EVENING NIGHTCAP: The End of Sports Illustrated? Jon Stewart Is Coming Back! Halle's Movie Gets Canned.

 

 

► In "Finally, Some Good News":  Jon Stewart will be returning to The Daily Show as a part time host this year. He will begin on February 12. As you know, Trevor Noah ended his 7 year run as host. Different celebs have been filling in as rotating hosts (guess the show's producers were inspired by Jeopardy). Producers were contemplating having comedian Hisan Minaj take over Trevor's hosting duties. But that idea died on the vine when it was discovered that Hisan  fabricated a bunch of stuff about his personal life and got caught being untruthful.  Read More

 

Jon Stewart. Photo: Brad Barker / Getty Images for Comedy Center/NPR.com

Comment:  I'm thrilled that Jon is coming back! Perfect timing with the 2024 POTUS election. When he left it was a huge loss to the show. Trevor was a decent host. He had his moments and did a fine job. But he lacked the charisma, snarky, witty delivery that defined the show. Now that Jon is back, I hope that past "correspondents" such as Steve Carrell, Wyatt Cernac, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, and Stephen Colbert make surprise guest appearances. That would be freakin' awesome.

► It's no secret that Sports Illustrated has been declining in popularity for years. Insiders say the decline was accelerated when back in 2022, editors put Kimbo K-Trash on the cover. This contradicted the company's statement of focusing on role models. It created a HUGE backlash,  pissed off a lot of people, and SI got dragged for it.  Anyway, a few days ago, Arena Group which has the licensing rights to publish SI and the website for Authentic Brands Groups (AGB) who actually owns SI, missed a $15 million licensing payment to AGB. This prompted laying off  most of the SI staff until AGB works out a solution with Arena Group; and that's up in the air since AGB doesn't know if it wants to continue with Arena Group or if plans to find another company to operate it. It's a shit show at SI.  Read More 

Photo: OutKick Hot Mic

Comment: SI has been dealing with a lot of issue besides declining readership. I can summarize their demise in 2 words: BAD MANAGEMENT. Last December, the CEO was fired when it was discovered some articles were written by AI and featured fake AI reporters (with phony AI bios and photos!). That didn't inspire confidence in how SI was being managed. Before that AI debacle, the previous CEO laid off 20% of the staff and replaced them with contract workers. Again, a decision that does not inspire confidence in management. SI has been poorly managed for years. And, I agree with insiders that putting K-Trash on the Swimsuit Cover after touting they were going to focus on positive role models was an insult. Another BAD management decision. Right now, things look bleak for SI. It would not shock me if AGB decides to shutter it permanently.  

►Bad news for Halle Berry as Netflix has flushed down the toilet the release of the movie, "The Mothership", a sci-flick that was filmed in 2021. Netflix and Warner Brothers Studios kept changing its release date more often than Halle changes boyfriends. They announced today the movie will sit on the shelf collecting dust next to other movies that will never see the light of day including John Cena's "Coyote vs. Acme",  Scoob! Holiday Haunt, and the reboot of the $90 million Bat Girl.   Read More 

Publicity photo for The Mothership with Halle Berry. Photo: Vandal

 

 Comment: Damn, it must be a bad movie for Netflix not to release it. How bad could it be? It cannot be worse than Prince Waagh and Walmart Wallis documentary which was utter crap and a waste of $100 million for Netflix (their contract for 5 films).