deborah Vance. All the other actors from the show did the same.
At Chateau Marmont, there was a tastemaker dinner for the cast of “Love Story,” the FX miniseries about John Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette.
Netflix had a Q&A with two time Oscar winner Sally Field, followed by a reception at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel for their movie, “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” Sally’s co-star, an octopus, did not participate. (It was being served at Koi.)
HBO Max had an Emmy nominee event at NYA WEST in Hollywood with Lisa Kudrow (who should win Best Actress in a Comedy for “The Comeback”) and all the folks from “The Pitt” — which will win Best Drama, Actor, Actress, and everything else.
Apple has had a flurry of events for “Widow’s Bay,” the comedy they hope will surprise everyone and beat “Hacks.”
There was also a two day TV Academy festival called “Televerse” with panels featuring various nominated shows from “Abbott Elementary” to “Top Chef.” Fans could buy a $400 all-in pass and go to everything, maybe meet stars and get their pictures taken. TV Academy members only had to pay $225 for the all access pass.
So far, no word on whether “The Bear” had its own gourmet dinner. Maybe that would be too on the nose.
Mariska Hargitay is hosting the Emmys on NBC this year, on Monday September 14th — during the 10 Days of Atonement between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. By the time the latter comes, expect synagogues crowded with Emmy participants!
Here’s a post from Linda Cardellini, one of my favorite TV actresses. I’m not even sure what show she’s in but vote for her please.
Hayden Panettiere, 36, died of cardiac arrest according to medical examiner in South Carolina.
Penettiere starred as an adult in TV hits like “Heroes” and “Nashville.”
The talented actress, who started working as a child in soap operas like “Guiding Light,” lived her life like she was in a melodrama. For some reason, she embraced being tabloid fodder as she suffered and survived alcohol and substance abuse, and domestic abuse from her boyfriend.
It appears she did not commit suicide or was killed, according to first responders reports.
Tributes are pouring in from friends and acquaintances.
Actor Tim Allen wrote on Twitter: “I am shocked and so sad as the passing of Hayden Panettiere. She played my daughter in the movie Joe Somebody. The fondest memories of that movie were moments around her. She is a wonder and my prayers are with her family.”
Hayden’s “Guiding Light” mother actress Beth Chamberlin wrote on Instagram: “She She was the most brilliant child actor I’ve ever seen.” (See her post below.)
Carly Simon’s first album in 18 years is a surprise hit.
The album debuted on iTunes top 100 at number 5 over the weekend. Right now it’s number 9, but that’s because for some reason the Eagles Greatest Hits is at number 1. (Must be on sale for $3.99.)
Simon’s album is from indie label Iris and sold out physical copies twice very quickly on amazon. The online store is taking orders, but has posted an Out of Stock sign on Simon’s landing page. I’m told they’re being restocked today.
“Comes in Waves” also has rave reviews from USA Today and a number of other publications (including this one). Even Chaka Khan raved about it on social media.
I’m told a couple of well known producers are interested in doing remixes of least one of the songs, “Peaches.”
I do hope we see “Comes in Waves” nominated for a Grammy in Traditional Pop Album and the song “Howl” for Pop Song.
If you’re just joining this story in progress, Looney Tunes cartoons have been the bedrock of Warner Bros. since 1930– almost the entirety of the studio’s life.
Generation after generation grew up with Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, dozens more characters including the Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote.
Looney Tunes features scored 12 Oscar nominations between 1944 and 1963. Then they all went to television, cementing themselves in American culture.
In 2018, Warner’s began developing “Coyote vs. Acme” based on a story in The New Yorker by Ian Frazier. The premise was ingenious: After decades the Coyote would sue Acme, the company that had sold him all the weapons he’d used in his futile pursuit of the Roadrunner. The movie became like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” a mixture of live action and animation.
But when Warner’s new owner, David Zaslav, saw the movie, he shelved it. The newest Warner’s regime said it would never be released. There was outrage, so Warner’s sold the $70 million “Coyote v. Acme” off to the very, very small distributor Ketchup Entertainment for a hefty $50 million. The studio figured the movie would blow up in Ketchup’s face, and endure the same fate as the Coyote.
Now, however, we’ve got a problem. “Coyote v. Acme,” directed by Dave Green, is indeed going to explode when it’s released on August 28th — but in a very good way. The movie, starring Will Forte as Coyote’s lawyer, is sheer genius. It’s a nonstop pleasure machine, catnip for baby boomers and everyone else. It’s so clever and winning that “Coyote v. Acme” is probably going to be very, very big box office.
Warner Bros. looks, well, ridiculous. Already, with 60 reviews filed, “Coyote vs. Acme” has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. If this review can get it up to 98%, I’ll be very happy.
There’s no doubt that “Coyote vs. Acme” will be an Oscar nominee for animation. The big question will be whether the Coyote will try for lead or supporting in awards races. Probably lead. Roadrunner will go into supporting. Bugs Bunny, who’s featured, will be getting a lot of attention.
The film is certainly the descendant of “Roger Rabbit,” directed by Robert Zemeckis, and a great success in 1988. No one had seen anything like it before, a celebration of nostalgia and technology that played to adults and children at the same time.
Almost thirty years later, “Coyote v. Acme” hits all the same notes, with even more sophisticated animation and a super clever script from Samy Burch (an unexpected choice) based on a story by James Gunn and Jeremy Slater. The nostalgia value is very high. Who doesn’t know these characters? But at the same time, it’s an exploration of friendships — between the Coyote and his human lawyer, Kevin, and ultimately the long running mutual dependency between Coyote and Roadrunner. They don’t exist without each other.
This seems like a simple idea, but it’s handled here with exquisite finesse. So many times “C vs A” could have gone wrong, and collapsed into e heap. But right away Burch signals everything will be great when she introduces “Dr. Lorre” — the legacy cartoon version of legendary 40s and 50s movie star Peter Lorre — as the man behind the curtain. Once you see him — Lorre was parodied often in the old Looney Tunes — you know we’re in, all will be ok.
(Lorre is voice by multi-faced Jeff Bergman, the real star of the film, who also gives life to Bugs Bunny, Sylvester, and Yosemite Sam.(
The human cast is nearly as good as the cartoons. Like Bob Hoskins in “Roger Rabbit,” Forte as Kevin is the perfect straight-faced hero who takes Coyote’s case seriously. His assistant and niece, played by Lana Condor, has just the right amount of innocence to modify Kevin’s initial cynicism. The rest of the cast is delightful including Luis Guzman as the judge, and Martha Kelly (the droll drug dealer from “Euphoria”) as Kevin’s associate.
John Cena, the wrestler-actor, proves a shrewd choice as Acme’s cartoon like villainous lawyer.
There’s no doubt that with “Spider Man” and “The Odyssey” having pretty much exhausted their main runs, “Coyote v. Acme” could turn out to be a massive hit. Once word gets out on its first weekend, the Labor Day crowd will just go nuts. Many will want to see it a second time, just to pick up all the inside jokes and see all the Looney Tunes characters like the Tasmanian devil (as Acme’s head of PR– haha), a slimy Southern Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd (now a US senator, of course), and Porky Pig.
If the movie does take off, the large issue will be how Warner’s mishandled it, giving Ketchup — an almost non existent company — a triumph. At a time when Warner’s future is hanging in the balance, this is the wrong time for them to have made a mistake.
PS “Roger Rabbit” is owned by Disney and Amblin. What fun it would be one day to see the two films play back-to-back on a big screen!
Back in the disco days, Robert Civilles and David Cole were C&C Music Factory.
They had a lot of big hits, most especially “Gonna Sweat” aka “Everybody Dance Now,” the most ubiquitous dance hit of all time. Martha Wash’s vocals are still resounding through different galaxies.
The short version: Civilles and Cole had a partner, Freedom Williams, who snatched their trademark and started performing all over the world as C&C Music Factory. Cole died in 1995.
This past spring, Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 committee announced that C&C Music Factory would perform at his Great American stakeout on the Mall in DC. Of course, the event was cancelled, but not before Civilles denounced it and explained he and Williams were at each other’s throats.
Today, right now, Civilles is asking help from fans to film Williams tonight at his Jones Beach show.
Civilles says he filed suit against Williams, who was allegedly served yesterday.
Dave was an inspiration and influence for every music journalist. His work at Creem, Rolling Stone, and in his books — especially about Bruce Springsteen was exemplary.
Among his many projects was a trade paperback oral history of Sam & Dave with the late Sam Moore. Sam and his wife, Joyce, loved Dave and his wife, Barbara Carr, who was a partner in Springsteen’s management company with Jon Landau.
I’m so happy to see all the tributes to Dave on social media. It was very exciting for me to know him, as he was a font of information and insights about the music world. He leaves a huge legacy. I hope when he gets settled in heaven he says hello to one of my other influences, Chet Flippo, also from Rolling Stone, and of course Lester Bangs.
Bruce writes below: “My great friend Dave, with his straight out of Detroit attitude, was a true Rock ‘n’ Roll lifer. He was soulful, intelligent, heartfelt, opinionated, bruising and often fantastically argumentative. Watching Jon Landau and Dave drive each other crazy over some arcane piece of music would make my day. He wrote the first book about me, Born To Run, and Dave always had my back. He deeply believed in what I was trying to accomplish and his lifetime of support meant the world to me.”
Yesterday, Paul and Nancy McCartney turned up at event for the Animal Rescue Fund.
Of course, Paul once wrote a famous Beatles song about his own dog, “Martha My Dear.”
And one of his best albums, he sheepishly called “Ram.”
McCartney wasn’t the only celeb at the rescue fund event. Sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning also showed up to support local pets.
This has been a landmark summer for Paul with the release of his album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane.” I hope we see the album, and the song “Days We Left Behind,” all over the Grammy Awards.
Animals continue their takeover of the Hamptons this coming weekend. NYC Second Chance Rescue will host its 5th Annual Concert for a Cause on Friday, August 21st, 2026, at a private estate in Bridgehampton.
This year, the organization will honor legendary entrepreneur, philanthropist, and longtime animal advocate John Paul DeJoria (of Paul Mitchell Products fame) while celebrating the world introduction of Pawpoint.
Headlining the evening will be Grammy Award-winning artist Ashanti and platinum-selling artist Fabolous, with an opening performance by Celina Savage.
You’d think by now anyone who wanted to see “Brand New Day” would have seen it a couple of times.
But it never ends.
Here’s where things stand: the new “Spider Man” movie crosses the $2 billion mark worldwide today.
Tomorrow your friendly neighborhood Spider Man hits the $800 million mark, making it the 4th highest domestic box office gross over.
On Tuesday, this Spider Man passes its predecessor, “No Way Home,” and becomes number 3.
At this rate, “Brand New Day” should finish as the 2nd highest grossing US movie, passing “Avengers: Endgame” before it’s done.
Can it go to number 1? Maybe. That’s a way’s off from now at $936.5 million for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
This has all gotten way out of hand. Maybe with all this dough, Sony can put some muscle into the budget for Sony Pictures Classics. It would be a shame if it just all went to the executive suite!
Also at the box office: “The Odyssey” crossed the $500 million line. And “CatVideoFest2026” has gotten up to $800,000. I’m told that all the cats have agreed to go into the supporting cat-egory during awards season!
