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Netflix Goes Brazilian with G Eazy Hip Hop Doc “Rapture”: “Hip Hop Is Being Truthful”

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There is no denying that Hip-hop has has is having a huge impact on global culture.  Netflix knows this and their new hip-hop eight episode documentary series “Rapture” debuts on March 30th.  One of the episodes features Rapper G-Eazy, who just sold out his last 3 shows at the Shrine in LA. São Paulo, Brazil is the where the rapper is featured at the recent Lollapalooza there.  Filming in Brazil is quickly becoming a go to destination for Hollywood.  

Leading the charge on that is Brazil Production Services, founded by producer Thiago Da Costa.  BPS recently shot the Brazilian part of Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” the Latin American docuseries “72 Most Dangerous Animals,” the recently wrapped Netflix’s “Fight World,” hosted by Frank Grillo, and the US film units of two Brazilian studio films, “Lucicireide” and  “Instructions Not Included.”

With “Rapture,”  why in São Paulo?  Da Costa explains, “Hip hop is huge in São Paulo.  The city is a huge urban center with many underprivileged neighborhoods where hip-hop and some of its local derivatives like funk are the soundtrack of choice. To many of the city’s residents, hip-hop’s hard driving nature and themes resonate very deeply.  There’s already a rich tradition of local rappers in São Paulo that already span something like 2 or 3 generations. It was only natural that G-Eazy play a show there.”

 “Rapture” also features Nas & Dave East, Just Blaze, Rapsody, Logic, T.I, 2 Chainz, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.  “Raptures credo is, “Hip Hop is about being truthful.  The definition of power is freedom. If you have power, you’re free.”

Watch the trailer here

Hollywood’s Race to Erase MS Ball Set to Roll with Scott Rogowsky, the HQ Trivia Guy, and Siedah Garrett

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Marvin Davis, now 13 years gone, at one time owned the Beverly Hills Hotel and 20th Century Fox. But his greatest legacies are his beloved widow, Barbara, who chairs the Carousel of Hope Ball every year, and their daughter, Nancy, who is now celebrating 25 years of creating the Race to Erase MS gala. What would Los Angeles (and the world) do without these ladies?

Nancy– passionate, determined, fiery, and funny– came to New York to talk about the 25th anniversary gala set for April 20th at the Beverly Hilton. Every star is coming, not just from Hollywood but from all over the world. When all the Oscars hoopla is over, “Race to Erase” is the hottest ticket in town. Nancy revealed to me that Siedah Garrett, who wrote Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror,” will perform– and more performers will be revealed son. Guests every year include Quincy Jones, Clive Davis, Randy Jackson, the whole Osbourne family, Jamie Lyn Sigler— it’s like the best pages of US Weekly come to life.

She’s also got the hottest guy anywhere– Scott Rogowsky, host of HQ Trivia— to host the evening.

“I called him up,” Nancy said over breakfast last week at the Rockefeller Center Cafe, “and said everyone’s obsessed with you. You have to come. We’re going to figure out a game everyone can play at the dinner.”

Listen, Nancy Davis– who has five kids and is happily married– found out at age 33 she had MS. Her doctor told her to go home and go to bed. “He said, At least I’d be able to use the TV remote,” Nancy recalled. “I said, Wait a minute. I’m only 33.”

At the time there were no drugs on the market for multiple sclerosis. None “Zero,” she says, plainly. So she started making calls. Today, thanks to seed money from Race, there are 15 drugs to choose from. A newer one, called Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), approved one year ago, has revolutionized many sufferers’ lives. What used to be a death sentence has now has treatments that work.

“MS is a really popular disease right now because the idea of finding a cure is out there,” Davis says. There’s a light, at least, at the end of the tunnel.

The 25th anniversary ball will not only be star studded, but look for a lot of the attendees to be wearing the Race’s official Invictus Peace and Love watch — a massive hit on Evine and Nancy’s own brainstorm– a great way to contribute to the charity.

But look, this is what we want to know–Didn’t  Aaron Spelling model the “Dynasty” TV show with the Carrington family on the Davises? That’s what we always heard back in the 80s. In fact, when the Davises –who lived in Denver– got wind of this, they moved to Hollywood and took over. Right?

Well, not exactly. “Maybe there was an influence because of my dad’s oil company, but the characters are completely different,” Nancy says. She’s right. Marvin Davis had one wife, the amazing Barbara. There was no Alexis or Krystal. And the family– even with their own legal problems– turned out to be filmmakers (brother John), and incredible philanthropists. The Carringtons would have been lucky to be the Davises!

 

 

Cuba Gooding Jr. Unveils His Tasty “Louisiana Caviar” with Famke Janssen and Greg Bello for Chris Cuomo, Ari Melber, Media Elite

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You really have to like someone to trek all the way to the South Street Seaport to see their movie. I actually forgot the Seaport was still there– what happened to it, it was such a rocking spot in the early 1990s?

Anyway, lots of people put on their GPS and found the iPic Theater on Fulton Street next to what used to be the Fulton Fish Market before Rudy Giuliani kicked out the mob and the Gap came in. The mob is now very missed. But the iPic has comfortable seats and tasty popcorn, so that’s something.

We came for Cuba Gooding Jr.’s directorial debut, “Louisiana Caviar,” in which he plays a former boxer who gets caught up in a very shady deal involving Richard Dreyfus. The glorious Famke Janssen has a knockout performance as a kind of punk lesbian photographer. She sports a short black wig and very convincing tattoos that are, thank god, all fakes. (“American Idol” star and David Foster squeeze Katherine McPhee is her lover and looks swell.)

New York’s favorite local actor, Greg Bello, acquits himself beautifully as an Orthodox Jew who gets scammed by everyone including hot newcomer Lia Marie Johnson, who is Capitol Records’ next Big Thing.

The whole thing was shot for $3.5 million in 18 days with a gorgeous palette from DP Wedigo von Schultzendorff, who gives New Orleans a golden washed out look for this cast of misfits struggling to rise above a caper gone bad. Some of the shots of the lesser characters (who I think are locals) could be taken out and used as photographs they’re so stunning.

Among those who shlepped: CNN’s Chris Cuomo and wife Cristina, MSNBC’s Ari Melber, Famke herself looking stunning, Michael and Laurie Gelman and so on. This was not a premiere, just a look-see until distributors come in with bids. But expect to see “Louisiana Caviar” in theaters before the end of the year. Cuba has the bug, now– “I love directing,” he told me , and it shows. Plus he used a song from his famous late dad, singer Cuba Gooding Jr of the Main Ingredient that showcased his old man’s lovely R&B tenor. What more could you want?

Broadway Boffo: Disney’s “Frozen” Musical Plays Just 4 Previews, Makes Nearly $1 Million

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Bruce Springsteen is still on leave from his Broadway show, so the weekly box office had to rely on a newcomer to make noise.

Disney’s “Frozen” musical based on the hit animated movie played just 4 previews last week and made just over $926,000– it sold out right to the rafters. So imagine if they’d done the 8 regular shows that will be the schedule– $1.8 million would have been the box office. “Frozen” opens in April and by then the weekly box office should give Bruce– who takes in $2.4 million a week from 5 performances — a run for his money.

It was a good week all the way around for Broadway shows. Buoyed by rave reviews, Bernadette Peters in “Hello, Dolly!” cleared $1 million for the second week in a row. Yes, it’s half of the Bette Midler take per week, but the budget is probably half, too. Peters’ consolation is that her reviews were through the roof. The show has benefited from her arrival, and that of Victor Garber.

The big news is that Martin McDonagh’s “The Hangmen” which was supposed to transfer uptown to Broadway before Tony eligibility cut off of April 26th may not make it after all. There’s said to be a glitch in the business end of things. This would clear the way for “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” to win the Tony for Best New Play. Interesting. “The Hangmen” has been extended to March 25th downtown at the Atlantic Theater Company, which will still likely win Best Musical for “The Band’s Visit.”

Maybe someone on the Great White Way didn’t want the Atlantic to pick up Best Musical and Best Play in the same season. If ya know what I mean…

TV’s “The Bachelor” Headed for a Disaster: if You Follow “Reality Steve” The Worst Is Yet to Come

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Do I watch “The Bachelor”? Not really. Not until a couple of years ago, and then I’ve just caught the first and last episodes to see what’s going on.

But if you follow the reliable website Reality Steve, the poo is about to hit the fan on this, the 22nd ‘season’ (seasons used to be years) of a show about basically clueless morons.

The current bachelor is named Arie Luyendyk Jr., a 36 year old part time amateur race car driver and real estate salesman who was exhumed from a previous iteration of “The Bachelorette.”  Arie is the perfect antidote to sleeplessness, so his “journey” to the final rose ceremony hasn’t been too thought provoking until now.

Turns out Reality Steve — who gets the scoop on this stuff— has known the outcome since the show began airing– in other words, when they finish taping, and the participants go silent waiting for the final, live broadcast– that’s when the fun begins.

So what does Reality Steve know? He knows that Arie proposed to one woman, who said yes on the air. Everyone shook hands and parted company until the live show ending. But in the interim, Arie broke off his engagement and started dating a girl he’d rejected on the last show. It’s unclear if they became engaged, or broke up, or if he got back together with the first girl.

And you see, it won’t matter anyway. Because whoever Arie is with now, in six months it will be over. “The Bachelor” is a hallucination. None of it is real. The people don’t really know each other. And they’re almost always geographically at odds; neither of them wants to move to the other’s locale. The on who lives in Maine doesn’t want to up-end their life and move to Arizona, or whatever.

Let’s put it this way– if Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux couldn’t figure it out, these losers certainly aren’t going to pull it off.

So it’s all going to end in a snarl, with a lot of snarling. I won’t see it in real time, because tonight there are two movie premieres and next Monday is the night after the Oscars and I will be at Craig’s in West Hollywood commiserating about who was “snubbed.”

But god bless to all of these clowns. Their lives are “on the line.” The real hero anyway is Reality Steve.

“Black Panther” Did Better Than Predicted on Sunday, Finished Weekend with $403 Million US

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Never bet again T’Challa.

Turns out “Black Panther” did better than predicted for Sunday, coming in closer to $35 million than the prognosticated $31.6 million. So instead of $400 mil plus change, the domestic total is probably $403 million.

At this rate, “Black Panther” will be number 1 all week and weekend, beating all new releases including “Red Sparrow,” which will do well, and “Death Wish,” which will not. “Black Panther” will be number 1 on Oscar night, so look for as many of its cast as the Oscars can persuade to be at the show.

 

 

Rolling Stones Plan European Tour Despite Retirements of Other Rock Stars: “We’re Not Finished Yet”

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The Rolling Stones gather no moss and will not retire from performing. They’ve just announced European dates for their No Filter tour this summer. Their combined age is 2,700. Other rock stars like Elton John, Neil Diamond, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Aretha Franklin are ending their tour days. Not the Stones! Keith Richards said in an earlier post: “We aren’t finished yet!”

“Clerks” Director Kevin Smith Survives Massive “Widow Maker” Heart Attack Overnight

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“Clerks” director Kevin Smith has tweeted overnight that he’s survived a massive heart attack. Smith had been performing on Sunday night in Glendale, California at the Alex Theater doing his Comic Book Men stage show. He says that after the first show he had the heart attack. “If I hadn’t canceled the second show 2 go to the hospital, I would’ve died tonight.”

Smith, who’s 47, rose to fame as the director of such unique comedies as “Clerks,” “Mallrats,” and “Chasing Amy.”

I’ve known Kevin for a lot of years, to say the least. Sending him massive Get Well wishes!

“Death Wish” Remake Opens Friday: Bruce Willis MIA and Movie Problematic Considering Parkland

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The remake of “Death Wish” is coming Friday. You remember “Death Wish,” dontcha? Charles Bronson avenging his wife’s death, shooting everything that got in his way?

A remake? Seems like poor timing, no? In the new version, Bruce Willis is probably doing the same as Bronson, only this time the wife is Elisabeth Shue, not Jill Ireland.

Problematic considering Parkland, 17 dead, and the NRA boycott, not to mention coming anti-gun marches all over the place, and high school students walking out of classes.

Not to mention that Bruce Willis, the star, is SILENT. He’s not on any late night talk shows this week. He is MIA on silent media. There’s no premiere for the movie. It’s unlikely we will see or hear from Willis, who has five daughters and probably isn’t waiting for reporters’ questions about kids and gun control.

MGM– yes there is still an MGM — is distributing “Death Wish.” They’ve put it up against Jennifer Lawrence in “Red Sparrow,” the third week of “Black Panther” and Oscar weekend, when most people are frantically catching up on Oscar nominated movies.

Will “Death Wish” go to video pretty quickly? Seems like it. Willis’s last movie, “Acts of Violence,” may have been released somewhere but no one ever reported its box office. “Extraction,” released in 2015, made $16,775. “Rock the Kasbah” made $3 million.

Stay tuned…

Paul McCartney Celebrates George Harrison on His 75th Birthday: “Wonderful memories, Georgie”

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Everyone is celebrating George Harrison today on what would have been his 75th birthday. We love George as a Beatle, from “Here Comes the Sun” and “Something” to “Savoy Truffle.” But the George Harrison I celebrate is the man who gave us “All Things Must Pass.” I still have my original box with the vinyl. Those songs–from “I’d Have You Anytime” to “My Sweet Lord,” “What is Life,” “Apple Scruffs,” “Wah-Wah”– how they’ve held up over 48 years. And then there’s “All Things Must Pass,” the title track, which might have been a Beatles song but thank goodness it wasn’t. A masterpiece, a real of art. George had plenty of hits and did many great things but “Beware of Darkness”– particularly the “Bangla Desh” version with Leon Russell– remains magnificent.

So raise a glass to George– and also to his remarkable wife, Olivia, and their tremendous son, Dhani, both of whom have proven to be the most faithful, respectful keepers of the flame. This week, they’re released a new vinyl version of “The Concert for George,” in many configurations. I was lucky enough to be there for this all -star memorial on November 29, 2002. It’s so nice to have a lasting reminder.