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As Predicted: MGM Moves James Bond “No Time to Die” to October, Will “Respect” Get Any Now?

Roger Friedman
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As Predicted: MGM Moves James Bond “No Time to Die” to October, Will “Respect” Get Any Now?

As I told you last week, MGM is on the move again.

They’ve pulled “No Time to Die” from April and sent it to October 2020. Maybe.

This is the third or fourth time the James Bond film has seen its premiere switched. They started in April 2020, went to November 2020, then to April 2021. Now it’s October 2021.

By the time the movie opens its theme song, recorded by Billie Eilish, will have moved to oldies status on the radio. It was released in February 2020.

MGM is for sale and lacking funds to promote their films. They moved the Aretha Franklin film “Respect” to August so it would benefit from Bond proceeds. Now will MGM move “Respect” to November or December and say it’s for Oscars? I wouldn’t be surprised.

And will “No Time to Die” really open in October, or will this be the first of new announcements until it opens Christmas Day 2021? If the vaccines don’t get going, James Bond will be mixing holiday martinis!

ABC Squandered a New Episode of “The Conners” Wednesday Night, Ratings Dropped 20% to a Season Low

Roger Friedman
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ABC Squandered a New Episode of “The Conners” Wednesday Night, Ratings Dropped 20% to a Season Low

ABC wants to kill “The Conners.” I don’t know why. Is it too expensive? I don’t get it.

Ratings for last night’s first run episode dropped 20% from the previous week, which was a high with Candice Bergen.

This is what happened: ABC put “The Conners” at 10pm following the Biden Inauguration special. Maybe they thought the Biden audience would stick around. Well, they didn’t. A total of 400,000 viewers changed channels after the Biden special, leaving “The Conners” with a season low 3.099 million fans.

From the season opener in October to last night, “The COnners” has dropped an astounding 36%. Moving the show from Tuesdays at 8 to Wednesdays at 9 was bad enough. Showing it at 10pm was the killer.

ABC will counter by saying they still won their time slot at 10pm. But what’s the cost? They probably could have shown a rerun and gotten the same number. This did not work out.

Oscar Buzzed “Nomadland” Coming to Hulu, Theaters on February 19th, Wes Anderson’s “French Dispatch” Remains MIA

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Buzzed “Nomadland” Coming to Hulu, Theaters on February 19th, Wes Anderson’s “French Dispatch” Remains MIA

Everyone’s asking me how they can see Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland.” I’m pretty sure this is the Best Picture of 2021. (Funny, this year’s Oscars will be for the year in which the movies were actually released!)

Frances McDormand is sensational in this mesmerizing, beautifully made film. It’s already winning awards. I don’t want to oversell it but it’s the best movie this year despite many other good ones including “Minari,” “Ma Rainey,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “Let Them All Talk,” “Jesus and the Black Messiah,” “One Night in Miami,” “The Father,” and “Soul”– among others.

So here’s the news: Searchlight, formerly Fox now Disney, will release “Nomadland” on February 19th on Hulu and in theaters. You can see it earlier– on January 29th- in some IMAX Theaters. Wear a mask, gloves, etc. I’ve seen “Nomadland” twice but I actually might try IMAX on the 29th.

Searchlight has issued dates to some other films for later in the year but so far nothing for Wes Anderson’s “French Dispatch.” I don’t know why. Why not just release it for streaming and theaters, day and date, take your chances? “The French Dispatch” has missed all its release dates. It could be a Best Picture nominee if Searchlight would push the button before February 28th.

Now that we’ve done this, maybe someone from A24 will tell us when and how “Minari” will be available. I love this movie season! It’s like a treasure hunt!

Ratings: Biden Inaugural Concert Special Scores on Every Broadcast Network, Handily Beats Fox Shows

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: Biden Inaugural Concert Special Scores on Every Broadcast Network, Handily Beats Fox Shows

Fox TV gambled and lost last night.

They were the only network that didn’t show the Biden Inaugural special from 8 to 10pm featuring Tom Hanks, an array of stars, and a rare appearance by three former presidents. Instead they had “The Masked Dancer” and “Name that Tune.”

And they lost the ratings night. Every other network beat them, handily.

Fox had 2.7 million older viewers for the main 90 minutes, from 8:30 to 10pm.

ABC and NBC had about 4 million apiece. CBS averaged around 3 million.

Numbers aren’t in yet for cable, but MSNBC, CNN, and CNBC should be good, too.

Will Fox continue to make their brand of partisan politics take precedent over common sense? Now their right wing mentality has seeped into the entertainment side of the company. Stockholders, take note!

 

“Bridgerton” Renewed for 2nd Season as Netflix Viewers Swoon Over Soft Core Sex-and-Royalty Fantasy

Roger Friedman
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“Bridgerton” Renewed for 2nd Season as Netflix Viewers Swoon Over Soft Core Sex-and-Royalty Fantasy

Not surprising, “Bridgerton” will return for a second season on Netflix. The Shonda Rhimes produced soft core sex and royalty fantasy is a total hit. Viewers can’t get enough of this trashy fun series, the stars are getting huge promotion, and the Netflix PR department successfully planted a story that Porn Hub is now littered with clips from the show.

Well, whatever works. “Lupin” on Netflix is about 7,000 times better. So are almost all the shows. But it’s cold, winter, pandemic, isolation, all of these things have made “Bridgerton” what “Game of Thrones” was in its early seasons. Remember the original “GoT” was full of sex scenes, it was like porn, too. Then, when it became mainstream, story and character took over.

The “Gossip Girl” conceit of “Bridgerton” is that a gossip columnist named Lady Whistledown is ratting out their randy trysts. Julie Andrews, of all people, does the narration, god bless her. Here’s Lady Whistledown’s announcement today:

Fox News Skips Inaugural, Promotes “Left Wing Insurrection” on Web Site, Lays Off 20 as Main Purpose Flounders

Roger Friedman
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Fox News Skips Inaugural, Promotes “Left Wing Insurrection” on Web Site, Lays Off 20 as Main Purpose Flounders

There was an inaugural celebration on television last from 8:30pm to 10pm. It was literally on every broadcast and cable outlet except one: Fox News and Fox affiliate stations. The later showed The Masked Dancer.

Fox, still owned by Rupert Murdoch, is floundering in the ratings. They don’t know what to do. Their main purpose is under attack. With revenue declining, they laid off 20 people from Fox News.com.

On the Fox News home page, they’re doubling down on trying to attract the right wing, ultra conservative who still believe Trump won the election. They’re promoting Antifa, an “organization” that doesn’t actually exist.

The main headline reads: “Left Wing Insurrection: Unrest explodes across West as Biden sworn-in; clashes with police, attack on Dem Party offices”

All the sub heads are anti-Biden. There’s a sub story headline that’s really LOL: “CNN exec roasted for declaring Biden’s inauguration fireworks ‘inspire our friends and shake our foes’..” Hey Rupert: that’s exactly what the fireworks did.

Meantime, Trump tried to scare his followers that the stock market would collapse once he was removed. Instead, the market zoomed up yesterday and has stayed up today.

Rupert, you old man, wake up. Or let your sons take over. To quote a pop song, “You’re out of touch, you’re out of time.”

 

Boom! 7 of Top 10 iTunes Songs Come from Biden Inauguration TV Show, Albums Take Spots in Top 10, Too

Roger Friedman
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Boom! 7 of Top 10 iTunes Songs Come from Biden Inauguration TV Show, Albums Take Spots in Top 10, Too

Last night’s 90 minute Biden Inauguration show was a hit for all its performers, and the songs they sang.

The show, which aired on every network except Fox News and its local affiliates, sent 20 records into the iTunes top 100 chart.

Justin Timberlake and Ant Clemon’s “Better Days” is number 1. “Undivided” by Tim McGraw and Ty Hubbard is number 2.

The big news is that “You Get What You Give” by New Radicals, first a hit in 1998, is number 4. It’s not the only older song to hit the chart. “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, sung by Demi Lovato, is in the top 10. So Katy Perry’s “Firework” and Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These.”

The show was a boon to performers’ catalogs!

Elsewhere in the top 100, the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” has popped up because of the terrific performance of the song by Jon Bon Jovi. Bruce Springsteen’s “Land of Hope and Dreams” is also in the top 50.

John Legend’s amazing rendition of “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone has sent the original into TWO spots. The funny thing is, that song has been in a commercial or two this year, but Legend’s version did the trick. John Legend should really release an album of all the covers he’s one. That one, last night, was phenomenal.

The show also propelled a bunch of associated albums into the iTunes Top 200 albums. The Black Pumas have two albums in the top 3, followed by New Radicals, and Foo Fighters.

 Here are some highlights:

Watch Gregg Alexander and New Radicals Perform at Virtual Parade, and Here’s How I Introduced Him to Joni Mitchell

Roger Friedman
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Watch Gregg Alexander and New Radicals Perform at Virtual Parade, and Here’s How I Introduced Him to Joni Mitchell

Yes, Gregg Alexander and New Radicals did perform on the Virtual Parade today. I didn’t know how to find it, but the clip is below.

I’ve known Gregg for some time, I’m honored to say, as well as his sometime collaborator Danielle Brisebois. Years after the New Radicals were a hit, they wrote the songs for “Begin Again,” the wonderful John Carney film. I was so knocked out, I had to know them.

A short time later, I introduced Gregg to Joni Mitchell at Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy dinner. She actually said that she liked “You Get What You Give” so much it stopped her from quitting the business in 1999. That was BIG. Read the story here.

Gregg reformed New Radicals for today’s tribute as a salute to Joe Biden and his son Beau. And the video is tops! PS If you get a chance, rent or stream “Begin Again.” You’ll be thrilled that you did!

 

 

 

Watch the Really Nice, Smart Jen Psaki Give the First Normal White House Press Conference in 4 Years

Roger Friedman
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Watch the Really Nice, Smart Jen Psaki Give the First Normal White House Press Conference in 4 Years

After lyin’ Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Hogan Gidley, Kayleigh McEnemy… watch Jen Psaki run the first normal press conference at the White House in four years. Psaki is nice, smart, lovely. No pushover but she’s not going to lie to our faces and disrespect the press corps.

Peace.

Inauguration Goof: Bidens Inadvertently Snub Actual Official U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, First Native American Named to Post

Roger Friedman
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Inauguration Goof: Bidens Inadvertently Snub Actual Official U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, First Native American Named to Post

Everyone loved 22 year old Amanda Gorman when she read her poem this morning at the Presidential Inauguration. Only one problem: Gorman was introduced as the Poet Laureate of the United States. She is not the Poet Laureate, however. She’s the Youth Poet Laureate of the US.

Inadvertently, the Biden-Harris inaugural committee snubbed the actual US Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, of Oklahoma, Texas. Two and a half times the age of Gorman, Harjo is a much respected and published writer named the 23rd Poet Laureate two years ago by the Library of Congress.

Harjo, I’m told, was surprised this morning when she heard Gorman’s introduction. But she’s not upset. “It’s not her style,” says a source.

Still, the first Native American, a woman, as Poet Laureate? That was an opportunity kind of blown by the inaugural committee.

Harjo is the author of nine books of poetry, several other writings, and two memoirs including one I actually read years ago called “Crazy Brave.” She’s also a musician and a performer of note. She’s been interviewed by Oprah on TV, and Oprah recently selected an anthology she edited, “When the Light of the World was Sub­dued, Our Songs Came Through — A Nor­ton Anthol­o­gy of Native Nations Poet­ry,” as one of her favorite books of 2020.

Harjo’s appointment is no trivial thing. This is the pinnacle of success for a poet in America. Past laureates include such superstars as Robert Penn Warren, Louise Gluck, Stanley Kunitz, Robert Lowell, Maxine Kumin, James Dickey, and, of course, Robert Frost.

Appearing on the Inauguration certainly turned Gorman into a star. Now she has two books at the top of the Amazon best seller lists.

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