BUDD FRIEDMAN DIES AT 90: Budd Friedman, the founder of The Improv Comedy Club franchise, died of heart failure on Saturday (November 12th) at age 90. Hollywood Improv wrote on Twitter, “The comedy world lost a giant today. In 1963 he changed the world of comedy by creating the first comedy club for the masses to come together in laughter. In 1963 he changed the world. He went global. He was a pioneer. He was a gentleman. He was a luminary.” According to Variety, stars like Jay Leno, Robert Klein, Bette Midler, Richard Pryor and Andy Kaufman all performed at Friedman’s comedy club in New York, and he helped launch the careers of comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Robin Williams, Jimmy Fallon, Larry David, Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Keenen Ivory Wayans, and Lily Tomlin.
ALEC BALDWIN FILES ‘RUST’ LAWSUIT TO ‘CLEAR HIS NAME:’ Deadline reports that, just days before the Santa Fe District Attorney is expected to announce possible charges regarding the fatal Rust shooting, Alec Baldwin has filed a lawsuit against members the film’s crew: armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, first assistant director David Halls, property master Sarah Zachry, and weapons and rounds supplier Seth Kenney. “This tragedy happened because live bullets were delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez-Reed failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully, Halls failed to check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry failed to disclose that Gutierrez-Reed had been acting recklessly off set and was a safety risk to those around her,” the lawsuit reads. The actor’s lawyer added, “More than anyone else on that set, Baldwin has been wrongfully viewed as the perpetrator of this tragedy. By these Cross-Claims, Baldwin seeks to clear his name and hold Cross-Defendants accountable for their misconduct.”
‘BONES AND ALL’ RED CARPET SHUT DOWN DUE TO OVERCROWDING: According to Variety, the red carpet for the Milan premiere of Bones and All was shut down on Saturday night (November 12th) due to an influx of Timothee Chalamet fans. Local police cancelled the red-carpet event due to safety concerns, but the screening went ahead as scheduled.
‘YELLOWSTONE’ CREATOR RESPONDS TO CLAIMS THAT THE SERIES IS A ‘RED-STATE SHOW:’ Taylor Sheridan, the creator of the hit Paramount series Yellowstone, responded to criticism that the series is a “red-state show” in the December issue of The Atlantic. “They refer to it as 'the conservative show' or 'the Republican show' or 'the red-state Game of Thrones,'” Sheridan said. “And I just sit back laughing. I'm like, 'Really?' The show's talking about the displacement of Native Americans and the way Native American women were treated and about corporate greed and the gentrification of the West, and land-grabbing. That's a red-state show?”