TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2020
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE
The psychological thriller Invisible Man is the No. 1 movie in North America, earning $29 million in its debut weekend. Coming in at No. 2 is Sonic the Hedgehog with $16 million.
- The Invisible Man, $29 million
- Sonic The Hedgehog, $16 million
- The Call of the Wild, $13.2 million
- My Hero Academia, $5 million
- Bad Boys For Life, $4.3 million
Tuesday Night TV
SUPER TUESDAY COVERAGE (CBS, ABC, NBC) — The networks and cable channels offer live coverage of the Super Tuesday primary elections in 14 states around the country.
THE RESIDENT (8p ET, FOX) — New. Nadine’s father comes to town for her birthday.
EMPIRE (9p ET, FOX) — The last new episodes of the sixth and final season begin.
Showbiz News and Gossip from Rogue Valley Magazine
007 FAN SITE WANTS ‘NO TIME TO DIE’ RELEASE
DELAY DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
Prominent James Bond fan site MI6-HQ.com wrote an open letter requesting the
delay of No Time to Die, the upcoming installment in the Daniel Craig-led
British spy series. The movie is set to release in theaters in early April. But
given widespread concern about coronavirus, the fan group is urging
distributors to push its debut until summer.
… The site says, “Delay the release … until the summer when experts expect the epidemics to have peaked and to be under control. It’s just a movie. The health and well-being of fans around the world, and their families, is more important. We have all waited over 4 years for this film. Another few months will not damage the quality of the film and only help the box-office for Daniel Craig’s final hurrah.”
MAVERICK TO RELEASE TWO DAYS EARLY
Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick will fly forward two days to release on June 24,
giving the blockbuster a Wednesday start. Paramount Pictures made the
announcement on Monday.
ORLANDO BLOOM REPORTEDLY RETURNING FOR PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN REBOOT
While the sixth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is currently being written, a source says Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner will return. While it’s not expected that many of the other lead actors will return, Disney is looking at Bloom in an effort to ensure that there’s at least one Pirates legacy character around.
WILLIAM SHATNER HAS NO PLANS FOR A ‘STAR TREK:
PICARD’ TYPE SERIES
William Shatner is impressed with the work Patrick Stewart is doing in his CBS
All-Access series, Star Trek: Picard. That doesn’t mean the man who played a
major role in the original Star Trek series wants to get back into his old Star
Fleet uniform. Shatner thinks a series that would focus on Kirk post-Starfleet
is “played out” at this point.
… Shatner also expressed some awe at the fact that Patrick Stewart is willing to go through the grind of a television series again: “Doing a series is debilitating for a young guy, for a 25-year-old, which I was doing when I was 25 years old. It’s a physical wrecker, it’s a mental wrecker, and it’s a homewrecker ’cause you’re working 14, 18 hours a day. And in the last series I did, Boston Legal, I had, in rush hour, a two-hour commute. So add that. So no, I would not be interested in doing a series, per se.”
JUDGE JUDY STEPPING AWAY FROM SHOW BECAUSE OF
FEUD WITH CBS
Judge Judy is stepping away from her longtime television show and calling it
quits with CBS because of a feud that’s been cooking for some time. TMZ reports
that Judy was being shut down left and right on possible new shows she developed.
… Judy struck a huge deal with CBS last year year — selling her Judge Judy library for a reported $95 million, with an end date of 2020-2021. She was already producing the show Hot Bench, and was said to be developing other projects as well under CBS, like the court drama Her Honor which would’ve been based on her life — but there have been no developments on that one since 2016.
… Judge Judy’s new show, Judy Justice, is expected to have a similar format as her current show and will likely run on a streaming service or major cable outlet.
CHRIS MATTHEWS DEPARTS HARDBALL
Outspoken Chris Matthews is stepping down from MSNBC’s Hardball amid scrutiny
of recent on-air remarks as well as speculation about behind-the-scenes
behavior. The veteran anchor said on his program Monday night that he was
leaving the cable-news outlet, putting an end to a long-running show that was
featured on three different networks and part of the news landscape since 1994.
Monday’s broadcast was Matthews’ last.
… Matthews had been under close watch by critics, apologizing last week after making an awkward comparison on air between Senator Bernie Sanders’ victory in the Nevada caucuses and the Nazis’ World War II takeover of France.
… Adding to the recent spotlight: a female journalist last week wrote an account in GQ alleging Matthews made inappropriate remarks to her while she was getting ready to appear on his show. That resurfaced reports that Matthews had been reprimanded in 1999 after a similar incident that resulted in a settlement to an employee, as well as claims that Matthews treated female politicians less respectfully.
TIMOTHY HUTTON DENIES 1983 RAPE
ACCUSATION
Oscar-winning actor Timothy Hutton has been accused of raping a Canadian woman
in 1983, when she was a teen, according to a report out Monday. Hutton is
strongly denying the accusation. Lauren Johnston was 14 and going by the first
name Sera when she and two friends met Hutton, who was then in his 20s and
filming Iceman in Vancouver, Canada. Johnston told Buzzfeed News the group went
back to Hutton’s hotel room where he proceeded to get close to the former
model, who was a working actor at the time. She claims that she found herself
in his bedroom and that a friend of his allegedly entered soon after.
… Johnston, now 50, told Buzzfeed that Hutton, now 59, got undressed and started to have sex with her. She said she begged him to stop. Johnston said she first told the guys she was 17, but later that night admitted her real age. At the time, the age of consent in Canada was 14.
… Hutton said Monday, “For the past two-and-a-half years, I have been the target of multiple extortion attempts by a woman named Sera Dale Johnston to extract millions of dollars from me. She threatened that if I did not meet her demands, she would go to the press with a false allegation that I sexually assaulted her 37 years ago in Canada. I never assaulted Ms. Johnston. Today, BuzzFeed chose to publish Ms. Johnston’s false story. BuzzFeed knew the truth because they were provided with documented evidence. What’s really going on here is that Ms. Johnston’s extortion attempts failed. … When I became aware of this, I went to the FBI, signed a sworn statement, and filed a criminal complaint against Ms. Johnston for extortion. I will not stop fighting to expose this story for what it is — a failed extortion attempt based on something that never happened.”
VANESSA BRYANT WANTS DEPUTIES PUNISHED FOR
SHARING CRASH PICS
Kobe Bryant‘s widow is “absolutely devastated’ that sheriff’s deputies
allegedly shared graphic photos of the chopper crash that killed her husband
and daughter. Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer demanded Sunday that the deputies should
receive the “harshest possible discipline” for the “unspeakable violation of
human decency.”
… In a post to 37-year-old Vanessa Bryant’s social media on Sunday, her attorney, Gary Robb, stressed that she pleaded in person with Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to make the January 26 crash scene a no-fly zone to keep away prying snappers. Robb called it “inexcusable and deplorable” that first responders were reportedly instead sharing graphic images of the scene where nine died.
FACEBOOK PULLS OUT OF SXSW DUE TO CORONAVIRUS
WORRIES
Social networking giant Facebook has opted out of SXSW over concerns about the spread
of coronavirus. Facebook had been scheduled to be represented by about a dozen
speakers at the annual film, music and technology festival in Austin, Texas.
The festival runs from March 13 to 22.
… Twitter bailed out of SXSW on Sunday evening, announcing that the employees would not be allowed to attend due to its mandatory global business travel restrictions.
GARTH-SANDERS VIDEO SURPASSES 28,000 LIKES
You’ve probably seen the story that some country music fans were mad at Garth
Brooks for wearing a Bernie Sanders jersey during a concert in Detroit. Garth
was wearing a jersey paying tribute to former NFL great Barry Sanders, but a
few country music fans were, uh, confused. • IMAGE
… Twitter user Brent Terhune recorded a video that’s gone viral, with almost 30,000 likes. We’re not sure, but it appears his rant against country music’s top selling artist of all time is a parody. • VIDEO
THE NEXT BACHELORETTE HAS BEEN
LEAKED
(CAREFUL…POSSIBLE SPOILER)
We’re nearing the end of Pete’s season of The Bachelor, which means everyone’s
giving their picks for the next Bachelorette. Reality Steve says that the next
Bachelorette will be Clare Crawley.
… Reality Steve says this (Monday) morning on Good Morning America Clare will be named the Bachelorette. As a refresher, she finished second on Juan Pablo’s season, was on Bachelor in Paradise 1 and 2, and was recently on Winter Games.
… Filming begins on Friday, March 13.
CALL OF THE WILD TO LOSE $50
MILLION AT BOX OFFICE
Sorry, nobody really cared about Harrison Ford’s canine adventure The Call of
the Wild, which is shaping up to be the latest box office dud for 20th Century.
The film, based on Jack London’s best-selling novel, has made $79 million globally after two weeks in theaters. That wouldn’t be a bad result, had The Call of the Wild cost a moderate amount to make and market. However, it carries a price tag above $135 million, meaning the film needs to make between $250 million and $275 million to break even. Given the unlikeliness that it’ll reach those ticket sales.
JENNIFER LOPEZ CALLS HER OSCAR
SNUB ‘A LITTLE BIT OF A LETDOWN’
Jennifer Lopez opened up on her snub at this year’s Oscars during a discussion
with Oprah Winfrey, admitting she felt disappointed about not getting
nominated. Many expected the Hustlers star to have her name called out during
this year’s nominations for supporting actress, but Lopez was missing from the
list. Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell), Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Scarlett
Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Florence Pugh (Little Women) and Margot Robbie
(Bombshell) made the cut instead, with Dern taking home the award.
… J-Lo told OW: “I was a little sad because there was a lot of buildup to it. There were so many articles. I got so many good notices — more than ever in my career — and there was a lot of ‘She’s going to get nominated for an Oscar. It’s going to happen; if she doesn’t, you’re crazy.’ I’m reading all the articles going, “Oh my god, could this happen?’ And then it didn’t and I was like, ‘Ouch.” It was a little bit of a letdown.”
OPRAH TAKES A TUMBLE ONSTAGE
DURING ‘2020 VISION’ TOUR
Oprah Winfrey is currently on her 2020 Vision speaking tour. Stopping by the
Forum arena in Los Angeles Saturday to discuss wellness and living a balanced
life, she quite literally lost her own balance while onstage, slipping and
taking a pretty hard fall in front of hundreds of attendees. • VIDEO
… After gathering herself on the floor, she called out “wrong shoes!” into the microphone, letting fans know exactly what caused the unexpected crash.
REALLY? MEGHAN MARKLE SAID TO BE EYEING
SUPERHERO ROLE
On March 31 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will officially leave the British
Royal Family and a report from a British tabloid claims Meghan already has an
eye on her next gig: a role in a future superhero movie. Mail Online claims the
Duchess hopes to become “part of an ensemble cast” in an upcoming superhero
movie, and has informed her agent that she’s “open to the best offers.”
NETFLIX IS LAUNCHING ITS OWN COMEDY FESTIVAL
IN LOS ANGELES THIS SPRING
Netflix has become home to countless stand-up comedy specials from some of the
finest comedians working today. Now the streaming giant will gather up some of
those stand-up greats for the first Netflix Is A Joke Fest in Los Angeles this
spring.
… Netflix Is A Joke Fest will run from April 27 through May 3, featuring over 100 live shows from some of the biggest names in comedy.