by tyler | May 22, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
For those keeping score, that’s one wedding (sort of), one funeral this season on “Succession,” with the latter joining the pantheon of memorable funeral-related entertainment – on a level with “The Godfather” or the “Chuckles the Clown” episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” take your pick.
The latest episode again found Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong, never better) reduced to a paranoid mess by events, while showcasing a number of smaller recurring characters who placed him in that agitated state.
Specifically, his ex-wife Rava (Natalie Gold) balked at taking their children to his father’s funeral, concerned about security issues and civil unrest, prompting a sputtering Kendall to insist that she was “too online.” That was followed by Kendall’s beleaguered assistant, Jess (Juliana Canfield), giving her notice after the previous week’s election-night shenanigans, which Kendall – still fuming about Rava – treated as an act of betrayal.
The main event, though, was the funeral itself, as the Roy children sought to eulogize the father who was cold, distant and abusive, certainly verbally and perhaps physically.
Things got off to an awkward start when Logan’s brother Ewan (James Cromwell, knocking it out of the park) spoke of the damage that his brother had done to society, while saying, “He was not a generous man. He was mean.”
After rehearsing his speech at the episode’s start, Roman (Kieran Culkin) fell apart entirely while trying to eulogize his dad in a painful-to-watch display of grief, forcing Kendall to step in.
As usual, the episode subtitled “Church and State” was also at times side-splittingly funny, such as Logan’s widows and mistresses sitting together in the front row, or Shiv (Sarah Snook) noting the arrival of her mother (Harriet Walter) by sneering, “I thought I could hear the sound of Dalmatians howling.”
Then there was the unseemly spectacle of each Roy kid taking turns schmoozing potential president-elect Jeryd Mencken (Justin Kirk), who made clear he might not be the “guy we can do business with” about which Kendall opined when the network, ATN, threw its conservative clout behind him.
“Succession” still has a great deal of work to do in its 90-minute series finale, including, but not limited to, determining the fate of Waystar Royco; which of the Roys, if any, will emerge as their father’s successor; resolving the fractured relationship between Shiv (who finally shared news of her pregnancy with her brothers) and Tom (Matthew Macfadyen); and as an added bonus, the future of the (fictional, but close enough to reality) republic.
“Church and State” closed with a glimpse of that tumult, as the protests that Rava feared filled the streets. And while Kendall sought to reassure Rava that “Everything is fine,” the one certainty, based on the show’s world as exemplified by this penultimate chapter, is that everything almost certainly won’t be.
HBO, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.
by tyler | May 22, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Actors Demi Moore and Andrew McCarthy reunited over the weekend for the first time in years.
McCarthy took to Instagram with his former “St. Elmo’s Fire” costar to reveal he’s working on a “Brat Pack documentary” about the famous group of young actors in the ’80s that included himself, Moore, Ally Sheedy, Rob Lowe, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez and others.
“St. Elmo’s Fire” was co-written and directed by Joel Schumacher in 1985. It follows a group of friends who’ve just graduated Georgetown University.
“So great to see (for the first time in years and years) my St. Elmo’s Fire co-star, the wondrous Demi Moore, and catch up for my Brat Pack documentary,” McCarthy captioned his post.
McCarthy starred in several hit films from the decade like “Pretty in Pink,” “Mannequin,” and “Weekend at Bernie’s.” Moore jumped from coming-of-age hits to “Ghost,” “Indecent Proposal,” and more. McCarthy has also gone on to be a director and an author, most recently penning a book titled “Walking with Sam,” about a trek he took through the Camino de Santiago with his son.
In 2020, he released “Brat: An ’80s Story,” which details those years and his path to getting sober.
by tyler | May 22, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen is talking about his recovery after he was assaulted following a show in Florida in March.
Allen had been in town with his bandmates for a performance and was attacked while smoking outside the Four Seasons hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
In an interview with “Good Morning America” on Monday, Allen said he didn’t see it coming.
“I heard a couple of steps and then I just saw this [flash] and the next thing I knew was I was on the ground,” he said. “I landed on my backside, hit my head on the pavement.”
He added that he told the man, “I am no threat to you.”
Allen had an arm amputated in 1985 after suffering a car crash the year before.
He explained, “I don’t think he knew who I was, but he must have seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I’ve only got one arm.”
When a woman came to help, the suspect allegedly attacked her too. Fort Lauderdale police later arrested Max Hartley, a 19-year-old from Ohio. He was charged with two counts of battery and four counts of criminal mischief and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
by tyler | May 18, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
“Vanderpump Rules” Season 10 came to an explosive end on Wednesday.
Viewers of the show saw the results of cameras picking back up six months after filming ended for the new season due to castmember, Tom Sandoval, cheating on his long-term girlfriend, Ariana Madix, with her best friend, Raquel Leviss. The two carried on an affair for seven months that came to light when Madix found a video on Sandoval’s phone revealing the relationship.
Titled “#Scandoval,” the episode showed the massive fallout following the affair, along with a personal fight between Madix and Sandoval inside the home they shared in Los Angeles.
Sandoval tried multiple excuses for his actions, including suggesting to Madix that she should have followed him around to find out what he was actually up to.
Madix summed up the fight by telling Sandoval they would never speak again. “You’re worth nothing and I want you to feel that deep in your soul,” she said. “Hear my words and know that’s how I feel about you.”
Viewers also saw Sandoval meet up with Leviss at her apartment, where they discussed how badly things had turned out. At one point, Sandoval accidentally called Leviss “Ariana” as they talked.
Madix later appeared on “Watch What Happens Live,” where she said she has a new boyfriend who has her “happy and satisfied.”
by tyler | May 18, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
The major TV networks previewed their fall primetime lineups this week, with much of the usual fanfare. But the optimistic predictions and upbeat sales pitches mostly soft-peddled the fact that because of the ongoing writers’ strike, there’s no telling when some of the shiny new shows ordered for the coming season will actually see the light of day.
The annual upfront presentations traditionally provide a showcase for broadcasters ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the CW, along with Spanish-language networks and some of the top cable channels, to tout their coming attractions, hoping to secure billions of dollars in advertising commitments. Those channels, however, will largely be relying on sports, unscripted programming and overseas acquisitions to fill out their menus barring agreements with the guilds representing Hollywood talent.
There were tangible signs this wasn’t just an ordinary year. CBS sat out formal upfront festivities, and attendees had to pass picket lines of striking writers. The presentations that did go on were noticeably light on talent – usually trotted out to wow the advertisers – as most refused to cross them.
NBC sought to get around that problem by relying on news anchors to introduce many of its clips, and featuring stars associated with unscripted shows, including new “The Voice” coach Reba McEntire.
The shows themselves, meanwhile, reflect the uncertainty and chaos of the current moment, as well as the sense that linear TV networks are essentially managing their decline in the streaming age.
As usual, the networks that did announce new shows tended to tilt toward familiar, identifiable concepts. CBS, for example, will reboot “Matlock,” the courtroom drama, with Kathy Bates in the lead role, spin off “The Good Wife” with Carrie Preston reprising her recurring character in “Elsbeth,” and offer a comedy pairing Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., “Poppa’s House.”
Similarly, NBC announced a new sitcom featuring “Two and a Half Men” star Jon Cryer, “Extended Family,” which the network said will be paired with its “Night Court” revival whenever that returns for its second season.
ABC took a different approach, announcing a fall lineup consisting almost entirely of game and reality shows, news and reruns of “Abbott Elementary.” Responding to a headline that called the schedule “strike-proof,” one writer sardonically referred to it on Twitter as being “watch-proof.”
Both sides of the strike have plenty to lose under the current scenario, especially if it drags on to the point of delaying fall premieres.
The networks might sacrifice millions in ad commitments if media buyers are underwhelmed by their reality-heavy lineups. Beyond sacrificing income, writers risk losing valuable prime-time real estate to cheaper unscripted shows and other wrinkles to fill time, such as more news programming, international acquisitions, or CBS super-sizing “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race” to 90 minutes each.
The CW was already heading in that direction under its new ownership, with entertainment president Brad Schwartz noting in a news conference that the network makeover included a move to “comb the world” for series, importing fare produced in Canada and elsewhere. Apparently gone, meanwhile, are the network’s familiar roster of DC superhero shows, although the executive said no final decision had been made yet on “Superman & Lois” and the Batman spinoff “Gotham Knights.” (Those series are produced by Warner Bros., like CNN, a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Despite trying to make the best of a bad hand, some executive acknowledged they were working from a flawed script, with HBO chief Casey Bloys expressing hope the strike would end soon and allow talent to return to these events.
ABC’s announcements also included a new variation of its popular dating franchise titled “The Golden Bachelor,” featuring the same format, only with senior citizens looking for love.
If the current strike drags on as long as the 100-day work stoppage that took place the last time producers and writers faced such an impasse in 2008, every demographic cohort might receive its moment in the reality spotlight before it’s over.
by tyler | May 18, 2023 | CNN, entertainment
British musician Sting has become the latest artist to voice concern over Artificial Intelligence (AI), saying we should be “wary” of the technology and that it will be a “battle we all have to fight.”
“The building blocks of music belong to us, to human beings,” Sting told the BBC in an interview Thursday.
“That’s going to be a battle we all have to fight in the next couple of years: Defending our human capital against AI,” he added.
Contentious debate over AI songs has arisen in the music industry over the last few months, with several high-profile figures being affected by the growth in the technology’s popularity.
Last month, a TikTok user claimed to have used AI to generate the voices of Drake and The Weeknd to create viral track “Heart on my Sleeve,” commenting online: “The future is here.”
In January, Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave said “dozens” of songs in his style had been created using ChatGPT, calling one attempt “a grotesque mockery of what it is to be human.”
But not all artists have shunned the technology.
French DJ and music producer David Guetta told CNN Business in March that he wants to “embrace” the technology – even though “there’s a little bit of an ethical problem” in regard to who owns the copyright of AI songs.
“I get immediately bored when I see a computer-generated image. I imagine I will feel the same way about AI making music,” said Sting.
“Maybe for electronic dance music, it works. But for songs, you know, expressing emotions, I don’t think I will be moved by it,” he added.
Universal Music Group, which represents Sting, likened AI music to “fraud” in an urgent letter sent to music streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music, in April.
“The tools are useful, but we have to be driving them,” Sting added in the interview. “I don’t think we can allow the machines to just take over. We have to be wary.”
The artist, whose original name is Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, will be given the highest honor bestowed by music association The Ivors Academy during an awards ceremony in London on Thursday.
The Golden Globes and Grammy awards winner, who is a former member of English rock band The Police, is best known for songs such as “Every Breath You Take” and “Message In A Bottle.”
