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Donald Trump’s $1200 Stimulus Check Might Cover Dinner for 2, Possibly 3, at Restaurants of Chefs He Named Today

Roger Friedman
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Donald Trump’s $1200 Stimulus Check Might Cover Dinner for 2, Possibly 3, at Restaurants of Chefs He Named Today

Donald Trump’s daily insane ramble, today from the Rose Garden, included a long list of CEO’s and companies he said he would consulting about re-starting the economy. It reminded me of a satirical list Kurt Vonnegut once included in one of his books, where just name dropped everyone he could think of who was famous.

For Trump, it sounded like he was reading off donors to the Jerry Lewis Telethon. “From Brown’s in the Catskills…$500… love ya…Do ya still make the matzoh ball soup?”

Trump had the list of businesses alphabetized by genre, so eventually he got to “food” and reeled off McDonald’s. Coca Cola, “Pepsi-cola,” Wendy’s, and assorted fast food brands. But then he just blurted out these names: “Wolfgang Puck, Thomas Keller, Jean-George– “my friend, Jean Georges” meaning Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and “Danielle” meaning Daniel Bouloud.

All the Chick-Fil-A eaters must have wondered who those men were? They are world class chefs who despise Trump and wouldn’t welcome him on a regular day if their lives depended on it. But also, Trump’s $1200 stimulus check will not be going to their customers, since people with incomes that can afford their eateries are ineligibe for relief (I hope).

That amount of money would just about cover two people for dinner at Keller’s Per Se, and maybe four at Bouloud’s Daniel restaurant. The Chef’s Menu at Keller’s Per Se, for example, was $355 on March 14th. The Salon menu was $225. That’s for one person.

So I’m not sure how Keller, or any of the others, will be useful on Trump’s commission. And if Trump thinks he’s getting a free meal at any of those places, he can forget it. Someone in the kitchen will spit in his Oysters and Pearls before they make it out the door.

You can hear it 1:50:30

Lifetime’s Terrific Clark Sisters Movie Grabs 2.7 Mil Viewers, Number 1 Scripted Cable Show on Saturday Night

Roger Friedman
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Lifetime’s Terrific Clark Sisters Movie Grabs 2.7 Mil Viewers, Number 1 Scripted Cable Show on Saturday Night

I know a lot of people were watching “The Clark Sisters: First Family of Gospel” on Saturday night. Social media was buzzing about it.

Now we know that this terrific little film brought 2.7 million viewers to Lifetime. It was the highest rated scripted show on cable on Saturday night. Lifetime says the movie was the highest rated original movie of the year so far. I have no idea if that’s true. But it’s ok.

Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott executive produced the film. But hats off to Holly Carter, who was the visionary behind “First Family,” and director Christine Swanson. Sylvia L. Jones and Camille Tucker wrote the screenplay. I was really impressed by their work. This is kind a formula movie but they bent it to their needs. Everyone of the Clark sisters and their mother, Mattie, were fleshed out enough that I remember every one of them even today. This wasn’t easy to do. Swanson also kept it moving with the musical pieces, which felt authentic and organic.

The actors were just right, too. Aunjanue Ellis was sensational as the rigid visionary Mattie Clark, the mother hen and “Joseph Jackson” of the family. I really liked the five Clark sisters (Christina Bell as “Twinkie,” Kierra Sheard as “Karen,” Raven Goodwin as “Denise,” Sheléa Frazier as “Dorinda,” Angela Birchett as “Jacky”). Each one brought something special to their character. Sheard is the real life daughter of Karen Clark, which was cool casting. Also, she can sing! Christina Bell as Twinkie broke my heart.

The Emmy Awards shun Lifetime as a crap cable channel. But “First Family” is special. They’d better get a raft of nominations above and below the line. This was not a “Don’t Steal My Daughter” film. It was a cut way above, and important to the black TV community. If the Emmys are really promoting diversity, they better have these women front and center next fall.

Postponed Cannes Film Festival Won’t Happen in June, and Probably Not This Year, Also, Let’s Face It, Venice is Unlikely

Roger Friedman
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Postponed Cannes Film Festival Won’t Happen in June, and Probably Not This Year, Also, Let’s Face It, Venice is Unlikely

Everyone is holding onto shreds of hope that a film festival will happen this year. Listen, no, I’m sorry to be a buzz kill but let’s accept it.

The Cannes Film Festival thought it would go in June after postponing from May. But that’s not happening now. Last week the French government sent a private plane back to London after a bunch of nudnik rich people were trying to get to a villa in Cannes. You think Macron is going to have thousands of people in movie theaters soon? Uh, no.

“Following the French President’s statement, on Monday, April 13th, we acknowledged that the postponement of the 73rd International Cannes Film Festival, initially considered for the end of June to the beginning of July, is no longer an option,” said the festival. “It is clearly difficult to assume that the Festival de Cannes could be held this year in its original form.”

“Nevertheless, since yesterday evening we have started many discussions with professionals, in France and abroad. They agree that the Festival de Cannes, an essential pillar for the film industry, must explore all contingencies allowing to support the year of Cinema by making Cannes 2020 real, in a way or another.”

Cannes could try for October, I suppose, but it will be cold by then and not very welcoming. Better to wait til next year and come back big.

Ditto for the Venice Film Festival. Italy is the hardest hit country other than the US. The government is not putting out a welcome mat for movie stars. They’ll be lucky to have any tourists by the end of the summer. And those travelers will be keeping six feet away from each other if at all.

Again, next year for film festivals.

 

UPDATED: “Avenue Q” Creator Jeff Whitty Writes Scathing Screed About Gwyneth Paltrow and Other Collaborators of Flop Musical “Head over Heels”

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED: “Avenue Q” Creator Jeff Whitty Writes Scathing Screed About Gwyneth Paltrow and Other Collaborators of Flop Musical “Head over Heels”

UPDATE April 15th: Jeff Whitty removed his Facebook post, and at his request I’ve removed it, too. But the substance of it — that he and the “Head Over Heels” team fell out grievously over that show — remains. So I’ll have more on that in the days to come. Certainly, something is very wrong with this story. So more to come. Stay tuned.

APRIL 14TH: Jeff Whitty is a seasoned Broadway pro. But on Monday night (Tuesday morning) Whitty let loose on Facebook against his collaborators on the ill fated musical, “Head Over Heels.” The show closed January 6, 2019 after 188 performances and 37 previews.

On Facebook, Whitty didn’t hold back as he savaged everyone involved with the show, which was a head scratcher, frankly, and very, very bad. It combined the music of the Go-Go’s with an Elizabethan period farce that was hard to follow. Gwyneth Paltrow and Donovan Leitch were among the producers when I announced the show, but seemed far removed from it when it opened.

Whitty won a Tony Award for writing “Avenue Q” in 2004. He also wrote the libretto for “Bring it on the Musical.” which earned him a Drama Desk nomination. But “Head Over Heels” was a disaster. And now Whitty is venting. All opinions or citations are his, by the way.

Hard Times: For Five Months, Vogue Editor Anna Wintour Will Have to Make Do with $1.6 Mil Salary

Roger Friedman
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Hard Times: For Five Months, Vogue Editor Anna Wintour Will Have to Make Do with $1.6 Mil Salary

(Editor’s note: thanks to everyone who pointed out my math problem. The fog of quarantine sometimes turns off that part of my brain. I’ve fixed the number to $1.6 million. So Anna should be okay after all!)

Hard times have come to Conde Nast Publications, part of Advance Publications.

Other Advance newspapers, like the Cleveland Plain Dealer, have recently been gutted. They’re down to just four reporters after a tug over war over unionizing. Advance/Conde Nast has gutted their newsroom because they don’t are about journalism. That’s no longer an issue.

Now in Manhattan, Conde Nast itself will suffer. Anna Wintour will see her $2 million salary cut by 20% for…five long months. She’ll have to tighten that Prada belt from May 1st til September 30th. If she hasn’t been evicted or gone to seed by then, she’ll be back to the $2 million base. How she will make it through the summer is a frightening thought.

According to reports in the New York Times and elsewhere, everyone at Conde Nast making over $100,000– which is a lot of people– will get similar 20% cuts for those five months. It’s dastardly. But ads at the print mags are down, and the web sites are exactly booming. At least no one will be assigned to Cleveland, so that’s a relief.

Meanwhile, the inside baseball media are waiting for a 30 % layoff at The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard. So says Variety, the Daily Beast, and other reports.  THR’s print weekly loses $10 million a year– and that’s an underestimate. THR and Billboard tried to make themselves into magazines for the public, which they are not. They are for the trade.

Owned by Guggenheim Partners’ Todd Boehly, they’ve over spent like sailors on leave, as they used to say. Now the whip comes down. THR recently also ousted Editor in Chief Matthew Belloni because they didn’t think he was being nice to celebrities. Whoops! A big problem for Boehly is that he’s got a lot of conflicts of interest if he wants to be a news mogul and also throw parties for the stars. He also now owns Dick Clark Productions, which produces a lot of awards shows including the Golden Globes. All of that is very complicated.

So stay tuned. Houses of cards are about to collapse.

PS I only wish Nikki Finke wasn’t gagged from speaking on all this. But maybe she is, and we don’t know it.

 

Liv Tyler, Just Renewed for Season 2 of “Lone Star 911,” Will Join Friday’s “That Thing You Do!” Reunion

Roger Friedman
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Liv Tyler, Just Renewed for Season 2 of “Lone Star 911,” Will Join Friday’s “That Thing You Do!” Reunion

Liv Tyler is on  a roll.

The star of “Lord of the Rings” and many other hit films was just renewed for her second season of “Lone Star 911” on Fox. The spin off of “Rescue 911” co-stars Rob Lowe and has turned into a ratings grabber.

Now Liv will join her 1993 co-stars from Tom Hanks’s “That Thing You Do!” in a reunion honoring songwriter Adam Schlesinger. Adam died April 1st from coronavirus. He was the leader of Fountains of Wayne and wrote many hits (“Stacy’s Mom”) including the title song from the Hanks film.

Co-star Ethan Embry says on Twitter the whole fictional band, The One-ders, are reuniting, Tyler will be there, and I’m sure Hanks will make an appearance. After hosting “SNL” this past weekend via remote from home, Hanks– who has survived the virus– will surely honor Schlesinger.

Congrats to Liv, who did the tricky thing of taking a break after her much applauded run in HBO’s “The Leftovers” to have two more children. (She already had son, Milo, who’s 15.) Her parents, Steven Tyler and Bebe Buell, are very proud.

 

Famed Restaurateur Keith McNally Thanks Hospital Nurses for His COVID Stay, with A Humorous Raunchy Twist

Roger Friedman
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Famed Restaurateur Keith McNally Thanks Hospital Nurses for His COVID Stay, with A Humorous Raunchy Twist

Keith McNally has been released after going stir crazy in a London Hospital recovering from covid-19. The legendary owner of Balthazar and Pastis restaurants, among others, has no doubt been giving the staff a memorable time.

Today Keith posted a note to Instagram thanking everyone. The message is quite sincere right up til the end, which has a humorous tag I hope they appreciated. It reads: “And I’d like to take this moment to personally apologize to Nurse Parton for last night’s condom business. (I really thought I had one with me. So sorry.)”

I don’t know if there is a Nurse Parton. But god bless her. Anyway, Keith sounds like he’s on the mend!

White House Correspondents Association Reschedules Dinner for End of August with Kenan Thompson, Hasan Minhaj

Roger Friedman
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White House Correspondents Association Reschedules Dinner for End of August with Kenan Thompson, Hasan Minhaj

The White House Correspondents Association is optimistic enough to set a new date for their annual dinner. They’ve chosen August 29, 2020. It should be fairly hot and humid, but everyone will be happy to get together at the Washington Hilton. Kenan Thompson and Hasan Minhaj will still be the entertainment. The roast should be memorable.

Broadway: Nick Cordero UPDATED Update as Wife Says Doctors are “Concerned About Right Leg” and “Small Responses off Sedation”

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Nick Cordero UPDATED Update as Wife Says Doctors are “Concerned About Right Leg” and “Small Responses off Sedation”

Update on Broadway star Nick Cordero thanks to his wife Amanda Kloots, who is somehow holding up during this incredibly tense time. We can only imagine that Nick’s situation is not dissimilar from other COVID-19 patients who’ve been put into induced comas, who are on ventilators or intubated. So please, more prayers for these people.

“Thank you to everyone who joined me in singing and dancing for @nickcordero1 today with us! I was blown away by the love and support across the world! When I got to FaceTime with him today it was the first time I’d see him since dropping him off at the ER 12 days ago. I told him he had to fight. I told him he is strong and can do this. I said, “You got a whole lot of living to do!” Then I remembered this song. The moment lifted my spirits, shifted energies and brought a new hope to this story. The doctors are still concerned about his right leg and we need him to start making small responses off sedation. These are the next two goals that need to happen. 🙏🏻 I will continue to sing, dance and play this song everyday until you are home Nick Cordero!”

View this post on Instagram

Thank you to everyone who joined me in singing and dancing for @nickcordero1 today with us! I was blown away by the love and support across the world! When I got to FaceTime with him today it was the first time I’d see him since dropping him off at the ER 12 days ago. I told him he had to fight. I told him he is strong and can do this. I said, “You got a whole lot of living to do!” Then I remembered this song. The moment lifted my spirits, shifted energies and brought a new hope to this story. The doctors are still concerned about his right leg and we need him to start making small responses off sedation. These are the next two goals that need to happen. 🙏🏻 I will continue to sing, dance and play this song everyday until you are home Nick Cordero!

A post shared by AK! ⭐️ (@amandakloots) on

Nick Cordero’s Wife, Amanda, Asks Everyone to Blast Elvis Presley Song, It Helped His Blood Pressure Over Face Time

Roger Friedman
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Nick Cordero’s Wife, Amanda, Asks Everyone to Blast Elvis Presley Song, It Helped His Blood Pressure Over Face Time

Broadway star Nick Cordero’s wife, Amanda Kloots, posted this this afternoon:

“I just got to FaceTime with Nick and I played him this song and sang at the same time. The nurse leaned over while it was playing and said “His blood pressure just got better!” SO please BLAST this song today in your homes at 3pm PST/6pm EST for @nickcordero1 because my husband has a whole lot of livin to do!!!!”

Nick has been unconscious and in the ICU with coronavirus since April 1st. Here’s the song. Elvis Presley. “Gotta Lotta Living Left to Do.”

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