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Great News! “Downton Abbey” Sequel Coming This December with Maggie Smith Returning and Simon Curtis (Who’s Also Married to Elizabeth McGovern) Directing

Roger Friedman
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Great News! “Downton Abbey” Sequel Coming This December with Maggie Smith Returning and Simon Curtis (Who’s Also Married to Elizabeth McGovern) Directing

Focus Features has the best holiday gift for all of us! The Dowager Countess Grantham, aka Violet Crawley, is returning to “Downton Abbey.”

Maggie Smith is returning for the “Downton” sequel and the movie is shooting now for a December release. Violet said she had cancer in the first movie so Smith would have an out if she didn’t want to return for the second part. But this morning the production announced the entire cast would be in the new movie. That means Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carson, and so on.

The other great news is that Simon Curtis is the director. It’s about time. Curtis, director “My Week with Marilyn,” is also the husband of Elizabeth McGovern, aka Lady Grantham Cora Crawley.

Smith has two Oscars and four Emmy Awards. She won the Tony Award on Broadway in 1990 for one of the best things I’ve ever seen, the hilarious “Lettuce and Lovage.” She will turn 87 in December just as the film is released. She’s in her Prime!

Also joining the cast are Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West.

Is Lily James returning? It’s a little ironic that West is coming in because he was in a big tabloid scandal in real life linking him to former “Downton” TV cast member Lily James, who played cousin Rose. In the series Rose moved to the US with her new husband. Maybe she’s returning to England with West.

Presumably, this is the last of “Downton,” as creator Julian Fellowes can wrap up all the story lines. Branson will marry the Crawley cousin, thus ensuring the financial future of Downton Abbey. And sadly, Smith’s Violet will probably expire at last, but not til the end of the movie — it would be a bummer otherwise.

“Downton Abbey 2” is a Carnival Films production, with Focus Features and Universal Pictures International distributing. Carnival Films is part of NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group.

The first “Downton” movie made $236 million worldwide and $96.8 million in the US. It was a solid hit, and fans of the show loved it.

Video: Severe Accusation of Abuse Against Producer Scott Rudin from Brother of Dead Former Assistant

Roger Friedman
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Video: Severe Accusation of Abuse Against Producer Scott Rudin from Brother of Dead Former Assistant

David Graham-Caso, who works in city of Los Angeles government, has posted an alarming video accusing producer Scott Rudin of abusing his late brother.

David says his brother, Kevin Blake Graham-Caso, worked for Rudin for 8 months in 2008-2009, and was so severely traumatized that last October he took his own life. David admits that after Kenneth left Rudin he was in other bad relationships. But this employment, he says, caused PTSD and a host of other ailments from which Kenneth never recovered.

I worked for some crazy people in my time, most of them women, by the way. I was able to get away from them. But I know what David is talking about. When I was very young I worked for a then very famous old time Broadway press agent. He yelled at me, no big deal. But he used to throw snow boots and hit the main female publicist who worked for him. She went on to great things, but I’m sure she remembers the severe abuse like it was yesterday.

No one ever talked about workplace abuse, mental or physical, as anything other than an uncomfortable joke. We heard about Rudin’s antics, but it was just brushed off. Now it’s coming into the open with a vengeance.

Watch this video. This man must be taken seriously. So sorry for his loss. And please read again my story about Rudin’s treatment of publicist Allison Jackson.

Has Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ever the Gentleman, Taken Himself Out of Oscar Race in Deference to Chadwick Boseman?

Roger Friedman
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Has Sir Anthony Hopkins, Ever the Gentleman, Taken Himself Out of Oscar Race in Deference to Chadwick Boseman?

Sir Anthony Hopkins, who is Welsh, is having the time of his life on a trip home to Wales. He’s been posting pictures from his homeland on social media all week.

It’s lovely, of course, and he’s certainly enjoying himself. Only one problem: Sir Tony lives in Los Angeles, where the Oscars will be presented next Sunday. In order to attend the Academy Awards, he’d have had to returned to the US and begun a quarantine several days ago. The time difference, also, would have added to his travel problems.

So it would seem that Hopkins, who didn’t show up for the Golden Globes or SAG Awards, isn’t coming to the Oscars next Sunday. He’s nominated for Best Actor for “The Father,” his sixth Oscar nomination for Best Actor. (He won in 1991 for “Silence of the Lambs.”) His performance in my opinion is the best of the year, or of several years. But he’s not on the inside track to win, and he knows it.

Is Hopkins sending a message that he’s taken himself out of the race? I think so. First of all, already owning an Oscar, he knows that this is the only shot for the late  Chadwick Boseman, nominated for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Rather than campaign at all, Hopkins has backed off entirely, giving Boseman a wide berth. He knows that the Academy’s sentiment is with Boseman, and you can’t run against someone who isn’t there.

Don’t get me wrong. The coming win for Boseman will be much applauded. He made many movies and gave terrific performances while secretly battling a terrible illness. He died way too young. Everyone wants to seem him written permanently into movie history and rewarded for his talent and bravery. What Hopkins is doing is the gentlemanly thing, and he should be applauded, too. Plus, he got a nice trip  home.

So Hopkins doesn’t appear to be readying himself for a trip to LA’s Union Station next Sunday, or even to a satellite station. That’s too bad. We will miss him. Maybe when the show and hype are over, he’ll do some interviews for “The Father.” It’s the performance of an already amazing lifetime.

Broadway Producer Scott Rudin’s Act of Contrition Should Get a Tony: He’s Saving His Mega “Music Man” Production

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Producer Scott Rudin’s Act of Contrition Should Get a Tony: He’s Saving His Mega “Music Man” Production

Don’t be fooled by Broadway producer Scott Rudin’s sudden act of contrition this morning. He’s not stepping away from anything. He’s saving his mega expensive production of “The Music Man” starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, set to open next winter.

Rudin sent an email to The Washington Post’s Peter Marks saying he was “stepping away” from his company after reports of his atrocious behavior for years to everyone who worked for him, with him, near him, within miles of his presence. The Broadway actress Karen Olivo, who isn’t even in one of his shows, said she was leaving “Moulin Rouge” because of the silence after the reports.

Rudin sent his message not to the New York Times but to an out of town paper, on a weekend, for a reason. He is cynical enough to figure out it means nothing. It was a dodge. But for a reason.

There were reports in the last week that Jackman was going to drop out of “The Music Man” if Rudin didn’t do something. Foster certainly would have, she doesn’t need the money. Neither of them does. Members of the “Music Man” production were ready to leave also, I’m told, if Rudin didn’t acquiesce before there was a mutiny on his bounty.

So now he says he’s “stepping away.” I call b.s. His first lieutenant, Eli Bush, who knows where all the bodies are buried, will just keep running things. Rudin will tell him what to do. Rudin will carry out his vendettas using others from his company and nothing will change. If you believe his statement, I have some land for you in Kabul.

He wrote to Marks:

“Much has been written about my history of troubling interactions with colleagues, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain my behavior caused to individuals, directly and indirectly,” he wrote in a three-paragraph statement emailed to The Post.

“After a period of reflection, I’ve made the decision to step back from active participation on our Broadway productions, effective immediately. My roles will be filled by others from the Broadway community and in a number of cases, from the roster of participants already in place on those shows.”

“My passionate hope and expectation is that Broadway will reopen successfully very soon, and that the many talented artists associated with it will once again begin to thrive and share their artistry with the world. I do not want any controversy associated with me to interrupt Broadway’s well deserved return, or specifically, the return of the 1500 people working on these shows.”

There isn’t a person involved with Broadway who didn’t do a spit take today when they read this statement.

“The Music Man” is a big ticket project. Delayed for a year, it must go on. The stars cannot leave. Rudin is charging hundreds of dollars for tickets, just as he did with “Hello, Dolly!” and “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Absolutely nothing will change except maybe his name will come off the marquee, for now. But don’t be gullible: Rudin will be there in the dark, in his cream colored sweater, taking names from the first night of rehearsal.

Like Harold Hill, the snake oil salesman of “The Music Man,” he’s never going to stop causing trouble with a capital T right here in River City.

 

Oscar News: Best Song Nominee “Seen (Io Si)” Is Getting Hit Radio Play, Song by 12 Time Nominee Diane Warren

 

Exclusive: Breakthrough COVID-19 Red Light Treatment in Canada Kills Coronavirus in Nasal Passages, Could Have Major Impact on Entertainment Industry

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Breakthrough COVID-19 Red Light Treatment in Canada Kills Coronavirus in Nasal Passages, Could Have Major Impact on Entertainment Industry

originally published April 15, 2021

Just over a year ago, I told you about a possible treatment for COVID-19 that was being used in Canada, and it worked.

Now a clinic in Toronto is treating patients with red light photodynamic therapy that’s having excellent results successfully converting individuals who have tested COVID-19 positive to COVID-19 negative in the the front of the nasal passages.

Ondine Biomedical’s Steriwave treatment is used in the nose, basically, to eradicate COVID-19. It’s not a nasal spray. It’s the use of a red light on nasal passages. It takes a few minutes and is relatively inexpensive. You just sit in a chair, as you would for a COVID-`19 test. From pictures it looks like you’re holding thin fiber cables in each nostril. The light is emitted in the nose.

Their own description: “The technology uses red light—which is safe for human tissues, unlike UV light—to activate a special light-sensitive liquid (called a photosensitizer) that is naturally attracted to germs. The activated photosensitizer destroys the germs physically within moments. This reaction is so quick that germs have no way to resist or adapt. As soon as the light turns off the reaction stops.”

Steriwave, approved for use in Canada, is now being implemented at a clinic in Toronto set up by entrepreneurs who believe in the product. They’ve enlisted respected Toronto ENT surgeon Dr. Jack Kolenda, in Toronto, as medical director. The clinic, called The Breathe Easy Clinic, is successfully treating patients now.

For the entertainment industry, Steriwave could have huge implications: treatments at film festivals, on productions, movie and TV sets, stage productions, and so on could potentially be using Steriwave to protect everyone involved. In France, where Steriwave is approved for use, the red light therapy could make the Cannes Film Festival possible.

Over the last year I’ve had a lot of conversations with the owner of the company, Carolyn Cross, founder and CEO of Ondine, and with doctors who’ve been using Steriwave. The doctors have been using Steriwave to treat COVID-19 positive patients, demonstrating remarkable success. Sounds too good to be true, but apparently it is true and it does work quickly with no side effects.

What makes the Steriwave treatment even more extraordinary and highly effective is that it is the only anti- viral, treatment in the world that is not compromised by any mutations of the Coronavirus. The Steriwave treatment, they say, is the only anti viral, upper respiratory tract treatment in the world that is topical, non invasive, painless, that can be used repeatedly and has been deployed more than 140,000 times in Canada with no serious side effects.

There is a lot of anecdotal testimony. Because employees at meat packing plants proved extremely vulnerable to COVID, medical professionals deployed Steriwave to one of the largest in Canada. The plant has 1400 employees and since Steriwave was deployed there to treat these employees once a week for the past nine months, I understand that there has not been a single case of an employee who works in the meat processing facility testing positive for Covid 19.

Dr. Kolenda says, “As an early adopter of PDT (photo dynamic therapy) for infection prevention in my surgical practice at Verso Surgery Centre,in Oakville, Ontario, Canada,  I have explored the deployment of Ondine Biomedical’s Steriwave treatment, as a possible intervention in treating Covid 19.” Steriwave is implemented as the standard of care to treat all pre-operative patients —  prior to their surgery —  at Vancouver General Hospital which is Canada’s third largest healthcare institution.

And Steriwave does seem to work, for real, on real people. A Toronto local, Joe Marcello, tested COVID-19 positive along with his wife. They were tested and treated successfully this week at Breathe Easy and converted to COVID-19 negative. Marcello posted his story to Instagram. (His post is to the left.)

Ondine Biomedical, founded in 1997, is owned by Carolyn Cross, who has over 25 years of experience with early stage companies and experience with public market securities. Cross sits on the Government of Canada’s pre-eminent science and technology Council, The National Research Council of Canada. Cross has made it her life’s mission to build Ondine Biomedical into the world leader in developing and creating antimicrobial photodynamic treatements and technologies which eradicate and mitigate what the CDC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation identify as the greatest threat to humanity in the next decade, which is antibiotic resistant infection and antimicrobial resistance.

So Ondine and Steriwave are not fly by night. They are long established entities. The question now is, when will the Steriwave treatment be  used by the world to treat  millions of people to fight the mutations that are sweeping the globe and preventing the vaccines from being completely effective.  And when will the United States make a decision to approve the Steriwave treatment?

Watch this video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mick Jagger’s NFT Auction Sells for $50,000 to Block Chain Entrepreneur with a Checkered Past

Roger Friedman
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Mick Jagger’s NFT Auction Sells for $50,000 to Block Chain Entrepreneur with a Checkered Past

Mick Jagger may have mixed emotions about the auction winner of his NFT for charity.

Brock Pierce, a self proclaimed block chain entrepreneur with a checkered past, paid $50,000 for an animated video accompanied by a loop of music from Mick’s new single, “Easy Sleazy.” The money goes to Music Venue Trust, a UK registered charity which acts to protect, secure and improve grassroots music venues, Back-up, which provides financial support to entertainment technology industry professionals who are seriously ill or injured or to their surviving family members, and National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), an organization working to preserve and nurture the ecosystem of independent live performance venues and promoters throughout the United States. A portion of proceeds will also be going to environmental causes.

“Easy Sleazy” is the new single released this week by Mick Jagger and Dave Grohl. The title may have appealed to Pierce, who was involved in some questionable activities of his own years ago. The last time I wrote about him his representative threatened to sue me. But Pierce’s activities were well d0cumented in the press and not just by me going back more than two decades.

You can read the whole thing here.

Since then, Pierce — who was a child actor in “The Mighty Ducks” — has become very involved in the bitcoin/blockchain world. He also declared a presidential campaign last year. I’m not sure exactly what he gets for $50,000 since the Jagger video art can easily be downloaded from Jagger’s website into anyone’s computer. But that’s my overall question about the NFT market, frankly. Pierce, who loves publicity, gets more out of this. So I guess it was worth it.

RIP Helen McCrory, Dynamic Actress from “Harry Potter” and “Peaky Blinders,” Dies at Age 52 from Cancer

Roger Friedman
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RIP Helen McCrory, Dynamic Actress from “Harry Potter” and “Peaky Blinders,” Dies at Age 52 from Cancer

Tragic news: The wonderful actress Helen McCrory, wife of Damian Lewis, has died at age 52 in the UK from cancer. Lewis announced the sad news on Twitter today. McCrory starred in “Harry Potter” on film and “Peaky Blinders” on TV among her many credits.

Lewis, the star here of “Billions” and “Homeland,” wrote:

“I’m heartbroken to announce that after a heroic battle with cancer, the beautiful and mighty woman that is Helen McCrory has died peacefully at home, surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.”

The British actress also starred in the James Bond film “Skyfall,” Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and played Cherie Booth, wife of U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, in “The Queen” and “The Special Relationship.”

In addition to her film and TV roles, McCrory began her career on stage and appeared in more than 25 productions during the 1990s through the mid 2010s. Her stage credits included “Macbeth,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “As You Like It,” “Medea” and many more.

J.K. Rowling, author of the “Harry Potter” series, Tweeted: “I’m devastated to learn of the death of Helen McCrory, an extraordinary actress and a wonderful woman who’s left us far too soon. My deepest condolences to her family, especially her husband and children. Simply heartbreaking news.”

McCrory’s many awards included Best Actress at the London Film Critics Circle, the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, the Critics’ Circle Theater Awards and theater actress of the year at the Glamour Awards. She was nominated for a Critics Choice Television Award and a Satellite Award for best supporting actress in a drama for “Penny Dreadful.” For her role in “Macbeth” in 1995, she was named most promising newcomer at the Shakespeare Globe Awards.

McCrory and Lewis were married in 2007, and had a son and a daughter. Condolences to all of them. What a loss.

On a personal note, I really enjoyed her work, she was someone I looked forward to seeing on stage or in film. Just terrible.

 

 

TV Review: Thursday Night Pitted Still Comatose Meredith on “Greys” vs. Dark “SVU” and Older Actresses in Distress

Roger Friedman
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TV Review: Thursday Night Pitted Still Comatose Meredith on “Greys” vs. Dark “SVU” and Older Actresses in Distress

I wonder what the rest of the actors think on “Grey’s Anatomy.” Every week they run around in scrubs and face shields pumping chests, removing organs, crying, shouting, kvetching.

Meantime, Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith, lies on a gurney and says nothing. Or she’s on a beach in a $1000 sweater, flirting with Patrick Dempsey, who plays her dead husband, or other characters Shonda Rhimes shoved overboard for one reason or another.

Last night, there was no beach, just gurney, as Meredith lay comatose in the longest COVID sleep known to man.  Pompeo must be in some wild contract negotiations. The show is clearly setting itself up to go forward next fall without her. If Pompeo does finally sign on the dotted line, Meredith will have to be in a rehab center. It’s all very peculiar.

I toggled between “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Law & Order SVU,” but mostly to see Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen, who are sisters in real life, in the episode. It was disappointing in the end. They did not share a scene. Also, Phylicia Rashad, one of our best actresses, was relegated to giving a stirring speech lying in bed wearing a surgical mask. This was pretty insulting to the actress and to the audience. And still she made that speech work!

“SVU,” meantime, was very dark, and too hard to watch all the way through. I skipped “Organized Crime” because it’s really all about Dylan McDermott as a non-Italian Italian mobster named Sinatra. DIck Wolf said last week “Organized Crime” is not about “ripped from the headlines” but a mob cat and mouse show. I don’t think that’s going to work.

Over on “Rebel,” at 10pm on ABC, Katy Sagal plays Erin Brockovich in the TV version of the famed movie. For some reason last night Mary McDonnell, an Oscar winner and just recently star of her own TV series, “Major Crimes,” turned up in small role looking like Katy’s grandmother. They are a year apart in age. McDonnell should sue ABC and “Rebel.” She didn’t deserve that. In “Dances with Wolves,” McDonnell played a character called “Stands with Fists.” She should have punched these people in the make up room.

I’m wondering if McDonnell and Rashad took their gigs to meet their SAG health insurance minimums for the year. If that’s the case, Gabrielle Carteris has a lot to answer for.

Good news! Meredith is back on the beach next week in a creamy cable knit sweater. The other doctors are stopping a typhoon or something from swallowing Seattle.

Chrissy Teigen is Back on Twitter After Leaving Abruptly: I’ve spent weeks just saying tweets to shampoo bottles”

Roger Friedman
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Chrissy Teigen is Back on Twitter After Leaving Abruptly: I’ve spent weeks just saying tweets to shampoo bottles”

One of the funniest best Tweeters is back on Twitter. Chrissy Teignen, a multi hyphenate, has returned to the fray after about three weeks’ absence.

Chrissy Tweeted today: “I’ve spent weeks just saying tweets to shampoo bottles.” She added: I choose to take the bad with the good!!turns out it feels TERRIBLE to silence yourself and also no longer enjoy belly chuckles randomly throughout the day and also lose like 2000 friends at once lol”

Chrissy is married to pop star John Legend and is considered a witty contributor to social media. But I guess she got some heat from “trolls”– anonymous critics– and decided to exit the forum. I’m glad she’s reconsidered. She’s considered by many, meaning me, the Dorothy Parker of Twitter.

Welcome back, Chrissy!

 

Paul McCartney Reveals Recording Track with Justin Bieber Producer Andrew Watt, Releases Imagined “McCartney III” with Phoebe Bridgers Covering “Seize the Day”

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney Reveals Recording Track with Justin Bieber Producer Andrew Watt, Releases Imagined “McCartney III” with Phoebe Bridgers Covering “Seize the Day”

updated Friday morning April 16th

Paul McCartney just finished basically interviewing himself on Instagram Live with singer St. Vincent aka Annie Clark. This was to promote “McCartney III Imagined” which releases tonight and includes a remix of McCartney’s song “Women and Wives” by St. Vincent. Back to that in a minute.

McCartney is in L.A., he said, to attend a screening tonight of Peter Jackson’s “Let it Be” documentary, “Get Back,” which we will see in August. He said Ringo and other friends would be there. You can surmise Ringo’s brother-in-law Joe Walsh will attend, and maybe Olivia and Dhani Harrison.

Paul also revealed that he’s recording a track with 2021 Grammy Producer of the Year Andrew Watt, who’s worked a lot trying to make Justin Bieber seem like a recording artist. The song has something to do with spotting a girl in a window as he walks by her house.

The “Get Back” project is late by a year or more but McCartney says he’s happy with what he’s seen so far. The original “Let it Be” movie directed Michael Lindsay-Hogg accentuated the Beatles at odds with each other, looking grim as they made that album in 1969. However, they went on to make “Abbey Road.” And Jackson was given all the extra footage, which actually showed the band enjoying themselves. McCartney didn’t come off well in the original film so maybe this will rewrite history and fix that idea.

St. Vincent did ask Paul about the magic of writing songs. I’m paraphrasing, but I’d say McCartney is stumped about where his genius comes from. It’s just, well, magic. He did say it’s easier now with an iPhone remember things he came up with. Although in the old days, he said, he and John Lennon would remember ideas the next day pretty easily. “I guess we didn’t have too many forgettable songs,” he said. No kidding!

“McCartney III Imagined” drops tonight, and the track to listen for is Phoebe Bridgers covering “Seize the Day.” Only Bridgers, Dominic Fike, and Beck, a little bit, really covered songs. The rest are remixes– all interesting and cool, but Phoebe could have a hit if Capitol Records puts some elbow grease into it.

I like St. Vincent. I think she needs better marketing or something. She needs some PR attention. Maybe a manager.

Anyway, I’m a big of both “McCartney III” albums, check them out if you haven’t already.

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