Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn as The Soundflowers have released their 5 track, 18 minute EP of folk rock songs. This is what you want to know: can Paris sing? Yes, sure. The songs are mellow with a country-Americana vibe. I’m surprised that considering all the music she’s plugged on Twitter, her own talents went in this direction. But the music is extremely listenable and commercial. It should have no trouble finding a home on many formats if someone works on it. I liked it, you will, too.
8 Million People on Fox News Watched the Trump Tulsa Rally Fiasco of Just 6,200 in the Stands and Rows of Empty Blue Seats
The ratings are in for Donald Trump’s fiasco of a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
On Fox News, 8 million people tuned in between 9 and 10 pm Eastern to see the debacle. There were only 6,200 people in the Tulsa BOK Arena. Cameras should huge seas of empty seats, all painted Democrat blue.
From 8 to 9pm, the number was lower: 7,100,000. In the 10pm hour, when Trump was speaking but the disaster was clearly obvious, the audience dropped to 4.6 million.
CNN and MSNBC skipped most of the rally, and averaged around 2 million viewers.
Most of the Fox News viewers– 6 million– were over the age of 50, by the way. Fewer than 1 million were in they key demo of 18 to 49.
No Kennedy Center Honors This Year, Annual December Event is Pushed to March 2021, Trump Won’t Have to Deal with it
The Kennedy Center Honors have been pushed to March 2021.
That’s good news for Donald Trump, who’s the first president since the Honors began in 1967 to miss all the ceremonies during his administration. He’ll be well out of office by then, it is fervently hoped.
The Kennedy Center Honors usually are taped in early December and shown a couple of weeks later.
This means that there will be two ceremonies in 2021, one in March and one in late December.
All Kennedy Center gatherings have been postponed including the Mark Twain prize, which will be given in June 2021.
This will give the Kennedy Center time to figure out who will be inducted this next time around. Some who should be getting the prize, like Dick van Dyke, are in their 90s and can’t wait much longer.
There are also issues about race, since many black actors, especially Denzel Washington, are way overdue. Black singers, like Dionne Warwick and Gladys Knight, not to mention Sam Moore, have also waited longer than is reasonable.
Winona Ryder Pegs Mel Gibson as an anti-Semite and Homophobe Dating Back Before His Famous Scandal
Winona Ryder has pegged Mel Gibson as anti-Semite and homophobe from long before his infamous 2006 DUI scandal.
Winona says in a Times of London interview that she ran into Gibson at a Hollywood party at least 15 years ago. I’ll tell you what: the party was very likely at late agent Ed Limato’s house. Limato used to throw lavish parties on Oscar weekend for his clients and other clients of his agency. I ran into Winona a couple of times at one of these soirees. I particularly remember the one from 2001, which I wrote about. Mel was there. This was before we knew all the terrible things we know now.
Ryder told the paper: “We were at a crowded party with one of my good friends, and Mel Gibson was smoking a cigar.” Gibson, upon learning she was Jewish, said, “You’re not an oven dodger, are you?” — an apparent reference to the way bodies of Jewish prisoners were incinerated in Nazi death camps.
Gibson also asked her friend, who is gay, “‘Oh, wait, am I gonna get AIDS?’”
Are we surprised? No. I wish Winona had remembered all this years ago when Gibson was revealed as anti-Semite who is also a Holocaust denier. What I do remember about that party is that Winona’s hair was dyed blonde for an Adam Sandler movie. That must have really confused Mel from Hell.
Anyway, Gibson is by and large finished in Hollywood. He can only get acting roles in D movies that he bankrolls. He still directs– see “Hacksaw Ridge”– but this new revelation should finish that off. One project Gibson was eyeing was another “Passion of Christ” movie. If theaters ever re-open, hopefully that one will be rejected.
Attention Jodie Foster: your tolerance of Gibson, and friendship, is not suiting you well.
UPDATE Steve Bing Suicide: Elizabeth Hurley Says The Two Grew Close Again Recently, Plus Money Dispute Caused Shakespearean Estrangement from Family
Steve Bing had hundreds of millions of dollars and what seemed like a fantasy life, but it was obviously more complicated than that.
For one thing, he was on the outs with his father and his sister, who’d gone out of their way to cruelly excise Steve’s children from the father’s will and fortune (said to be worth more than $600 million). Apparently, Mary Bing, the sister, wanted to make sure Steve’s children– whom he didn’t know and had different mothers– wouldn’t inherit any part of the fortune created by their grandfather, the famed real estate developer Leo Bing. Mary, who is divorced, has two children and wanted them to get everything. In January, a judge ruled against her and her father, Peter Bing, clearing the way for Steve’s children to lay claims against Peter’s estate. So Steve, who had little to no relationship with his own children, was cut off from his parents during the pandemic.
Meantime, Elizabeth Hurley, mother of Steve’s son, Damian, posted a statement to Instagram. She wrote: “I am saddened beyond belief that my ex Steve is no longer with us. It is a terrible end. Our time together was very happy and I’m posting these pictures because although we went through some tough times, it’s the good, wonderful memories of a sweet, kind man that matter. In the past year we had become close again. We last spoke on our son’s 18th birthday. This is devastating news and I thank everyone for their lovely messages”
One note on Mary Bing: she has $86 million parked in a Private Foundation registered in Reno, Nevada. It’s called Cordelia Corp., which suggests she thought of herself as Cordelia, the “favorite daughter” from Shakespeare’s “King Lear.” The foundation gives away around $2 million a year, mostly to Yale University.
Shocker: Steve Bing, Financier, Philanthropist, Jerry Lee Lewis Fan, Restaurateur, Real Estate Heir, Commits Suicide at Age 55
I am not shocked by much but Steve Bing committing suicide this afternoon in Los Angeles has floored.
He was 55, and had everything, or so it seemed. Popular, rich, good looking, he’s the father of Elizabeth Hurley’s son. This means he had an affair with Elizabeth Hurley. He financed films, not all great, but all with cool people who he liked. He had a very popular vegetarian restaurant called Crossroads on Melrose Blvd. in West Hollywood.
Where did the money come from? Steve’s grandfather was Leo Bing. Leo and his brother Alexander were Bing & Bing, the most sought after real estate developers in Manhattan in the post-Depression era. A Bing & Bing building means the creme de la creme of New York. Steve’s father, Peter Bing, is a philathropist, public health doctor and advocate and heir to the Bing & Bing fortune. Steve’s parents are still alive.
In January, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Daniel Juarez ruled that Steve’s children not from marriages, Kira Kerkorian and Damien Hurley, could have access to a trust worth millions established by Dr. Bing. This ruling was determined after reviewed petitions filed by Trustee William Stinehart as well as oppositions filed by Keystone Law Group regarding the children’s right to inherit. The original petition was based on claims by Peter Bing that his son, Steve Bing, had never lived with either of his children, as both of them were born out of wedlock. Dr. Bing vowed the illegitimate grandchildren would never get his family’s money. (Sounds like a lovely guy.)
While Damian was fathered with Hurley, Kira was the product of a relationship Steve had with Lisa Bonder Kerkorian, then the wife of another billionaire, Kirk Kerkorian. Remember, Kirk hired Anthony Pellicano to spy on Lisa? That’s another story.
Steve Bing invested in friends’ movies and whatever caught his fancy. I knew him because he invested in the great original rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis. He loved Jerry Lee, produced albums by him that featured Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. Steve was basically his patron, sent him on tours. It was a such cool thing to do.
As for philanthropy, in 2012, he pledged a $30 million legacy gift to the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Extraordinary.
Reports say Steve jumped from 27th floor Penthouse in Century City, where he literally lived in the lap of luxury. One report said he depressed about being alone so much in the pandemic. But really, with that circle of friends and influence, the ability to have plenty of help at any cost, this seems so crazy. What a tragedy that a man who had so much felt so alone. I am very, very sorry. His friends must be bereft.
Condolences to them and to his family.
Watch Trailer for Paris Jackson-Gabriel Glenn Soundflowers Series Coming to Facebook on June 30th
Tonight Paris Jackson and Gabriel Glenn are dropping their EP as the Soundflowers. This is the trailer for a docu series coming to Facebook June 30th about their music. “A Jackson going fully indie…not something anyone would expect.”
What Lin Manuel Miranda Did So Disney Plus Would Rate “Hamilton” Telefilm PG-13 Instead of R
On Twitter just now, Lin Manuel Miranda explained what he gave up so DisneyPlus would rate the “Hamilton” telefilm PG-13 instead of R.
He wrote, in response to a question from a fan who asked what changed:
“LANGUAGE!
1. On July 3, you’re getting the whole show, every note & scene, & a 1-minute countdown clock during intermission (bathroom!)
2. But MPAA has a hard rule about language: more than 1 utterance of “Fuck” is an automatic R rating. We have 3 “Fucks” in our show. So….I literally gave two fucks so the kids could see it:
1. In Yorktown, there’s a mute over “I get the f___ back up again”
2. “Southern *record scratch*kin’ Democratic Republicans.”
You can sing whatEVER you like at home (even sync up the album)!
Love you. Enjoy.”
Earlier, Lin Manuel responded to questions about the release on July 3rd
John Bolton Interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC Scores 6 Million Viewers, Second Highest Show of Night
Martha Raddatz’s interview on ABC last night with John Bolton was a big hit.
Called “The Room Where it Happened”– same as Bolton’s bestselling book– scored 6.1 million viewers. It was the second highest rated show of the night, with “60 Minutes” edging it out two hours earlier at 7pm.
The Bolton interview soundly beat a Grammy special on CBS and “America’s Got Talent” on NBC. It also garnered nearly twice as many viewers as John Legend’s special an hour earlier on ABC. But the good numbers didn’t stay for a rerun of “The Match Game” at 10pm.
The Raddatz piece should be worrisome for Donald Trump. People want to hear what John Bolton has to say, including that Trump should not be president or re-elected and that he’s not up to the job of being president.
Joel Schumacher, Most Enthusiastic Hollywood Director, Dies at 80, Made “Tigerland,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “Lost Boys”
Very sad to report that Joel Schumacher, who loved Hollywood and lived it, has died at age 80.
Joel made a lot of movies, some good, some not so good, but he had an unerring eye for talent. His films included “Batman and Robin,” “Batman Forever,” but more importantly “Tigerland,” “A Time to Kill,” “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “The Client,” and “The Lost Boys.”
For a while, Joel was Warner Bros’ go to director, a favorite of the studio, with a lot of PR support including our great friend Liz Smith. I hope they’re dishing in heaven right now.
Joel literally discovered both Colin Farrell and Matthew McConaughey. He saw their talent and made them stars. In Farrell’s case, it was already at a point where Joel had had his commercial blockbusters and was looking to make more serious films. Colin starred in “Tigerland” and “Phone Booth,” two films that were much different than Joel’s usually flashy productions. He and Colin each won kudos for them.
Prior to his full time directing, Joel made a name for himself as a costume designer. His six IMDB credits are all great: “Interiors” and “Sleeper” for Woody Allen, Clint Eastwood’s “Play it as It Lays,” “Blume in Love,” “The Last of Sheila,” and “The Prisoner of Second Avenue.”
There will lots of reminisces about Joel, but I really liked him. He did love Hollywood, he loved movies, and he was passionate about them. He will be sorely missed.