Comedian Joe Piscopo, inspired by Trump, mulls campaign for N.J. governor
Also in Tattle: weekend box office, Bob Dylan, John Glenn, Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson, Patrick J. Adams, Troian Bellisario and Kirk Douglas
MAKE New Jersey Great Again.
Former Saturday Night Live star Joe Piscopo wants to replace Chris Christie as governor of the Garden State.
He could then make comedy history by being the first politician to ridicule himself on SNL.
Piscopo says he would likely run as a Republican in 2017, but isn't ruling out jumping in as an independent after the June 6 primary.
"I'm seriously looking at it," he said, promising to make a decision by January. "I love the people. I love the state. I know what has to be done."
Piscopo has never campaigned for or held office, but a lack of experience seems to be more of a plus than it was when he first considered running in 2004. Additionally, he's been inspired by President-elect Donald Trump, whom he spoke for recently at a Florida rally.
"When I saw Mr. Trump in Tampa and he invited me to speak, I saw it was contagious. It was the movement. It wasn't the machine," he said.
Actually, according to the CIA, it could have been a Russian machine.
'La La' lands big
Disney's Moana has continued to sit pretty atop the box office for its third consecutive weekend, but Damien Chazelle's musical La La Land was what really had audiences singing this weekend.
Playing in only five theaters, the lively and well-reviewed La La Land grossed a staggering $855,000 for Lionsgate, according to studio estimates Sunday. Its $171,000 per theater average is an all-time high for a five-theater release and for 2016 in general.
According to exit polls, 52 percent of audiences were female and 53 percent were over age 30.
It was mostly business as usual among wide releases, with Moana in first with $18.8 million, followed by Office Christmas Party, which debuted to $17.5 million - a quiet moment before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story opens next weekend.
Dylan's eyes miss prize
Bob Dylan skipped his Nobel Prize for Literature ceremony on Saturday, but he did send literature-in the form of a brief note.
"I'm sorry I can't be with you in person, but please know that I am most definitely with you in spirit and honored to be receiving such a prestigious prize," it said. "If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I'd have about the same odds as standing on the moon."
(Note to Dylan: In order to stand on the moon, you would have to go to the moon.)
There is one requirement that the Nobel folk do expect Dylan to fulfill, says the Washington Post.
"We look forward to Bob Dylan's Nobel Lecture, which he must give-it is the only requirement-within six months counting from December 10, 2016," the Nobel press release said.
Stars remember Glenn
John Glenn, depicted in the upcoming historical space drama Hidden Figures as a trailblazer who also gave critical support to pioneering black women at NASA who helped him orbit the earth, was fondly remembered by the cast at the movie's recent premiere.
"He's a hero," said Janelle Monae, one of the film's stars. "John Glenn was always on the right side of history. During a time when these women, because of their gender and the color of their skin, were often times treated like second-class citizens, he extended his hand out, and he trusted women, and women of color, with his life."
"When he decided to shake the colored [mathematicians'] hands, he told them their lives matter," said star Taraji P. Henson. She said Glenn understood that it's about "putting our differences aside, and getting to a common goal. And that's moving humanity forward."
Based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures opens in limited release on Christmas before going wide Jan. 6.
TATTBITS
* Patrick J. Adams (Suits) and Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) wed Saturday in a rustic California ceremony.
Co-stars and celebrity friends were in attendance, but not Adams' co-star and Prince Harry girlfriend Meghan Markle. Both she and Adams agreed that her presence might bring unwanted attention to the wedding.
* Happy belated birthday to movie legend Kirk Douglas, who celebrated his 100th on Friday with about 150 friends and relatives.
Douglas was flanked by Anne Douglas, his wife of over 62 years, his son Michael Douglas, his daughter-in-law Catherine Zeta-Jones and his grandchildren.
His present? Douglas had been promised by his doctor years ago that if he lived to 100, he could have a glass of vodka.
L'chaim.
- Daily News wire services
contributed to this report.
215-854-5678 @DNTattle