Billy McFarland makes an offer… AMC is releasing 3 new Nicole Kidman ads… Weight Watchers stock plummets… Dwayne Johnson has secured ownership rights… and Raquel Leviss sues for revenge porn
Listen to “Showbiz – Mar 1, 2024” on Spreaker.
Is Fyre Festival II actually happening? Billy McFarland was sentenced to 6 years in prison for committing mail and wire fraud for the first Fyre Festival debacle. He was released in September 2022 after serving 4. Back in August of last year, Billy shocked the world by announcing there would be a Fyre Festival II and released the first 100 pre-sale tickets, which sold out immediately. Since then, Billy did a couple more rounds of pre-sales with tickets starting at $2500 and going as high as $1M EACH. And then yesterday, he posted a video announcing that the pre-sale has ended, with applications totaling over $110M worth of tickets. He said, “The next time you’ll hear from me is when my partners are making their official announcement. Until then, that’s a wrap.” TMZ was told that 40 of the tickets holders were invited to celebrate during an intimate dinner in NYC Wednesday night. From what we understand, Fyre II will take place sometime in December somewhere in the Caribbean.
Fyre Festival founder Billy McFarland is proving folks can't resist a good comeback!
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 1, 2024
Read more https://t.co/X2QPldegMj
If you’re heading to your favorite AMC Theatre tonight to be one of the first who sees Dune 2, you’ll also be one of the first who sees Nicole Kidman’s new commercials for the theater chain! AMC Theatres has produced THREE new ads starring Nicole, replacing her old “Heartbreak feels good in a place like this” spots. Her first spot for AMC was part of a $25M national ad campaign that debuted in September 2021, when theaters were desperately trying to get us all back in theaters after the Covid shutdowns. There was Nicole, all moody and broody in her hooded trench coat, sauntering into and AMC Theater talking about heartbreak….She instantly became the subject of a bunch of memes and inspired an SNL skit. AMC LOVED it, and they negotiated a sweet deal to extend her partnership. The first ad Nicole did was written by Oscar-nominated Billy Ray and directed by Oscar-nominated Jeff Cronenweth, who was the cinematographer for The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. We’re not sure if they’re back for this go ‘round of spots.
Nicole Kidman’s original AMC ad is now retired with the 3 new ads now starting to play in theaters. pic.twitter.com/YidKmxTQDz
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) March 1, 2024
Oprah Winfrey has been on the Weight Watchers board of directors since 2015. But when she recently announced she’d been using a weight loss drug to lose weight, Weight Watchers’ stock value took a hit. So in an effort to “eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications,” Oprah is leaving the board of directors. She will, however, continue to collaborate with the company. Oprah is also donating all her stock to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It had been valued at around $18M before she admitted to taking weight loss meds.
Weight Watchers stock plummets after Oprah announces she is leaving the company's board. @eriellereshef has more on the media mogul's exit. pic.twitter.com/HDWiFkSVpx
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 1, 2024
When Dwayne Johnson joined the board of TKO — the company that owns the WWE — he got he rights to his nickname, The Rock. But it turns out, Dwayne got a lot more than that! He was also given the Intellectual Property and trademark rights to a whole bunch of his classic nicknames, catchphrases and put-downs, including roody-poo, candy-ass, the Brahma Bull, the People’s Champion, the People’s Elbow, Jabroni, and, of course, If you smell what The Rock is cooking…
Dwayne Johnson Secures Ownership Rights to 25 Names and Catchphrases, Including 'Rock Nation' and 'Candy Ass,' Under Agreement With WWE's Parent https://t.co/8zYFhVn5aG
— Variety (@Variety) February 29, 2024
Deadline was first to report that Rachel Leviss — fka Raquel — has filed a lawsuit against Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for revenge porn, eavesdropping, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. In the lawsuit, Rachel takes responsibility for her role in the Scandoval cheating scandal, but filing says, “Lost in the mix was that Leviss was a victim of the predatory and dishonest behavior of an older man, who recorded sexually explicit videos of her without her knowledge or consent, which were then distributed, disseminated and discussed publicly by a scorned woman seeking vengeance, catalyzing the scandal.” When she guested on Bethenny Frenkel’s podcast, Rachel said she’d gotten a message from Ariana that included two screen-recorded videos and a text that said, “You’re dead to me.” That’s how Rachel found out Tom had recorded her without her consent, and now she was terrified that Ariana was going to seek revenge by posting these videos online. However, the lawsuit states that Ariana did share the videos with other cast members of Vanderpump Rules.
Vanderpump Rules' Raquel Leviss Sues Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix for Revenge Porn https://t.co/TWSZ8fzoTT
— E! News (@enews) February 29, 2024
