Friday, December 19, 2025
Home Blog Page 1093

Law: Pop Princess Katy Perry Loses Plagiarism Case with Christian Songwriters Over Hit Record, “Dark Horse”

0

Katy Perry‘s “Dark Horse” is a horse of a different color, apparently.

A California jury has decided that Perry’s “Dark Horse” infringed on the copyright of a Christian song called
“Joyful Noise.” That song was written by rapper Marcus Gray, professionally known as Flame.

The Perry song was produced by Dr. Luke (Lukasz Gottwald), who was found liable as well as Karl Martin Sandberg (Max Martin), Henry Walter (Cirkut), songwriter Sarah Hudson and Jordan Michael Houston (Juicy J), as well as Capitol Records, Warner Bros. Music Corporation, Kobalt Publishing and Kasz Money Inc.

You may know the name Dr. Luke. He’s the guy Kesha accused of rape, and of wrecking her career before her Renaissance last year. (Dr. Luke denied all wrongdoing.) Max Martin is the prolific pop producer-writer who’s authored hundreds of hits for Top 40 acts over the last 25 years.

At issue was whether this gang had stolen the beat of “Joyful Noise,” which was itself written by other songwriters and licensed for “Joyful Noise.”

Can you imagine this happening to real songwriters like Carole King or Neil Diamond or Diane Warren or the Beatles? No. Because their songs weren’t written by committees.

At the trial, Perry, Dr. Luke and Max Martin all testified they’d never heard “Joyful Noise.” But Gray’s side pointed to the track’s wide availability on platforms like YouTube and MySpace between 2008 and 2012. Also brought up was Katy’s early career in Christian music.

This case sounds a lot like the one involving Coldplay’s lifting of the music from “Viva la Vida” from guitarist Joe Satriani. Of course, also invoked was Robin Thicke snatching “Blurred Lines” from Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up.” It’s also reminiscent of Ed Sheeran’s recent issues with rephrasing old songs.

But this situation is becoming more and more common as pop stars rely on these “teams” to assemble albums for them. They are all copying each other and copying other material. The whole commercial music business is overrun with this dilemma. That’s why top 40 sounds like one long overproduced session with interchangeable singers. Katy Perry is better than this, she’s proven it. I’m sure this will teach her a lesson about bidding for songs that many others want.

The money part of the story begins Thursday.

 

 

 

Foreign Affair: Canadian Superior Justice Dated Defendant’s Wife’s Best Friend While Overseeing Trial, Refused to Recuse

I’ve been telling you Steven Nowack, stuck in a Toronto prison limbo while the judge in his case refuses to have a bail hearing. Nowack has been in prison over 90 days.

Justice Robert Goldstein of the Superior Court of Ontario conducted Nowack’s trial in a most unusual way. When it was discovered that Goldstein was dating Nowack’s wife’s best friend, he refused to recuse himself.

Yes, this really happened. Justice Goldstein had an intimate relationship with this very close friend of Mr. Nowack’s wife for approximately four months. Their relationship apparently ended about 2 1/2 months before Mr. Nowack’s trial began. In fact, Mr. Nowack had such explicit knowledge of their relationship and communication that his lawyer, Paul Slansky submitted to Justice Goldstein that Mr. Nowack even knew that Justice Goldstein and his wife’s friend had spoken in late December, 2018.

Nevertheless, the trial began on February 4, 2019.

Slansky made the recusal motion based on the legal argument “apprehension of bias.”  Justice Goldstein, heard the arguments, reserved and retired to his office for approximately forty five minutes.  He then returned to the bench with the following decision. He would not recuse.  He said that he may have heard Mr. Nowack’s wife’s name, but did not remember hearing Mr. Nowack’s name. He said that if during the trial, he remembered hearing anything about Mr. Nowack that would cause him to be biased or prejudiced, that he would consider recusing.

The prosecutor, Renna Weinberg, didn’t have a problem with the judge sleeping with the defendant’s wife’s friend. In court, she said that given the small towns and cities in Canada, that this was not an unusual or uncommon situation, as very often in these small towns and cities, the trial judge had relationships. She pretended they were in a small village in the Yukon, not Toronto with a population of 3-to-5 million people.

Weinberg also made the stunning submission to Justice Goldstein, that it would have been an entirely different matter if he had been sleeping with Mr. Nowack’s wife. That would have bothered her.

I must say, I had higher hopes for Canada and its judicial system. I also had high hopes for journalists there to look at these stories. So far we’ve heard crickets. I get the feeling no reporters want to question authority there.

Paul Slansky, Nowack’s defense attorney, replied to Renna Weinberg’s response by pointing out that Toronto is not a small town or small city, that it is one of the largest cities in North America, and that the pool of judges in the Toronto region would make it relatively easy to change judges. This would especially be true because as this was the first day of the trial, the trial judge is not supposed to have any detailed knowledge of the case; specifically to avoid bias or prejudice against the accused.

Still, Justice Goldstein refused to recuse himself from the case. In the United States, Goldstein would have been forced off the trial. But in Canada, he got away with it.

Unfortunately, for Nowack and his family, this shocking story goes on and on. With no bail hearing, Nowack has now spent nearly three months in unreasonable, arbitrary incarceration.

The question is when will all of this insanity end?

And yes, could call this “Sex, Lies, and Videotape.” The first two have already been presented. The videotape will come into play soon enough.

 

 

Quentin Tarantino Has a $40 Mil Box Office Record Opening with Oscar Bound “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

0

Quentin Tarantino scored an all time box office opening weekend with “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

The Brad Pitt-Leonardo DiCaprio hit took in $40 million beating the 2009 opening of “Inglorious Basterds” with $38 million.

The success of OUTH is all the sweeter because the movie clocks in at two hours, forty minutes. It can’t be shown as often as most films, but people are packing into theaters.

I went last night for a second time, and found so many details I’d missed. The second viewing was certainly worth it, just to absorb the writing, the themes that weave in and out. Tarantino will most definitely receive a number of Oscar nominations. So, too, will DiCaprio and Pitt (lead, supporting?) Margot Robbie will be a Best Supporting Actress nominee as well. Her turn as Sharon Tate is very poignant.

The third level supporting characters are what interested me this time. Al Pacino is terrific as the producer who wants to take Rick Dalton to Italy for spaghetti westerns. (It’s a performance based on everyone we’ve ever met.) Austin Butler– who will soon play Elvis Presley– is terrifying and funny as Tex, the lieutenant of the Manson family.  In his Elvis PR coverage he looks like he’s in a boy band. But in those final scenes in OUTH, you get the sense he’ll be a big name going forward. Timothy Olyphant is also very touching as James Stacy, a TV star from that era who was so talented and wound up getting a very raw deal in real life.

The women are all excellent and so well cast. Margaret Qualley’s hitchhiker is right out Robert Altman’s playbook. Rumer Willis has one scene as Joanna Pettet, and she’s excellent. Ditto Maya Hawke. Dakota Fanning — as I wrote the other day, she’s still only 25 — has matured into a top notch actress. As much as her sister, Elle Fanning, is very talented, Dakota hasn’t been getting as much press lately. But she deserves more attention.

And let us not forget Bruce Dern as George Spahn. This was the role meant for Burt Reynolds before he passed away. Pitt and Dern’s scene together — and the whole sequence at the Spahn Ranch, where in real life Charles Manson’s group did assemble — is the key to the whole movie. It’s where the baton of movie making is passed, the generations shift. So even though this takes place 50 years ago, it’s also the hand off of early filmmaking to what became the contemporary business, the 1970s going forward. Beautiful.

 

Beyonce’s “Lion King: The Gift” Album Flops with just 50K in Sales, New Songs Surprisingly Get No Sales or Chart Action

0

Beyonce’s “The Gift” has been returned. It’s unclear if that’s for store credit or cash.

Seriously, Beyonce is supposed to be the top of the current heap of pop stars, right? Queen of something or other.

But “The Lion King: The Gift” has sold just 50,000 copies in its first week, and most of those were streaming. Only around 10,000 were physical sales.

On top of that, no singles have emerged despite many possibilities from the album. The first track released, “Spirit,” went nowhere immediately. “Brown Skin Girl” has plateaued at 37 on iTunes. No other singles have surfaced on iTunes. Basically, a new Beyonce album has been met with a meh response from her fans.

Even though “The Lion King” movie has made $300 million so far, the music side has certainly collapsed. The biggest issue would be marketing– there hasn’t been any. Beyonce hasn’t appeared on any TV shows singing these songs. There’s a kind of hubris attached to just dropping new music and not promoting it.

Plus there all kinds of issues with Beyonce on the business side. I told you last week that Beyonce’s music advisor and A&R person of 28 years, Theresa LaBarbera Whites, was stupidly severed from Beyonce’s company by the new CEO. Sony Music is also said not to be thrilled with Beyonce and her team right now.

If “The Gift” really does stiff– and it looks like it now–that will raise a lot of questions for the direction of the Beyhive.

Brad Pitt-Leonardo DiCaprio Tarantino Film Has Strong Friday with $16.8 Million, Eyes Big Weekend

0

Quentin Tarantino should beat his previous number for his biggest opening weekend.

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” brought in $11 mil on Friday night, added to the $5.8 million it had in Thursday previews. That brings the total to $16.8 million.

The target is anything over $38 million, the amount “Inglorious Basterds” hit on its opening weekend 10 years ago. All signs point to a hot Saturday and Sunday based on reviews and word of mouth.

(I’m going again tonight with three others, so that should help!)

The other big box office news, if you’re a Disney stock holder, is that “The Lion King” will cross $300 million domestic today after 9 days. All the middling reviews didn’t matter. When it’s hot outside, there’s nothing like an air conditioned theater where you can park the kids.

 

“Orange is the New Black” Fans Love the Show So Much They Sang Along to the Theme Song at Star Studded Lincoln Center Premiere

0

The women of “Orange is the New Black” are finally getting out of jail– series jail, that is. After 7 seasons as Netflix’s first hit, the ladies in the jump suits are having a last season.

They celebrated in style last night first at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, and then in the heart of Times Square, at a new preposterously nice hotel called the Edition on 47th St. and 7th Avenue.

All the stars came, including the show’s creator, Jenji Kohan, who also made the great series, “Weeds,” and who gets her TV genes from her famous dad, Buz Kohan (only 13 Emmy Awards). Then there was Uzo Aduba, who’s won awards for her work, as well as Laura Prepon (with actor husband Ben Foster), Kate Mulgrew, Danielle Brooks, Taylor Schilling, Alysia Reiner (with actor husband David Alan Basche), Alicia Witt, Jackie Cruz, Yael Stone, and Laverne Cox.

The fans came, too. Netflix turned the balcony at Alice Tully Hall over to them, and they filled it with tremendous enthusiasm. Not only did they cheer for their favorite stars, they also sang along with the show’s theme song, “You’ve Got Time,” by Regina Spektor. “OINTB” has a wildly devoted following. They’re going to keep streaming it over and over.

Over at the Times Square Edition, which is still under scaffolding and on a redeveloping block in the city’s dark pit of construction (don’t get me started on how Bill DeBlasio has re-wrecked TS), all the stars came in armored cars (just kidding). The hotel is actually quite spectacular, a shock of elegance for that location. Their party space was high-ceiling-ed and lovely, and the food was quite good!

I’d forgotten how much I loved “OINTB” until I watched this opening episode. Taylor Schilling’s character, Piper, upon whose book the show is loosely based (Piper Kerman, see Amazon), is out of prison but her wife, Alex (Laura Prepon) is still inside and supposedly behaving herself.  Kohan weaves their story through with dozens more as she steers the ship to a safe harbor.

How will it all end? Even Netflix chief Ted Sarandos, who was there last night, couldn’t say (he knows). But he’s on top of the world anyway as “Stranger Things 3” is booming, he’s got lots of other hits, and movies about to premiere all fall that should take him back to the Oscars.

PS Quietly skipping the red carpet last night: double Tony nominee Jeremy Pope, who just left “Ain’t Too Proud” as Eddie Kendricks just a few months after that show’s debut. Pope previously starred in “Choir Boy,” then jumped to the Temptations and got 2 noms in the same year. He looked spiffy in a black designer suit, came by himself, was not seen at the party. I’m surprised he left “Ain’t Too Proud” so soon. No word on what he’s doing next. My colleague, Wilson Morales, pointed him out to me.

 

Tarantino Eyes Biggest Weekend Opening Ever with with “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” After Boffo Thursday Previews

0

Once upon a time in Hollywood…Quentin Tarantino could be headed to his biggest opening weekend ever. Last night “OUTH” scored $5.8 million in previews. The Leonardo DiCaprio-Brad Pitt comedy should be huge, with excellent reviews (save for a couple of weird ones on Rotten Tomatoes.)

In 2009, Tarantino had his biggest opening with “Inglorious Basterds”– $38 million. Three years later, he’d hit $30 million with “Django Unchained.”

“OUTH” should have amazing word of mouth, which will help enormously. This movie plays very, very well and is very enjoyable. Believe me, a lot of people will want to see it a second time.

This is the first film Tarantino has made without Harvey Weinstein and his PR machine. But the last one, “Hateful 8,” was a bust, so it may have been time for a new look anyway. It’s also Tarantino’s widest ever release.

I do think “OUTH” will have “legs” — audiences will keep seeking it out at least through Labor Day. And let’s see which one of the songs from the soundtrack– which is out now– makes a surprise appearance on the charts.

Meryl Streep to Receive Toronto Film Festival’s First Tribute Actor Award at Inaugural Gala

0

It seems like new co-director of the Toronto Film Festival Joana Vicente is making waves up north– the good kind!

TIFF has just announced its first annual gala during their festival, and Meryl Streep is their first honoree. The festival has never done this before, strangely, but I guess Vicente convinced them this is important.

Getting Streep is a coup. She’s the top of the heap. And it’s an unusual year in which she only has TWO potential hits for the fall that could produce more awards action in her unique career– Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat” and Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women.” Of course, she just wrapped her highly praised run on HBO’s “Big Little Lies.”

This will be a hot ticket in Toronto. We can only imagine Meryl’s acceptance speech. I’ve heard she disapproves of our current government! (Rock on, Meryl!)

 

Roman Polanski’s “Officer and a Spy” Headed to Venice (Told Ya!), Plus Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver

0

I told you on June 19th that Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” would be featured at the Venice Film Festival. And so it was announced this morning. Keep an eye on this film– in the 50th anniversary of the Manson murders, with Quentin Tarantino’s new film fantasizing a better life for Polanski, a great film from the Polish director would be quite a triumph.

Venice will also feature Brad Pitt in “Ad Astra,” Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat.”

No sign of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (coming to the NY Film Fest) or Woody Allen’s “Rainy Day in New York” (which will open in Europe this fall).

“Ad Astra” must also be opening at the NY Film Festival, since it isn’t part of Toronto. That’s a good get for Kent Jones.

VENICE FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP

IN COMPETITION

“The Truth,” Kore-eda Hirokazu (France, Japan) – OPENING FILM
“The Perfect Candidate,” Haifaa Al-Mansour (Saudi Arabia, Germany)
“About Endlessness,” Roy Andersson (Sweden)
“Wasp Network,” Olivier Assayas (France, Belgium)
“Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach (U.S.)
“Guest of Honor,” Atom Egoyan (Canada)
“Ad Astra,” James Gray (U.S.)
“A Herdade,” Tiago Guedes (Portugal, France)
“Gloria Mundi,” Robert Guediguian (France)
“Waiting for the Barbarians,” Ciro Guerra (Italy)
“Ema,” Pablo Larrain (Chile)
“Saturday Fiction,” Lou Ye (China)
“Martin Eden,” Pietro Marcello (Italy, France, Germany)
“La Mafia non è più quella di Una Volta,” Franco Maresco
“The Painted Bird,” Vaclav Marhoul (Czech Republic)
“The Mayor of Rione Sanità,” Mario Martone (Italy, France)
“Babyteeth,” Shannon Murphy (Australia)
“Joker,” Todd Philips (U.S.)
“An Officer and a Spy,” Roman Polanski (France)
“The Laundromat,” Steven Soderbergh (U.S.)
“No. 7 Cherry Lane,” Yonfan (China)

OUT OF COMPETITION – Fiction

“The Burnt Orange Heresy,” Giuseppe Capotondi (U.K., Italy) – CLOSING FILM
“Seberg,” Benedict Andrews (U.S.)
“Vivere,” Francesca Archibugi (Italy)
“Mosul,” Matthew Michael Carnahan (U.S.)
“Adults in the Room,” Costa-Gavras (France, Greece)
“The King,” David Michod (U.K., Hungary)
“Tutto il mio folle amore,” Gabriele Salvatores (Italy)

OUT OF COMPETITION – Non-Fiction

“Woman,” Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Anastasia Mikova (France)
“Roger Waters: Us + Them,” Roger Waters (U.K.)
“I Diari di Angela – Noi Due Cineasti. Capitolo Secondo. Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi (Italy)
“Citizen K,” Alex Gibney (U.K., U.S.)
“Citizen Rosi,” Didi Gnocchi, Carolina Rosi (Italy)
“The Kingmaker,” Lauren Greenfield (U.S.)
“State Funeral,” Sergei Loznitsa (The Netherlands, Lithuania)
“Collective,” Alexander Nanau (Romania, Luxembourg)
“45 Seconds of Laughter,” Tim Robbins (U.S.)
“Il pianeta in mare,” Daniele Segre (Italy)

OUT OF COMPETITION – Special Screenings

“No One Left Behind,” Guillermo Arriaga (Mexico)
“Electric Swan,” Konstantina Kotzamani (France, Greece, Argentina)
“Irreversible – Inversion Integrale,” Gaspar Noe (France)
“ZeroZeroZero,” (Episodes 1 and 2) Stefano Sollima (Italy, France)
“The New Pope” (Episodes 2 and 7) Paolo Sorrentino (Italy, U.S.)
“Never Just a Dream: Stanley Kubrick And Eyes Wide Shut,” Matt Wells (U.K.)
“Eyes Wide Shut,” Stanley Kubrick (U.S., U.K.)

HORIZONS

“Pelican Blood,” Katrin Gebbe (Germany, Bulgaria)
“Zumiriki,” Oskar Alegria (Spain)
“Bik Eneich – Un Fils,” Mehdi M. Barsaoui (Tunisia, France, Lebanon, Qatar)
“Blanco en Blanco,” Theo Court (Spain, Chile, France, Germany)
“Mes Jours de Gloire,” Antoine De Bary (France)
“Nevia,” Nunzia De Stefano (Italy)
“Moffie,” Oliver Hermanus (South Africa)
“Hava, Maryam, Ayesha,” Sahara Karimi (Afghanistan)
“Rialto,” Peter Mackie Burns (Ireland)
“The Criminal Man,” Dmitry Mamuliya (Georgia, Russia)
“Revenir,” Jessica Palud (France)
“Giants Being Lonely,” Great Patterson (U.S.)
“Balloon,” Pema Tseden (China)
“Verdict,” Raymund Ribas Gutierrez (Philippines)
“Just 6.5,” Saeed Roustaee (Iran)
“Shadow of Water,” Sasidharan Sanal Kumar (India)
“Sole,” Carlo Sironi (Italy)
“Madre,” Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain, France)
“Atlantis,” Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine)

Someone Call Mark Lindsay: Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” Soundtrack Revives Paul Revere and the Raiders

0

Exactly 48 years ago this week, Paul Revere and the Raiders were number 1 on the Billboard charts with “Indian Reservation.”

That song isn’t on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a time in Hollywood,” but four other hits from that long ago pop group fronted by Mark Lindsay are including “Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon.”

Tarantino always curates fascinating soundtracks, and this one is no exception. All these songs drift through 1969 Los Angeles, but the highlights are certainly Neil Diamond’s “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” aka “Hot August Night,” Jose Feliciano’s hit cover of “California Dreamin’,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson,” and Deep Purple’s “Hush.”

One song you won’t hear in this movie: the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter.” Thank goodness.

Columbia Records releases the soundtrack tonight. The label needs a hit, and they’re going to have it. Lucky for them, Paul Revere and the Raiders were on Columbia back in the day. They were part of Clive Davis’s league of hitmakers.

PS “Indian Reservation” was just Lindsay on vocals, and two actual legends– Carol Kaye (bass), Hal Blaine (drums) of the Wrecking Crew. (In the video below, the “Raiders” are faking it.)

 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN… HOLLYWOOD SOUNDTRACK TRACKLISTING:

1.   Treat Her Right – Roy Head & The Traits
2.   Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man – The Bob Seger System
Boss Radio feat. Humble Harve:
3.   Hush – Deep Purple
4.   Mug Root Beer Advertisement
5.   Hector – The Village Callers
6.   Son of a Lovin’ Man – Buchanan Brothers
7.   Paxton Quigley’s Had the Course (from the MGM film Three in the Attic) – Chad & Jeremy
8.   Tanya Tanning Butter Advertisement
9.   Good Thing – Paul Revere & The Raiders
10. Hungry – Paul Revere & the Raiders
11. Choo Choo Train – The Box Tops
12. Jenny Take a Ride – Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
13. Kentucky Woman – Deep Purple
14. The Circle Game – Buffy Sainte-Marie
Boss Radio feat. The Real Don Steele:
15. Mrs. Robinson – Simon & Garfunkel
16. Numero Uno Advertisement
17. Bring a Little Lovin’ – Los Bravos
18. Suddenly / Heaven Sent Advertisement
19. Vagabond High School Reunion
20. KHJ Los Angeles Weather Report
21. The Illustrated Man Advertisement / Ready For Action
22. Hey Little Girl – Dee Clark
23. Summer Blonde Advertisement
24. Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show – Neil Diamond
25. Don’t Chase Me Around (from the MGM film GAS-S-S-S) – Robert Corff
26. Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon – Paul Revere & the Raiders (feat. Mark Lindsay)
27. California Dreamin’ – Jose Feliciano
28. Dinamite Jim (English Version) – I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni
29. You Keep Me Hangin’ On (Quentin Tarantino Edit) – Vanilla Fudge
30. Miss Lily Langtry (cue from The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean) – Maurice Jarre
31. KHJ Batman Promotion