Daily Mail
Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker go for wild and wacky ensembles as they lead stars at the Hocus Pocus 2 premiere in New York City
By CARLY JOHNSON
27 September 2022
Bette Midler turned heads as she stepped onto the red carpet in a wild and wacky look at the premiere of Hocus Pocus 2 in New York City on Tuesday. Bette Midler Thanks The Fans, The Stans, Etc…At The Hocus Pocus 2 Premiere
Midler, along with co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, reprises her role as one of the wicked Sanderson Sisters in the highly-anticipated sequel to the 1993 classic, which is set for a September 30 release on Disney+.
Midler posed a storm in a flowing black and white striped dress with colorful sleeves and a V-neckline that showed off her smooth décolletage.
Midler – who plays ringleader Winifred Sanderson – twirled around for the cameras and pulled at the sides of her dress to showcase the skirt’s width.
The actress, 76, gave her petite 5foot1inch frame a boost by strolling the red carpet in a pair of metallic rainbow platforms.
Her cropped silver tresses poked out from under a neon pink turban and a pair of sparkling drop earrings brushed the tops of her shoulders.
Midler was joined at the star-studded shindig by her longtime husband, actor Martin von Haselberg, who rocked a bright and quirky getup of his own
Mister D: As I said in a post before, I had been asked to participate in a project for Miss M that I wasn’t given a reason for. Sometimes I’ll ask and prod, and sometimes I just don’t. I go by instinct. Bette had wanted me to go through her vast expanse of outrageous outfits. She had an idea of some things she wanted to see, and I threw in outrageous fashions I liked and drew from shows such as Divine Madness and Art Or Bust, along with some awards show moments. She had wanted to see stuff from Experience The Divine and The Divine Miss Millenium.
It was ironic that she picked me to help Jill, who was slammed from just returning from vacation. And I loved the project because it brought me back to the time I first connected with Bette. What was funny is that I had turned down doing the official page because she said she would be the one that would pick what would go up, and I told her I know how you work, and I work fast, and I don’t want it to be a static page. I take chances and tread the line between what is legal and what is not, and I have a blast, and I think I have a grasp of who you were and where you’re going. I knew that working with big corporations would never work for me, and I had several replacements I thought could serve her well, and I gave her each one of their cards and their strengths.
So let it be said, anyone who thinks I’m selfish and don’t try to push glory on other people is sadly mistaken. I turned away from money and tried to pass it on to my colleagues (I think one thanked me), but Bette decided to go with proven professionals. And that’s fine, but I always thought a great fan who wished her the best would be apropos for her. I would have made her finish those remembrances she wrote of past albums. books she was reading, movies she was seeing. You just have to keep the content fresh.
Even though she took some of what I said to heart and followed through, what it came down to is that they just didn’t take the internet seriously, and truly I don’t think Bette saw much importance in it either, and you just can’t force that on people. She thought she would have to type, but her fingernails got in the way. I tried to tell her she didn’t have to touch the keyboard. Dictate, send a copy to Jill or me, And I told her I would die if I had to wait for her to pick out the right pictures.
I couldn’t believe how cocky I was and how honest I was because I was about to vomit when I first went back to meet her, but it just disappeared when I walked in on the band, and they shouted “it’s Mister D! ” They had become cult fans and they loved Moronica. I’m sure she freaked them out. They didn’t know how that Turkey knew so much.
But I knew I would get flack from my parents and any other big capitalists I knew. I just couldn’t put a price on something I loved doing, and I loved the concept I came up with. Plus, I did not want a professional relationship to destroy all that Bette had given to me throughout my lifetime. And I didn’t tell her any of that. Stars and Megastars are human, sensitive, and prone to emotion, so I never was one to tell her about the horrible things that happened to me during my life because It’s like you are forcing your pain onto the megastar you want to uplift and just adding to how many others do the same thing. It becomes exponential and, in some cases, debilitating. And we know how sensitive Ms. Midler can be.
I have learned a good bit about how things work in Hollywood (not a fan), and I became obsessed with learning about the harmful effects of fame, and there’s not much written on it. But one book I read reiterated what I had learned from people like Bruce, Vilanch, Eric Kornfeld, and Richard Jay-Alexander
, to whom I owe everything. He was a great mentor, but I was a bad student. He loves what he does and is wonderful at what he does, and I had never had somebody that tried so hard with me. I’m just very independent and will do things my way. I always seemed to have a quick retort, but he deserves all his accolades. The Diva Whisperer? He more than deserves that nickname. But he was very instrumental in getting Bette and me to meet. I did learn some lessons from him, but on many, I would say, well, that is just silly. I finally think maybe he threw up his hands over me. But I will always love him for what he did. No, I didn’t parlay anything into big bucks. I just couldn’t do that. I’m sure Bette saw that, and she has always been generous with perks.
I got in trouble with, oh, who is the producer of Hello Dolly!? Scott Rudin!!! Somebody kept putting up bootlegs of Hello Dolly! on You Tube and I would embed the link on Bootleg Betty. But I kept getting messages to take the bootleg bc he was going to send me cease and desist orders. It happened 3 times, jand’It wasn’t my fault at all. He just didn’t underst and how the internet works. But I tried to explain, I was not the source of it and he could not do anyhing to me. Bette or someone scored me a couple of good seats. Standing in line I saw Mr Rudin talking to someone, maybe Bruce Vilanch, and I told my partner at the time I’m going to introduce myself and tease him a little about threatening me, and Barry said “please don’t. You could ruin the whole evening,” Probably, but the story had came out later about what a bully he was, so I guess I m MY partner was be. Anyway, I had a blast!
Back to scouring photos for Miss M and seeing her beautiful, whimsical, and brightly colored gown. I started wondering if she was trying to conjure something up from looking at outfits past. I doubt it. But sure liked what I saw which was a dress fom the Christopher John Rogers Resort 2023 collection. I simply loved it and it made me smile,which would expose I lost my partial, had no front teeth, and therefore I had to turn down my Hocus Pocus invitation. Bad luck wins out this time around,
Scroll way down for the Hocus Pocus 2 Gallery: I’ll fix it later
[modula-link id=”294895″]Hocus Pocus 2 Movie Premier: Click here[/modula-link]
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