Beatles don’t come cheap.
A quartet of movies based on the Fab Four is coming our way, and while the films aren’t close to releasing yet, we’re getting a peek at the price tag for the project.
$400 million.
‘By saying “Free Palestine,” you’re not admitting what you really think.’
Now, that may be the catering budget for your average Marvel movie, but it’s still an alarming figure for four dramatic features. All four films, to be shot over an extended 15-month period, will be helmed by Sam Mendes (“Skyfall,” “1917”).
“Can’t Buy Me Love,” perhaps, but money will get you some recognizable faces.
Let’s meet the Beatles: John Lennon (Harris Dickinson), Paul McCartney (Paul Mescal), Ringo Starr (Barry Keoghan), and George Harrison (Joseph Quinn).
The Liverpool lads remain a permanent part of pop culture — for us older folk. But is that the case for Gen Z, the generation most likely to visit theaters?
“Money (That’s What I Want).” And they’ll need plenty of it to recoup those exorbitant costs …
Spinal Nap
These reviews don’t go to 11. In fact, some are real “s**t sandwiches.”
“Spinal Tap: The End Continues” hits theaters this weekend, 41 years after the original mockumentary made this faux band immortal. We certainly didn’t need a new “Spinal Tap” movie. The original, directed by and co-starring Rob Reiner, gave us so many classic lines and gags, it feels like it never went away.
The new film features the key original cast members (Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, and Michael McKean) along with returning co-stars (Fran Drescher, Paul Shaffer) and copious cameos (Paul McCartney, Elton John).
Reviews have been mixed so far, with even the positive notices saying the sequel can’t come close to measuring up to the original.
What could?
One relief? It appears Reiner’s late-stage Trump derangement syndrome didn’t enter the frame, beyond a brief reference to Stormy Daniels. Phew.
The bad news is one distinct reality. Reiner’s directorial career fell off a creative cliff after a stunning run of movie classics (“Stand By Me,” “Misery,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “A Few Good Men,” “The Princess Bride”). He hasn’t had a hit since 2007’s “The Bucket List,” a film few would rank near the top — or even middle — of his filmography.
More than one critic cited a brutal line from the 1984 original in their reviews — the aforementioned sandwich …
Seinfeld stands up
For a guy who made a show about nothing, Jerry Seinfeld suddenly has something profound to say. And he’s virtually all alone in saying it, especially in the rarefied air of modern celebrity.
The legendary comic teed off against the pro-Palestinian movement, comparing it to the KKK. Except the latter group at least scores points for honesty.
Not this bunch, the sitcom superstar said.
Free Palestine is, to me, just — you’re free to say you don’t like Jews. By saying “Free Palestine,” you’re not admitting what you really think. So it’s actually — compared to the Ku Klux Klan, I’m actually thinking the Klan is actually a little better here because they can come right out and say, “We don’t like blacks; we don’t like Jews.” OK, that’s honest.
The comments come as nearly 4,000 of his industry peers pledge not to work with film groups with Israeli ties for their complicity with war crimes.
Seinfeld has all that sitcom money at this point. He also has a bigger moral compass than many of his peers, apparently …
RELATED: Grieving Charlie Kirk: How to cling to God in the face of evil
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Sunny makes sense
“There are no words,” we often say in the face of tragedies like Wednesday’s shocking murder of conservative superstar Charlie Kirk. Unfortunately, the media generally insists on talking anyway.
Sometimes, miraculously, they get it right. Like “The View” host Sunny Hostin, of all people:
This man was 31 years old with two children, I think ages 1 and 3, a family man, a wife. Now, all these children will grow up without their father. This woman will grow up, you know, grow old without her husband. I just — this country — there’s just no place for this kind of violence in this country. I am heartbroken over it. … The First Amendment is the first amendment for a reason. We should be able to voice whatever opinions we have.
God bless Charlie Kirk and his family.
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