Caught up with an old friend the other day at one of our longtime haunts, a TV studio. Back in the day when we both young, dumb and broke, we used to frequent studio audiences of almost every TV show that would allow us into their studios that taped in New York City. In that … Read more
Amidst all the bigger picture tumult of discord among rank and file and the alarmingly tone-deaf tech genuises who resort to distractions such as “coincidental” tree-trimmings and false flag press releases immediately refuted by both those that actually saw their offers, last week there was one small item in the more niggly world that I … Read more
On an otherwise quiet and balmy summer Sunday (side note: DO go see BARBIE, and tell Ted Cruz to reconsider any thoughts about being a movie critic after he gets voted out of office), my friends Yacco and Wacko took to their favorite social media site to announce to the world that change was about … Read more
I’m often accused of having sometimes too good a memory, especially for events that qualified as firsts in my life. I can recall in very vivid detail where and what I was doing when the Mets won their first National League pennant (in my mom’s clunky Oldsmobile Holiday sedan riding home from school, same as … Read more
Tony Bennett passed away yesterday, a true legend that is justifiably being mourned by countless millions worldwide, an iconic talent whose prowess spanned eight decades of productive and inspiring performing. Some of those people are more prominent than others, as the numerous obituaries that have popped uo since the news broke yesterday morning have attested, … Read more
I believe I’ve been told to “let it go” far more often by countless supposedly supportive people in my life than young Queen Elsa’s inner voice told that to her. Anyone who does actually know me knows that’s far easier said than done, lately, espeically. I don’t need yet again to rattle off the reasons; … Read more
At first blush, this weekend’s stubborn box office showdown between Warner Brothers’ BARBIE and Universal’s OPPENHEIMER would have appeared to have been nothing more than classic counterprogramming. Yes, both of these stories have their roots in the 1950s. But aside from that, they would not have much else in common. OPPENHEIMER is the true story … Read more
MEMO TO: DUNCAN CRABTREE-IRELAND, NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/CHIEF NEGOTIATOR, SAG-AFTRA FROM: STEVE LEBLANG, CONSULTANT RE: SECOND IMPRESSIONS Dear Mr. Crabtree-Ireland: I must begin by offering you my most humble and complete apologies. The first time I saw you speak, you played the supporting role behind your union president Fran Drescher’s stirring extemporaneous call to action last … Read more
There’s an awful lot of bad news out there in entertainment land. INDIANA JONES and his fedora are limping into the sunset. Ethan Hunt and the IMF ran up far too high a tab to make even their global performance one that has wowed most media pundits. Peacock, the home of so many award-winning original … Read more
So Ethan Hunt and the IMF made a triumphant return to the big screen at last last week, with the much-anticipated and hyped release of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING. It’s the seventh time this supercharged, reinvented IP has been tapped into by Paramount to save the world, let alone its sagging stock price, and given … Read more