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Critics Choice Awards Could Benefit from NFL Scheduling Change Due to Snow, Bad News for Emmys?

Roger Friedman
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Critics Choice Awards Could Benefit from NFL Scheduling Change Due to Snow, Bad News for Emmys?

Weather or not, awards season continues with some potential ratings issues.

The NFL game set for Sunday — the Bills vs. the Steelers — has been moved to Monday because Buffalo is under 10 feet of snow and the temperature is below minus 300. The Bills are asking fans to come with shovels to dig them out so the game can even happen on Monday.

That’s good news for Sunday’s Critics Choice Awards on the CW network at 7pm. Most football will be over by the time the show starts, and will definitely be done by 8:30pm. Ratings for the CCA should be given a little push now by the absence of real competition.

But Monday’s Emmy Awards, basically a repeat of the CCA with the same people and similar nominations, could face headwinds.

Now there will be two back to back games on Monday, potentially soaking up a huge part of the TV audience.. The much anticipated Eagles vs. Buccaneers game on Monday starts at the same time as the Emmy Awards. The Eagles are heavy favorites. So are “Succession” and “The Bear” in drama and comedy, but who knows? Also, the Emmys were voted on last summer for a season that’s already been usurped in many cases by a succeeding one — meaning they aren’t really current. In the case of “The Bear,” for example, the voting was for their first season, not the second one that’s already played.

Acts of God are not in the Nielsen playbook. so stay tuned, especially for the CCA on Sunday which has all the movie and the TV stars and the very funny and smart Chelsea Handler as host.

Jennifer Lopez’s Comeback Single “Can’t Get Enough” Fails to Launch, Stalls at Number 22 on iTunes

Roger Friedman
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Jennifer Lopez’s Comeback Single “Can’t Get Enough” Fails to Launch, Stalls at Number 22 on iTunes

Jennifer Lopez’s fans have gotten enough.

After a big premiere on Wednesday, Lopez’s “Can’t Get Enough” has stalled on the iTunes charts at number 22.

At the same time, Ariana Grande’s “Yes, and?” hit number 1 out of the box and has remained there since yesterday morning. Of course, Grande is half Lopez’s age and her fans are motivated and paying attention to releases.

Lopez was banking on a hit to help launch her new album, coming next month, called “This is Me… Now.”

The video that accompanies the new song is fun but maybe doesn’t help Lopez’s image. It centers on a wedding. She’s in the dress, etc. It’s her umpteenth video or movie involving that theme, which may be a tad too much at this point.

“Can’t Get Enough” is a hybrid single, made of musical particle board — ten songwriters are listed and is built on two samples of obscure old songs. Conversely, the Ariana Grande song is new, written by hit maker Max Martin and his team.

Exclusive: Meryl Streep Returning for Season 4 of “Only Murders” But Not Dating Martin Short — Just on the Show

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Meryl Streep Returning for Season 4 of “Only Murders” But Not Dating Martin Short — Just on the Show

Exclusive: Meryl Streep and all the cast of “Only Murders in the Building” are returning for Season 4 of “Only Murders in the Building.”

I already told a few weeks ago Nathan Lane was coming back. Season 4 will see all the actors — starting with Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez — back for more murder investigations at the Arconia.

I also confirmed with Streep and Short that they are not dating. A rumor popped up after the Golden Globes last Sunday that their fictional relationship had turned into something more.

When I asked each of them about it at Friday’s sensational American Film Institute lunch, they assured me they are just great friends.

The annual AFI lunch at the Four Seasons Hotel ballroom honors 10 movies and 10 TV shows of the last season. AFI director Bob Gazzale runs a smooth operation that’s not televised, but a time for all the filmmakers to have fun and not compete for awards.

“There are no losers here,” Gazzale told the star studded A list crowd that included the casts of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things,” “Maestro” and TV shows like “Succession” and “Abbott Elementary.”

As a bonus, Gazzale always has a surprise honoree. This year was no exception, with Oscar and Tony winner Ellen Burstyn, age 91 and fit as a fiddle, flying in from New York to give her benediction on the whole show. The audience of famous actors and directors — from Bradley Cooper to Leonardo DiCaprio to Julianne Moore and Sarah Snook went wild when Burstyn — elegant, refined, and feisty– took the stage.

There were also plenty of execs and famed Hollywood leaders in the room including the magnificent George Stevens Jr,. Kathleen Kennedy, Bob Daly, Jean Firstenberg, Mike DeLuca and Pam Abdy of Warner Bros. celebrating their new deal with Tom Cruise with Warner DIscovery’s David Zaslav.

(Another party — this one celebrating movie channel TCM — followed the luncheon with the Warner’s gang reaffirming their total support for the channel. They announced that Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson had already renewed their commitment to the channel for another year.)

Gazzale made special mention of having three AFI Lifetime Achievement winners in the room: Spielberg, Streep, and Steve Martin. Streep basked in the limelight as our greatest actress, and no one disagreed. She told me after lunch that she’s getting back into film with several projects cooking, not just “Only Murders.”

More to come…including notes from Universal’s cocktail party last night for “Oppenheimer” and “The Holdovers,” with all the casts and special appearances by The Rock and Snoop Dogg — in the same room!

photo c2024 Showbiz411.com

UPDATE Exclusive Selena Gomez-Linda Ronstadt Movie Director Has a Silver Lining in David O. Russell

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE Exclusive Selena Gomez-Linda Ronstadt Movie Director Has a Silver Lining in David O. Russell

c2024 Showbiz411.com

I told you back in July 2023 that Selena Gomez would play Linda Ronstadt in a film written and produced by James Keach.

Then this week Rolling Stone and other outlets ignored that exclusive and just announced it themselves based on a photo Gomez posted of the cover of Ronstadt’s memoir.

That was pretty crappy, right? But now I can tell you EXCLUSIVELY that David O. Russell will direct the film. The award winning director of “Silver Linings Playbook’ and “American Hustle” is a huge Ronstadt fan. This is something he’s wanted to for a long time. It’s likely that the vocals in the film will be mostly from Ronstadt’s recordings, although Gomez has a great voice and could certainly contribute to the soundtrack.

I actually knew this was happening back in the summer, but I was asked to wait until all the t’s were crossed and i’s were dotted. Apparently this now the case. There’s no title yet, but “When Will I Be Loved” sounds like it might fit.

Ronstadt was the pre-eminent female pop star of the 70s into the 80s. She was a hot number, a smart pop tart who took control of her career and her life. She had dozens of hits while dating A listers like George Lucas and California governor Jerry Brown. The Eagles played behind her, she toured with Jackson Browne, and it’s her voice you hear on Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.”

In the 80s, Linda expanded her portfolio and even appeared to acclaim on Broadway opposite Kevin Kline in “The Pirates of Penzance.” She formed a trio with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris, and had a major hit with Aaron Neville. How all that is packed into two hours is still unclear but Russell will make a terrific film, of that I am sure.

Exclusive: Bruce Springsteen Rumored to Be Working on Feature Film About the Making of “Nebraska” Album

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Bruce Springsteen Rumored to Be Working on Feature Film About the Making of “Nebraska” Album

There may be a Bruce Springsteen movie coming to us one day soon.

Sources say that Springsteen has been consulting on a possible feature film about the making of his watershed 1982 album, “Nebraska.”

I’m told Bruce has been collaborating with director-writer Scott Cooper, whose six terrific films include “Crazy Heart,” about a washed up country singer. Jeff Bridges won the 2010 Oscar for starring in that one, the movie also won Best Song. Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

The “Nebraska” story is legendary among Springsteen fans. The album, originally a set of demos set to be an E Street band rock collection, turned into a group of stark solo recordings. But songs that didn’t make the cut went on to be the basis of another landmark. 1984’s “Born in the USA.”

The songs were recorded on a four track tape recorder in Springsteen’s bedroom in Colts Neck, New Jersey. Bruce was 32, and going through a bout of depression he described later as “sludge.” He’d just screened Terence Malick’s classic 1973 film, “Badlands,” which wound up inspiring many of the songs including one about serial killer Charles Starkweather. Much has been written about the very dark, “Nebraska,” but it turned out to be a signal moment. In its process, “Born in the USA” emerged, and Bruce — already a rock star — became an icon.

So who will play Bruce? That’s the $64,000 question. At the time he was young and self-tortured. Austin Butler is a possibility but after playing Elvis Presley he might not be the right choice. Friends say Cooper has someone in mind — and definitely not Timothee Chalamet, who’s about to play Bob Dylan in another film. Cooper and Springsteen have been connected before: the director’s movie, “Out of the Furnace” has often been compared to Bruce’s best work.

This story c2024 Showbiz411, do not use without backlink and attribution.

Here’s the demo for “Born in the USA,” which wound up on the Tracks album

LA: Famed Director Bennett Miller’s Photo Exhibit A List Opening Brings Brad Pitt Face to Face with Jon Voight (UPDATED)

Roger Friedman
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LA: Famed Director Bennett Miller’s Photo Exhibit A List Opening Brings Brad Pitt Face to Face with Jon Voight (UPDATED)

UPDATE Sunday January 15th: I’m told — reliably — that Pitt and Voight actually hugged and spoke to each other. I didn’t see it, but Voight’s companions informed me later when I ran into them at dinner. PS to the crackpot sending me unwanted texts: this did all happen.

EXCLUSIVE c2024 Showbiz411
No words were exchanged — maybe just a nodding glance — but the art world brought together an unlikely meeting between two movies stars last night. They were Brad Pitt and his former father-in-law Jon Voight. (Pitt, you know, has six children with Voight’s daughter, Angelina Jolie, his ex wife.)

This was all at Larry Gagosian’s star studded art gallery in Beverly Hills. The occasion was the opening of an exhibit of sensational photos by Bennett Miller, famed director of “Capote,” “Moneyball,” and “Foxcatcher.” Given the opportunity to be the first to use an AI program called “Dall-E,” Miller produced a series of black and white photos that are already the talk of the art world.

Was it all just AI, I wondered? Miller affirmed that the human element is very much alive even working with the program. But basically he types in descriptions or stories and the Dall-E comes up with a basic idea of it. Then Miller works to manipulate the medium.

Pitt — who starred so memorably in “Moneyball” — and Voight were not the only celebs who turned up. The great Catherine Keener made sure she got a look at every one of the arresting pictures. So did LucasFilms president Kathleen Kennedy. (She starred in Miller’s “Capote” as Harper Lee.) Oscar winner Adrien Brody was there with designer Georgina Chapman. Chris Rock stopped in to see the exhibit, as did director Spike Jonze, Zachary Levi, and Edward Norton. I ran into Lou Ferrigno, the original Hulk, and even Sam Ashgari, now former husband to Britney Spears. Director Andrew Dominick — currently making a film out of Bono’s “Songs of Surrender — toured the room. Top agent John Burnham took a turn, and several people told me when I arrived, “Brian Grazer was here.”

Brad Pitt? He looked like a movie star. He sort of glows as he walks through a room, especially holding the hand of his beautiful girlfriend, Ines de Ramon. Women flocked to his area in the gallery as if they’d just heard a siren song. Men tried to look cool but could not turn away.

What is he working on, I asked? “Just a Jerry Bruckheimer movie,” he replied, referring to his F1 racing film directed by Joseph Kosinski. He and Voight never came too close within reach of each other, and it was a total fluke that they were each present. Just another nod from the universe that Hollywood, like everywhere else, is really a small town.

(Another example of this was a rare picture taken of Brad Pitt with Sam Ashgari. Talk about chance encounters.)

Next up at Gagosian, for the Oscars: a still unannounced exhibit of rare Jean Michel Basquiat paintings from his time in Los Angeles. The crush at the front door should be unreal.

Just another night in Tinsel Town, followed by dinner at Craig’s — the mecca of all of this — where the delicious cuisine was almost outdone by the $100,000 Ferrari’s and Rolls Royces parked out front!

from Bennett Miller show at Gagosian Gallery, Beverly Hills

Jennifer Lopez’s New Frankenstein-esque Single Starts at Number 22 on iTunes: 10 Songwriters, 2 Samples!

Roger Friedman
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Jennifer Lopez’s New Frankenstein-esque Single Starts at Number 22 on iTunes: 10 Songwriters, 2 Samples!

Jennifer Lopez dropped her new single yesterday. It landed with a thud at number 22 on iTunes.

The song, “Can’t Get Enough,” is a Frankenstein like construction was created by TEN songwriters, has at least two samples of songs from the 70s.

Nevertheless, the video is fun, the dancing is good, JLo is very sexy, and her wedding dress points to trouble. The story in the video is that it Jlo’s character is getting married for the third time and all her friends are placing betters on how long it will last. Haha. Lopez is on her fourth marriage in real life. (She likes weddings like Mariah loves Christmas.)

Lopez is no Jennifer Hudson, very voice is a little shrill, but whoever produced this mixed it very well. Do I want to hear it again? No. I can get enough! But in dance clubs it will be a hit.

“Can’t Get Enough” is the first single from Jlo’s “This is Me… Now” album coming next month.

“Oppenheimer” Most Thrilling Night of the Year with 55 Piece Orchestra Accompanying the Movie, Hosted by Cillian Murphy, Christopher Nolan, Composer Ludwig Göransson

Roger Friedman
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“Oppenheimer” Most Thrilling Night of the Year with 55 Piece Orchestra Accompanying the Movie, Hosted by Cillian Murphy, Christopher Nolan, Composer Ludwig Göransson

What a night!

If the people wanted to get Oscar votes for “Oppenheimer,” they really scored last night — and I am using a pun!

Royce Hall at UCLA’s Westwood campus — a real piece of stunning old world architecture in this gleaming, take-down town — was the site of a thrilling and memorable show no one who attended will ever forget.

A full orchestra of musicians who played on the film’s soundtrack, led by famed conductor Anthony Parnther, played the three hour score to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” while the movie played above them on a huge screen. Royce Hall was packed as star Cillian Murphy and director Christopher Nolan introduced composer Ludwig Göransson to the adoring crowd.

As fans of the epic film already know, “Oppenheimer” is a movie that has music playing almost 95% of the time as the drama of J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life and the building of the atomic bomb build to dozens of explosive moments, not just the Trinity launch but relationships of characters played by Murphy, Emily Blunt, and Robert Downey, Jr, among others.

I guess you can watch “Oppenheimer” streaming at home, but seeing it live in a magnificent theater on a huge movie screen underscores what a monumental achievement it is beyond the acting, directing, and writing. The sheer scope of it — especially on a second or third viewing — reveals the complex artistry of the editing, cinematography, and make up. You also get to see all the smaller performances by great actors Nolan has scattered through the film like Matthew Modine, Tony Goldwyn, David Krumholtz, Jason Clarke, and especially Tom Conti as Albert Einstein.

As for the score itself: As it was pointed out last night, an early in the film piece called “Can You Hear the Music?” has turned into an online hit. (It has 2 billion TikTok impressions, whatever that means!) When Parnther and arrived at it last night –during a dazzling light show in the movie– the audience applauded like it was a Taylor Swift hit single. I’m not kidding. I’m not sure if the piece on its own could be a Best Song at the Oscars. It would win, hands down!

Of course, all the Oscar buzzed films with scores by famed musicians would benefit from such a presentation. But Universal did it last night, in a proper classical setting, and it was an enormous hit. Göransson’s score is so complex and chillingly beautiful, with gorgeous melodic stretches, that the memory of it will resonate long after Oscar season.

Oprah, Margot Robbie, John Krasinski Lead Critics Choice Awards Presenters This Sunday Night on CW — with Harrison Ford Special Guest Star!

Roger Friedman
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Oprah, Margot Robbie, John Krasinski Lead Critics Choice Awards Presenters This Sunday Night on CW — with Harrison Ford Special Guest Star!

The Critics Choice Awards have a star studded show coming this Monday at 7pm on the CW Network.

“Barbie” star Margot Robbie will present the SeeHer Award to America Ferrera, while “Indiana Jones” director James Mangold will take the stage to honor his star, Harrison Ford, with the Career Achievement Award.

Additional presenters include Oprah Winfrey Abigail Spencer, Angela Bassett, Anthony Ramos, Ashley Madekwe, Awkwafina, Bella Ramsey, Brendan Fraser, Carla Gugino, Daniel Levy, David Duchovny, David Oyelowo, Donald Faison, Gael García Bernal, Giacomo Gianniotti, Jason Segel, Jenny Slate, Jessica Williams, John Krasinski, Jon Cryer, Kaley Cuoco, Ke Huy Quan, Mandy Moore, Meg Ryan, Natasha Lyonne, Nicholas Braun, Phil Dunster, Ramy Youssef, Sandra Oh and Vanessa Morgan. 

Critics Choice comprise 600 print, online, and TV movie critics who have watched every single movie and TV show — unlike the Golden Globes, whose members, I am told, didn’t view that much of this year’s releases.

I’m voting my ballot today, and it’s not easy. This has been the most competitive year in a long time, a huge improvement from last year, that’s for sure!

Greta Gerwig 1st Woman to Get Second DGA Nom — for “Barbie” — Plus Scorsese, Payne, Nolan, Lanthimos

Roger Friedman
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Greta Gerwig 1st Woman to Get Second DGA Nom — for “Barbie” — Plus Scorsese, Payne, Nolan, Lanthimos

Greta Gerwig becomes the only woman nominated twice for a Directors Guild Award, for “Barbie.”

She joins Martin Scorsese, Yorgos Lanthimos, Alexander Payne, and Christopher Nolan for the 2024 awards.

These noms, plus this morning’s SAG Awards, clarifies the Oscar race. Barbie, Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers, Oppenheimer, and Poor Things would be the top 5 Oscar movies, with The Color Purple at number 6.

Completely shut out are directors of the fine Netflix group of movies including Maestro, Nyad, May December, and Rustin. Maestro’s absence stings because Bradley Cooper did such a stupendous job.

But also not there is Ben Affleck, whose “Air” has been largely overlooked. That’s a shame, too.

Gerwig’s is only the 12th nomination for a female director. It is much deserved. Even if you don’t agree with movie’s politics, there’s no question that “Barbie” is a singular vision executed at the highest level. Gerwig’s previous nomination was for her excellent debut, “Lady Bird.”

The nominees for OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN THEATRICAL FEATURE FILM FOR 2023 are (in alphabetical order):

GRETA GERWIG

Barbie

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Manager: Michael Sharp
  • First Assistant Director: Josh Robertson
  • Second Assistant Directors: David Keadell, Matthew Milan (Los Angeles Unit)

YORGOS LANTHIMOS

Poor Things

(Searchlight Pictures)

CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

Oppenheimer

(Universal Pictures)

Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Managers: Thomas Hayslip, Nathan Kelly, Rafael Lima (New Jersey / New York Unit)
  • First Assistant Director: Nilo Otero
  • Second Assistant Director: Andrew Stahl
  • Second Second Assistant Director: Jesse Carmona
  • Additional Second Assistant Directors: Dixon McPhillips, Richard Molloy (New Jersey / New York Unit), AJ Jackson (New Jersey / New York Unit)
  • Location Manager: Patty Carey Perazzo (New Jersey / New York Unit)

ALEXANDER PAYNE

The Holdovers

(Focus Features)

Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Manager: Chris Stinson
  • First Assistant Director: Rod Smith
  • Second Assistant Director: John Nasraway
  • Second Second Assistant Director: Tim LaDue

MARTIN SCORSESE

Killers of the Flower Moon

(Apple Original Films / Paramount Pictures)

Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Managers: Daniel Lupi, Shea Kammer
  • First Assistant Director: Adam Somner
  • Second Assistant Director: Jeremy Marks
  • Second Second Assistant Director: Dominic Pacitti
  • Additional Second Assistant Director: Nuekellar Hardy

***

In addition, Glatter announced the five nominees for the Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film.  The renaming of this award was introduced at last year’s ceremony, honoring our late Past-President Michael Apted’s vision in establishing recognition of outstanding debut work in feature film direction.

The nominees forthe Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film are (in alphabetical order):

CORD JEFFERSON

American Fiction

(Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)

MANUELA MARTELLI

Chile ‘76

(Kino Lober)

NOORA NIASARI

Shayda

(Sony Pictures Classics / ORIGMA 45)

A.V. ROCKWELL

A Thousand and One

(Focus Features)

Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Manager: Jamin O’Brien
  • First Assistant Director: Daniel Lugo
  • Second Assistant Director: Teena Marie Delerme-Lugo
  • Assistant Unit Production Manager: Rob York
  • Second Second Assistant Director: Donté Bouyer
  • Additional Second Assistant Director: T.J. Hallett
  • Location Manager: Joanna Lu

CELINE SONG

Past Lives

(A24)

Directorial Team:

  • Unit Production Manager: Kerry Johnson
  • First Assistant Director: Ben Kahn
  • Second Assistant Director: Geraldine Schubert
  • Second Second Assistant Director: Dan Levy
  • Location Manager: Joseph Mullaney
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