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Los Angeles Film Critics, Other Cities, Follow NY, Name “Roma” Best Picture For Better or Worse

Roger Friedman
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Los Angeles Film Critics, Other Cities, Follow NY, Name “Roma” Best Picture For Better or Worse

The Los Angeles Film Critics, following the New York Film Critics, has named “Roma” Best Picture of the Year. Other critics groups around the country are doing the same thing. This is for better or worse. The Oscars tend not to choose the same film as the critics groups. One reason is that the Best Picture at the Academy Awards tends to address a BIG ISSUE or have a larger theme. “Roma is a beautiful, personal memoir. “Green Book” concerns racism, friendship, and even has a nod to tolerance of homosexuality. Because of the big issue, I doubt “Vice,” a political satire, will be competing with these two films. But we’ll see. It’s an open race, with a lot of time for opinions to change.

The LA critics really liked “Leave No Trace.” They also went for two actors who bear watching closely now in the running: Ethan Hawke and Toni Colette. Hawke seems like he’d have to be in the mix for the Oscars, but who would he push out? The good betting has Bradley Cooper, Viggo Mortensen, Willem Dafoe, Rami Malek as the top four. Ryan Gosling could suffer, which is a shame. And what about Christian Bale? Not so easy.

Toni Colette could also be a spoiler in Best Actress. Glenn Close, Lady Gaga, and Nicole Kidman are cemented in. Olivia Colman comes next from “The Favourite” (even though Rachel Weisz is really the lead). Is Colette the fifth? With “Widows” fading at the box office, Viola Davis may get pushed aside. (She’ll be back, so we’re not worried.)

The story keeps changing. Stay tuned…And as I always say, What about Yalitza?

Best Picture – ROMA
Runner up: Burning

Best Director – Debra Granik (Leave No Trace)
Runner up: Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA)

Best Actor – Ethan Hawke (First Reformed)
Runner up: Ben Foster (Leave No Trace)

Best Actress – Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Runner up: Toni Collette (Hereditary)

Best Supporting Actor – Steven Yeun (Burning)
Runner up: Hugh Grant (Paddington 2)

Best Supporting Actress – Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Runner up: Elizabeth Debicki (Widows)

Best Screenplay – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Runner up: Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (The Favourite)

Best Production Design – Hannah Beachler (Black Panther)
Runner up: Fiona Crombie (The Favourite)

Best Editing – Joshua Altman and Bing Liu (Minding the Gap)
Runner up: Alfonso Cuarón and Adam Gough (ROMA)

Best Cinematography – Alfonso Cuarón (ROMA)
Runner up: James Laxton (If Beale Street Could Talk)

Best Music Score – Nicholas Britell (If Beale Street Could Talk)
Runner up: Justin Hurwitz (First Man)

Best Foreign Language Film – Burning and Shoplifters (tie)

Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film – Shirkers
Runner up: Minding the Gap

Best Animation – Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse
Runner up: Incredibles 2

New Generation – Chloé Zhao (The Rider)

Special Citation – The Other Side of the Wind

Douglas Edwards Independent/Experimental Film/Video – Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson and Guy Maddin (The Green Fog)

Career Achievement (previously announced) – Hayao Miyazaki

Box Office: Oscar-Bound “Green Book” Crosses $20Mil on Monday, “Aquaman” Picks Up $93 Mil in China Pre-US Release

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Oscar-Bound “Green Book” Crosses $20Mil on Monday, “Aquaman” Picks Up $93 Mil in China Pre-US Release

Well, the Golden Globes saved “Green Book.” Peter Farrelly’s beautiful film with two Oscar performances– Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali– made $4 million more over the weekend. It’s still in limited release. The Globes gave “Green Book” a lot of ammunition with major nominations. Now word of mouth is picking up. The film hits $20 mil on Monday, and will start to take off in a big way. Very exciting.

I know the critics love “Roma.” It’s winning all the top critics’ prizes. Alfonso Cuaron is going to win Best Director, trust me. But could it be we’re seeing a “King’s Speech”/”Social Network” divide? “Roma” picks up all the critics prizes in the cities. “Green Book” wins Best Picture. I feel we’re headed in that direction. Stay tuned. Isn’t it great that we have so many excellent films in one season?

Warner Bros. is celebrating Chinese New Year early. Over weekend “Aquaman” made $93 million in China. That’s more than any other Warner or DC comic book movie in that country. The only human rights available to the Chinese is to see pre-approved American movies. So they’ve exercised that right by seeing “Aquaman” in droves. We have to wait til next Friday to see “Aquaman.” (I can wait, personally.)

“First Man” suffered from no Golden Globes action. I am really frustrated about this. “First Man” should be a Best Picture nominee. I urge the people involved to invest in an Oscar campaign. Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Damien Chazelle, the below the line people, and Justin Hurwitz’s score– they deserve better.

John Lennon Was Murdered 38 Years Ago, Watch Natalie Merchant Perform “Nowhere Man”

Roger Friedman
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John Lennon Was Murdered 38 Years Ago, Watch Natalie Merchant Perform “Nowhere Man”

John Lennon was murdered 38 years ago tonight. We never got over it, did we? Lennon was only 40. He’d be 78 now. Imagine what we would have accomplished in nearly four decades.

Natalie Merchant performed “Nowhere Man” at a tribute to John in 2001. Writer David Wild mentioned it on his Twitter feed. I was there at the Beacon Theater, but had forgotten this moving performance. So here it is. And below, John himself.

Despite PC-Shaming and Radio Ban (or Because of it) “Baby It’s Cold Outside” Sung by Dean Martin is Number 9 on iTunes

Roger Friedman
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Despite PC-Shaming and Radio Ban (or Because of it) “Baby It’s Cold Outside” Sung by Dean Martin is Number 9 on iTunes

Congratulations to all the smart guys who thought banning “Baby It’s Cold Outside” from the radio would kill it off.

No, the PC-Police (political correctness) have made a new hit out of Frank Loesser’s classic song, written in 1944.

The version sung by Dean Martin is now number 9 on iTunes. The sudden success is not because it’s actually cold outside. It’s because the idiots who boycott things turned “Baby It’s Cold Outside” in a cause celebre.

Members of the #MeToo mishegos decided that “Baby It’s Cold Outside” was really an attack by a predator who wouldn’t let a woman leave his apartment until he’d ravaged, or ravished (or radished) her. Whatever.

Loesser wrote the song so he and his wife could sing it parties in 1944 to get people to go home. A few years later it was used in the film “Neptune’s Daughter,” sung by Ricardo Montalban and Esther Williams, then comically by Red Skelton and Betty Garrett.

The Dean Martin version is from 1959. Loesser’s daughter Susan, now 74, told Inside Edition, the song was certainly not about date rape.

But the PR backfired, and now smooth old Dean has his first chart hit since the 1960s. The ex-Rat Packer and partner of Jerry Lewis had two number 1 hits in his career– “Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime” and the immortal “Memories Are Made of This” in the 1950s.

 

 

 

Grammy Awards Highlight Might Be Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper Performing “Shallow” 2 Days Before Oscar Ballots Go Out

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Awards Highlight Might Be Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper Performing “Shallow” 2 Days Before Oscar Ballots Go Out

Yes, we know Taylor Swift won’t be there.

But the Grammys already have a surefire ratings grabber for themselves.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will likely perform “Shallow” on the telecast, set for February 10th. It would be the first time they perform the hit song from “A Star is Born” on live TV.

By then, “Shallow”– nominated for Song and Record of the Year– will also be nominated for Best Song at the Academy Awards.

Nothing is set in stone. An insider insists there have been no discussions. But it seems an obvious move.

The timing is eerily too good to be true. Two days after the Grammys, Oscar voting begins for one week. “Shallow” will be fresh in everyone’s minds. The rest will be history.

Are there really coincidences in life? Of course, the magic won’t work if the song loses at the Grammys. But something tells me it will win one of those two statues. And maybe the Grammys will tease out one more song from Lady Gaga on the show.

The only question is how will they top that at the Oscars two weeks later? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

One Direction’s Zayn Makes One More Stab at a Hit with Melancholy “Good Years” (from Backstreet Boys Writer) and New Album (At Last)

Roger Friedman
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One Direction’s Zayn Makes One More Stab at a Hit with Melancholy “Good Years” (from Backstreet Boys Writer) and New Album (At Last)

SATURDAY NIGHT UPDATE: “Good Years” is stuck at number 34 on iTunes. Where are all the Zayn fans?

FRIDAY: Zayn Malik, ex One Direction, is making one more stab at a hit with the melancholy “Good Years.” He’s released six singles since his hit first solo album. All of them sank like stones. “Good Years” is written by Herbie Crichlow, who penned the Backstreet Boys hits “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely” and “Quit Playing Games with My Heart.”

The new Zayn album is called “Icarus Falls,” so I guess it’s all about flying too close to the sun and melting his wings. No tracklist yet, but the album hits in one week, next Friday, December 14th. Initial reaction to “Good Years” sends it to number 25 on iTunes tonight, but it’s a tricky time with Christmas singles clogging the charts.

We root for Zayn, who suffers from anxiety, has trouble touring and performing live, and dated Gigi Hadid, a model who is in the Kardashian galaxy (don’t ask). He’s covered in tattoos, too, like Guy Pearce in “Memento.” But he has an earnest interest in R&B, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. For now.

Grammys 2019: Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” Snubbed for Album of the Year Because of American Music Awards Appearance

Roger Friedman
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Grammys 2019: Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” Snubbed for Album of the Year Because of American Music Awards Appearance

Grammy nominations are out. And Taylor Swift, previously a Grammy favorite, has been snubbed.

I predicted this when Swift appeared on the American Music Awards and performed from her “Reputation” album.

Once you do that, you’re out of the Grammys. So somehow Swift’s people knew she wouldn’t make the Grammy cut, or she opted to ditch them and go for the AMAs.

Either way, Taylor won’t be performing on the Grammys and has no noms in the major categories except for pop album. Nothing for Song or Record or Album of the Year. That’s not typical Taylor, a usual Grammy favorite.

She’s joined in the snub by her arch rival, Kanye West. Also not nommed for Album of the Year, Beyonce and Jay Z as The Carters. Last year, Jay Z got a bunch of nominations in exchange for not having the Grammys at his Barclays Center. He lost in every category.

Kanye meanwhile got nada for his “Ye” album. His one nomination is for Producer of the Year because he produced five albums in one day. But I’m more excited about Larry Klein, a great jazz and pop producer, who’s up for that same award. He’s a real musician, whose work with Joni Mitchell and Julia Fordham, shines.

Grammy Nominations: Song of the Year Comprises Lady Gaga, Drake, Childish Gambino, Maren Morris, Cardi B, Brandi Carlisle

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Nominations: Song of the Year Comprises Lady Gaga, Drake, Childish Gambino, Maren Morris, Cardi B, Brandi Carlisle

Grammy nominations this morning did a lot for Lady Gaga and “A Star is Born.” Her hit single “Shallow” sung with Bradley Cooper was nominated for Best Song and Best Record. The Grammys air February 10th before Oscar voting is over. “Shallow” could win both awards and set up a win at the Oscars for Best Song, as well as help the movie garner votes.

Other nominees this morning include Cardi B, who somehow got Album of the Year nomination along with Drake, Brandi Carlisle, Janelle Monae, the Black Panther soundtrack, HER Music, and Post Malone.

A major contender in Best Song and Best Record is also “Meet Me in the Middle” by Maren Morris et al.

None of the Best Song contenders has just one or two writers, but committees of writers, producers, and miscellaneous people. The criteria for Best Song has obviously changed a lot since the days of real compositions.

Best New Artist: Chloe X Halle, Luke Combs, Greta Van Fleet, H.E.R., Dua Lipa, Margo Price, Bebe Rexha, and Jorja Smith are the nominees.

Full list to come.

Kevin Hart Steps Down from Oscar Host Job After Scandal About Homophobic Tweets Reaches Peak

Roger Friedman
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Kevin Hart Steps Down from Oscar Host Job After Scandal About Homophobic Tweets Reaches Peak

Kevin Hart has just Tweeted: “I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”

So Kevin Hart has backed down, just 24 hours after he was announced as host of the Oscars. The reason? Uncovered homophobic tweets from 2011 and other years that put into question his appropriateness for hosting the Academy Awards.

The scandal threatened to overshadow the Oscars broadcast in February 2019, and turn the next three months into a long slog of diatribe. Hart is a funny man, and often speaks without thinking.

In 2011 Hart Tweeted: Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.'” In another from 2010, Hart says someone’s profile pic looks “like a gay bill board for AIDS.” And in another written in 2009, he calls someone a “fat faced fag.”

The Tweet remained on his timeline until and just after he was announced as host. That’s when it was deleted. But by then word had spread. There was no way he could continue as Oscar host. On top of that, he wouldn’t apologize.
UPDATE NEW TWEET

Ironically, Hart’s scandal has exploded on the same night his “The Upside” co-star Bryan Cranston is having a huge success on Broadway. The two actors co-star in this movie that was held because of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. But now “The Upside” is coming out in January. Neil Burger’s movie is really great. I hope this episode doesn’t taint it again.

What I would do now about the Oscars is ask Cher and Meryl Streep, maybe with Christine Baranski and Tiffany Haddish, to host the Oscars. Haddish would be a hoot, and the other three would be just the right melange to pull it off.

 

Bryan Cranston Gives a Once-in-a-Lifetime Performance in “Network,” A Play That Predicted Fox News 20 Years Before it Happened

Roger Friedman
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Bryan Cranston Gives a Once-in-a-Lifetime Performance in “Network,” A Play That Predicted Fox News 20 Years Before it Happened

Sidney Aaron “Paddy” Chayefsky’s greatest work was “Network,” a screenplay for a movie that predicted Fox News twenty years before it happened. Chayefsky– who died in 1981 at age 58– wrote “Network” in 1974. It shot in 1975 was released in 1976. It won four Oscars, including Best Actor ({Peter Finch), Best Actress (Faye Dunaway), Best Supporting Actress (Beatrice Straight), and Best Screenplay (Chayefsky). Director Sidney Lumet was nominated for Best Director.

Two decades later, Fox News launched as opinion news run by celebrity newscasters who ranted and raved. Chayefsky foreshadowed Hannity, O’Reilly and the rest of the jackals at Fox News with Howard Beale, a middle aged nut who had a nervous breakdown on live on the air and promised to commit suicide. Beale’s mental illness was exploited by network executives, and led to his murder, also live on the air.

Now Bryan Cranston, of “Breaking Bad” fame, who’s already got a Tony award for playing LBJ in “All the Way,” gives the performance of a lifetime as Beale, elaborating and enriching Finch’s screen take. Cranston won the Olivier Award in London last March for playing Beale. Now, if he stays a bit, he’ll win another Tony Award. He is simply astounding, drawing out Beale’s anger and pathos, his role as a visionary who sees the whole thing in front of him. Howard Beale essentially leaves the blueprints for Roger Ailes of what is to come.

Ivo van Hove stages “Network” busily. On stage left (our right), theatergoers are actually eating dinner, real food, served by waiters, as an audience-in-an-audience. You pay extra for this with your ticket. Some of the play then takes place in this faux functioning restaurant. (I asked everyone, no one knows why van Hove has done this.)

Some of “Network” goes outside onto West 44th St. in front of the Belasco Theater, where co-stars Tony Goldwyn and Tatiana Maslany– who are terrific–  take a stroll mid show. I mean this is really happening, they go on the sidewalk at every performance with a cameraman and we see it on a video screen.  Pedestrians– true New Yorkers– are walking by in both directions. They are unfazed. It is really weird and wonderful.

Back on stage, there is a huge video screen, more screens, commercials from 1976 running on screens in the background. I found them distracting, although you do learn that a year before Roy Scheider starred in “Jaws” he made a Folgers commercial. Cameraman are broadcasting Beale’s show. Chayefsky’s UBS Network presaged CNN and Fox and all-news networks. Chayefsky could not have been more prescient about the carnival our lives would become.

There is so much going on onstage that it can be dizzying. But Cranston, as Beale, who’s supposedly unwinding into madness, is the sane center. At one point he also breaks the fourth wall, comes down and sits on the lip of the stage. Then he sits down between two theatergoers in the first row and improvises his own dialogue. I asked Bryan about this on Wednesday night. He told me it’s all ad-libbed. “I look forward to that bit every night.” On Wednesday– as Beale– he asked two ladies if their stash of candy indicated onset diabetes. The whole theater roared with laughter.

The producers and publicists didn’t want press on their opening night, which is why I can’t tell you anything about what happened Thursday. Some kind of paranoia. But they had nothing to fear. “Network” is already sold out for its limited run. They will have to try and extend. Everyone in the show is top notch. Maslany is earthier than Faye Dunaway. She’s more like a horny, aggressive version of Holly Hunter’s character in “Broadcast News.” Goldwyn has the suave mien of William Holden from the movie. His “Scandal” fans will be more than pleased when he and Maslany go for it big time in the faux restaurant.

So kudos to “Network.” If only Chayefsky had lived longer, maybe he could have also stopped Fox News, Morton Downey Jr. and all the terrors he saw in his crystal ball.

 

 

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