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Ellen DeGeneres’s Daytime Show Fell to Season Low Over Holidays, “Game of Games” Show Suffering Audience Drop Off, Too

Roger Friedman
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Ellen DeGeneres’s Daytime Show Fell to Season Low Over Holidays, “Game of Games” Show Suffering Audience Drop Off, Too

Ellen DeGeneres’s ratings woes are still plaguing her.

For the week ending December 27th, “The Ellen Show” fell to a season low, just 900,000 viewers. That was a drop of 10% from the previous week, down from 1.3 million people at the beginning of December when she was giving stuff away on air.

Even then, “The Ellen Show” was down 35% from last year at this time.

By comparison, the number 1 talk show, “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” maintained an audience of 2.1 million for the same holiday week.

Meanwhile, on Monday night, Ellen’s “Game of Game Shows” averaged about 3 million viewers. Last season, “Game of Games” had a season average of 4.6 million. She had two episodes in October, and two Monday night, to give her current season an average of 3 million. At least 1.6 million fans have wandered off elsewhere.

DeGeneres could the victim of viewer fatigue, she’s on so much. She’s also had a ton of bad publicity that at first didn’t seem to be harming her. But the whole “toxic backstage” thing, with producers leaving and celebrities complaining may have caught up with her. Plus, DeGeneres was photographed over the holiday shopping in L.A. maskless after testing positive for the corona virus. Not funny.

Also off by 20% over the holidays, the “Drew Barrymore Show.” At an all time low with just 400,000 viewers, Drew has none of the traction of second year hits “Tamron Hall” and “Kelly Clarkson.” And Drew’s numbers are anemic compared to the show it replaced, “Hot Bench,” which is still hitting 1.6 million even on bad days.

 

Books: As Simon & Schuster Cancels Josh Hawley’s New Book, Other Trumpers May Find it Difficult to Get Deals

Roger Friedman
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Books: As Simon & Schuster Cancels Josh Hawley’s New Book, Other Trumpers May Find it Difficult to Get Deals

Simon & Schuster finally took a stand today about books from Trumpers. They cancelled Missouri Senator Josh Hawley’s newest book, about tech, not politics.

“We did not come to this decision lightly,” the publisher said. “as a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints; at the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot  support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”

 This may be an omen for the rest of the Trump gang, the ones who hoped for big advances telling their version of the mayhem that has gone on the last four years. Kellyanne Conway used Page Six to tout a potential big book deal, but that deal never surfaced and may be dead. The cast of Trump characters is long, and now, after all this time, it may have finally dawned on publishers that no one is willing to pay for these scoundrels’ stories.

Certainly, William Barr is looking for a deal. But his ‘heroism’ came late, and at a cost. Mick Mulvaney bowed out of the Trump administration today, but he find resistance to a book as well.

Conservative right wing Regnery Publishing said today they’d take a look at Hawley’s book. That house may be where most of these people wind up. But again, it’s once thing to be a conservative. It’s another to fork over $26 for some partisan bile with alternative facts. Even Regnery, the low end of book publishers, knows that.

Kudos to Simon & Schuster’s Dana Canedy, who took a stand here. S&S is on its way to being part of Random House/Penguin etc. The new, giant publisher may finally have a position about publishing lies by political celebrities just to sell books.

Broadway: Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” Musical Closes for Good, Will Not Return After Pandemic, Will Get Movie Treatment

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” Musical Closes for Good, Will Not Return After Pandemic, Will Get Movie Treatment

This is interesting. Yesterday, Paramount announced a film version of “Spamalot” directed by Casey Nicholaw. Today their theatrical division pulled the plug on the Nicholaw-directed “Mean Girls” on Broadway. The show is done. Based on Tina Fey’s original film, “Mean Girls” was not a great stage show, but it will get a national tour and probably do well in summer stock. But it wasn’t a tremendous hit on Broadway, and no one was waiting for it to return. Paramount, they say, will do a movie version of the musical.

One note: Ashley Park opened in the show, and stayed with it until the end. She was nominated for a Tony Award. When the show closed she headed west and got a great part in the Netflix series, “Emily in Paris.” She kind of steals the series. Bravo!

“Mean Girls” played 833 performances on Broadway.

Rats Desert Ship: Melania Trump’s Press Rep and Social Secretary Resign in Hope of Getting Book Deals, Speaking Engagements

Roger Friedman
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Rats Desert Ship: Melania Trump’s Press Rep and Social Secretary Resign in Hope of Getting Book Deals, Speaking Engagements

The rats have deserted the ship.

Melania Trump’s press rep and social secretary have each resigned, two weeks before the end of the Trump administration.

Stephanie Grisham and Anna Cristina “Rickie” Niceta have jumped from the First Lady’s office rather than be lumped in with the other Trump associates who advocated yesterday’s despicable invasion of the Capitol.

White House press aide Sarah Matthews also resigned Wednesday night, saying in a statement that she was honored to serve in the Trump administration, but “was deeply disturbed by what I saw today.”

She added, “Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power.”

Don’t be fooled by these women’s sudden attack of conscience. They see the writing on the wall. The only way they could possibly offer themselves to book publishers, TV news producers, and speaking engagement agencies is to get out now and appear to deplore what they’ve perpetuated for the last four years.

Grisham is the worst. As Melania’s liar in chief, she started out as lyin’ Sean Spicer’s deputy until 2017 when she went over to Melania’s office. She’s worked for the Trumps since 2015, lying and advocating for them every single day. For her to leave now shows her true colors. Don’t ever buy a book from her. Don’t buy a paper cup of pencils from her if she’s begging in front of Bloomingdale’s.

I guarantee you Grisham will try and build a new PR agency off this resignation, and maybe include the two other women. The book proposal is probably being written. After all, she can see the money made by her Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who taped Melania and got a big advance for her eventual book, “Melania and Me.”

By the way, I didn’t realize that Wolkoff has a very Hilaria Baldwin like background. Her real maiden name is Batinkoff. Her brother is low end director actor Randall Batinkoff. Their mother divorced their father and married Bruce Winston, the son of jeweler Harry Winston. He adopted them and Stephanie dropped Batinkoff for Winston, a move that made her sound pretty WASPy. Ick. Ick. Ick.

Monty Python Hit Broadway Musical “Spamalot” Will Be a Movie, But Will Original Cast (Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry) Return?

Roger Friedman
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Monty Python Hit Broadway Musical “Spamalot” Will Be a Movie, But Will Original Cast (Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry) Return?

The hit Monty Python musical, “Spamalot,” played to sold out Broadway audiences for four years, from 2005 to 2009. It accrued 1,575 performances and 35 previews, and spun off touring companies galore.

Now it will be a movie at Paramount, after first being set up at Fox. Casey Nicholaw, choreographer of the Broadway show, will direct it, and Eric Idle of Monty Python has the script all done. Deadline first reported the deal today.

The amazing Mike Nichols directed the Broadway show, which earned 3 Tony Awards– Best Musical, Director, and Featured Actor for Sara Ramirez– yes, the same Sara Ramirez who went on to acclaim in “Grey’s Anatomy.” The show had 9 other Tony nominations and won a lot of other awards, too.

Stars Hank Azaria and Tim Curry were each nominated for Best Actor Tonys. David Hyde Pierce wasn’t, but he was hilarious in the show. Michael McGrath and Christopher Sieber were nominated for Best Featured Actor.

Will any of those actors be asked to return for the movie? It’s unclear. Azaria must be, without fail. Who take Ramirez’s role? Lizzo? Hmmm. Lady Gaga, even? As for the others, I hope Eric Idle has a lot of control over the choices. Nicholaw is a great theater director, but has never directed a feature film. He was choreographer on the film version of “The Prom,” which is a catalog of excesses. But that may have been due to the material.

Based on 1975 film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” the show is a parody of Arthurian legends. It has one great song, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” and many fun, comic tunes. But that one genius song holds up the whole show.  It may be incumbent on the team to come up with another song of similar vibrancy.

 

UPDATE The Weeknd No Surgery, It’s All Prosthetics from the People Who Did “The Irishman,” “Coming 2 America” Sequel, with More to Come in February for Super Bowl

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE The Weeknd No Surgery, It’s All Prosthetics from the People Who Did “The Irishman,” “Coming 2 America” Sequel, with More to Come in February for Super Bowl

The Weeknd has not permanently altered his face. Can he feel it? That’s another story.

But the extreme Joker-like changes to the pop star’s face in his new video, “Save Your Tears,” are courtesy of Prosthetic Renaissance, a well known special effects group that also did work on Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and the upcoming Eddie Murphy “Coming to America” sequel.

An insider tells me that this is part of a storyline The Weeknd is creating. It began with a fake broken nose at the MTV Video Music Awards and continued on the American Music Awards with The Weekend covered in surgical bandages.

All of that was created for The Weeknd with his direction.

Now Prosthetic Renaissance is working with Abel Tesfaye (the singer’s real name) on the Super Bowl performance he’s scheduled to unveil on Sunday, February 7th.

Whew! What a relief! Glad to know Abel is just having fun with us. I like his much too music to accept that he’s just crazy.

Meantime, I’m told that Mike Marino, head of Prosthetic Renaissance, is very proud of the “Coming 2 America” work his firm created. The movie hits Amazon Prime– which is rocking these days with great  content– on March 5th.

Neil Young After the Gold Rush: Rocker, 75, Sells 50% Rights to His Catalog Facing Another Year of No Touring

Roger Friedman
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Neil Young After the Gold Rush: Rocker, 75, Sells 50% Rights to His Catalog Facing Another Year of No Touring

Neil Young has found his gold rush.

Rather, looking for a pot of gold as opposed to a heart of gold, Young has sold 50% of the rights to song publishing catalog to the same company that’s been scooping up songs lately, Hipgnosis.

Lindsey Buckingham sold to them this week. Many other acts, including Bob Dylan and Stevie Nicks, have sold their rights in the last few weeks.

There’s been a hypothesis that this rush to sell rights has something to do with capital gains taxes changing. Maybe. But the real reason is more practical: no touring money in 2020 and 2021. And who knows about 2022?

The pandemic has decimated the bread and butter of money making in the music industry. Records don’t sell enough anymore to support any lifestyle, especially those of older artists who have a lot of people on their P&L sheets, and bottom lines that reflect big living.

If you’re an artist in your 70s, the lack of touring, plus merchandise sales, is a frightening proposition. To generate cash, rather than wait by the mailbox for royalty checks, why not sell out to a deep pocketed publisher who can deal with ASCAP or BMI, Sound Exchange and so on?

Neil Young, who’s 75, has a huge catalog with many well known songs that can be used in commercials and movies. “Heart of Gold” was his biggest hit, but “Learning to Fly” has been used in films, and songs like “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” “Love is a Rose,” “Lotta Love” are easily marketable. Then there are many gems in the catalog that have been under utilized.

Young is smart, too. He’s only sold 50% of the rights for now. If Hipgnosis has a big success, and Young– whose tours with Promise of the Real, and Crazy Horse — are annual, can’t get back on stage, there’s always the option of selling more of the rights.

Comes a time, as they say, when you have to plan for the future.

Grammy Awards, CBS Bigfoot NBC, Screen Actors Guild Awards by Taking Their Date, March 14th, Without Asking

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Awards, CBS Bigfoot NBC, Screen Actors Guild Awards by Taking Their Date, March 14th, Without Asking

The Grammy Awards pulled a heavy move last night. They– and CBS– bigfooted NBC and the SAG Awards.

What happened? The Grammys, set for January 31st, without warning moved to March 14th. Unfortunately, that’s the same date long scheduled for the SAG Awards on NBC from the Screen Actors Guild.

Ironically, the Grammys themselves were bigfooted by the Oscars a couple of years ago, when the Academy swooped in and grabbed their usual date, without asking. But this can’t be considered revenge since the Oscars are on ABC.

The Screen Actors Guild isn’t happy. And now we have two big network awards shows on the same night at the same time.

SAG issued a statement that reads:

“We are extremely disappointed to hear of the conflicting date, March 14th, announced today for this year’s Grammy Awards telecast,” the statement begins. “We announced the same date for the SAG Awards last July with the intent to give the greatest possible scheduling consideration for other awards shows. We expect the same consideration from sister organizations throughout the industry.”

The statement continues, “The SAG Awards recognizes outstanding acting performances over the past year. We will again put on a spectacular show that accomplishes that mission. Our two organizations, SAG-AFTRA and the Recording Academy, share members and work together effectively to advocate for artists in many areas. In an environment that is increasingly challenging for televised awards programs, we also have a mutual interest in successfully showcasing the artistry and talent of our respective memberships. We are in contact with the Recording Academy and will continue to work with our sister organizations to find ways to make this year’s awards season as successful as possible.”

Neither of these shows will be presented with a live audience or red carpet, so there’s always that. But why CBS’s Jack Sussman went for this date is a head scratcher. Clearly, SAG had cemented the date a long time ago. The Grammys could have been on the next night, or the next Sunday. Or the prior Sunday. Or on any Weeknd (just kidding).

Rap Sheet: Dr. Dre in ICU After Suffering Aneurysm, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West May Be Divorcing At Last

Roger Friedman
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Rap Sheet: Dr. Dre in ICU After Suffering Aneurysm, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West May Be Divorcing At Last

Here’s the rap sheet for Tuesday night:

Dr. Dre, rap and hip hop innovator, Beats headphones founder, is reportedly in the same Cedars Sinai ICU that Larry King just vacated. The word is that Dre has a brain aneurysm, which is frightening and potentially fatal. Everyone is praying for him. Dre is in the middle of a wild divorce with long time wife Nicole, who wants half his billions. He’s trying to stop her from ripping up a prenup.

Meantime, in this episode of “Empire”: Kim Kardashian reportedly is getting ready to serve Kanye West with divorce papers. She’s hired Hollywood divorce queen Laura Wasser — portrayed to an Oscar win in “Marriage Story” by Laura Dern.

Well, I told you that Kanye has been off social media since November 4th, appeared in none of Kim’s Christmas posts on her social media, and has been occupied with something. They have four kids, many homes, lots of money intermingled. It’s gonna take a minute to undo this farce of a marriage. She’s said to have had it with taking care of a bipolar patient who is uncooperative and a Trump supporter, to boot. Kanye is a mess. I almost feel sorry for him. But slavery, as he says, is a choice.

It’s getting crazy out there tonight. As they said on “Hill Street Blues,” be careful out there.

Seriously, Dr. Dre aka Andre Young, is just 55. He has to get better.

2nd UPDATE Grammys Last Minute Postpone to March 14th After Confusing Day of Announcements

Roger Friedman
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2nd UPDATE Grammys Last Minute Postpone to March 14th After Confusing Day of Announcements

The Grammy Awards have changed at the last minute from January 31st to March 14th. The reason is the pandemic. But a confusing day of announcements. And this was after — as I reported a couple of weeks ago– that executive producer Ben Winston had lined up Adele, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles for the January 31st date. Six weeks? Won’t make a difference since none of them are booked for anything anyway.

MusiCares will move to March 12th, then, supposedly, five days after the Critics Choice Awards. Will there be red carpets, audiences? Who knows? Los Angeles is under siege from COVID.

Here’s the Recording Academy statement:

“After thoughtful conversations with health experts, our network partner, CBS, our host, and artists scheduled to appear, we have made the decision to postpone the 63rd GRAMMY Awards to March 14, 2021. The deteriorating COVID situation in Los Angeles, where hospital services have been overwhelmed and ICUs have reached capacity, and new guidance from state and local governments have led us to conclude that postponing our show was the right thing to do. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of those in our music community and the hundreds of people who work tirelessly on producing the show.

“We want to thank all of the talented artists, the staff, our vendors, and especially this year’s nominees for their understanding, patience, and willingness to work with us as we navigate these unprecedented times. The show will go on and we will unite and heal through music by celebrating excellence and saluting this year’s outstanding nominees.”

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