Wait…Austin Butler is doing his own singing in Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis? He doesn’t sound like the Real McCoy. Lacking that unique vocal signature (smooth tones, purry phrasing, Memphis inflections), Butler is just another Elvis imitator.

I had presumed all along that Lurhmann would make a concerted effort for Butler to actually sound like Presley. Nope!

A biopic of a famous singer can’t work unless the singing voice sounds just so. Bohemian Rhapsody was a bull’s eye in this respect with Rami Malek sounding almost exactly like Freddie Mercury. (Malek did some of his own singing but was mostly dubbed by a Freddy imitator + Freddy himself.)

Butler’s Presley crooning is roughly on the same level as Taron Egerton‘s not-good-enough imitation of Elton John‘s singing in Rocketman (’19).

Jordan Ruimy: “Egerton imitating John was a big mistake, and so is this. Elvis’ voice was unique and unforgettable — a range and passion that can’t be replicated. It’s a fool’s belief to think that Butler’s voice could believably stand in for something this iconic. Didn’t they blend Malek and Mercury’s voice (as well as a Freddy imitator) in sound mixing for Bohemian Rhapsody?”

Chris Rock’s Amber Heard riff was pretty funny, but it happened in London last Thursday (5.12) — way too many days ago.

The best time to respond to a joke is either minutes after the fact or within 12 hours. If the joke is more than 24 hours old, it’s slightly less funny. If it’s 36 to 48 hours old, it starts to flirt with “amusing but not hilarious.” If the joke is three to four days old, you can almost forget about it.

According to LadBible’s Daisy Phillipson, Rock said the following at a 5.12 London show: “Believe all women, believe all women…except Amber Heard. What the fuck is she on? She shit in [Johnny Depp‘s] bed! She’s fine but she’s not shitting fine.

“She shit in his bed. Once you shit in someone’s bed, you just guilty of everything.

“She shit in his bed. What the fuck is going on there? Wow. And they had a relationship after that. It must be amazing pussy. I’ve been with some crazy bitches but goddammit.”

Naturally the feminist brigade has attacked Rock for belittling Heard, etc. Example: “I never liked Chris Rock, always thought he was overrated, and he is trash for attacking Amber Heard.”

For a solid ten years of Cannes-ing (2010 through 2019) my press badge was Steve Buscemi-plus — pink with a yellow pastille. That yellow dot meant a lot in terms of screening access; it was almost the same as having a Harvey Keitel pass (aka Mr. White).

Three years ago the Cannes press office downgraded my pass to plain pink, but I begged them to once again give me a yellow dot, and they obliged.

A couple of hours ago I was plain-pinked again. I went up to the press office to request the usual usual, but the staffers assured me that with the relatively recent pain-in-the-ass online ticket request system (no more lineups) there really isn’t much difference between pink and pink-yellow. Full access to all press conferences, etc.

I don’t know why but I didn’t fight it this time. In the parlance of David Mamet, I “imperceptibly slumped.”

JFK flight landed at 6:15 am. The Nice flight leaves around 7:30 am. I love floating around, feeling like a rolling stone. Zurich airport is at least 15 times more pleasant and soothing than JFK.

Is this the first major anti-woke pushback move from a corporate heavyweight? Is this a one-off or (if it turns out to be some kind of seismic indicator) an early indication of an emerging “we’ve had it up to here with your extremist social overhaul routine…we’re good people, we’re not your enemy, but sometimes you might be your own” — almost a Howard Beale moment.

Okay, that’s probably too extreme of a comparison. But Netflix has said that while their commitment to basic humanist-corporate values — caring, decency, respectful, fair pay and zero-tolerance attitudes re hate speech, Netflix will not automatically jump through woke hoops.

What Netflix essentially said to certain employees was “we’re in the mass-appeal streaming business, and not the political-cultural guidance business. So if you don’t like certain topics or plots or themes or jokes or stories (like that relatively recent David Chappelle performance flick), it may mean that Netflix and you (or maybe some of your workplace colleagues) might not be a match.”

HE’s Swiss Airlines flight departs JFK at 4:30 pm. Arrives in Zurich (great town!) around 6:15 am, a final commuter hop to Nice that arrives…I forget exactly but probably 9-ish. No bus or shuttle — take the local train to le gare de Cannes.

Third photo: Mickey Rourke, Roman Polanski on the set of The Palace.

If your Samsonite suitcase loses a wheel, you can supposedly obtain a replacement by way of a ten-year warranty. Actually not so much. The second photo is the Wilton pad — three stories, garage & laundry room. spacious interiors, nice forest view, squawking geese flying over, etc.