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“Grey’s Anatomy” Star Ellen Pompeo Takes Contract Negotiation into Press, Says This Year Could Be Show’s Last

Roger Friedman
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“Grey’s Anatomy” Star Ellen Pompeo Takes Contract Negotiation into Press, Says This Year Could Be Show’s Last

“Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo is taking her contract negotiations into the press.

In a new interview with Variety, she announces– and no one asked– that this could be the last season of her show. (Please god.) Variety, it seems, is complicit in the negotiation.

“Grey’s Anatomy” has been on the air since the spring of 2005, 17 seasons. I remember seeing the debut while I was covering the Michael Jackson trial in Santa Maria, California. Pompeo has outlasted nearly everyone from the original cast save two actors. Her 2018 contract brings her more than $20 million a year — $575,000 per episode, along with a seven-figure signing bonus and two full back end equity points on the series, estimated to bring in another $6 million to $7 million.

But that deal will end with this season, and then it will be interesting to see if ABC will pay her more or just throw in the towel.

And does it matter? Couldn’t the show go on without Meredith Grey? She’s the least compelling character on the show. Pompeo has never won an acting award for her role. She’s never been nominated for an Emmy Award, although she was a Golden Globe nominee in 2007. “Grey’s” could go on without her, cost less, and still pull in 5 million viewers a week. It’s a soap opera.

It’s not up to Ellen Pompeo whether the show stays on the air. ABC and Shondaland make that decision. I’m curious to see if Pompeo’s opening gambit works. It could be next year we’ll be without two Pompeos– Ellen, and Mike in Washington. I can live without that.

PS They should have called the story “Pompeo and Circumstance.”

AOC Covers Vanity Fair: Lighting Rod Congresswoman Gets Death Threats Forwarded from FBI: “These are the people who want to kill you today”

Roger Friedman
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AOC Covers Vanity Fair: Lighting Rod Congresswoman Gets Death Threats Forwarded from FBI: “These are the people who want to kill you today”

Vanity Fair doubles down on diversity this month with Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, Bronx congresswoman and lightning rod across the country. There has rarely been a first term member of Congress, not even old enough to run for president, who’s gotten this much attention. Will this sell issues? Seems more like an inside story, but Vanity Fair is eschewing celebrity and Hollywood and ditching their old readership. I find it fascinating.

What do we learn? Her close friends call her Sandy
A few, like Representative Ayanna Pressley, go with “Alex.” But becoming AOC—and @AOC—has simultaneously vaulted her into a pantheon of triple-initialed legends and, alternately, given a handy tagline to the right’s worst nightmare. Her beatific face is commodified on twee Etsy greeting cards (“I AOC It’s Your Birthday”) and stamped alongside those of RBG and Frida Kahlo on “feminist prayer candles” and “Latina icon stickers.” Conservative attack ads depict her as socialist villainess. One especially disturbing spot shows a photo of her face on fire before cutting to a pile of skulls.

“It’s very dehumanizing in both ways, strangely, both the negative and the positive,” the congresswoman tells me one afternoon from behind the desk of her Bronx campaign office. “It’s not an accident that, every cycle, the boogeyman of the Democrats is a woman,” says Ocasio-Cortez. “A couple of cycles ago, it was Pelosi. Then it was Hillary, and now it’s me.”

She also gets death threats constantly.
“The death threats seem to spike in concert with Fox News rhetoric. “I used to wake up in the morning and literally get a stack of pictures that were forwarded by Capitol police or FBI. Like, ‘These are the people who want to kill you today,’ ” she says. The torrent of abuse spread to her mother, Blanca, and her younger brother, Gabriel.

“It’s the epitome of being shaken to your core,” Gabriel says. “Getting a phone call from the FBI saying, ‘Hey, don’t open your mail. They’re mailing out bombs.’ ” A designer of AOC’s Cesar Chavez–inspired campaign posters gets death threats; her former dean at Boston University, who introduced Ocasio-Cortez in a 2011 speech viewable on YouTube, regularly fields emails calling him the N-word for “training” her. When President Trump lobs one of his attacks at Ocasio-Cortez—he has called her everything from a “poor student” to a “wack job”—her offices are flooded with calls, voicemails, and emails echoing him.”

She has fashion issues: With a congressional salary now—$174,000, stretched over two of the most expensive cities in America—dressing for the job remains fraught. “It’s legitimately hard being a first-generation woman…and being working class, trying to navigate a professional environment,” Ocasio-Cortez tells me at our Bronx breakfast, where she wears a rust-colored suede moto jacket and a Black Panthers T-shirt. 

But she’s also an influencer: Sharing her go-to red gloss—Stila’s Stay All Day Liquid in Beso—translated to a sales spike. “Every time I go on TV, people ask for my lipstick,” she says.

 

I’ve Taken Kim Kardashian’s Advice and Surprised My Inner Circle With a Trip to a Private Island Where We Could Pretend Things Were Normal

Roger Friedman
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I’ve Taken Kim Kardashian’s Advice and Surprised My Inner Circle With a Trip to a Private Island Where We Could Pretend Things Were Normal

I’ve taken Kim Kardashian’s advice.

After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time.

Before COVID, I don’t think any of us truly appreciated what a simple luxury it was to be able to travel and be together with family and friends in a safe environment.

We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more. I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is.

We even joined a lovely group hosted by a professor.

And we started a line of shapewear.

COMING SOON: New @SKIMS
Solutionwear™ styles! Our game changing shapewear collection is getting a major update: introducing new pieces and new features on our most popular styles – all inspired by feedback and requests from customers like you.

Scooped Here: MGM Moves Aretha Franklin Jennifer Hudson Movie “Respect” Out of Oscar Race, to August 2021, Because of Money Problems

Roger Friedman
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Scooped Here: MGM Moves Aretha Franklin Jennifer Hudson Movie “Respect” Out of Oscar Race, to August 2021, Because of Money Problems

I told you a few days ago that MGM would move the Aretha Franklin biopic, “Respect,” from its January 15th opening. And now they have.

And I told you why: Without the James Bond movie, “No Time to Die,” to generate cash, MGM does not have the resources to put on an Oscar campaign.

So they’ve taken Jennifer Hudson out of the Oscar race for this year, and wasted a lot of marketing already done for this film, directed Liesl Tommy.

They’ve wasted the Martin Luther King weekend release date, too. Going to August 11th? That’s the date used by “The Butler” a few years ago, and the time of August thought to be good for movies attracting black audiences.

Hudson must be crestfallen. If they’d stuck with this season, MGM had the musical territory to themselves. Now they’ll go right back into competition with “West Side Story” and “In the Heights” in 2021.

They’ll say it’s because of the pandemic, but I am told it is all about their financial situation. This way, James Bond will come in April and earn them millions that can be used for “Respect.” They could have gone VOD or to Apple or Netflix and still reaped the rewards.

What a shame. We needed this film for the 2021 Oscars. Like Rodney Dangerfield, we can’t get no respect!

 

Kim Kardashian’s Clueless, Self-Serving 40th Birthday Tweets Bring Mocking, Satirical Responses

Roger Friedman
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Kim Kardashian’s Clueless, Self-Serving 40th Birthday Tweets Bring Mocking, Satirical Responses

How out of touch is Kim Kardashian? It was bad enough her family staged a 40th birthday party for her, filmed it, and no one watched it on last week’s KUWTK.”

To make matters worse, Kim– self involved, clueless, self serving– posted a series of Tweets that she took her friends to a private island for a vacation, complete with pictures. A celebration of ego. She wrote:

“After 2 weeks of multiple health screens and asking everyone to quarantine, I surprised my closest inner circle with a trip to a private island where we could pretend things were normal just for a brief moment in time. We danced, rode bikes, swam near whales, kayaked, watched a movie on the beach and so much more. I realize that for most people, this is something that is so far out of reach right now, so in moments like these, I am humbly reminded of how privileged my life is. #thisis40”

Why not shove it in our faces! I guess Kim really had no intention of becoming First Lady with Kanye. (LOL).

The response has been a mixture of anger and biting humor on Twitter, where her followers can’t believe the audacity of the Tweets.

One woman, Kat Kinsman, wrote back: “You know what would have felt normal for me, Kim? Not having to say goodbye to my mother over FaceTime as she was dying of COVID. Not hearing her ashes be interred over the goddamned phone so I wouldn’t put my dad and sister at risk. Rubbing in this our faces is cruel & clueless.”

All over Twitter now there are parodies of Kim’s Tweet. Jake Tapper’s was good:

So was the one from the Museum of Modern Art:

Kudos also to Molly Jong Fast who never disappoints:

Here are the unbelievable originals. My one thought is that if Trump is defeated, he takes this horror story of a family with him.

Exclusive: Watch the Video for Biden-Harris Campaign Song “The Change” by JoJo, Written by Diane Warren

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Watch the Video for Biden-Harris Campaign Song “The Change” by JoJo, Written by Diane Warren

Diane Warren’s song, “The Change,” sung by pop star JoJo is the official song of the Biden-Harris campaign in the final stretch. With a little luck, we’ll be hearing it next Tuesday night at campaign celebrations.

Exclusive: “Borat” Star Jeanise Jones, Unemployed Grandmother, Was Paid Just $3,600 to Be In “Documentary” She Thought Would Never Be Seen in U.S.

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: “Borat” Star Jeanise Jones, Unemployed Grandmother, Was Paid Just $3,600 to Be In “Documentary” She Thought Would Never Be Seen in U.S.

EXCLUSIVE I’ve just gotten off the phone with Jeanise Jones, the charming 62 year grandmother who became the unwitting “babysitter” in “Borat 2.” She hasn’t seen the movie yet and she only discovered she was in it last Thursday when her cousin told her he’d seen her in the trailer for Amazon Prime. (She doesn’t have Amazon Prime.)

Jeanise is winning over audiences as the heart and soul of “Borat 2.” That’s because unlike other “Borat” victims, she was not conned into making a fool of herself. Instead, she rises to the occasion and displays impromptu humanity and kindness when Borat– Sacha Baron Cohen– leaves his “daughter” with her along with a ball and chain and a dog bowl. He also left behind a three man camera crew and director, all of whom said they were working on a documentary that Jeanise thought would be on “an educational channel.”

A mother of three adult children and grandmother to six, Jeanise is currently unemployed after working 32 years for a local insurance company in Oklahoma City. She wound up in “Borat 2” by accident. Her pastor, Derrick Scobey, helped her explain the crazy story to me over the phone. The film crew came to Ebenezer Baptist Church in OKC and asked to meet “grandmother types.” They saw quite a few but none met their needs. Then a friend sneaked out and called Jeanise and said, “You should come over here right away.”

The film crew fell in love with Jeanise right away and took her, Borat, and Tutar– really the actress Maria Bakalova– to a house they were using. That’s where Borat leaves Tutar with the aforementioned objects. Jeanise told me: “I totally believed she was 15 and that he had left her there with me. She told me she was being groomed to be Donald Trump’s mistress if she didn’t find another rich husband. She had to find a rich husband to save her father. I believed her, she was good.”

As for the ball and chain, Jeanise was convinced by Cohen and the crew “that she was would run away” if she didn’t use them. Jeanise says, “But we didn’t need it.”

Bakalova stayed in character the entire time. “The people in that house had a goldfish tank and she wanted to eat one,” Jeanise recalls. “She was good.” When they went for their car ride, Maria jumped on the hood of the car. “She said women in her country didn’t sit in cars, didn’t go to school, or have jobs. She was also wearing horse blinders, she said, to keep her focused. I finally convinced her to take those off.”

Jeanise was convinced they were making a documentary for families from third world countries “who didn’t have any rights.” The crew never contradicted Maria or let it slip what was really going on. This took place, Jeanise says, over an hour. But in that time, Jeanise– whose compassion for Tutar is genuine on camera–explains to her that women have rights and mustn’t be treated this way.

Everyone from the church believed Tutar was in distress. Scobey told me: “We were praying for this girl and what was going to happen to her. And Roger, we are not gullible people.” That’s how convincing they were.

Jeanise was paid $600 for her time. Months later, the crew returned for a final scene. Borat asks her if she’ll be his “black American wife.” Jeanise replies: “No, I will not.” She was paid another $3,000 and never heard from anyone with the movie again.

It’s important to note that Jeanise had never seen the first “Borat” movie, didn’t know who Sacha Baron Cohen was, and was convinced this film, she says, “would never be shown in the U.S.”

Now, unemployed, Jeanise’s friends have set up a GoFundMe page for her. She isn’t asking for any more money. But frankly, the “Borat” producers owe her a substantial check. She’s the moral center of a movie that’s earning millions.

Ellen DeGeneres, Tamron Hall, this a guest for you. Hollywood, a star is born. Oklahoma City, get out a red carpet.

 

 

Critics Choice Documentary Nominations Include 31 for Netflix: “Crip Camp,” Gunda,” and “Mr. Soul” Lead the Pack

Roger Friedman
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Critics Choice Documentary Nominations Include 31 for Netflix: “Crip Camp,” Gunda,” and “Mr. Soul” Lead the Pack

Nominations for the annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards are out. Netflix yielded a shocking 31 nominations. The leading candidates are “Crip Camp,” “Gunda,” and “Mr. Soul.” The awards will be announced virtually next month on November 16th, and I’ll have the livestream here hopefully. Of these terrific nominees, I’m particularly interested in “Time,” on Amazon.

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Athlete A (Netflix)
Belushi (Showtime)
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
The Fight (Magnolia Pictures/Topic Studios)
The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Gunda (Neon)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
The Painter and the Thief (Neon)
A Secret Love (Netflix)
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Time (Amazon Studios)

BEST DIRECTOR
Garrett Bradley, Time (Amazon Studios)
Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, Athlete A (Netflix)
Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Victor Kossakovsky, Gunda (Neon)
James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Dawn Porter, John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia Pictures)
Benjamin Ree, The Painter and the Thief (Neon)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Robert S. Bader, Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Chris Bolan, A Secret Love (Netflix)
Melissa Haizlip, Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
Arthur Jones, Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
Elizabeth Leiter and Kim Woodard, Jane Goodall: The Hope (National Geographic)
Elizabeth Lo, Stray (Magnolia Pictures)
Sasha Joseph Neulinger, Rewind (Grizzly Creek Films/PBS Independent Lens)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics)
Roger Horrocks, My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Kirsten Johnson, Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Victor Kossakovsky and Egil Håskjold Larsen, Gunda (Neon)
Scott Ressler, Neil Gelinas and Stefan Wiesen, The Last Ice (National Geographic)
Gianfranco Rosi, Notturno (Stemal Entertainment)
Ruben Woodin Dechamps, The Reason I Jump (Kino Lorber)

BEST EDITING
Don Bernier, Athlete A (Netflix)
Eli Despres, Greg Finton and Kim Roberts, The Fight (Magnolia Pictures/Topic Studios)
Lindy Jankura and Alex Keipper, Totally Under Control (Neon)
Helen Kearns, Assassins (Greenwich Entertainment)
Victor Kossakovsky and Ainara Vera, Gunda (Neon)
Eileen Meyer and Andrew Gersh, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Charlotte Munch Bengtsen, The Truffle Hunters (Sony Pictures Classics)

BEST SCORE
Ari Balouzian and Ryan Hope, Feels Good Man (Wavelength Productions/PBS Independent Lens)
Marco Beltrami, Brandon Roberts and Buck Sanders, The Way I See It (Focus Features)
Tyler Durham, Sven Faulconer and Xander Rodzinski, The Last Ice (National Geographic)
Peter Nashel and Brian Deming, Totally Under Control (Neon)
Daniel Pemberton, Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
Jeff Tweedy, Long Gone Summer (ESPN)
Jeff Tweedy, Spencer Tweedy and Sammy Tweedy, Showbiz Kids (HBO)

BEST NARRATION
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (Netflix)
David Attenborough, Narrator
David Attenborough, Writer
Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Kirsten Johnson, Narrator
Kirsten Johnson, Writer
Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds (Apple)
Werner Herzog, Narrator
Werner Herzog, Writer
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
Blair Underwood, Narrator
Ellis Haizlip, Writer
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Craig Foster, Narrator
Craig Foster, Writer
Time (Amazon Studios)
Fox Rich, Narrator
Fox Rich, Writer
Totally Under Control (Neon)
Alex Gibney, Narrator
Alex Gibney, Writer

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Belushi (Showtime)
Class Action Park (HBO MAX)
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
MLK/FBI (Field of Vision/IFC Films)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Productions)
Spaceship Earth (Neon)

BEST HISTORICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY
Belushi (Showtime)
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Howard (Disney+)
John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia Pictures)
Mr. SOUL! (Shoes in the Bed Production)
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix)
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (HBO)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
Beastie Boys Story (Apple)
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan (Magnolia Pictures)
The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Laurel Canyon (Epix)
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (Magnolia Pictures)
Other Music (Factory 25)
Zappa (Magnolia Pictures)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
All In: The Fight for Democracy (Amazon Studios)
Boys State (Apple)
John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia Pictures)
MLK/FBI (Field of Vision/IFC Films)
The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Totally Under Control (Neon)
The Way I See It (Focus Features)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY
Coded Bias (7th Empire Media/PBS Independent Lens)
Fantastic Fungi (Moving Art)
Gunda (Neon)
I Am Greta (Hulu)
The Last Ice (National Geographic)
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)
Spaceship Earth (Neon)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes (HBO)
Athlete A (Netflix)
Be Water (ESPN)
A Most Beautiful Thing (50 Eggs Films)
Red Penguins (Universal Pictures)
Rising Phoenix (Netflix)
You Cannot Kill David Arquette (Super LTD)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible (ESPN)
(Directors: Kristen Lappas and Tom Rinaldi. Producers: Craig Lazarus, José Morales, Lindsay Rovegno, Victor Vitarelli and Ben Webber)
The Claudia Kishi Club (Netflix)
(Director and Producer: Sue Ding)
Crescendo! (Quibi)
(Director: Alex Mallis. Producers: Matt O’Neill and Perri Peltz)
Elevator Pitch (Field of Vision)
(Director and Producer: Martyna Starosta)
Hunger Ward (Spin Film/Vulcan Productions/RYOT Films)
(Director and Producer: Skye Fitzgerald. Producer: Michael Scheuerman)
Into the Fire (National Geographic)
(Director: Orlando von Einsiedel. Producers: Mark Bauch, Harri Grace and Dan Lin)
My Father the Mover (MTV Documentary Films)
(Director: Julia Jansch. Producer: Mandilakhe Yengo)
The Rifleman (Field of Vision)
(Director: Sierra Pettengill. Producer: Arielle de Saint Phalle)
The Speed Cubers (Netflix)
(Director and Producer: Sue Kim. Producers: Evan Krauss and Chris Romano)
St. Louis Superman (MTV Documentary Films)
(Directors and Producers: Sami Khan and Smriti Mundhra. Producer: Poh Si Teng)

MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECTS OF A DOCUMENTARY (HONOR)
Dr. Rick Bright – Totally Under Control (Neon)
Steven Garza – Boys State (Apple)
The Go-Go’s – The Go-Go’s (Showtime)
Judith Heumann – Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution (Netflix)
Dick Johnson – Dick Johnson is Dead (Netflix)
Maggie Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, Jamie Dantzscher – Athlete A (Netflix)
Fox Rich – Time (Amazon)
Pete Souza – The Way I See It (Focus Features)
Taylor Swift – Miss Americana (Netflix)
Greta Thunberg – I Am Greta (Hulu)

Tea Party of All Time: Hillary Clinton and Cher Are Throwing Down This Thursday Afternoon in Virtual Fundraiser

Roger Friedman
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Tea Party of All Time: Hillary Clinton and Cher Are Throwing Down This Thursday Afternoon in Virtual Fundraiser

Talk about must-see TV.

Hillary Clinton– the actual 45th President of the United States– is throwing down with Cher, yes Cher. It’s a fundraiser for Hillary’s PAC, it’s live on the internet, and it may tip over the grid. Talk about a tea party. Yikes.

Will they release a single? I hope so!

The show begins at 4:30pm, and minimum donation is 10 bucks.

Here’s the link.

Lesley Stahl “60 Minutes” Interview with Argumentative, Fleeing Trump Scores Whopping 15.5 Mil Viewers

Roger Friedman
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0
Lesley Stahl “60 Minutes” Interview with Argumentative, Fleeing Trump Scores Whopping 15.5 Mil Viewers

CBS and “60 Minutes” can thank Donald Trump for one of its biggest ratings ever.

Last night’s show, in which Trump made a fool of himself, scored an average of 15.5 million people. In the first half hour, when Lesley Stahl took Trump down and he fled the studio, the numbers were over 16 million.

In the second half hour, when Norah O’Donnell interviewed a more reasonable and statesman like Joe Biden, things calmed down to just 14.5 million.

For “60 Minutes,” which always wins Sunday night and averages 9 million viewers, the Trump clown show was its most watched episode in a long time, years even. The number was even higher than NFL Football an hour later on NBC.

This was the highest rated “60 Minutes” episode since Stormy Daniels scored 22 million viewers in March 2018. And that was a record breaker for an episode going back to 2008.

Trump himself fired up the audience to these numbers by immediately complaining to the world about Stahl and releasing his own tape of the interview, against his agreement with CBS News. He thought that would kill the ratings if his base could see him being “mistreated” by Stahl. But it just ginned up interest more, as everyone wanted to see Trump’s irrational behavior on a TV set. If this was the way he handled “60 Minutes,” what did he do in negotiations with North Korea, Russia, or China?

And why, during the Stahl interview, does he raise a glass of water to drink with two albeit tiny hands? That’s the act of a small child, a very elderly person or one who is infirm.

 

 

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