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UPDATE “Dolittle” — $175 Million — Lower than “Cats” with a ’13’: Robert Downey Jr.’s Rare Non-Avengers Movie in Last Decade Drubbed by Critics

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE “Dolittle” — $175 Million — Lower than “Cats” with a ’13’: Robert Downey Jr.’s Rare Non-Avengers Movie in Last Decade Drubbed by Critics

THURSDAY MORNING: “Dolittle” now has a 13 on Rotten Tomatoes. Compare that to a 20 for “Cats.” Yikes!

WEDNESDAY Someone call a vet! Universal Pictures and animals simply don’t mix. The studio that just gave us the much derided bomb, “Cats,” is about to die another day with “Dolittle.” The movie cost $175 million and may not make $20 million this weekend!

The remake of “Dr. Dolittle” stars Robert Downey, Jr in one of his rare non-“Avengers” movie in a decade. The former Oscar nominee for “Chaplin” should be making great serious films now, not this fluff. (He’s capable of winning an Oscar with the right material.)

A load of celebrities including his “Spider Man” protege Tom Holland voice various animals in the new movie. But it doesn’t help. Every review is a pan, or worse. So far the movie has a 17 on Rotten Tomatoes, and it’s sinking.

One problem is that Downey for some reason speaks in a Welsh accent, something approaching it. Reviews note that the film had to be re-recorded to fix his accent, and that the result is a mouth moving out of sync.

“Superficial charm can’t save a film with poor characterization as well as a bizarre and ultimately disappointing lead performance,” reads one blog called Culture Vulture.
Slant: “#Dolittle‘s inability to completely develop any of its characters reduces the film to all pomp and no circumstance.” 
Another blogger: “Just when I thought Dolittle couldn’t get any less funny or idiotic, Robert Downey Jr. sticks his arms up a dragon’s a—–e. And I do mean that literally.”
Universal can still hold its head high. Sam Mendes’ “1917” may win the Oscar for Best Picture. You have good days and bad.

Elton John’s Dilemma: He Appoints Four Hosts for Oscar Party Since He’s an Academy Award Nominee for First Time in 25 Years

Roger Friedman
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Elton John’s Dilemma: He Appoints Four Hosts for Oscar Party Since He’s an Academy Award Nominee for First Time in 25 Years

Elton John has a dilemma. Every year he and David Furnish host their Oscar dinner and party in West Hollywood for their Elton John AIDS Foundation. The evening is the hot ticket with dozens and dozens of celebrities attending.

But there’s a problem this year for the first time in 25 years: Elton is an Oscar nominee himself. He and Furnish will be at the Dolby Theater where Elton is nominated for Best Song for “I’m Gonna Love Me Again” from his biopic, “Rocketman.” What to do?

A little history: In 1995, Elton and Tim Rice had an astounding 3 of the 5 Best Song nominations from “The Lion King.” They won for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” They were also cited for “Hakuna Matata” and “The Circle of Life.”

Wait– hello? Can you imagine that? Three of the five nominated songs were theirs. Frankly, Elton and Bernie deserved a nod this year for “Never Too Late” from the new “Lion King.”

David and Elton  appointed four hosts to watch over the party while they’re preoccupied. The hosts are Diane Lane, Eric McCormack. Heidi Klum, and, of course, Billy Porter. They’ll be helped out by the “Queer Eye” hosts Bobby Berk, Tan France, Karamo, and Jonathan van Ness. There will be a musical performance, as well, by up-and-comer Sam Fender. My old pal, Dave Karger, and Aisha Tyler will host the live stream.

Should Sir Elton win Best Song, and it’s a good bet, there will be post-Oscar mayhem. His famed lyricist Bernie Taupin, will be on hand, and so, too, I think will be Golden Globe winning actor Taron Egerton who played Elton in “Rocketman.” The EJAF dinner and viewing party will have something the other after parties won’t: an actual Oscar winner as host.

 

with additional reporting by Leah Sydney

Rock Hall of Fame Ignores Popular Vote (Except for Doobie Brothers), Snubs Dave Matthews’s 1 Million Votes, Pat Benatar’s 800K, for Whitney, T Rex, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Biggie Smalls

Roger Friedman
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Rock Hall of Fame Ignores Popular Vote (Except for Doobie Brothers), Snubs Dave Matthews’s 1 Million Votes, Pat Benatar’s 800K, for Whitney, T Rex, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Biggie Smalls

Only one of the top 3 vote-getters in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s public voting will be inducted this year: the Doobie Brothers.

The top 2 — Pat Benatar and the Dave Matthews Band– have been ignored.

The other four who made it are Whitney Houston, T Rex, Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and the Notorious Biggie Smalls, aka Christopher Wallace.

Three of those inductees are dead: Whitney, Marc Bolan of T Rex, and Wallace.

So why did the RRHOF have a public vote simply to ignore it? Good question. The answer is, they don’t care what the public thinks, and never did.

Not inducted: lots of people who should have been.

The whole thing stinks. Not only should Matthews and Benatar have made it in, but the Hall owed it to older groups or acts that are alive now and can benefit from the induction. I’m thinking of Chaka Khan, who’s far more Rock and Roll than Whitney, and the MC5, which has waited and waited.

But back to that fan vote: Dave Matthews received 1 MILLION votes. Benatar garnered 882 thousand! And they were simply rebuffed. If I’d voted in good faith on the Rock Hall’s site, I’d be pissed. If you did vote on the site, and are angry, you can sound off on our poll.

What idiots these people are.

 

Bad Boy Made Good: Will Smith Explains Why He’s Rich and Doesn’t Want an Oscar in Very Brief Video Clip

Roger Friedman
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Bad Boy Made Good: Will Smith Explains Why He’s Rich and Doesn’t Want an Oscar in Very Brief Video Clip

Will Smith has made a string of turkeys along with several blockbusters. He has two Oscar nominations. The last one was in 2007 for “The Pursuit of Happyness.” He’s promoting the 3rd “Bad Boys” movie, which will make a lot of money and be forgotten. Why did he make it? In this clip, he explains that fans are always asking when is he going to make another Bad Boys movie? “No one asks for Pursuit of Happyness 2,” he says. And there you are. Will will likely receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy in 2032.

“Richard Jewell” Gives Clint Eastwood Lowest Box Office Since 2006’s “Letters from Iwo Jima” — 11 Movies Ago

Roger Friedman
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“Richard Jewell” Gives Clint Eastwood Lowest Box Office Since 2006’s “Letters from Iwo Jima” — 11 Movies Ago

First of all, think of this: Clint Eastwood has made 11 movies since 2006’s “Letters from Iwo Jima,” which was in Japanese. And that was his second movie of 2006. The first was “Flags of Our Fathers.”

Now, “Richard Jewell” turns out to be his lowest grossing movie since “Iwo Jima” made $14 million– and was nominated for an Oscar. “RJ” is ending its theatrical run with about $21 million.

What a shame. It should have been nominated for an Oscar, and its actors as well. As it turns out, Kathy Bates has received an Oscar nomination. But Sam Rockwell, Paul Walter Hauser, and Olivia Wilde should have, too.

But when the Atlanta Journal Constitution attacked “Richard Jewell,” Warner Bros. just backed off and dumped the movie. There was no New York premiere, and not much chance for the movie’s champions to save it.

Last Friday, “Richard Jewell” was pulled from about 1500 theaters. It’s down to 376 this week and then it will disappear into streaming and DVD land. Eastwood is 89 years old. This could be his last film. He told me recently he had no plans for a new movie but was “reading scripts.”

What a run he’s had the last 28 years. His master-master piece was 1992’s “Unforgiven,” and that came 30 years into a remarkable career. Since then he’s had “Mystic River,” “Million Dollar Baby,” “Gran Torino,” “Sully,” the underrated “Perfect World” with Kevin Costner, “Trouble with the Curve,” “Space Cowboys” “J Edgar,” “The Mule,” and so many more. My guess is, Clint isn’t done. But maybe next time he’ll get more studio support.

Linda Ronstadt Says This Weekend May Have Been Her Last Trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles: “It’s too painful”

Roger Friedman
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Linda Ronstadt Says This Weekend May Have Been Her Last Trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles: “It’s too painful”

Linda Ronstadt: may I tell you how wonderful she is? She came to Los Angeles from her home in San Francisco to accept an award on Saturday night. The award — from the AARP’s “Movies for Grown Ups”– was for the documentary made about her currently playing on CNN called “The Sound of My Voice.” She is battling Parkinson’s Disease.

Linda can only walk short distances. Otherwise she’s in a wheelchair. She stood to accept her award and make a speech with her good friend, Maria Muldaur, at her side. You remember Maria: she had many hits in the 70s also, including “Midnight at the Oasis.”

Linda is still charming and beautiful and smart. But she’s suffering. She told me before the show started: “This may be my last trip to L.A. for this sort of thing. It’s just too painful.” She means, actual pain. I sure hope she doesn’t stop traveling and seeing people. She is a gem. Her fans love her. She got a standing ovation when she arrived at the podium, not because she’s sick, but for her whole career.

In the ballroom at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel she wasn’t alone. Alan Alda is tackling the disease, too. But he rose to the occasion when it was time to present Noah Baumbach with an award for “Marriage Story.” You would never know he’s in pain, too. Like Michael J. Fox and others — including a friend of mine in Los Angeles — Alan and Linda are warriors. God bless ’em.

 

Vanity Fair Oscar Issue Goes for Outliers, Eschews Nominees, Top Stars for Eddie Murphy, JLo, Young People

Roger Friedman
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Vanity Fair Oscar Issue Goes for Outliers, Eschews Nominees, Top Stars for Eddie Murphy, JLo, Young People

Vanity Fair’s 2020 Oscar issue goes for something different than usual: it’s the anti-Oscar issue.

Instead of nominees and big stars, they went mostly for outliers and young people. On the main cover there’s one nominee: Renee Zellweger, who seems photoshopped into a photo of non-nominees Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Lopez. VF maybe stands for Very Funny.

Inside there are just two or three more nominees including Laura Dern and Antonio Banderas. But the magazine made the obvious choice to skip Brad Pitt, Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Joaquin Phoenix, Leo, even Cynthia Erivo, anyone from “The Irishman” and so on. And still, all those people will show up at Vanity Fair’s Oscar party on February 9th to get their pictures taken.

Instead there are a lot of newcomers and young people, as well as a completely unrecognizable picture of Jennifer Hudson (to honor the hit Oscar winning “Cats”) and Alfre Woodard getting no Clemency in African garb. (Maybe it’s a tribute to her late good friend Nelson Mandela.) My favorite of these, actually, is Beanie Feldstein, dancing for joy after a great year with “Booksmart.” There’s also a picture of Lily Rose Depp. I have no idea why. If you do, let me know.

The good news is that Mark Harris wrote the accompanying piece. He’s part of the new former Entertainment Weekly staff that have moved in of late to the Radhika Jones-edited publication. Anthony Breznican is also in the group. Things can only get better.

The VF website also features photos from the magazine’s pre-Golden Globes party sponsored by Amazon. Aside from Tony Shalhoub, there are no pictures of anyone from Amazon’s hit series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” No Midge, no Susie, no Lenny Bruce.

 

 

No Time to Sing: Billie Eilish, 18, Gets James Bond Theme Song, She’s the Anti-Shirley Bassey, Adele

Roger Friedman
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No Time to Sing: Billie Eilish, 18, Gets James Bond Theme Song, She’s the Anti-Shirley Bassey, Adele

This is no time to be belting out the James Bond theme song, apparently.

Eighteen year old Billie Eilish, an eyelash of a singer, has recorded the theme song to “No Time to Die,” the last Daniel Craig James Bond movie.

Eilish is no Shirley Bassey or Adele, let alone Paul McCartney. Her vocal stylings are a whisper of darkness and cold. This is the way Craig’s Bond will exit.

Her real name is Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell, and it’s her brother, Finneas, age 22, who writes the songs. She’s up for six Grammy awards later this month. She’s a vegetarian, and says she suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome.

Well, the Bond people want the young audience, so Eilish is the right choice. After all, Adele is 30– way out of their demo. Will Eilish fans flock to “No Time to Die”? They don’t seem likely to be excited about anything. But maybe they will launch off their divans, drop their sunglasses, and head into the Cinemarama. We’ll see.

For your eyes only:

Winter Is Here: Broadway Shows Face January Chill with Big Drops for Long Running Shows Like “Lion King,” “Mormon,” “Wicked”

Roger Friedman
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Winter Is Here: Broadway Shows Face January Chill with Big Drops for Long Running Shows Like “Lion King,” “Mormon,” “Wicked”

Winter, as they say on Game of Thrones, is here.

On Broadway the January chill has set in after three weeks of big holiday box office.

Already, many long running show are facing steep drops. I’m surprised that “The Lion King” is showing real signs of wear and tear in that regard. Last week’s $1.6 million take is their third drop in a row. They’re running around $200,000 a week less than they did at this time last year.

“Wicked,” another mainstay, is down $2 million since the end of the year. “The Book of Mormon” has fallen over $500,000 in that time. So did “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which just had its lowest weekly gross since April 2019. Many other shows, even “Hamilton,” saw steep declines as the holiday ended and the tourists returned to their home planets.

Only two shows are really booming right now: David Byrne’s “American Utopia” and LinManuel Miranda’s “Freestyle Love Supreme.” They’re perfect ways to warm up on a cold January night.

 

Critics Choice Awards Exclusive: Norman Lear, 97, Has Two Actresses in Mind for “Maude” Reboot This Spring, Show Will Be Updated

Roger Friedman
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Critics Choice Awards Exclusive: Norman Lear, 97, Has Two Actresses in Mind for “Maude” Reboot This Spring, Show Will Be Updated

Norman Lear, 97, literally bounced on stage to receive his Critics Choice award for the live broadcasts of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” this past year. I am in awe of him, I think everyone in Hollywood is. Lear has definitely taken the right vitamins.

I asked him before the show started last night what plans he had for “Maude.” I told you a couple of weeks ago a “Maude” reboot would follow most recent “All in the Family”/”Good Times” live showing.

“I’ve got two actresses in mind,” Lear told me. “I can’t tell you who they are yet.” One would play Maude, the other her daughter, Carol. The originals were, of course, Bea Arthur and Adrienne Barbeau.

The big news is that “Maude” will not take place in the 1970s. It’s going to be updated for now. “There’s a whole concept, it’s very different,” Lear told me. It’s unclear whether another “All in the Family” episode will air, or if “Good Times,” which was spun off of “Maude,” will play in tandem.

The whole casting of “Maude” will no doubt be an event announcement. So far, Lear and co-producer Jimmy Kimmel have slotted in a lot of A list movie stars for the all actors in these revivals.

I did tell Lear my theory about Meryl Streep playing Maude– even though she’s 20 years older than Bea Arthur was in 1972. Lear laughed. “Listen,” he said, “Meryl Streep is so good she could play you!”

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