Month: April 2018

Categories
Music

This is very, very cool!!

ABBA Reunite in Studio After 35 Years to Record Two New Songs

Legendary Swedish pop quartet ABBA have answered their fans’ decades-long wish and reunited to record two new songs. The “Waterloo” group announced on Friday morning (Apr. 27) that they have written and recorded their first new tracks in 35 years. “The decision to go ahead with the exciting Abba avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence. We all felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio,” they wrote in a statement about the songs. “So we did. And it was like time had stood still and we had only been away on a short holiday. An extremely joyful experience!”

They revealed the name of one of the songs, “I Still Have Faith in You,” which will be featured in an NBC/BBC special that is slated to air in December. The group — which includes Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältsko, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad — hinted at the sound of the new music, saying, “We may have come of age, but the song is new. And it feels good.” The two-hour TV special co-produced by NBC and BBC will feature the group’s avatars performing their greatest hits; the avatars are slated to launch a world tour next year.

ABBA notched 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between 1974 and 1983, including the No. 1 “Dancing Queen” in 1977. They also claimed top 10s with their debut hit “Waterloo” (No. 6), “Take a Chance on Me” (No. 3) and “The Winner Takes It All” (No. 8). They claimed 13 entries on the Billboard 200 albums chart, including the top 20 sets Arrival, Voulez-Vous and Super Trouper. Their Gold – Greatest Hits album has spent more than 130 weeks on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly 6 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen Music.

The group formed in Stockholm in 1972 and rose to international fame two years later when they won the Eurovision song contest in Brighton, England, with their breakout hit “Waterloo.” They had a string of global smashes throughout the next decade before splintering in 1983. Though generous sums have been dangled before them to reform for decades, the quartet had resisted reuniting until 2016, when they performed together at a private event in Stockholm.

Categories
Movies

Wow! Look at that AVENGERS movie! That movie’s huge!! Can’t wait to see it again.

Box Office: ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Passes ‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ With Record $250M U.S. Bow

The superhero mashup also scores the biggest opening ever globally with $630 million — almost $100 million than the previous record holder.
The galaxy has a new ruler.

Disney and Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War kicked off the summer box office in high style, opening to a record-setting $250 million in North America and $380 million overseas for a global total of $630 million, the top worldwide start of all time. The superhero mashup accomplished the feat without China, where it doesn’t unfurl until May 11.

Fellow Disney title Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million) was the previous record holder for biggest domestic opening, while Universal’s The Fate of the Furious had held the record for biggest global start ($541.9 million). As in North America, Infinity War set a slew of industry records overseas.

Infinity War’s box office victory was aided by the biggest Saturday of all time in North America ($83 million), reflecting a strong family turnout. The tentpole cost close to $300 to produce before a major marketing spend.

Directed by the Russo brothers, Avengers: Infinity War is most ambitious amassing of superheroes in history, and comes as Marvel Studios — led by Kevin Feige — celebrates its 10th anniversary. In 2009, Walt Disney Co. chief Bob Iger paid $4 billion to acquire Marvel Entertainment, even though many of the superhero characters in Marvel’s stable were unproven.

Infinity War is the first film to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras. IMAX theaters in turn delivered $41 million of the total global gross, the biggest showing ever for a Marvel title. The U.S. share was $22.5 million.

Infinity War follows the massive success of Marvel’s Black Panther, a cultural phenomenon and fanboy darling that currently ranks as the top-grossing superhero film of all time in North America with $688 million in ticket sales. The superhero, played by Chadwick Boseman, appears in the Avengers film and was no doubt a boost for Infinity War.

In a surprise twist, interest in Black Panther — now in its 11th weekend — once again spiked as Infinity War debuted. Black Panther moved back up the chart from No. 8 to No. 5, earning $4.4 million.

Marvel Studios is unrivaled in its success, boasting six of the top 10 opening weekends of all time. The Avengers ($207.4 million) previously held the record for the biggest superhero launch, followed by Black Panther ($202 million). They are the only two superhero titles to have crossed $200 million in their first weekend.

Infinity War also continues Disney’s domination at the box office. The studio has bragging rights to nine of the 10 biggest domestic openings, including the top three; Infinity War, Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi ($220 million). Universal’s Jurassic World ($208.8 million) is No. 4.

Nabbing an A CinemaScore, Infinity War reunites the Avengers gang and friends, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Panther (Boseman), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), as they join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy crew to stop the evil intergalactic despot Thanos (Josh Brolin).

Black Panther stars Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright and Winston Duke also appear in Infinity War, the third outing in the Avengers series. Other characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe making a play include Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and Bradley Cooper are some of the stars from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise appearing in Infinity War.

No other wide release dared open opposite Infinity War. Save for Black Panther, most holdovers felt the pinch, although Paramount’s hit horror film, A Quiet Place, still made noise, grossing $10.7 million for a domestic total of $148.2 million. Overseas, the film earned another $6.6 million for a foreign total of $87.2 million and $235.4 globally.

A Quiet Place easily came in No. 2 domestically, followed by Amy Schumer comedy I Feel Pretty, which tumbled 49 percent in its second weekend to $8.1 million for a total $29.6 million. STX and Voltage are partners on the film.

Dwayne Johnson’s action-adventure appeared to be the hardest hit by Infinity War, falling 65 percent to $7.1 million for a domestic total of $77.9 million at the end of its third weekend.

In a smart counter-programming move, Bleecker Street opened LGBT drama Disobedience in five theaters. The film, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, grossed $241,246 for a strong per screen average of $48,255, the second best of the year to date for a specialty pic behind Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs. The film made its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival, and also stars Alessandro Nivola.

Disobedience played to a predominantly female audience with a strong LGBT base, according to Bleecker Street. It also played well in art houses.

Weekend Box Office 4/29/18
3-Day Weekend Box Office Estimates
WEEKEND CUME THEATERS WEEK
1. Avengers: Infinity War $250M $250M 4,474 1
2. A Quiet Place $10.7M $148.2M 3,565 4
3. I Feel Pretty $8.1M $29.6M 3,440 2
4. Rampage $7.1M $77.9M 3,508 3
5. Black Panther $4.4M $688M 1,650 11

Categories
Movies

I saw Avengers: Infinity War, and when you’ve seen it we should talk. Until then, I’m saying nothing.

Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige on the future of the Avengers

LOS ANGELES — Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has a lot to smile about.

The 44-year-old producer is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Marvel Studios and the release of Avengers: Infinity War — the 19th film in an interconnected series that has included such heroes as Iron Man, Captain America and, more recently, Black Panther.

Over the last decade, Feige has essentially built up Hollywood’s most bankable brand that has fetched over $14.8 billion in worldwide box office with every new release branded an “event.”

“I would say we dreamed of this,” Feige tells Sun Media in a Beverly Hills hotel.

“I would say while we were doing the first Iron Man film, there were two thoughts in our heads. One was, ‘Get it done and get it in theatres.’ The other goal was, ‘Make Tony Stark a household name. We wanted to get people who didn’t read the comics or see him in the cartoon series to realize he’s one of the coolest superheroes that’s ever existed.”

To play the role of Tony Stark/Iron Man, the studio tapped Robert Downey Jr., who a decade ago was only a few years removed from two drug arrests in 2000 and 2001.

But Downey and Feige succeeded in making Iron Man a hit, giving birth to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“The secondary goals that we dreamed about was to bring the interconnected universe from the comic books up on to the big screen,” he continues.

“At that point, Avengers 1 was a far-off distant dream, but this has always been in the back of our heads.

“When we were casting Guardians of the Galaxy and looking for Star-Lord, we were saying things like, ‘You know, if things go right, we have to find a great actor to play Peter Quill because someday that actor might have to do scenes with the Avengers.’

“We sat around and said things like that. And now, here it is.”

Feige, whose comic book chops helped land him an associate producer credit on 2000’s X-Men movie, is now eyeing a Marvel movie slate that goes well into the 2020s.

And thanks to Disney’s acquisition of Fox (which owns Marvel characters like X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool), he might just be making superhero movies until the day he dies.

This summer, Marvel will release Ant-Man and The Wasp and next year it will release Captain Marvel (with Brie Larson as Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel) before Avengers 4 closes out what he calls a “22-film narrative arc.”

A sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming with Tom Holland will kick off a whole new slate of Marvel stories in July 2019.

With Infinity War eyeing a record haul at the global box office this weekend, Feige talked about making the biggest superhero movie of all time and what’s next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Q – The MCU kicked off 10 years ago with Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man. What made him the perfect actor to front Marvel’s superhero franchise?

A – He’s an unparalleled talent. He’s an amazing actor. He has an amazing personality and an amazing persona that we thought could be tapped into in an amazing way.

We knew he was a great actor and we knew he was unbelievably charismatic and he’d be able to bring Tony Stark to life in an unbelievable way.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the MCU would not exist without Robert Downey Jr.

Q – You’ve been building up this world for 10 years. What does Infinity War and next year’s Avengers 4 represent to fans?

A – I think with Infinity War and Untitled Avengers 4 next year, certainly for us, we have two of the biggest and most unique adventure films that have ever been made. We’re certainly working with the biggest canvas that we’ve ever painted on. At the same time, I think it’s an amazing honour to have so many characters that so many people care so deeply about.

And while the spectacle and action is fun and is required, it’s seeing these characters and seeing them change and seeing them grow and seeing them interact with heroes they’ve never met before that’s the real fun of these movies. I hope people will watch Infinity War and then perhaps watch the next Avengers film next year and realize that what they’ve seen over 10-plus years is an unprecedented character arc, at least for film. Unprecedented character arcs for these heroes, whether they’ve been around for three years, five years or all 10 years.

Q – You’ve talked to me about Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 kicking off something new. I know on our visit to the set of Infinity War last year, Robert Downey talked about tapping out. Are the changes that are about to happen in Infinity War and Avengers 4 finite?

A – I would say that almost all of them are permanent changes. We pull examples from comics all the time and I would say in the comics sometimes characters come back to life the next day, and sometimes characters that they swore would never come back — Bucky Barnes will never come back to life — come back and it’s awesome like in the Winter Soldier. I don’t know what’s going to happen in five years or 10 years, but in terms of the more immediate future that we’re building and creating now, they will be finite.

Q – How different will Infinity War and Avengers 4 be from one another and is Thanos the main villain in both?

I don’t want to be that specific about it. I will say that tonally, in ways that people will not be able to tell until they see Avengers 4, tonally they are very different movies by design. But they connect very directly; as directly as any of our films have been connected. So Infinity War is a complete story, but people are going to want to know what happens next right away.

A – How do Ant-Man and The Wasp and Captain Marvel connect Infinity War and Avengers 4?

You’ll see. For the most part they are very much their own adventures, they’re very much their own standalone stories, but they will connect in ways that will be apparent when you see them and will be very apparent in Avengers 4.

Q – Why did you choose to set Captain Marvel in the ’90s?

A – The answer is, you’ll see in the storytelling of the movie (laughs). But it allows us to play in an area that we have never played in before and tapping into a ’90s action genre was fun for us and being able to see an earlier part of the MCU before Nick Fury knew anything about aliens or anything about super-powered people and also tapping into the Kree-Skrull War, which in the comics was a huge part of the comic mythology, seemed like a fun thing to try and a fun way to give Carol Danvers her own standalone origin story.

Q – Black Panther was a massive hit, both with comic book movie fans and casual moviegoers alike. Are you constantly looking for ways to bring new people into the MCU?

A – Absolutely. We’re trying to appeal to people who just want to go see a movie on a weekend and we want to appeal to people like us who want to delve deeper. The movies need to work for both, and since Iron Man 1 that’s what we’ve wanted to do. Really, it was only comic book fans that knew who Iron Man was back in 2008. Even a lot of comic book fans didn’t know who the Guardians of the Galaxy were in 2014. So we always want to tell stories as if no one knows who they are. We approach it as if there’s no fan base. Let’s make a movie that’s going to build that fan base. At the same time, we’re fans, so we’re not going to do anything that betrays what the core elements of character are in the books.

But certainly Panther is a wonderful example of attracting people who not only aren’t fans of comic book movies, they’re people who hadn’t been to a movie in a long time, period! Selfishly, as the producer, I love that, and I hope all those people come out to see Infinity War and get invested in the MCU going forward and then look back and say, ‘What have I missed?’

Q – I always ask you about the blueprint. Going forward, the movies that Marvel has coming five, 10 years from now, are they always going to be threaded back to the beginning? Is the MCU a world with no real end?

A – Yes. … It’s a world I hope continues far into the future in the same way all of these storylines have continued in the comics. We’re one decade in. In the comics, some of these heroes are five, six, seven decades in. So I do hope they continue for a long time.

But, storylines can come to an end. The best stories do come to an end. Return of the Jedi was an ending for a long time and as a 10-year-old in 1983 that carried me through 30 years until there was a sequel. That hasn’t happened before in the superhero genre. A new actor comes in and a new storyline starts right away. We wanted to do it this way because we think that the best stories have a definitive ending to a storyline. That’s certainly what’s going to happen next year with Avengers 4.

The Universe, the world, many of the characters we’ve introduced will continue onward in unexpected ways, some of which I don’t even know yet. But bringing a definitive conclusion at the 22-film mark, and just over 10 years, seemed like the right thing to do.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theatres now.

Categories
Awards

What a horrible idea!!

Colin Jost and Michael Che won’t save the Emmys

It doesn’t matter that “Saturday Night Live” cast members and “Weekend Update” anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost have been named to host the 2018 Emmy Awards on Sept. 17.

No one’s going to watch them.

NBC is clearly trying to capitalize on the renewed popularity of “SNL” in the Trump era by naming young co-hosts who will punctuate the bestowing of trophies with political jokes. And it might be amusing — for the first half-hour of the ceremony, which usually lasts three hours total.

Like the Oscars and the Golden Globes and other ceremonies of yore, the Emmys is an antiques roadshow — a throwback to an era when people had nothing better to do than to sit for an entire evening and watch some actor win a prize and act surprised.

The public’s increasing indifference to such showboating is made evident by the steep decline in ratings for such events. Numbers for the Grammys dropped 24 percent this year; also distressing, the Oscars lost 20 percent as the extravaganza produced one predictable winner after another. Last year’s Emmy awards drew a dismal 11.4 million viewers, compared to 11.3 in 2016.

By contrast, last week’s episode of “Roseanne” drew 13.2 million viewers. The glamour-free ABC sitcom, which co-stars an ugly old couch, knows something about how to attract an audience.

While we’re on the subject of comedy, it’s fair to ask if Jost and Che have the chops to make their “Weekend Update” rapport go the distance. Their “SNL” skit is a mainstay of the show, but their predecessors in those anchor seats — Tina Fey, Chevy Chase and Seth Meyers, among many others — have been more memorable. Perhaps Jost’s stature as movie star Scarlett Johansson’s boyfriend elevates him to snaring this kind of high-profile gig.

This year’s Emmy Awards executive producer Lorne Michaels’ other proteges, Jimmy Fallon and Meyers, have hosted the show in the past. Michaels will reportedly get other members of the “SNL” cast to pop in during the broadcast to make this less-than-dynamic duo not seem stranded up there with all those boring categories.

Like “SNL” itself, you can always catch up with the worthy bits a day later on YouTube.

Categories
Movies

I live less than two blocks from a theatre, with showtimes all day and into the evening, but yet I can’t seem to get over there to see a movie!!! Oh well, I bet that all changes next weekend with the new AVENGERS movie.

A Quiet Place reclaims box office crown, besting Rampage and I Feel Pretty

A Quiet Place is still making noise at the box office.

In its third weekend in theaters, Paramount and John Krasinski’s nearly dialogue-free horror movie is on track to earn an estimated $22 million from 3,808 theaters in the U.S. and Canada, reclaiming the No. 1 spot from the Dwayne Johnson-led action movie Rampage and holding off Amy Schumer’s new comedy, I Feel Pretty.

Through Sunday, A Quiet Place will have grossed about $132.4 million in North America, plus $74.8 million overseas, for a worldwide total of about $207.2 million. The film, which cost a modest $17 million to make, is now Paramount’s highest-grossing domestic release in nearly two years, since Star Trek Beyond in July 2016 (which earned $158.8 million).

A Quiet Place tells the story of a family living in silence in order to hide from aliens that hunt their prey by sound. Krasinski directed and costars with his wife, Emily Blunt.

Narrowly missing out on the top spot is Warner Bros’. Rampage, taking in an estimated $21 million (from 4,115 theaters). That works out to a drop of just 41 percent from last week’s debut and brings the movie’s domestic total to $66.6 million after 10 days in theaters.

The movie — which stars Johnson as a primatologist and ex-soldier dealing with mutated mega-animals — will need to perform well overseas to be considered a success, and this weekend it will add about $57 million from 61 foreign markets, lifting its international total to about $216.4 million.

Debuting in third place, STX’s I Feel Pretty will gross about $16.2 million, from 3,440 theaters. While that figure is slightly above industry projections, it’s also lower than the $19.5 million managed by Schumer’s Snatched and the $30 million collected by her hit Trainwreck.

Written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, I Feel Pretty stars Schumer as an ordinary woman who struggles with her self-image until she hits her head and wakes up feeling beautiful and confident. The movie has received poor reviews from critics, but moviegoers gave it a decent B-plus CinemaScore.

Another comedy debuting this weekend and garnering a B-plus CinemaScore is Fox’s Super Troopers 2, landing in fourth place with an estimated $14.7 million. The sequel, which hails from the Broken Lizard comedy group and was partially crowdfunded, will far exceed industry projections, which put it in the range of $6 million to $8 million.

Jay Chandrasekhar directed and costars in the movie, which centers on a motley crew of state troopers embroiled in an international border dispute. Reviews have been largely negative.

Blumhouse and Universal’s horror holdover Truth or Dare rounds out the top five with an estimated $7.9 million, while Lionsgate’s crime thriller Traffik, starring Omar Epps and Paula Patton, will open with about $3.9 million — in line with expectations and good for the No. 9 spot.

According to ComScore, overall box office is down 2.2 percent year-to-date. Looking ahead, next week brings the release of Disney and Marvel’s presumptive juggernaut Avengers: Infinity War.

Check out the April 20-22 figures below.

1. A Quiet Place — $22 million
2. Rampage — $21 million
3. I Feel Pretty — $16.2 million
4. Super Troopers 2 — $14.7 million
5. Truth or Dare — $7.9 million
6. Ready Player One — $7.5 million
7. Blockers — $7 million
8. Black Panther — $4.6 million
9. Traffik — $3.9 million
10. Isle of Dogs — $3.4 million

Categories
People

Very sad news. Rest In Peace, Verne.

‘Austin Powers’ Actor Verne Troyer Dies at 49

“It is with great sadness and incredibly heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today,” a statement on the actor’s official Facebook page reads.

Verne Troyer, an actor best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series, has died at age 49, according to a statement on the actor’s official Facebook page.

“It is with great sadness and incredibly heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today,” the statement reads. “Verne was an extremely caring individual. He wanted to make everyone smile, be happy, and laugh. Anybody in need, he would help to any extent possible. Verne hoped he made a positive change with the platform he had and worked towards spreading that message everyday.”

The statement makes sweeping statements about depression and suicide. “Verne was also a fighter when it came to his own battles. Over the years he’s struggled and won, struggled and won, struggled and fought some more, but unfortunately this time was too much,” it says. “Depression and Suicide are very serious issues. You never know what kind of battle someone is going through inside. Be kind to one another. And always know, it’s never too late to reach out to someone for help.”

No cause of death was immediately given. The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Troyer’s representatives.

In a statement given to THR, his Austin Powers co-star Mike Myers said, “Verne was the consummate professional and a beacon of positivity for those of us who had the honor of working with him. It is a sad day, but I hope he is in a better place. He will be greatly missed.”

Myers and Troyer’s director in Austin Powers in Goldmember and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Jay Roach, also honored the late star in a statement given to THR: “Verne was an amazing guy, a joyful collaborator, and a true master of comedic acting, a director’s dream. We found ourselves cutting to his silent performances constantly to levitate the scenes. An excellent dancer too! He elevated the character that Mike Meyers and Michael McCullers wrote and helped turn Mini-Me into an unforgettable, iconic character, known and referenced around the world. I feel lucky I got to know him and work with him. So sad for him and his family, but also celebrating the joy Verne brought us all.”

Troyer grew up in an Amish community in Michigan and rose to fame as a result of his role as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series. Following his Austin Powers debut in 1999’s The Spy Who Shagged Me, he played Griphook in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Coach Punch Cherkov in The Love Guru. He also had guest spots on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Scrubs, Two and a Half Men and Boston Public. He also memorably appeared as Mini-Me in the music video for Ludacris’ “Number One Spot” from the 2004 album The Red Light District.

In a 2016 story for THR, Troyer spoke about the difficulties of being an actor who was short in stature; at two foot eight, he held the record for being the shortest actor.

“I was once offered a superhero role — it’s almost too stupid to talk about — where when I came out to save lives, it was from under Abraham Lincoln’s hat. It was like, ‘I don’t care how desperate I am. I’m not doing that,’” he said.

Of his role playing a killer gnome in the 2015 horror movie Gnome Alone, he added, “I hadn’t seen a lot of parts come my way, so I decided just to do it.”

The actor vocally battled alcohol addiction, having nearly died in 2002 from alcohol poisoning following a breakup. Footage of drunken antics from a reality show The Surreal Life went viral. “That was a bad period in my life,” Troyer told THR in 2016 of his years spent drinking. “I’ve learned from it, and I move on.”

The actor had suffered some recent health setbacks. In 2017, Troyer announced that he was receiving treatment for alcohol addiction on his Facebook page. “I’ve been receiving treatment for the last week and I am voluntarily checking into a treatment center later this week to continue to get the help that I need,” he wrote. In 2015 the actor suffered a seizure but quickly bounced back, telling fans that he was fine; his manager said he had gone to a hospital as a precautionary measure.

On Saturday several stars penned tributes to the actor upon hearing the news of his death. Music video collaborator Ludacris wrote on Instagram, “R.I.P. Verne Troyer aka Mini Me. You made it to that #1 Spot Glad we got to make history together. #goontosoon #love.”

Actress Marley Matlin tweeted, “So sad to read of the passing of Verne Troyer. A lovely smile with a caring and big heart, he helped raise money on behalf of @starkeycares for free hearing aids for deaf and hard of hearing people. RIP.”

Musician Slash wrote on Instagram, “RIP #VernTroyer you will be missed.” Steve Aoki also shared an emotional post on his Twitter, writing, “Fucking devastated. My brother @vernetroyer I miss u and wish I could been there. I fucking miss u man. Fuck fuck I miss u.”

The statement announcing Troyer’s death asked that readers make a donation to Troyer’s favorite charities, The Starkey Hearing Foundation and Best Buddies, instead of sending flowers.

Categories
People

Here’s hoping he’s resting in peace.

Investigation says Prince was isolated, addicted and in pain

MINNEAPOLIS — After Prince had to be revived from a drug overdose a week before his death, one friend told the musical superstar that he needed to stop taking painkillers.

But Prince said he couldn’t — his hands hurt so much that if he quit, he’d have to stop performing.

“This piano tour I think was getting to his hands,” singer Judith Hill told investigators, according to a transcript of her interview.

Those words, found amid hundreds of pages of interviews between investigators and Prince’s closest confidants, provide insight into just how much the man known for his energetic performances and larger-than-life personality was suffering. The documents open parts of Prince’s life that the intensely-private celebrity tried to keep from even his closest confidants.

“How did he hide this so well?” Prince’s closest friend and bodyguard Kirk Johnson said in an interview with detectives. While Johnson said he didn’t realize that opioids were a problem until that overdose, he had noticed Prince was unwell before that and took him to a doctor.

In their zeal to protect Prince’s privacy, Carver County Attorney Mark Metz said some of the singer’s friends might have enabled him.

Prince was 57 when he was found alone and unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park studio compound in suburban Minneapolis on April 21, 2016. An autopsy found he died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin.

Authorities say it is likely Prince didn’t know he was taking the dangerous drug, which was laced in counterfeit pills made to look like a generic version of the painkiller Vicodin.

The source of those pills is unknown and no one has been charged in Prince’s death.

Dr. Michael Todd Schulenberg admitted that he prescribed another drug, oxycodone, under Johnson’s to protect Prince’s privacy, and paid $30,000 to settle allegations the drug was prescribed illegally.

Privacy is a theme in interviews with investigators. Joshua Welton, who co-produced some of Prince’s work, and Hannah Welton, the drummer in the Prince-created band 3rdEyeGirl, said they were like Prince’s family.

Joshua Welton described Prince’s inner circle at the time of his death as “very, very, very, very, very tight” — including Johnson, assistant Meron Bekure and the Weltons. He said he had seen little of Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, in recent years. “He’s made comments like you guys are more family to me than my blood relatives,” Welton said.

Johnson and Hill were on Prince’s plane when he overdosed on the way back from an April 14, 2016, concert in Atlanta. Hill said that Prince told her he was depressed, enjoyed sleeping more than usual and was incredibly bored. He told her after his show that he thought he was going to fall asleep on stage.

The plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, and after Johnson carried Prince from the plane “like you would carry a little kid or a baby,” paramedics had to use two doses of a medicine that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. When Prince took a large gasp of air and woke up, he looked at Johnson without saying anything and Johnson told paramedics, “Prince feels fine.”

At the hospital, Prince refused medical tests. He told Hill that he had just mixed two pills — that he was a good judge of his body and wouldn’t do it again. But when she told him “no more pills right?” he wouldn’t agree.

“He said something like well then that means I can’t perform because my hands are hurting. My hands hurt,” according to a transcript of her interview with investigators.

Investigative materials released Thursday include several other interviews, documents, photos and videos. There are pictures of pills that were found in various bottles in several different rooms. Authorities have said many of those pills were not in their proper containers, and many were counterfeit.

The documents include interviews with Schulenberg and Prince’s inner circle, including Johnson, who told investigators he had noticed Prince “looking just a little frail,” but said he did not realize he had an opioid addiction until the overdose on the plane. After that, Johnson said he and others reached out to an addiction specialist.

But Johnson had initially contacted Schulenberg, his own doctor, to treat Prince in the fall of 2015. Schulenberg told investigators that Johnson texted him on April 7, 2016, saying Prince was complaining of numbness and tingling in one of his legs and in his hands and had vomited the night before. Schulenberg prescribed some medications under Johnson’s name and gave Prince an IV, according to documents.

Schulenberg asked Prince if he was taking anything for his hands and Prince said yes, but “did not know what it was,” documents show.

Johnson also called Schulenberg on the fateful day of the Atlanta concert before the flight on which Prince overdosed and asked the doctor to give Prince a painkiller. Authorities say Schulenberg did so — under Johnson’s name. Johnson contacted Schulenberg again on April 18, and expressed concern that Prince was struggling with opioids.

Schulenberg last treated Prince the night before he died, conducting a urinalysis that tested positive for opioids. Meanwhile, Johnson and others had reached out to addiction specialist Howard Kornfeld, who dispatched his son to Paisley Park to try to convince Prince to seek treatment.

Andrew Kornfeld showed up the following morning. He was among those who found Prince dead.

Categories
Business

Wow, this is surprising. Cardboard is the future!!

Nintendo’s billion-dollar future may lie in cardboard

Nintendo Co. got its start in 1889 as a successful manufacturer of “hanafuda” — Japanese playing cards made out of stiff paper. Now the game-maker is embracing the same materials for its next trick.

The Kyoto-based company started selling on Friday an unusual collection of attachments for its hybrid Switch tablet-console: cardboard add-ons called Nintendo Labo. Priced at $89 and $99, the build-it-yourself cardboard kits, with accompanying software, will let users transform the Switch into a miniature piano, motorcycle handlebars, robot exoskeleton and other objects.

The goal: broadening the Switch’s appeal beyond the core gamers who fuelled an estimated 17 million in first-year unit sales. Players younger than 16 accounted for just 10 per cent of Switch users last year, according to Nintendo. Tatsumi Kimishima, Nintendo’s president, likes to hint that the Switch is on track to meet or surpass the top-selling Wii, a device that also embraced physical gameplay. Labo underscores Nintendo’s desire for the Switch to evolve into a more versatile entertainment device, and will most likely be just the first of many such initiatives.

“Switch was loved by Nintendo’s core users because the company brought out all of its strongest characters in the first year,” said Kazunori Ito, an analyst at Morningstar Investment Services in Tokyo. “But the second year will be getting more people to try it out. That’s the second act for Switch.”

So far, there’s a lot of optimism surrounding Nintendo Labo’s debut. The shares of cardboard-maker Ohmura Shigyo Co. jumped more than fourfold in January after several blogs speculated it was the manufacturer behind Labo.

Bloomberg reported last week that Osaka-based Rengo Co. is a key supplier for the cardboard gadget, fuelling a brief rally in the company’s shares. Still, that optimism hasn’t been reflected in Nintendo’s shares, which have underperformed the Nikkei 225 Index by 10 per cent in the past month.

“Nintendo shares aren’t currently pricing in that Labo will be a huge hit,” said Makoto Kikuchi, chief executive officer of Myojo Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “If we start to see indications that it’s selling well, we could see the stock move up a level.”

Also at stake: the $30-billion (U.S.) rise in Nintendo since the Switch debuted a year ago. First-year Labo sales are projected to be 3.4 million to 10 million units, according to four estimates compiled by Bloomberg, with adoption rates per console seen at 8 per cent to 30 per cent. David Gibson, a Tokyo-based analyst for Macquarie Securities, estimates gross profit from Labo at about $37 million (U.S.) for the period.

To achieve its goals, Nintendo is going to have to win over parents like Junko Suzuki, who say that Labo doesn’t seem to offer enough, given the price for what is essentially a collection of highly customized cardboard boxes.

“There’s just a feeling that something’s lacking for the gamers,” said Suzuki, mother of two boys aged 10 and 14. She says her kids regularly play the Switch they own, but haven’t shown any interest in Labo. “Visually there’s just not enough to draw them in.”

Adoption of the Switch among those under 16 has been slow, partly because of its price. At around $400, the hybrid device costs almost double Nintendo’s 3DS console. Some analysts have also pointed out the Switch is too big to be comfortably used by children, an issue that Labo may help address. And the software lineup to date has focused more on games such as Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Splatoon 2 — titles that are more popular with diehard gamers.

Atul Goyal, an analyst at Jefferies, says that Labo should be considered the start of a new sales phase for Nintendo. “This is the beginning of targeting the youth market,” he said. “It’s a turn from the core gamers to the kids. I think it will be a lot like Lego bricks. Kids will enjoy building it.”

Anticipating users who might damage their cardboard, Nintendo said on Friday that it will sell replacement parts.

Should Labo prove popular or durable enough, it could open the way for more cardboard products. Nintendo is already developing additional Labo accessories, according to a company spokesperson. A product video in January showed iterations that weren’t mentioned on the official website or press releases, including a steering wheel, a gas pedal, a camera and a gun-like controller.

“It’s something the kids will love,” said Myojo’s Kikuchi. “My impression is positive.”

The cardboard approach may also make sense for experimenting with virtual or augmented reality accessories. In 2016, Nintendo filed a patent application for a VR headset that featured a design similar to Google’s own cardboard-based headset, where a Switch-like display screen is slid into a paper visor. Nintendo’s close partner The Pokemon Company sees AR playing a big role in future games, its CEO told Bloomberg in August.

Apart from Labo, it’s clear that Nintendo sees the Switch as the foundation for a variety of gaming experiences.

Last week, the company also introduced a program to nurture outside developers who can find new ways to play or use the Switch. In a recent patent application, Nintendo outlined a system that would link the screens of several consoles together to form a single, large playing area, a plan first reported by several gaming websites.

“Nintendo Labo is a product intended to broaden the possibilities of Nintendo Switch,” Kimishima said at a briefing in February. “We hope to develop Nintendo Labo into a product that is not bound by the conventional boundaries of video games, and that endears itself to an even broader range of consumers.”

If he gets it right, the Switch could become Nintendo’s most successful device. In terms of longevity though, it will be hard to beat hanafuda playing cards, which the company still makes to this day.

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People

Twenty-eight is far too young. Rest In Peace, Avicii.

Avicii, EDM producer and DJ, dead at 28

Avicii, the Grammy-nominated electronic dance DJ who performed sold-out concerts for feverish fans around the world and also had massive success on U.S. pop radio, died Friday. He was 28.

Publicist Diana Baron said in a statement that the Swedish performer, born Tim Bergling, was found dead in Muscat, Oman.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the loss of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii,” the statement read.

“The family is devastated and we ask everyone to please respect their need for privacy in this difficult time. No further statements will be given.”

No more details about the death were provided. Oman police and state media had no immediate report late Friday night on the artist’s death.

Avicii was an international pop star, performing his well-known electronic dance songs around the world for feverish fans, sometimes hundreds of thousands at the music festivals, where he was the headline act.

His popular sound even sent him to the top of the charts and was heard on U.S. radio: His most recognized song, Wake Me Up, was a multi-platinum success and peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. On the dance charts, he had seven Top 10 hits.

In 2016, the performer announced he was retiring from the road, but continued to produce songs and albums.

He was part of the wave of DJ-producers, like David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Swedish House Mafia, who broke out on the scene as lead performers in their own right, earning international hits, fame, awards and more like typical pop stars.

He earned his first Grammy nomination at the 2012 show, for a collaboration with Guetta. It was around that time he gained more fans for the Etta James-sampled dance jam, “Le7els,” which reached No. 1 in Sweden.

Avicii continued to collaborate with more high-profile acts, producing Madonna’s Devil Pray and the Coldplay hits A Sky Full of Stars and Hymn for the Weekend.

All told, he was nominated for two Grammy Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards and one Billboard Music Award.

His death comes just days after he was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for top dance/electronic album for his EP Avicii (01). He was nominated alongside his peers, who have taken EDM mainstream of late — The Chainsmokers, Harris and Kygo.

He is the subject of the 2017 Levan Tsikurishvil documentary Avicii: True Stories.

Avicii built a strong musical and personal friendship with Nile Rodgers, who called Avicii his “little brother” in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday.

“I’m shocked because I don’t know medically what happened, but I can just say as a person, as a friend, and more importantly, as a musician, Tim was one of the greatest, natural melody writers I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve worked with some of the most brilliant musicians on this planet,” Rodgers said.

Avicii had in the past suffered from acute pancreatitis, in part due to excessive drinking. After having his gallbladder and appendix removed in 2014, he cancelled a series of shows in attempt to recover. He quit touring in 2016, but continued making music in the studio.

“It’s been a very crazy journey,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016. “I started producing when I was 16. I started touring when I was 18. From that point on, I just jumped into 100 per cent.

“When I look back on my life, I think: ‘Whoa, did I do that?’ It was the best time of my life in a sense. It came with a price — a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety for me — but it was the best journey of my life.”

Rodgers said his last performance with Avicii — about three years ago — upset him because of Avicii’s drinking.

“It was a little bit sad to me because he had promised me he would stop drinking, and when I saw him he was drunk that night. And I was like, ‘Whoa. Dude. C’mon. What are you doing? What’s going on? You said that that was done,”‘ Rodgers recalled. “We did a show and I was a little upset. I didn’t even stick around for his performance because it was breaking my heart. But we still had a great time. It was wonderful — we were that close.”

Last year, Avicii posted this message on his website, promising to keep creating: “The next stage will be all about my love of making music to you guys. It is the beginning of something new.”

Muscat, where Avicii died, is the capital of the sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula and is a popular vacation destination on the Arabian Sea.

Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia, who knew Avicii from playing at their wedding, said they were saddened by his death.

“We are grateful that we got to know him and admired him as an artist and the great person he was. He made our wedding unforgettable with his amazing music. Our warmest thoughts go to his family,” they said in a joint statement.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven called the lost star “one of Sweden’s biggest musicians.”

Fans, friends and colleagues were shocked at his sudden passing on Friday and quickly began posting tributes online.

“Something really horrible happened. We lost a friend with such a beautiful heart and the world lost an incredibly talented musician,” Guetta wrote on Instagram. “Thank you for your beautiful melodies, the time we shared in the studio, playing together as djs or just enjoying life as friends. RIP Avicii.”

Calvin Harris called Avicii “a beautiful soul, passionate and extremely talented with so much more to do.”

Ellie Goulding wrote that Avicii “inspired so many of us. Wish I could have said that to you in person.”

One Direction’s Liam Payne and Dua Lipa also tweeted about the performer, as did many others in the music industry.

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People

Oh, Harry Anderson. I loved you on Saturday Night Live, Cheers, Night Court and in person. You were always funny, amazing and larger than life. Take care Harry The Hat. Rest In Peace, Harry Anderson.

Harry Anderson, ‘Night Court’ Actor, Dead at 65

Harry Anderson, the actor, comedian and magician best known for playing Judge Harry Stone on the sitcom Night Court, died Monday at his home in Asheville, North Carolina. He was 65.

“This morning at 6:41 a.m. the Asheville Police Department responded to the home of actor Harry Anderson where he was found deceased,” the Asheville Police Department confirmed told the Hollywood Reporter. “No foul play is suspected.”

Anderson started his career as a magician before turning to comedy and, eventually, acting. “I started in magic and then I got out on the street and realized I can make more money on the street hustling with the shell game,” Anderson told Johnny Carson in 1988. “So I hustled until I got my jaw broken and then I sat around with my mouth wired shut for six weeks and figured out maybe linking rings were safer. And went back to the magic, and on the street, comedy was a great tool.”

Known for incorporating magic and con artistry into his comedy routines and acting roles – including his numerous appearances on Cheers as “flimflam man” Harry “The Hat” Gittes – Anderson was first introduced to mainstream audiences thanks to his reoccurring guest role on Saturday Night Live in the first half of the Eighties.

Following the success of his Cheers appearances, the actor remained in NBC’s heralded Must See TV block when he was cast as the lead in Night Court, where he played a judge tasked with overhearing the bizarre cases that entered a Manhattan circuit court on the night shift. The series aired for nine seasons, with Anderson earning three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series over Night Court’s run. Rolling Stone readers also named Night Court one of the 10 Best TV Shows of the 1980s.

Actress Markie Post, who played opposite of Anderson for seven seasons, tweeted “I am devastated. I’ll talk about you later, Harry, but for now, I’m devastated.” Fellow Night Court actress Marsha Warfield posted a video remembrance to Anderson on Facebook.

In addition to Night Court, Anderson appeared in the TV miniseries version of Stephen King’s It and starred as columnist Dave Barry in the sitcom Dave’s World, which ran for four seasons. Anderson also made guest appearances on Tales From the Crypt, Comedy Bang! Bang! and The John Larroquette Show, where he reunited with that former Night Court actor. Larroquette tweeted following news of Anderson’s death, “Heartbroken.”

Anderson’s last television appearance was a quasi-Night Court reunion on 30 Rock in 2008.

Judd Apatow tweeted, “I interviewed Harry Anderson when I was 15 years old and he was so kind, and frank and hilarious. The interview is in my book Sick In The Head. He was a one of a kind talent who made millions so happy.”