Support independent journalism, free from the trades and other publications that are part of the tinsel town machine.
For 12 years, Showbiz411.com has been covering Hollywood, Broadway, the music business and the business of celebrity. Ads are our main source of funding, but contributions (not tax exempt) from readers who enjoy the scoops, exclusives, and fact based reports are always welcome and very appreciated. To inquire about ads, email us at showbiz411@gmail.com.
Great news tonight from the UK: exclusive from the Daily Mail’s Baz Bamigboye reveals that Dame Judi Dench has joined Tom Hooper’s all-star movie of “Cats,” based on the hit musical.
Dame Judi joins Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Sir Ian McKellen, and James Corden. She’ll play Old Deuteronomy, but we’ll think of her as Young, just as well!
Wow: I may actually be able to watch this movie now. They’re really sweetening the pot every day. After this, I do hope Tom Hooper gets back to drama without music. First “Les Miz,” now this.
Judi Dench makes everything better. You can’t deny it!
CBS has its first new leader in a long time. Showtime chief David Nevins will now run both companies. He’s been given two promotions–Chief Creative Officer, CBS Corporation; and Chairman of Showtime Networks.
Nevins has been a big success developing cool shows at Showtime including “Billions,” “Homeland,” “Ray Donovan,” “Shameless,” and so on. For better or worse, he revived “Twin Peaks,” picked up “Patrick Melrose,” and was behind Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Who is America.”
Don’t worry– he’s not going to fix what isn’t broken. CBS is the home “NCIS,” “Criminal Minds,” and so on. What Nevins may do is try and add an hour long drama with Emmy potential. But he’s not going to ditch the hit shows. But he may able to tell us if “Scorpion” is still on the air.
Melissa McCarthy gives a powerhouse and poignant, weaved in with her comedic caustic wit performance in “Can You Ever Forgive Me.” Not only do we fall in tortured love with failing writer Lee Israel, but we also admire her and respect her for her honest to a fault and ‘calling it like it is’ manner.
Set in 1991 in NYC, which director Marielle Heller captures perfectly, “Can You Ever Forgive Me,” is based on Lee Israel’s memoir of the same name.The script is wonderfully written by Nicole Holofecener and Jeff Whitty.The film opens with a demoralized Lee struggling to pay her bills, with her beloved cat Jersey being sick.She spends a lot of time at her favorite watering hole, Julius, a legendary gay bar that is still around in the East Village.
Lee meets the charming; sly and messed up Jack Hock, played perfectly by Richard. E. Grant; the damaged duo quickly become fast friends. Even though she’s had one of her noted biographies on the New York Times Best-Seller list, her exasperated agent Marjorie, played perfectly by Jane Curtin, can’t find a publisher for her latest book a biography of Fanny Brice, the vaudeville comedienne, a labor of love for Lee.
While she’s doing research in a library, Lee comes across a personal letter that was left between the pages of a book, and realizing it’s worth something, she sells it to a love/fan struck woman who runs a bookshop, played beautifully by Dolly Wells. And then it’s off to the races for Lee.Realizing that her talents as a writer can make her money forging personal letters from notable figures, like Dorothy Parker and Noel Coward, she goes with it until it invariably goes wrong.By then she recruited Jack as her partner in crime, ultimately leading to the FBI involvement.They get caught red handed.
McCarthy and Grant are both simply stunning. Heller, with an expert sense of pacing, makes a dynamic film that captures the mood of New York in every choice she makes. Melissa McCarthy shows all sides of Lee; wounded, vulnerable, funny, smart, kind, all of it. She knocks it out of the park. No doubt she and Grant along with the filmmakers will be recognized mightily during the awards season.
Fox Searchlight’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me” opens in limited release today.
BREAKINGHUMOR Donald Trump just made a startling admission in the Oval Office, following a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo just returned from meeting with the Saudi government over the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared in the Saudi embassy in Turkey.
Trump, listening to Pompeo give his report– which included a suggestion to “wait and see” if the Saudis can come up with an explanation– suddenly blew up.
“Did I hire you?” he said, narrowing his eyes. “I thought I hired the girl from Grey’s Anatomy. The bossy one. Great tits.”
“Ellen Pompeo,” the secretary of state replied. “I get confused with her a lot.”
“She’s great, the best,” Trump said. “Remember how she got rid of McDreamy? And McSteamy? How about the blonde chick who did the cat food commercial? Ellen Pompeo, she’s the one I wanted. Get out of here now.”
Trump turned to his lackey, Steven Miller. “Call that Shonda Rhimes person,” he said. “You’re Jewish. You know what Shonda means. The whole thing is a shonda!”
The nomination for the IFP Gotham Awards are more indie than the Spirit Awards (on the West Coast, next February) but still include some Hollywood people. Among them: Michelle Pfeiffer, Adam Driver, Emma Stone, Glenn Close. (I don’t mean they live in Hollywood, just that they’re often in studio films.)
The main category includes “The Favourite,” which is also getting a special award for its three actresses; Paul Schrader’s excellent “First Reformed,” and Barry Jenkins’ adaptation of “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
There are also two movies almost no one has ever seen: “The Rider,” and “Madeline’s Madeline.” But that’s exactly right. The Gothams are honoring independent movies, while the Independent Spirit Awards honor indie films that got Oscar nominations.
One glaring omission is Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” although its lead actress, who never acted before, is the Breakthrough Performance category.
It’s great that Richard E. Grant made it in from “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” as Best Actor, but Melissa McCarthy– so good in that film– ignored and she’s the main player.
The funniest category: all five nominees for Breakthrough Actor are…actresses. Ah, gender.
Best Feature The Favourite
Yorgos Lanthimos, director; Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Yorgos Lanthimos,
producers (Fox Searchlight Pictures) First Reformed
Paul Schrader, director; Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Victoria Hill, Gary Hamilton, Deepak Sikka,
Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, producers (A24) If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins, director; Adele Romanski, Sara Murphy, Barry Jenkins, Dede Gardner, Jeremy
Kleiner, Megan Ellison, producers (Annapurna Pictures) Madeline’s Madeline
Josephine Decker, director; Krista Parris, Elizabeth Rao, producers (Oscilloscope Laboratories) The Rider
Chloé Zhao, director; Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Mollye Asher, Chloé Zhao,
producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
Best Documentary Bisbee ‘17
Robert Greene, producer; Douglas Tirola, Susan Bedusa, Bennett Elliott, producers (4th Row
Films) Hale County This Morning, This Evening
RaMell Ross, director; RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim, producers (The Cinema Guild) Minding the Gap
Bing Liu, director; Diane Quon, Bing Liu, producers (Hulu & Magnolia Pictures)
Shirkers
Sandi Tan, director; Sandi Tan, Jessica Levin, Maya Rudolph, producers (Netflix) Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Morgan Neville, director; Morgan Neville, Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma, producers (Focus
Features)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Ari Aster for Hereditary (A24)
Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade (A24)
Jennifer Fox for The Tale (HBO)
Crystal Moselle for Skate Kitchen (Magnolia Pictures)
Boots Riley for Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna Pictures)
Best Screenplay
The Favourite, Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
First Reformed, Paul Schrader (A24)
Private Life, Tamara Jenkins (Netflix)
Support the Girls, Andrew Bujalski (Magnolia Pictures)
Thoroughbreds, Cory Finley (Focus Features)
Best Actor
Adam Driver in BlacKkKlansman (Focus Features)
Ben Foster in Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street)
Richard E. Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Ethan Hawke in First Reformed (A24)
Lakeith Stanfield in Sorry to Bother You (Annapurna Pictures)
Best Actress*
Glenn Close in The Wife (Sony Pictures Classics)
Toni Collette in Hereditary (A24)
Kathryn Hahn in Private Life (Netflix)
Regina Hall in Support the Girls (Magnolia Pictures)
Michelle Pfeiffer in Where is Kyra? (Paladin and Great Point Media) *The 2018 Best Actress nominating committee also voted to award a special Gotham Jury Award to Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz for their ensemble performance in The Favourite. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Breakthrough Actor
Yalitza Aparicio in Roma (Netflix)
Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade (A24)
Helena Howard in Madeline’s Madeline (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
KiKi Layne in If Beale Street Could Talk (Annapurna Pictures)
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie in Leave No Trace (Bleecker Street)
Breakthrough Series – Long Form
Alias Grace, Sarah Polley, Mary Harron, Noreen Halpern, executive producers (Netflix)
Big Mouth, Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Jennifer Flackett, Mark Levin, creators; Nick Kroll,
Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin & Jennifer Flackett, executive producers (Netflix)
The End of the F***ing World, Andy Baker, Murray Ferguson, Petra Fried, Ed MacDonald,
Dominic Buchanan, Jonathan Entwistle, executive producers (Netflix)
Killing Eve, Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, executive producers
(BBC America)
Pose, Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Steven Canals, creators; Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Nina
Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Alexis Martin Woodall, Sherry Marsh, executive producers (FX
Networks)
Sharp Objects, Marti Noxon, creator; Marti Noxon, Jason Blum, Gillian Flynn, Amy Adams, Jean-
Marc Vallée, Nathan Ross, Gregg Fienberg, Charles Layton, Marci Wiseman, Jessica Rhoades,
executive producers (HBO)
Breakthrough Series – Short Form
195 Lewis, Chanelle Aponte Pearson and Rae Leone Allen, creators
Cleaner Daze, Tess Sweet and Daniel Gambelin, creators
Distance, Alex Dobrenko, creator
The F Word, Nicole Opper, creator
She’s the Ticket, Nadia Hallgren, creator
I really wanted to call this story “Mumble Me By Your Name.”
Luca Guadagnini, the man who made “Call Me By Your Name,” is set to make a new film based on Bob Dylan’s towering 1975 classic album, “Blood on the Tracks.”
Oscar Nominee Richard LaGravenese will pen the script to the classic drama, which is based on an idea by RT Features’ Rodrigo Teixeira, who is producing with Guadagnino. RT’s Sophie Mas and Lourenço Sant’ Anna are executive producing alongside Marco Morabito.
“Blood on the Tracks,” from 1975, has no plot per se, so whatever story they’ve come up with will have to somehow make sense. The great songs on it include “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Shelter from the Storm,” “Idiot Wind,” “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go,” among others.
The album is about to get an anniversary box set pressing from Sony/Legacy, so news of the movie is either coincidental or planned.
Guadagnini is about to release his remake of the horror film, “Suspiria.”
It’s not yet unknown if this will be tailored for “Call Me” stars Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer. There’s no fruit in the lyrics to “Blood on the Tracks,” but produce departments are being warned.
She released a new single Thursday right after midnight. “The Distance” is pretty good, the singles are improving. This one features Ty Dollar.
New album coming November 16th, called “Caution.” Apparently Roc Nation is really managing her, and this is the result. Mariah is about to have her third or fourth iteration. Lambs have nine lives. Or is it Butterflies?
Roseanne issued a statement on Facebook about The Conners and the death of her character through her new buddy, Shmuley Boteach (pronounced Bo-tay-ach). The statement came from Shmuley’s World Values Network. In 2016, according to the charity’s Form 990, the World Values Network said it paid salaries of $725,000.
Of that, at least $377,000 went to Shmuley, whose real name is Jacob. On the IRS form he lied and called himself “Jacob Botach” intentionally misspelling the last name. This is after he’d already been exposed by the NY Daily News.
This is where Roseanne is at. I’ve written before about Shmuley, and about the World Values Network. It’s all in black and white. Shmuley famously befriended Michael Jackson around the year 2000, then involved him in a bunch of scams and fake charities that ultimately had to be investigated by the New York State Attorney General.
This is the same Shmuley who, a few years before that, was banned from having a pulpit in Great Britain after running scams there.
This is who Roseanne Barr has aligned herself with. Just so we’re all the same page.
I find it interesting that Shmuley has enough money to pay Rubenstein and Associates for public relations. I actually met him for the first time in Howard Rubenstein’s apartment on the Upper East Side in 2000 with Michael Jackson. Everything that followed would prove to be Michael’s undoing.
But back to the World Values Network: Where did the rest of the $1.6 million Shmuley claims they received go? It didn’t go to helping anyone. On the line under Expenses that reads “Grants,” the number is Zero.
Other salaries and wages: $298,000. Who received these salaries is unspecified.
Other employee benefits: $70,000. Which employees? Unknown.
Occupancy– meaning rent– $246,915. Below is a picture of 392 Palisades Avenue, where the World Values Network is located. That’s about $20,000 a month.
Just so we’re all on the same page.
Other expenses include Public Outreach Advertising: $211,283. I’m sure you’ve seen their ads everywhere. LOL.
“The Conners” scored 10,458,000 viewers in its debut, considerably below the “Roseanne” premiere of 17 million last spring. It was beaten handily by “NCIS” with 11.6 million.
Realistically, “The Conners” was a hit, even with the loss to “NCIS.” There isn’t a comedy out there that wouldn’t covet the numbers they got. “The Conners” scored an 8 in the key demo of Men, ages 18-49, the highest of all shows last night. John Goodman’s fans found him, which is always great. Among women in the key demo, “The Conners” scored an 11 and tied with the NBC hit “This is Us.”
Remember, “The Conners” was never going to score the gargantuan ratings of the “Roseanne” reboot last spring. And I’ve got a feeling their numbers will be steady now, and not drop off as the “Roseanne” show did. Plus, Goodman and Metcalf are just sensational, and the whole show was excellent.
The Broadcast Critics have announced the nominations for their third annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, in November. Michael Moore is receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. “Free Solo,” from Nat Geo Docs, leads the pack of other nominees. “RBG,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” and “Three Identical Strangers” are all nominated for Best Doc. The awards will be given at BRIC in Brooklyn (on the BAM campus) November 10th.
The Critics Choice Awards for feature films will be given on January 13th, 2019.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Crime + Punishment – Director: Stephen Maing (Hulu)
Dark Money – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
Free Solo – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Hal – Director: Amy Scott (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Hitler’s Hollywood – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland (Kino Lorber)
Minding the Gap – Director: Bing Liu (Hulu)
RBG – Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West (Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media)
Three Identical Strangers – Director: Tim Wardle (Neon, CNN Films)
Wild Wild Country – Directors: Chapman Way, Maclain Way (Netflix)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Director: Morgan Neville (Focus Features)
BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
America to Me (Starz)
Dirty Money (Netflix)
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (HBO Documentary Films, Sony Pictures Television)
Flint Town (Netflix)
One Strange Rock (National Geographic)
The Fourth Estate (Showtime Networks)
The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (HBO)
Wild Wild Country (Netflix)
BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
30 for 30 (ESPN)
American Masters (PBS)
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (CNN)
Frontline (PBS)
Independent Lens (PBS)
Making a Murderer (Netflix)
POV (PBS)
The History of Comedy (CNN)
BEST DIRECTOR
Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi – Free Solo (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Bing Liu – Minding the Gap (Hulu)
Morgan Neville – Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (Focus Features)
Kimberly Reed – Dark Money (PBS)
Rüdiger Suchsland – Hitler’s Hollywood (Kino Lorber)
Tim Wardle – Three Identical Strangers (Neon, CNN Films)
Chapman Way and Maclain Way – Wild Wild Country (Netflix)
BEST FIRST TIME DIRECTOR
Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster – Science Fair (National Geographic Documentary Films)
Heather Lenz – Kusama – Infinity (Magnolia Pictures)
Bing Liu – Minding the Gap (Hulu)
Stephen Nomura Schible – Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (MUBI)
Amy Scott – Hal (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Rudy Valdez – The Sentence (HBO Documentary Films)
BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY
RBG – Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West (Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media)
Dark Money – Director: Kimberly Reed (PBS)
Fahrenheit 11/9 – Director: Michael Moore (Briarcliff Entertainment)
Flint Town – Directors: Zackary Canepari, Drea Cooper, Jessica Dimmock (Netflix)
Hitler’s Hollywood – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland (Kino Lorber)
John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls – Directors: George Kunhardt, Peter W. Kunhardt, Teddy Kunhardt (HBO)
The Fourth Estate – Directors: Liz Garbus, Jenny Carchman (Showtime Networks)
BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY
Andre the Giant – Director: Jason Hehir (HBO)
Being Serena (HBO)
Free Solo – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Film)
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection – Director: Julien Faraut (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Minding the Gap – Director: Bing Liu (Hulu)
The Workers Cup – Director: Adam Sobel (Passion River)
BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
Bad Reputation – Director: Kevin Kerslake (Magnolia Pictures)
David Bowie: The Last Five Years – Director: Francis Whately (HBO Documentary Films)
Elvis Presley: The Searcher – Director: Thom Zimny (HBO Documentary Films, Sony Pictures Television)
Lynyrd Skynyrd: If I Leave Here Tomorrow – Director: Stephen Kijak (Showtime Networks)
Quincy – Directors: Alan Hicks, Rashida Jones (Netflix)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda – Director: Stephen Nomura Schible (MUBI)
Whitney – Director: Kevin Macdonald (Roadside Attractions, Miramax)
MOST COMPELLING LIVING SUBJECT OF A DOCUMENTARY
(ALL LISTED IN THE CATEGORY WILL BE HONORED AT THE EVENT)
Scotty Bowers – Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (Greenwich Entertainment)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg – RBG (Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media)
Alex Honnold – Free Solo (National Geographic Documentary Film)
Joan Jett – Bad Reputation (Magnolia Pictures)
Quincy Jones – Quincy (Netflix)
David Kellman and Bobby Shafran – Three Identical Strangers (Neon, CNN Films)
John McEnroe – John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Leon Vitali – Filmworker (Kino Lorber)
MOST INNOVATIVE DOCUMENTARY
306 Hollywood – Directors: Elan Bogarin, Jonathan Bogarin (PBS, El Tigre)
Free Solo – Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (National Geographic Documentary Film)
Hitler’s Hollywood – Director: Rüdiger Suchsland (Kino Lorber)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda – Director: Stephen Nomura Schible (MUBI)
Wild Wild Country – Directors: Chapman Way, Maclain Way (Netflix)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Director: Morgan Neville (Focus Features)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
306 Hollywood – Cinematographers: Elan Bogarin, Jonathan Bogarin, Alejandro Mejía (PBS, El Tigre)
The Dawn Wall – Cinematographer: Brett Lowell (The Orchard)
Free Solo – Cinematographers: Jimmy Chin, Clair Popkin, Mikey Schaefer (National Geographic Documentary Film)
Minding the Gap – Cinematographer: Bing Liu (Hulu)
Pandas – Cinematographer: David Douglas (Warner Bros., IMAX)
Wild Wild Country – Cinematographer: Adam Stone (Netflix)
BEST EDITING
Dark Money – Editor: Jay Arthur Sterrenberg (PBS)
Filmworker – Editor: Tony Zierra (Kino Lorber)
Free Solo – Editor: Bob Eisenhardt (National Geographic Documentary Film)
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection – Editor: Julien Faraut (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Three Identical Strangers – Editor: Michael Harte (Neon, CNN Films)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Editors: Jeff Malmberg, Aaron Wickenden (Focus Features)
