Benzinga Buzz: Max Messes Up, So Does DeSantis. Plus: Hollywood Boss Gets Booed Off Stage

Each week, Benzinga Buzz compiles the latest entertainment news into a cohesive column for your consideration. Read on for the latest updates — both useful and irreverent.

• Little Glitches. Elon Musk is an explosive guy. His SpaceX rockets blow up. His Tesla TSLA cars spontaneously combust. So, naturally, his Twitter Spaces event, in which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, was an absolute bust.
• Failure To Launch. The long-awaited, official announcement from GOP darling DeSantis looked like "amateur hour" due to technical difficulties, Fox News said. DeSantis' fellow fascist, former President Donald Trump, capitalized in a bizarre fashion:

Trump just posted this video making fun of DeSantis. I have to admit, I couldn't stop laughing😂

Trump spaces soon? pic.twitter.com/xDsWMTUBI3

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 25, 2023

• President Joe Biden offered his condolences to the Musk/DeSantis fiasco as well:

This link works: https://t.co/9PzIJkseYI

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 24, 2023

• Anyone There? “Vanderpump Rules” drew 4.1 million viewers for its Season 10 finale last week. Fox News draws an average of 3.2 million viewers a night. DeSantis on Twitter? 500,000 people. You mean folks weren't eager to see whether Musk, the so-called "free speech absolutist," would grill DeSantis about Florida book-banning or his expanding the "Don't Say Gay" bill to high schools?
• 'Max' Goes Mad. Like DeSantis, Warner Bros. Discovery WBD also fumbled a big debut. Its HBO Max-rebranded streaming platform, "Max," removed all director and writer credits from its catalog of films, choosing to lump them all into a “creators” category. Because classic films are really just TikTok videos for people with an attention span. This went over really well.

• Not-So Warm Welcome. Boston University students booed Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav during the university's 150th commencement address. Several students turned their backs and chanted, "Pay your writers." There was even an airplane flying overhead with a banner that read, “David Zaslav — pay your writers.” It wasn't at all awkward.

• Queen Ami-Dollar. Natalie Portman recently said she'd be open to playing Padmé Amidala again in Walt Disney Co.'s DIS "Star Wars" franchise. Because who wouldn't want that big Death Star paycheck? If Portman were to return to a franchise, it should be as Mathilda in a sequel to the cult-classic "Léon: The Professional." You know who'd pay to see that movie?

via GIPHY

• Recommended Reading. Jessica Alba gets "honest" at VeeCon; Taylor Swift teams up with Ice Spice; Simon Cowell learns some valuable lessons; and Benzinga's Maureen Meehan compiles touching tributes to the late, great Queen of Rock 'n' Roll, Tina Turner.

For last week's column, click here.

Image: Pixabay