Reeve Carney can really thank Julie Taymor now. He’s been plucked from his grueling job playing Peter Parker in “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” to star in the official bio film about late singer Jeff Buckley. Before “Spider Man,” Carney had his own pop group but no acting credits. Now he’s an actor and acrobat as well, thanks to Taymor. The Buckley movie is called “Dream Brother” and it’s based on David Browne’s excellent book about Buckley. Jake Scott will direct. This is the only Jeff Buckley movie with the singer’s music. The rights belong to Buckley’s mother. Another movie starring Penn Badgley is being made in which the “Gossip Girl” star will play Jeff, but it takes place during a tribute concert for Buckley’s late dad, Tim. The only song to overlap in both movies could be Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Otherwise, “Dream Brother” will have all the Jeff Buckley music and the authorized story of his untimely death. Carney will need time off to make “Dream Brother”–he deserves it after the “Spider Man” experience. His alternate, Matthew James Thomas, is ready and able.
Box Office: Woody Soars, Hanks-Roberts Fails, Apes Scores, ‘Help’ Cleans Up
It’s time to catch up with the summer box office. Woody Allen‘s “Midnight in Paris” is about to hit $50 mil domestically. This is just great. Everyone loves this movie! Watch for “Midnight” to be a huge awards mover and shaker. Meanwhile, “The Help” opened beautifully, taking in $35 million already. This exceptionally good drama will also be back for awards season, mark my words. Viola Davis, Olivia Spencer, and — yes– Bryce Dallas Howard–are all going to be names in the mix. Even with a ton of Oscar-pointed films coming in the next three months, these two films are going to stay in vogue. Meanwhile, the failure film of the summer has to be “Larry Crowne.” Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts only managed to bring in a total of $35 million. (The theatrical run is more or less over.) Of course, no one took salaries up front. If they had, wow, oh my god. But with deferred payments, “Larry Crowne” is still a bust and a half. It was a half baked movie, that’s for sure. Meanwhile, the surprise hit, both financially and artistically is “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” James Franco and co. finish the weekend with $104 million total and lots of kudos. It’s not an awards movie, but it’s the beginning of a smart franchise.
NBC, CBS, ABC Set for MLK Memorial Special
The big Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial dedication is fast coming upon us. NBC, CBS, ABC but not Fox, I am told, are going to cover the historic concert on the Washington DC mall on August 28th.
Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Jennifer Hudson are lined up for the show, with Brian Williams and Tom Brokaw said to be involved. (I’m sure anchors from the other nets will get into the act.) George Lucas and Jamie Foxx are also part of the proceedings. The show begins at 11am and ends around 3pm.
The August 28th concert is the culmination of several days of events in Washington for this important moment. It’s the first time a memorial has been dedicated in Washington to anyone other than a president. Frankly it’s about time.
You can see the schedule at http://washington.org/visiting/experience-dc/mlk-memorial. I’m told another concert, set for Thursday, August 25th, will be just as star studded, with names like Patti Labelle and the Isley Brothers being bandied about.
Organizers are also reaching out to Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Bono and U2, Sam Moore, Gladys Knight, and possibly Tony Bennett, who was close to Dr. King. No word yet on whether Oprah Winfrey will get involved. She’s said to be currently cruising the Mediterranean on Barry Diller’s yacht with Diane von Furstenberg, pal Gayle King and Oscar de la Renta.
Mick Jagger Super Group: News on Album Song Titles, Etc.
Mick Jagger–this column was FIRST to report that he was planning a new album without the Rolling Stones. His supergroup, called SuperHeavy, debuts its first video tomorrow on Vevo.com with a song called “Miracle Worker.” The album hits us on September 20th. All five members of the gang get writing credit on every song–Jagger, Damian Marley, Joss Stone, Dave Stewart, and composer A.R. Rahman. Will it be good? Who knows? And what about the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary in 2012? Jagger must be really be angry with Keith Richards over his book. Anyway, here are the song titles. And some pictures. Let’s cross our fingers. Here’s a link to the “Miracle Worker” audio: http://www.4shared.com/audio/gU5Llzqi/Super_Heavy_-_Miracle_Worker__.html
1.Superheavy (Jagger/Marley/Stone/Stewart/Rahman)
2.Unbelievable (Jagger/Marley/Stone/Stewart/Rahman)
3.Miracle Worker (Jagger/Marley/Stone/Stewart/Rahman)
4.Energy (Jagger/Marley/Stone/Stewart)
5. Satyameva Jayathe (Rahman /Marley/Stone)
6.One Day One Night (Jagger/Marley/Stone/Stewart/Rahman)
7.Never Gonna Change (Jagger/Stewart)
8.Beautiful People (Jagger/Marley/Stone/Stewart/Rahman)
9.Rock Me Gently (Marley/Stone/Stewart)
10.I Can’t Take It No More (Jagger)
11.I Don’t Mind (Jagger/Marley/Stone/Stewart)
12. World Keeps Turning (Stone/Marley/Jagger/Stewart)
Bonus tracks:
1. Mihaya (Rahman/Stone/Marley)
2. Warring People (Jagger/ Marley/ Stone/ Rahman)
3. Common Ground (Jagger/ Marley/ Stone/ Stewart)
4. Hey Captain (Jagger/ Marley/ Stone/ Stewart)
JLO Billionaire Benefactor New Yorker Profile Leaves Out Good Stuff
I told you last October that the single biggest donor to Jennifer Lopez’s tax free Maribel Foundation was hedge fund king Ray Dalio. The Greenwich, Connecticut based billionaire wrote a check to Maribel for $250,000 in 2008. Now I can tell you he also wrote a second check, in 2009, for $450,000. That brings his total donation to JLO’s fund to $700,000 over two years. Lopez herself only put in $204,000 during the same period. (There’s no public filing yet for 2009 or 2010.)
This would seem like a big deal since Dalio’s business is the cult like Bridgewater hedge fund that runs $80 billion worth of investments. In a recent profile of Dalio in The New Yorker, John Cassidy offers up a puff piece on Dalio and never mentions JLO or even Dalio’s extreme interest in Transcendental Meditation. Dalio gave $1.23 million to director David Lynch’s TM Foundation in 2008 and another $2.1 million in 2009. The man clearly believes in having a mantra. He’s devoted to TM, yet this somehow escaped Cassidy.
Dalio also put $45 million into his Dalio Family Foundation in 2009– $17 million of which to charities including $2 million to the press-shy Robin Hood Foundation. None of this was in The New Yorker piece. Also left out was the tidbit that Dalio’s wife, Barbara, is reportedly a direct descendant of the old school money Vanderbilt-Whitney families. So much for his “moving to the country and starting a business out of a barn.”
Maribel Foundation, meanwhile, donated $450,000 to a Los Angeles children’s hospital last year.
Alec Baldwin May Skip Emmy Awards for Tony Bennett Tribute
(Exclusive) Alec Baldwin may be skipping the Emmy Awards again this year. Last year he was a no show, and didn’t win anyway–Jim Parsons from “The Big Bang Theory” took home a statue. Now sources tell me that Alec will likely choose to be at the big gala for Tony Bennett on September 18th at the Metropolitan Opera House instead of attending the Emmy show in Los Angeles.
I can’t blame him–the timing is terrible. And the Bennett night is a once in a lifetime event. Bennett is releasing his “Duets II” album, and many of his collaborators from Aretha Franklin to Lady Gaga to Michael Buble are rumored to be joining the show and the big dinner that accompanies the event. Baldwin won back to back Emmy Awards in 2008 and 2009. But this may be his last season on “30 Rock” anyway if his announcements prove true.
As it is, the Emmys should be giving Steve Carell his Best Actor award this year after seven seasons of great performances on “The Office.”
James Franco’s “Broken Tower” to Toronto, Plus “Idaho” Projects
I’ve confirmed that James Franco’s film, “The Broken Tower,” has been officially sold to Focus Features and will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival. But that’s not all for Franco, who has just now–not earlier–agreed to appear again on “General Hospital” this fall.
But there’s more: Franco will also bring two other projects to the Toronto Film Festival next month: a 1 hour film called “Idaho” which Franco shot on 8mm and based on van Sant’s “very early” draft of “My Own Private Idaho,” which is one of Franco’s favorite films. The Oscar nominee is also bringing his “My Own Private River” project to Toronto, which he showed in Los Angeles during Oscar week. That’s also concerning “My Own Private Idaho.”
Meantime, Franco’s Sal Mineo film, called “Sal,” concerning the last day of the legendary actor’s life, will play in the Venice Film Festival.
“The Broken Tower” stars Franco as poet Hart Crane and features a shocking moment of rather graphic oral sex performed by Crane. Mom Betsy Franco, an accomplished children’s book author, plays Crane’s mother. Franco’s brother Dave is also featured. The movie is very indie, brave, and well done. Made for no money, it looks great.
Franco plays both the indie world and studio biz very well. His “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” did over $19 mil on Friday night, got great reviews, and looks like a winner. His indie film about Sal Mineo, called “Sal,” will go to Venice and Toronto for screenings. It was shot in nine days.
Franco may next direct his adaptation of Faulkner’s “As I Lay Dying.” He’s currently shooting “Oz, the Great and Powerful” in Detroit for the next few months. The “General Hospital” gig will be done over a couple of days and used throughout the next storyline.
“The King’s Speech” Headed to Broadway in Fall 2012
I told you first, and quite a while ago, that “The King’s Speech” would head to Broadway after its run as a film. Then it won the Oscar. Now I’m told that David Seidler’s Oscar winning movie–he wrote the screenplay after he wrote it as a play–will come to Broadway in the fall of 2012. The producers had wanted it sooner, and I always thought that was too soon. Now the word is that casting has begun and that the play will have an out of town opening in the UK in the beginning of 2012. Guilford’s Yvonne Arnaud Theater will host a three to five week engagement in January. All things being equal, “The King’s Speech” will move to London’s West End in March. The Broadway move comes in the fall. Casting director Gabrielle Dawes has been hired to find actors to play King George VI and Lionel Logue, as well as the rest. Who will step into Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush’s shoes? I’ll bet a lot of name actors will be thrilled to try their hands at this story and make it their own. For the Broadway version, big names will be needed.
Kevin Bacon: Six Degrees of Consistent Acting Success
Kevin Bacon, Gerard Butler and Leonardo DiCaprio were among the stars who helped the embattled Hollywood Foreign Press Association hand out their annual charitable donations yesterday in Beverly Hills.
The HFPA is currently battling two lawsuits–one from their former publicist and another one with Dick Clark Productions and NBC. But that didn’t stop them giving away a portion of their $8 million NBC license fee to good causes. Our Leah Sydney was there (cocktails only) before the HFPA installed a new slate of officers (including an 80 year old president who has served before). Then they presented $1.5 million to a variety of arts groups.
Leah caught up with one of our favorite actors, Kevin Bacon, who was joined by a mix of movie and TV people that also included Lea Michele from “Glee” and Mark Wahlberg, Elisabeth Moss, Jessica Chastain, Hugh Dancy, Taylor Lautner, Elizabeth Olsen, Jim Sturgess, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Gabriel Macht. There was no sign of Ricky Gervais, or mention of his return as host of the next Golden Globes TV show.
But back to Kevin: ”I just did a picture with Billy Bob Thornton directing — he’s in it –called “Jayne Mansfield’s Car.” We shot it in Atlanta, it’s a great script that kind of just poured out of Billy’s heart. It’s funny , touching and most of all outrageous. It takes place in 1969 and I’m the ne’er-do well hippie son.”
Next up for Kevin is: “’RIPD’. I play the bad guy opposite Ryan Reynolds Jeff Bridges. It’s an action comedy with monsters.”
Bacon can currently be seen in “Friends with Benefits,” supporting Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. (Bacon should be starring in films, for god’s sake.) Anyway, as I’ve said before, the Screen Actors Guild should honor him with their Lifetime Achievement Award this year for over 25 years of outstanding performances. Bacon is the real deal. There are only a few guys in his age group–Matthew Modine, included–who’ve excelled with consistency whether in lead or supporting roles.
Oscar Heist: Brett Ratner Asked to Produce Academy Awards Show
This is the best news of the week: Brett Ratner has been asked to produce the Oscar show this year with Don Mischer. Every year a guest producer is brought in to bring extra excitement to the show. Ratner is a showman, and knows how to get an audience. He’s made the “Rush Hour” movies and “X Men: Last Stand”–the latter remains the biggest hi in that franchise. He’s also got one of my favorite films, “Family Man,” on his resume. Ratner’s “Tower Heist” looks to be a huge hit this Christmas, too. What’s interesting too is that Ratner tells me the Academy asked him–it wasn’t like he requested the job. And more intriguing, too, because the new head of the Academy is Dawn Hudson, the brilliant former chief of Film Independent–and the Indie Spirit Awards. So it’s not like she chose Don Roos to produce the Oscars. Good for Hudson. Now the question remains: can Brett get Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller to co-host? Or Chris Tucker and Mariah Carey? Suddenly, Oscar gets hot, hot, hot.
PS Don’t be surprised if Ratner, an accomplished photographer, winds up shooting all the nominees for the show and publicity.