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Caloroga Shark Media. I’m Johnny mac. I’ll continue to cover this Rob Reiner’s story through the lens of comedy. The Hollywood Reporter wrote a piece titled ConA O’Brien through a Holiday Party to Forget a bad year. Then Nick Reiner arrived.
As they tell the story, a group of powerful Hollywood creatives and executives were at ConA and O’Brien’s house on Saturday night for a holiday party. They tell us. The estate is nestled in a section of the Pacific Palisades that was spared by the fires earlier in the year, although Conan did have to evacuate, As The Hollywood Reporter tells the story, it was a chance to shake off the bad mojo of twenty twenty five and look toward a happier and more hopeful new year. But as the night progressed, a different kind of dark energy filled the room. Thhr writes, an erratic male figure wandered around the party and interrupted conversations, demanding to know who attendees were and if they were quote unquote famous.
Many like Jane Fonda and Bill Hayter, in fact were. Whispers began to ripple the imposing man six foot three approximately two hundred thirty pounds had not wandered in off the street, though many wondered if he had. The man was the son of Rob and Michelle Reiner. Dhr ads. Nick’s name was not on the invitation, but his parents asked Conan O’Brien if he could tag along.
His behavior, which had often been extreme and stressful, had grown degrees even more concerning in recent weeks. They were reluctant to leave him home alone. In the guest house of the Brentwood Home, Bill Hayter calmly responded to Nick that he was engaged in private conversation. According to someone with knowledge of the situation, says Thhr, in this version of the story, Nick glared at hater for what felt like an uncomfortable amount of time. Later in the party, shouts echoed.
All conversations stopped and turned toward the racket. It was two men arguing, Rob and his son. Minutes later, the Reiners, mortified, apologized to Conan O’Brien and left the party. Who was not determined if Nick left with them at that time, Thhr says the conversation did return to the room, but the mood of the evening was altered. The Daily Mail reported Bill Hayter appeared strained as he was pictured for the first time since that conversation.
A source told The Daily Mail that Hater is horrified and extremely sad over the murders of Rob and Michelle, and that Hater doesn’t want to be connected to the story. Bill doesn’t want this tragedy to be made about him and any disagreement that he may have had with Nick. Bill’s refusing to talk about it. I was chatting here at the podcasting company with my co founder, and we have a podcast called Celebrity Trials, and I said, there’s a good chance Hater and maybe even Conan and whoever else was at this party gets dragged into an eventual court case. I imagine that the shouting match happening in such close proximity would be of interest to the prosecution.
I have no legal expertise. That’s just a guy in a basement with an opinion. But I’m not sure Hater is successfully not going to be connected to the story on Rob’s shooter. Substack and I’ll just observe. I’m the writer on the Palace Intrigue podcast, and that is a source that tends to come up.
It tends to be a little more gossipy than other sources. I’m say saying it’s incorrect. It’s just a little more gossipy. Rob Shooter writes. Conan O’Briens devastated and consumed with guilt following the shocking murders.
Sources say the Late Night icon can’t stop replaying the last moments he saw the family together, haunted by what he perceives as mister warning signs Shooter. Rights insiders tell me that Conan is blaming himself after witnessing a heated argument. He keeps thinking what if I had stepped in, What if I’d pulled Rob aside or shut it down. He feels like maybe he could have changed the course of what happened. Friends described Conan as heartbroken.
Another insider says Conan is replaying every detail in his mind. He’s wrecked with guilt and keeps wondering if anything he did or didn’t do could have made a difference. It remains to be seen if Conan will talk about this on his podcast. Now today being December seventeenth, there’s a very very likely chance that they have wrap production for the year. Several prominent figures and close friends of Rob Reiner has released a joint statement.
They include Billy Crystal, Larry David, and Martin Short. In the statement, friends of Rob Reiner said, going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear, or watching an attense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill. Tell us the story audiences demanded of us. Absorbing all he had learned from his father Karl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master storyteller. There is no other director with his range from comedy to drama to documentary.
He was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him, they lined up to see his films. His comedic touch was beyond compare his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of drama was simply elegant. For the actors he loved them, for the writers who made them better.
His greatest gift freedom. If he had an idea, he listened. He brought you into the process. They always felt like they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a filmmaker was a privilege.
That’s only part of his legacy. Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen who not only cared for the country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better. And with his loving wife, Michelle, he had the perfect partner. Strong and determined. Michelle and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their life lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens.
They were special force together, dynamic, on selfish and inspiring. We were their friends and we will miss them forever. There’s a line from one of Rob’s favorite films, It’s a wonderful life. Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he? You have no idea.
Indie rock band Jola Tengo paid tribute to Rob Reiner by doing a spinal Tap cover during their annual Hankkah show at the Bowery Ballroom on Monday night. Frontman Ira Kamplan said, we’re going to salute a Jewish songwriter. We were not expecting to be saluting this Sonica and We certainly weren’t expecting to be memorializing him, so we’re going to try and do a song and see how this goes. They then played give Me Some Money from nineteen eighty four’s This Is Spinal Tap. The release of Rob Reiner’s final film, a concert film called Spinal Tap at Stonehenge the Final Finale, has been delayed.
Variety reports that the distributor’s Bleaker Street, said a projected release in twenty twenty six will be delayed until quote the best path forward is decided with those closest to Rob and his family. The film is live concert for footage featuring Spinal Tap performing near Stonehenge. The filmmakers were spotted there in August. English Heritage confirmed at the time that the site had been hired, but did not reveal further details. A statement in October said that Eric Clapton, Shania Twain, and Josh Groben were guest musicians at the concert.
None of that footage was used in the recently released Spinal Tap two, which I had noticed. Now was it Saturday night? I guess. I went on HBO and they were highlighting both Spinal Tap and Spinal Tap two as big ads. When I was on there the other night.
They had probably wisely kind of dialed that down a little bit. Otherwise it might be misconstrued that they were like, oh, Rob runderdot, let’s promote his movies, and they had been promoting it anyway. Coincidentally, on Instagram, Harry Shearer, who you may know as Bassis Derek Small’s from spinal Tap wrote Rob was a friend and collaborator through much of my life. He was funny, he was smart, He was a mensch. When he came to see the comedy act I was in and later the musical comedy had co written, his laugh was uproarious and audible around the block.
He was a great collaborator, and when the four of us proposed ideas for the films, he was the one who wrote them on three by five cards and organized them into a movie. And Michelle was a very good friend of my wife, Judith. This is unspeakable, the stuff of Greek tragedy. Rob Schneider weighed in on the President of the United States comments about Rob Reiner. Schneider said, America has such a unique experiment in freedom.
We were allowed to have these conversations. We’re allowed to disagree with the president and even say there where he just thinks he said. I don’t want to repeat them, but I think that the president, I think he must rise above it. I think he seems incapable of rising above the situation and being the president of US all and just saying what it was. Schneider suggested Trump move away from the rhetoric of anger and proposed, you know phrasing.
Maybe he wasn’t a fan of mine, but I was a fan of his. He made great films, he was a great artist. To leave it at that, I think we must move away from the rhetoric of anger and hostility and not take everything personally. It was a regular episode in the feed earlier today and I’ll see you tomorrow.