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TV’s “Manifest” May Have a Destiny At NBC After All: Insiders Say Network May Rethink Cancellation

Roger Friedman
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TV’s “Manifest” May Have a Destiny At NBC After All: Insiders Say Network May Rethink Cancellation

EXCLUSIVE

NBC’s “Manifest” may have a better destiny than previously thought.

The show’s fans have been in abject misery since it was cancelled by the network in favor of “Law & Order: For the Defense.”

But as we all know, “For the Defense” simply didn’t happen. There is no show. In an odd and surprising move for a television network in 2021, “For the Defense” was withdrawn due to lack of it ever being developed. (That’s another story.)

Now I’m told by insiders that the “Manifest” crew was told not to strike the sets. A cancelled show would have already been tossed in the garbage can. But not “Manifest.” Everything is said to be on hold.

NBC needs to get “Manifest” back and they know it. It was the number 1 show on Netflix and on all of streaming a month ago. It has a hardcore fan base that wants to know what happened to the people on that plane. Frankly, it’s a lot like “Lost,” which is a good thing.

Also, NBC is in big trouble with “For the Defense” evaporated. There’s only so much “SVU” and “Organized Crime” that can be made and shown to fill Thursdays. The idea of bringing “Blacklist” to Thursdays is a temporary remedy at best. (“Blacklist” is a show famous not being watched by anyone.)

So hold on, “Manifest” fans. Creator Jeff Rake may know something is in the works. On July 14th he Tweeted: “I’m not giving up. Keep the faith.” Yesterday he repeated that by ending a Tweet with: “And keep the faith. You are being heard. How could you not be?”

Crazier things have happened.

What Year Is It? Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Rule iTunes Top 100

Roger Friedman
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0
What Year Is It? Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell Rule iTunes Top 100

What year is it? 1968?

In the top five right now and for the last couple of days on iTunes: “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and “Sittin on the Dock of the Bay,” by Otis Redding. Each of them is a key anthem of the classic soul era.

They are wedged in between hits by Olivia Rodrigo and Ed Sheeran.

Those Golden Oldies aren’t the only ones holding spots on the iTunes charts. Singles by the Jackson 5, Aretha Franklin, the Righteous Brothers, Gloria Gaynor, the Commodores, and the Gap Band are all in the mix in the top 100. So is James Brown’s “I Got You.”

Even more strangely comes “Somebody’s Watching Me,” by Rockwell (really Michael Jackson singing lead), Puff Daddy and Faith Evans’ Police remake with “I’ll Be Missing You,” and two different cover versions of “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Mariah Carey’s 20 year old hit, “We Belong Together” is with them.

If that wasn’t weird enough, Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters have made an album of Bee Gees covers that’s in the top 5 albums. Two of the songs are on the iTunes top 100.

Add to that the presence in two spots of Biz Markie’s hip hop classic, “Just a Friend.” He passed away this week at age 57.

So we are definitely in a nostalgic mood this summer. Funny that it’s 50 years since a summer of great originality and innovation. We are on the downside of originality, that’s for sure.

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough was written by Nik Ashford and Valerie Simpson. Otis Redding wrote “Dock of the Bay.”

 

Prince Harry to Publish “Literary” Memoir in Effort to Further Annoy Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles

Roger Friedman
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Prince Harry to Publish “Literary” Memoir in Effort to Further Annoy Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles

Prince Harry — I have a theory now that he’s trying to drive his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, into retirement or worse by embarrassing and annoying her so much that she’ll step down.

Harry — who has no last name — will publish a memoir with Random House in 2022. If it’s really bad, and Queen Elizabeth is still in charge, she will concede the throne to Charles, who’s been waiting his whole life for something to do.

Harry says he’s not writing the book as a prince but as the man he’s become. That’s a man who gone from sympathetic to villainous in a short time as he racks up paydays at Netflix, Apple, and now Random House. It’s unclear after the Oprah interviews, etc what’s left to say, unless he’s going to admit that Charles isn’t his father.

The book is being written by J.R. Moehringer. Advance is unknown, but if he got less than a million bucks, everyone would be surprised.

PS Already a selection of Oprah’s book club!

Golden Globes Aren’t Alone: National Board of Review Board of Directors Has No Black Members Either

Roger Friedman
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Golden Globes Aren’t Alone: National Board of Review Board of Directors Has No Black Members Either

The Golden Globes are in a big scandal over having no Black members.

But the National Board of Review, a fan based membership group, has no Blacks or non whites on its board of directors.

Annie Schulhof runs this phony baloney group as a private enterprise. Black people can join, but they have not yet made it to the board. The NBR has been around since 1909. They’re obviously taking their time.

As I’ve written many times in the past, most of these people have no business awarding movies for anything anyway. Daniel Goldstine is a shrink and sex therapist from California. Ronnie McMahan (Trenk) is a marketer who used to work for Bulgari. Leon Friedman is the group’s long time lawyer; Michael is his son. (No relation to yours truly.) Andrew Weinberg, Michael’s friend, is on Wall Street.

Annie Schulhof? Don’t get me started. Sister-in-law of long ago Sony chief Mickey Schulhof, she has a long and colorful history running the NBR like Madame Putin.

Somehow, the NBR’s lily whiteness has escaped the attention of the media while the Hollywood Foreign Press has been taken to task. If anyone knows of non-white paying members of the NBR, shoot me an email at showbiz411@gmail.com.

By the way, in light of Black Lives Matter and mounting criticism, Schulhof covered herself big time. She made Spike Lee Best Director, gave Best Picture to “Da 5 Bloods,” bestowed a bs Icon Award on the late Chadwick Boseman, made up more awards for other Black filmmakers. (They don’t like Searchlight films so “Nomadland,” the eventual Oscar winner, was snubbed entirely.)

It was an extraordinary move considering Spike was only the second Black director ever to get the prize. The year before, like most NBR years, was an all-white pageant with The Irishman, Scorsese, Zellweger, Adam Sandler, Kathy Bates, and Brad Pitt picking up the main awards.

 

Tony Bennett Will Celebrate 95th Birthday With Two Lady Gaga Duet Shows at Radio City Music Hall

Roger Friedman
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Tony Bennett Will Celebrate 95th Birthday With Two Lady Gaga Duet Shows at Radio City Music Hall

Tony Bennett will celebrate his 95th birthday with Lady Gaga at Radio City. Shows are August 3rd and August 5th. On the 3rd, the pair will drop a single or album from their Cole Porter duets album. I assume we’ll hear those duets at the shows.

Would I go into Radio City this summer? Just for this, really. Just for this.

As Cole Porter wrote, “Love for sale.” Well, Tickets for sale starting Wednesday on Live Nation’s website.

Pay for Play: CNN Will Start $ubscription Streaming Network in Early 2022, For a Price

Roger Friedman
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Pay for Play: CNN Will Start $ubscription Streaming Network in Early 2022, For a Price

Disney has it, CBS has it, why not CNN? They’re going the “Plus” route in early 2022, adding a subscription streaming service called CNN+ or CNNPlus.

Let’s cut to the chase: “CNN will continue to have a single app where CNN+ subscribers can access CNN+ programming and pay TV subscribers can get the TVE experience they have enjoyed for many years. The app will include CNN’s linear TV feeds of CNN, CNN International, HLN and CNN en Español channels, which will be available exclusively for pay TV subscribers. If pay TV subscribers choose to maximize their experience, they can also subscribe to CNN+ to access the full CNN+ programming all in one place.”

Programming will be all the documentaries like the ones about Jackie Collins, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Gilda Radner, specials, Stanley Tucci’s Italy shows, all the Anthony Bourdain series, and so on.

How much will it cost? They don’t say. $7.95? How many of these subscriptions do people have? I’m curious. Or have they just replaced magazine subs?

According to a press release, the leadership of CNN+ includes:

Andrew Morse, chief digital officer for CNN Worldwide, is the executive in charge of CNN+, with oversight of the content, product development and business operations of the platform.

Alex MacCallum, CNN Worldwide’s head of product is the general manager of CNN+, with oversight of product development, customer acquisition and marketing, strategy and growth and revenue operations.

Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president and head of programming for CNN+, is overseeing the development, production and programming of live and taped programs for CNN+.

Courtney Coupe, senior vice president of content strategy and operations for CNN+, is overseeing the strategy, curation and programming of content on CNN+, as well as community management.

Robyn Peterson, CNN Worldwide’s chief technology officer, is overseeing the team of technologists and engineers developing a world class platform and user experience for CNN+.

CNN’s Original Series and Films unit, led by CNN Worldwide executive vice president for talent and content development, Amy Entelis, is developing new series and films for the platform. Vice president of program development Katie Hinman will lead the development and production of external series for CNN+, working with Jon Adler, vice president of program development for CNN Original Series.

Kanye West Readies First Post-Trump, Election Album: After “Slavery is a Choice” Does He Have an Audience?

Roger Friedman
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0
Kanye West Readies First Post-Trump, Election Album: After “Slavery is a Choice” Does He Have an Audience?

UPDATE Tickets have gone on sale for the Thursday event in Atlanta. Looks like “Donda” should drop that night. 

Artwork may be this painting by the famed artist Louise Bourgeoise, if Kanye cleared the rights.

 

EARLIER Kanye West is readying a new album. It may be called “Donda,” the name of the album he didn’t release two years ago.

That was before Kanye backed Donald Trump and announced “slavery is a choice” to his fans, then ran for president for a nano second. And now he’s in the middle of a divorce from the mother of his four children, Kim Kardashian.

Bipolar and often out of control, Kanye held a listening party in Las Vegas Saturday night for among other people, basketball great Kevin Durant and radio personality Justin Laboy. This was after the Big 3 basketball game in Vegas, where Kanye showed up wearing a ski mask.

Laboy hit Twitter tonight raving about the album, which he says will drop this week. Or not. With Kanye, a release date is a fungible thing. He’s also been designing really ugly clothes for the Gap. We can only guess at some of this since he left Twitter at the end of 2020 after several breakdowns and public embarrassments.

Laboy wrote: “Kanye played his new album for me & @KDTrey5
last night in Vegas. Man listen! The production is light years ahead of it’s time, and the bars sound like he’s broke & hungry trying to get signed again. Any artist who plan on dropping soon should just push it back”

He also said: “Kanye West album is really done. When it drops this week, we probably not going to listen to anything else for a while.. Let me go enjoy all the current artist I’m listening to until then. God bless”

But what is Kanye’s audience? He hasn’t had an actual hit in ages. His pro-Trump stance, which he has never disavowed, may have cost him a big chunk. “Slavery is a choice” didn’t help either.

The word is a huge listening party is planned for this Thursday in Atlanta. Then maybe the album drops at midnight. Will anyone care? We’ll see.

 

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Swag Heaven Can Wait: Golden Globes Members Will No Longer Take Gifts, Trips, Greenbacks from Studios

Roger Friedman
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Swag Heaven Can Wait: Golden Globes Members Will No Longer Take Gifts, Trips, Greenbacks from Studios

This story broke on Friday, but when I saw it I couldn’t believe it. Hell has frozen over, pigs are flying, all of that.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association– long the recipients of swag that would blow your mind — are putting in a policy against it. No more gifts, trips, meals, greenbacks, shiny things from the studios.

Wait! What? The World’s Happiest Guests are going to try and make it on their own. Publicists all over Hollywood, the world, must be LOL and ROF. Giving gifts to the HFPA is almost an American pastime. And as Stevie Wonder might sing, they  were living in a pastime paradise.

Some members must be distraught enough to seek grief therapy. What will they do? How will they function?

Anyway, here’s their statement.

“The HFPA remains dedicated to the transformational change it outlined in its May reform plan and timeline. Yesterday, the organization put several more key pieces in place to move forward with reform.

HFPA membership approved the draft bylaws for a final vote with no amendments, demonstrating its continued commitment to foundational change. Official ballots will now go out via mail to the membership, with a final vote tally in early August.

The HFPA also approved new gift, travel and conflict of interest policies. Under these new policies, HFPA members shall not be permitted to accept promotional materials or other gifts from studios, publicists, actors, directors or others associated with motion pictures and television programs.

With these updates, our members have completed virtually all of the reforms agreed upon in May — including establishing a functioning hotline (with grievances to be investigated by an outside group), approving a new code of conduct, and bringing on trusted DEI advisors.

We will continue to update the industry on our progress as we vote on new bylaws that will create an inclusive, diverse, and accountable organization — one that our members, stakeholders, and partners will be proud of.”

The HFPA, of course, still has no Black members. They’re weighing an offer to split the Golden Globes off from the philanthropic side of their organization and form an LLC with MRC/Dick Clark Productions to give the show transparency and inclusivity. New members, if the above goes through, will have to listen to stories about all the great trips and gifts of he past. Dang! They’ve removed the whole reason to join! 

Adele is Four Months Away from Her Sixth Year of No New Music, Has Sold Just 27K Albums This Year

Roger Friedman
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Adele is Four Months Away from Her Sixth Year of No New Music, Has Sold Just 27K Albums This Year

I’ve no doubt Adele is rich as Croesus, the famed ancient Greek king. She’s got a bunch of houses in Beverly Hills, and everything she could dream of.

But come November 15th– four months from now– she will also cross a professional divide. It will be six years since her last record. The album, “25,” sold a gazillion copies and made her an international superstar.

After “25,” came one single, the movie theme from “Skyfall,” the James Bond film. The song won an Oscar. And that was that. In 2017, “25” won a bunch of Grammys, but it was more than a year old.

There have been rumors in the last couple of years that Adele would be doing something. But nothing followed. There was a fake story about her registering a song co-written with Taylor Swift.

Over this weekend she was photographed at the NBA Finals with super agent Rich Paul. Is she dating him? I don’t care. Adele Laurie Blue Adkins is 33 years old. She’s wasting her years by not recording. You do not get this time, or this voice, back.

In the time since “25” came out, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, and her other contemporaries have put out dozens of records. Adele is almost not their contemporary anymore. She’s missed a big chunk of time dare I say it, demographically, when people who would have grown up to her music have now moved on, aged out of that generation.

Maybe she doesn’t care about singing, or music. Who knows? Maybe what she did was enough. Not for most artists, but maybe for her.

So we wait. For a surprise? I hope so.

 

Review: Bob Dylan’s “Shadow Kingdom” Streaming Event is an 80th Birthday Legacy Concert– And In Very Good Voice

Roger Friedman
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Review: Bob Dylan’s “Shadow Kingdom” Streaming Event is an 80th Birthday Legacy Concert– And In Very Good Voice

Bob Dylan’s live streaming event is going on right now.

“Shadow Kingdom” is pre-taped, at veeps.com. Filmed in gorgeous black and white, the video vignettes include “Watching the River Flow,” When I Paint My Masterpiece,” “Forever Young,” “Wicked Messenger,” “Tombstone Blues,” It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” “Most Likely You Go Your Way,” “Queen Jane,” “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” “Tom Thumb’s Blues,” and other Dylan classics.

He also included “What Was It You Wanted,” from a later album, 1989’s “Oh Mercy.” It’s a very supple version and beautifully accessible. It might be my highlight of this little show. (It was last heard, once, in 1995.)

Dylan hasn’t played “Forever Young” in a concert since 2011. It’s maybe his most covered song, probably one of his most valuable copyrights. He’s not stupid. More generations will record it now.

(The 13 songs are so beautifully re-arranged that even Shazam doesn’t know what they are!)

The director is Alma Ha’rel, who directed Shia LaBeouf’s “Honey Boy” feature and many music videos and commercials. Cinematography from Lol Crawley, but no one is LOL. Beautiful work. The black and white is sumptuous.

Bob is in unusually good voice, and the music production is sensational and rich. I would guess “Shadow Kingdom” will be released as an album and a DVD at some point. In the meantime, it’s on veeps.com for 25 bucks today and tomorrow. I was happy to pay for it.

The show is billed as “The Early Songs of Bob Dylan,” which would indicate there will be more one hour specials like this, for the same price.

PS Since I’m writing this on the fly, Dylan fans who also enjoyed recent Legacy release with George Harrison will adore the 50th anniversary mix of “All Things Must Pass.” Their song, “If Not For You” sounds fresher and more alive than ever.

 

SET LIST
When I Paint My Masterpiece

Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine

Queen Jane Approximately

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight

Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues

Tombstone Blues

To Be Alone With You

What Was It You Wanted

Forever Young

Pledging My Time

The Wicked Messenger

Watching the River Flow

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

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