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“Melania” Movie Comes to Amazon Prime Sponsored by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Nation, and Missing a Credit for the Rolling Stones

Roger Friedman
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“Melania” Movie Comes to Amazon Prime Sponsored by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Nation, and Missing a Credit for the Rolling Stones

“Melania,” fresh off its calamitous run in theaters, is streaming today.

Brett Ratner’s hilariously awful infomercial has arrived on Amazon Prime — and it’s free.

All you have to do is watch an ad from Fox Nation, owned by Rupert Murdoch, and “Melania” is yours without commercial interruption.

Are we surprised? Of course, Rupert Murdoch is sponsoring “Melania.” Who else was going to kick on a few million to the Trump grift?

“Melania” is full of needle drop music, none of it approved by the performers. All the songs were licensed, and listed at the end of the credits.

But one credit is glaringly absent. Even though “Melania” begins with the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter,” there is no indication of it in the credits. All the other songs are there, but the credit roll ends with a blank spot where “Gimme Shelter” may have been listed in the theatrical release.

Stones fans were incensed that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards might have approved use of their song in the film. The songwriting pair has complained about Donald Trump using their song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” at his rallies. I told you that Jagger and Richards don’t own the publishing, which was part of their old deal with Beatles nemesis Allen Klein and ABKCO Records.

It may be the song was de-listed from the streaming version at the company’s request.

What is “Melania” like? You can see for yourselves, for free thanks to Rupert Murdoch. It’s most definitely propaganda, an infomercial, and political ad. It’s not a documentary, and shouldn’t be thought of as one.

No one is interviewed. “Melania” is really just stitched together clips of Donald Trump’s third wife speaking in a heavy accent (she turns the word “warm” into two syllables — “war-um”) to her designers and decorators, and pulling up in a lot of cars. None of Donald’s family appears. Barron stumbles through to the Inauguration speech, waving, looking morose behind vacant eyes.

What’s missing: anything remotely personal, any sense of humanity, or humor, disarming moments caught by the director. It’s paint by numbers.

Here’s the title card when you go to Amazon:

Writers Guild Gives Awards to the Same Movies, TV Shows as Everyone Else, At a Time When it Doesn’t Matter Anyway

Roger Friedman
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Writers Guild Gives Awards to the Same Movies, TV Shows as Everyone Else, At a Time When it Doesn’t Matter Anyway

Has there ever been a group so self-defeating as the Writers Guild West?

They had to coattail with the East Coast division because they’re fighting out west. They gave their awards after Oscar eligibility is over, so they have no influence anyway. And the main awards went to the same two movies and TV shows as every other group: “One Battle,” “Sinners,” “The Pitt,” and “The Studio.”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Sinners, Written by Ryan Coogler; Warner Bros. Pictures

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
One Battle After Another, Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson, Screen Story by Paul Thomas Anderson, Inspired by the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon; Warner Bros. Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY
2,000 Meters to Andriivka, Written by Mstyslav Chernov; Frontline Features

DRAMA SERIES
The Pitt, Written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; HBO | Max

COMEDY SERIES
The Studio, Written by Evan Goldberg, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Frida Perez, Seth Rogen; Apple TV

LIMITED SERIES
Dying for Sex, Written by Sheila Callaghan, Harris Danow, Madeleine George, Elizabeth Meriwether, Kim Rosenstock, Sasha Stewart, Sabrina Wu, Keisha Zollar; FX/Hulu

NEW SERIES
The Pitt, Written by Cynthia Adarkwa, Simran Baidwan, Valerie Chu, R. Scott Gemmill, Elyssa Gershman, Joe Sachs, Noah Wyle; HBO | Max

EPISODIC DRAMA
“7:00 A.M.” (The Pitt), Written by R. Scott Gemmill; HBO | Max

EPISODIC COMEDY
“Prelude” (The Righteous Gemstones), Written by John Carcieri, Jeff Fradley, Danny R. McBride; HBO | Max

COMEDY/VARIETY SPECIALS
Marc Maron: Panicked, Written by Marc Maron; HBO | Max

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS
“Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP” (American Experience), Written by Rob Rapley; PBS

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS
“Trump’s Power & the Rule of Law” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS

ANIMATION
“Shira Can’t Cook” (Long Story Short) Written by Mehar Sethi; Netflix

TV & STREAMING MOTION PICTURES
Deep Cover, Written by Derek Connolly & Colin Trevorrow; Prime Video

DAYTIME DRAMA
The Young and the Restless, Associate Head Writers: Jeff Beldner, Marla Kanelos, Dave Ryan; Writers: Susan Banks, Amanda L. Beall, Marin Gazzaniga, Rebecca McCarty, Madeleine Phillips; CBS/Paramount+

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Celebrity Jeopardy!, Head Writer: Robert Patton Writers: Kyle Beakley, Michael Davies, Terence Gray, Amy Ozols, Tim Siedell, David Levinson-Wilk; ABC+

CHILDREN’S EPISODIC, LONG FORM AND SPECIALS
“When We Lose Someone” (Tab Time), Written by Sean Presant; YouTube

NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
Remembering Palestinian Journalists Killed by Israeli Forces, Written by Lisa Salinas; MSNBC

NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“Devastating Flooding in Texas” (World News Tonight with David Muir), Written by David Muir, Karen Mooney, and Dave Bloch; ABC News

DIGITAL NEWS
“An Isolated Boarding School Promised to Help Troubled Girls. Former Students Say They Were Abused.”, Written by Sebastian Murdock and Taiyler Mitchell; HuffPost

SHORT FORM STREAMING
The Rabbit Hole with Jimmy Kimmel, Writers: Jimmy Kimmel & Jesse Joyce; YouTube

PROMOTIONAL WRITING
“CBS Comedy “, Written by Dan Greenberger; CBS

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT
“ABC News Radio Top of the Hour News”, Written by Robert Hawley; ABC News Radio

RADIO/AUDIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY
“The Life and Legacy of Jimmy Carter”, Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

RADIO/AUDIO DOCUMENTARY
“Jerry Lewis’ Lost Holocaust Clown Movie” (Decoder Ring), Written by Max Freedman; Slate

Linda Ronstadt Movie with Selena Gomez — Scooped Here in 2023 — Moving Forward At Last at Miramax 2.0

Roger Friedman
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Linda Ronstadt Movie with Selena Gomez — Scooped Here in 2023 — Moving Forward At Last at Miramax 2.0

Almost three years ago I broke the news that Selena Gomez would play Linda Ronstadt in a biopic.

You can read it about here.

Now comes word that Miramax 2.0 — parked at Paramount and long separated from Harvey Weinstein’s original company — has picked up the rights.

I don’t know why it took so long. The producer is James Keach. No director has been announced, but I reported with confidence that David O. Russell was the likely candidate. has the script, the star, and the money, which are all good signs.

This could be an outstanding film, but it will require great casting. Prominent figures in Linda’s life are the Eagles, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, James Taylor, Peter Asher, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris. Linda started having hits in 1970 and kept going into the 1980s.

She’s battled a form of Parkinson’s Disease with nobility and grace for more than a decade.

These musical biopics supercharge sales of the star’s catalog of music. This is one time when I’d be happy to hear Linda’s songs on the radio again all the time.

Bruno Mars Has a New Album, And As Usual He’s helped Himself to Some Old Songs Without Asking, from the O’Jays and Santana

Roger Friedman
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Bruno Mars Has a New Album, And As Usual He’s helped Himself to Some Old Songs Without Asking, from the O’Jays and Santana

Bruno Mars has never shied away from helping himself to old songs, without asking.

As Earth Wind and Fire’s Maurice White once told me about Mariah Carey, “She doesn’t jump sample, she takes the whole buffet.”

For “The Romantic,” Bruno has already got a hit out of sounding like Leo Sayer with his new song, “I Just Might.” Sayer’s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing” is invoked rather strongly.

Most of “The Romantic” sounds like something you know but you can’t put your finger on, exactly.

But a couple of other tracks really stand out.

One is called “Cha Cha Cha,” which lifts the percussion and horns from the O’Jays hit, “Backstabbers.” The writers of that song, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, must be steaming.

Another one, called “Something Serious,” can actually be sung along to Santana’s “Evil Ways.”

Carlos Santana didn’t write “Evil Ways.” It’s a cover of the original, recorded by Willie Bobo, and written by Clarence “Sonny” Henry. All these years, since 1969, when “Evil Ways” is played, the publishing royalty goes to Sonny Henry.

But now “Evil Ways” has been used for “Something Serious.” I’d like to ask, is Bruno Mars serious? This one is worse than the others.

Bruno has done it before. He has a hit called “Locked out of Heaven,” which sounds like an amalgam of songs written by Sting for his group, The Police. When “Locked Out of Heaven” begins, you’re almost certain it’s a Police song you’ve forgotten.

Mars’s originality comes from his voice– which is superior — and his presentation, which is charismatic. But songwriting is not his forte. He does have good ears.




Bruno Mars New Single, “I Just Might,” Inspired or Influenced By, Sounds a Lot Like Leo Sayers’ “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”

Harry Styles Flies to NY After Taping TV Special in Manchester Just to Interrupt Ryan Gosling “SNL” Monologue (Video)

Roger Friedman
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Harry Styles Flies to NY After Taping TV Special in Manchester Just to Interrupt Ryan Gosling “SNL” Monologue (Video)

At 2pm today on Netflix you can see a live Harry Styles show.

It was taped Friday in Manchester, England.

Harry, not missing a beat, finished the show and then flew to New York.

Last night, he interrupted Ryan Gosling’s opening monolgue on “Saturday Night Live.”

He explained from sitting in the audience that he’s hosting next week and wanted to get the feel of the show again.

It’s very rare that next week’s host is a big part of the preceding week’s monologue.

Gosling then sang Harry’s first solo hit, “Sign of the Times” — which is in Ryan’s movie “Project Hail Mary.” The result was that the song is up on the iTunes top 20, ahead of most of Styles’ new songs.

Box Office: Honeymoon Ends for “The Bride!” with Disastrous $7.3 Million Opening Weekend, “Melania” Makes Strudel on Amazon Prime

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Honeymoon Ends for “The Bride!” with Disastrous $7.3 Million Opening Weekend, “Melania” Makes Strudel on Amazon Prime

There will be no honeymoon for “The Bride!”

Sadly, all trips are canceled as Maggie Gyllenhaal’s $80 million plus adventure is a disaster.

Total weekend take was just $7.3 million, according to Warner Bros. Exhibitor Relations says it was $7.2 million. All the gifts have been returned. The wedding dress has to be returned by the end of today.

The movie starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, among others, has worked out best for headline puns and not much else. I’m so sorry for everyone involved, but “The Bride!” was fun to write about.

No word on the popcorn buckets.

The number 1 movie this weekend was “Hoppers” with $46 million. “Scream 7” followed with $17 million.

“Melania,” playing in a theater near Palm Beach, made strudel and went to bed.

Seriously, the infomercial starts playing on Amazon Prime tomorrow. So far, they haven’t said how much it will cost t0 rent or buy, but considering it lost $75 million, the price per person might be $100.

Watch Stevie Wonder Performing Note Perfect “Always” from “Songs in the Key of Life” at Jesse Jackson Memorial Service

Roger Friedman
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Watch Stevie Wonder Performing Note Perfect “Always” from “Songs in the Key of Life” at Jesse Jackson Memorial Service

Only Stevie Wonder could do this: sit down and perform a note perfect version of his timeless classic “Always” at Rev. Jesse Jackson’s memorial service.

That’s Stevie’s long time aide and friend Brian LaRoda holding the microphone for him.

Stevie just sits down and plays that keyboard with certainty and abandon. His voice is youthful as ever. And the whole audience sings along.

RIP Jesse Jackson, who also had all the living presidents in attendance.

Box Office: “The Bride!” Wedding Gifts Will Be Less Than $10 Million Weekend After Dismal $3 Mil Opening

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “The Bride!” Wedding Gifts Will Be Less Than $10 Million Weekend After Dismal $3 Mil Opening

“The Bride!” is getting very weak wedding gifts.

Thurs previews plus Friday came to $3 million. The Weekend total looks like $7-$8 million.

“The Bride!” cost between $80 and $90 million, so it’s a wipe out, the first real Warner Bros. flop in over a year.

The movie, directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, with an all star cast, will go down in the annals of box office disasters.

Box Office: “The Bride!” Stood Up at Altar, Makes Just $1 Million in Thursday Preview, First Warner Bros Flop in a Year

Hilary Duff’s “Luck” Has Run Out: Pop Renaissance Was Short-Lived as Sales of New Album Crater by 94% in Second Week

Roger Friedman
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Hilary Duff’s “Luck” Has Run Out: Pop Renaissance Was Short-Lived as Sales of New Album Crater by 94% in Second Week

I never understood the revived interest in Hilary Duff.

The star of TV’s “Lizzie McGuire” and “Younger” had had a minimal pop career, but it was over 15 years ago. Her most recent album was released in 2005.

Suddenly, Atlantic Records thought the 38 year old would make a huge comeback. They signed her to an album deal and a docuseries was announced.

Last week, Duff’s new album, “Luck…or Something” debuted and sold a respectable 78,000 downloads/CDs/stream equivalents. But no single track took off. And to be realistic, the album didn’t sound so good.

Well, the other shoe has dropped. Atlantic didn’t turn in numbers for the second week of sales to hitsdailydouble. On Luminate, you can see why. Physical sales dropped 94%, and all sales including streaming dropped 88%.

“Luck…or something” sold just 4,100 copies (downloads/CDs) and 10,300 including streaming. Radio ignored the album. Song sales were actually just 406.

That first week, the “Lizzie McGuire” fans came through with nostalgic excitement. But there was nothing more to back “Luck” up.

What happened? The album wasn’t very good, there was no buzz. The first two songs had lyrics about cunnilingus. Radio is modern, but not that modern. The only “going down” is to the corner store.’

The whole deal was a little strange, anyway. Atlantic jettisoned most of their staff and brought in new, hip people who were going to revive the famed legacy of the Erteguns, and even Jason Flom, Craig Kallman, and Julie Greenwald. They have a big hit with Bruno Mars, but he was there from long ago. With Duff, there was no there there.

Next up for Duff is a major tour that includes two nights at Madison Square Garden in August. Sales are decent if only because only half the venue is being sold. They might have been smarter to put her in Radio City Music Hall for a sellout. But no one asked for opinions.

Box Office: “The Bride!” Stood Up at Altar, Makes Just $1 Million in Thursday Preview, First Warner Bros Flop in a Year

Roger Friedman
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0
Box Office: “The Bride!” Stood Up at Altar, Makes Just $1 Million in Thursday Preview, First Warner Bros Flop in a Year


I knew The Bride when she used to rock and roll.

But that was a long time ago.

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride!” is DOA at the box office. Last night the all star feature made just $1 million in previews.

It’s likely to take in less than $10 million this weekend.

For Warner Bros., after a spectacular year of hits, this is their first flop.

This means a total write off of $80-$100 million.

“The Bride!” has been panned by critics. It’s sitting at 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, up from 47% a day ago.

The cast is all A list, including Jessie Buckley, Annette Bening, Christian Bale, Penelope Cruz, and Gyllenhaal’s husband, Peter Sarsgaard, and brother, Jake Gyllenhaal.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is such a smart actress and director it’s hard to understand how this happened. But it does. Think of “Megalopolis,” or “Babylon,” or “Amsterdam.” Or “Ishtar.” The scale is too big, and it all goes out of control.

Anyway, we’ll keep track of this unfortunate turn of events. I hope Maggie gets a chance to make another, smaller film and isn’t punished for “The Bride!”

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