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“Get Out” Wins Indie Spirit Awards, Which Are Basically Rehearsals for the Oscars

Roger Friedman
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“Get Out” Wins Indie Spirit Awards, Which Are Basically Rehearsals for the Oscars

The sun came out for the Indie Spirit Awards on Saturday in Santa Monica in their famed beach tent. “Get Out” won Best Picture, Jordan Peele won Best Director for Directing it. And that was all pretty wild since “Get Out” — a little movie that wound up making millions– came from Universal, a Very Big Studio.

The Spirit Awards are basically rehearsal for the Oscars. Three of the acting winners on Saturday are likely to win Academy Awards today– Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, and Allison Janney. Greta Gerwig won Best Screenplay for “Lady Bird,” a signal that she may win today, too.

The documentary winner was “Faces/Places” with Agnes Varda and French artist JR. It’s not really a documentary, but it’s so whimsical and fun it’s like a dessert. This film could very well beat more serious fare at the Oscars.

This year’s Spirit Awards, like last year’s, were hosted by the very funny Nick Kroll and John Mullaney. They shredded Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, and other Hollywood names in the news this past year for personal scandals.

In the tent, which is really a bubble metaphor for Hollywood, the mood was upbeat even though several snubs in the nominations– like Willem Dafoe in “The Florida Project”– were head scratchers. For example, Greta Gerwig wasn’t nominated for Best Director for “Lady Bird” despite this being The Year of the Woman, etc.

But Timothee Chalamet– 22 years old and winner of Best Actor for “Call Me By Your Name” — expressed the naive but charming thought of the Bubble– that there’s a new generation coming. Hollywood will change, and so on. God bless. There’s always a chance.

One thing I noticed is that guests at the Spirit Awards with this “new generation”: they’re dressing more like it’s a business gathering in a hotel ballroom. It used to be everyone wore jeans, it was very relaxed. Now, I couldn’t help but notice all the suits and ties, many women really dressed up. It’s a sign of something– maybe that big studios are releasing “independent” films.

BEST FEATURE“Call Me by Your Name”
“The Florida Project”
“Get Out” (WINNER)
“Lady Bird”
“The Rider”

BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)

“Columbus”
“Ingrid Goes West” (WINNER)
“Menashe”
“Oh Lucy!”
“Patti Cake$”

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. (Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

“Dayveon”
“A Ghost Story”
“Life and Nothing More” (WINNER)
“Most Beautiful Island”
“The Transfiguration”

BEST DIRECTOR

Sean Baker, “The Florida Project”
Jonas Carpignano, “A Ciambra”
Luca Guadagnino, “Call Me by Your Name”
Jordan Peele, “Get Out” (WINNER)
Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, “Good Time”
Chloé Zhao, “The Rider”

BEST SCREENPLAY

Greta Gerwig, “Lady Bird” (WINNER)
Azazel Jacobs, “The Lovers”
Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Jordan Peele, “Get Out”
Mike White, “Beatriz at Dinner”

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Kris Avedisian, Story By: Kyle Espeleta, Jesse Wakeman, “Donald Cried”
Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani, “The Big Sick” (WINNER)
Ingrid Jungermann, “Women Who Kill”
Kogonada, “Columbus”
David Branson Smith, Matt Spicer, “Ingrid Goes West”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Thimios Bakatakis, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”
Elisha Christian, “Columbus”
Hélène Louvart, “Beach Rats”
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, “Call Me by Your Name” (WINNER)
Joshua James Richards, “The Rider”

BEST EDITING

Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie, “Good Time”
Walter Fasano, “Call Me by Your Name”
Alex O’Flinn, “The Rider”
Gregory Plotkin, “Get Out”
Tatiana S. Riegel, “I, Tonya” (WINNER)

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Salma Hayek, “Beatriz at Dinner”
Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (WINNER)
Margot Robbie, “I, Tonya”
Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird”
Shinobu Terajima, “Oh Lucy!”
Regina Williams, “Life and Nothing More”

BEST MALE LEAD

Timothée Chalamet, “Call Me by Your Name” (WINNER)
Harris Dickinson, “Beach Rats”
James Franco, “The Disaster Artist”
Daniel Kaluuya, “Get Out”
Robert Pattinson, “Good Time”

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Holly Hunter, “The Big Sick”
Allison Janney, “I, Tonya” (WINNER)
Laurie Metcalf, “Lady Bird”
Lois Smith, “Marjorie Prime”
Taliah Lennice Webster, “Good Time”

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Nnamdi Asomugha, “Crown Heights”
Armie Hammer ,”Call Me by Your Name”
Barry Keoghan, “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”
Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” (WINNER)
Benny Safdie, “Good Time”

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast

“Mudbound”
Director: Dee Rees
Casting Directors: Billy Hopkins, Ashley Ingram
Ensemble Cast: Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan, Carey Mulligan

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)

‘The Departure,” Lana Wilson
“Faces Places,” directed by Agnés Varda, JR, produced by Rosalie Varda (WINNER)
“Last Men in Aleppo,” directed by Feras Fayyad, produced by Kareem Abeed, Søeren Steen Jespersen, Stefan Kloos
“Motherland,” directed by Ramona S. Diaz, produced by Rey Cuerdo
“Quest,” directed by Jonathan Olshefski, produced by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)

“BPM (Beats Per Minute),” Robin Campillo, France
“A Fantastic Woman,” Sebastián Lelio, Chile (WINNER)
“I Am Not a Witch,” Rungano Nyoni, Zambia
“Lady Macbeth,” William Oldroyd, U.K.
“Loveless,” Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russia

BONNIE AWARD – The inaugural Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.

So Yong Kim
Lynn Shelton
Chloé Zhao (WINNER)

JEEP TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 23rd annual Truer Than Fiction Award, funded by the Jeep brand, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.

Shevaun Mizrahi, Director of “Distant Constellation”
Jonathan Olshefski, Director of “Quest” (WINNER)
Jeff Unay, Director of “The Cage Fighter”

KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 24th annual Someone to Watch Award, funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.

Amman Abbasi, Director of “Dayveon”
Justin Chon, Director of “Gook” (WINNER)
Kevin Phillips, Director of “Super Dark Times”

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 21st annual Producers Award, funded by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision required to produce quality, independent films.

Giulia Caruso & Ki Jin Kim
Ben LeClair
Summer Shelton

 

Pop Chart Surprise: Bon Jovi’s 2016 Album Makes Stunning Jump to Number 1 with 130K Copies 2 Years After Release

Roger Friedman
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Pop Chart Surprise: Bon Jovi’s 2016 Album Makes Stunning Jump to Number 1 with 130K Copies 2 Years After Release

This house is not for sale–but these concert tickets are. Bon Jovi’s 2016 album “This House is Not For Sale” sold 130,000 copies this week– two years later– and jumped to number 1 out of nowhere.

That’s because it was bundled with ticket sales for upcoming Bon Jovi shows. And if there’s one thing Bon Jovi still does really well is sell out shows. They are one live act everyone wants to see.

Ironically, the album only sold 128,000 copies the week it debuted in November 2016. Pretty funny– in a good way.

Still, ticket and CD bundles usually don’t do this well. But this marketing idea has revived their album– a really good album, by the way– and has given Bon Jovi a new lease on life. It’s good news all the way around.

Tour Dates

March 14 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
March 16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
March 17, Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
March 20, Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
March 22, San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
March 23, Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
March 25, New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
March 26, Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
April 2, Boston, MA @ TD Garden
April 4, Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
April 7, Newark @ Prudential Center
April 8, Newark @ Prudential Center
April 18, Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
April 20, Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
April 21, Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
April 24, Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
April 26, Chicago, IL @ United Center
April 28, St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
April 29, Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Center
May 2, Allentown, PA @ PPL Center
May 3, Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
May 5, Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
May 7, Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
May 9, New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
May 10, New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Tour Dates

March 14 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
March 16 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Smart Home Arena
March 17, Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
March 20, Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
March 22, San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
March 23, Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
March 25, New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
March 26, Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
April 2, Boston, MA @ TD Garden
April 4, Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
April 7, Newark @ Prudential Center
April 8, Newark @ Prudential Center
April 18, Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
April 20, Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
April 21, Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
April 24, Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
April 26, Chicago, IL @ United Center
April 28, St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
April 29, Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Center
May 2, Allentown, PA @ PPL Center
May 3, Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
May 5, Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
May 7, Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
May 9, New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
May 10, New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

Rainy, Cold Oscar Weekend: Studio Paranoia Bans Press from Parties, Stars Avoid Fox Searchlight Possible Farewell

Roger Friedman
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Rainy, Cold Oscar Weekend: Studio Paranoia Bans Press from Parties, Stars Avoid Fox Searchlight Possible Farewell

It’s sunny in New York today.

In Los Angeles, it’s rainy and cold. Flooding is the enemy of the Oscars since there’s no runoff here for rainstorms. Water just accumulates. On the radio, the announcers actually have to instruct listeners on how drive in the rain. They don’t know turn on lights or windshield wipers here.

The 2018 Oscar weekend is underway, and it’s a snore so far. The studios– Fox Searchlight, Focus/Universal, little A24, Sony Pictures Classics–are so paranoid about sexual harassment claims and other mysterious notions that they banned the press from their parties. All season they preyed on us for publicity, and now, not even a canape.

At Fox Searchlight that idea boomeranged since the studio’s two Best Actress nominees– Sally Hawkins and Frances McDormand– didn’t bother showing up. Fox Searchlight is also teetering since despite two Best Picture nominees, the little sub studio may be eaten by Disney in weeks to come.

The irony here too is that suddenly wherever you go the odds on favorite to win Best Picture is neither “Shape of Water” nor “Three Billboards.” All anyone talks about is “Get Out,” the Jordan Peele directed thriller-social satire from Universal. Could “Get Out” be the “Moonlight” of 2018?

And then there’s the Academy’s actually brilliant idea of bringing back Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway for a do-over from last year. Will they flub the winner’s name again? No. But they’ll make fun of it. Whoever had this idea– Mike DeLuca? — has created buzz for a show that had none. The whole world now has to watch the very end of the show to see what Warren and Faye. Now we’ve got game.

This afternoon comes the Indie Spirit Awards. Last year, “Moonlight” won Best Feature before scooping up its Oscar. Will this be a replay of the same thing? “Get Out” here, “Get Out” there? The Spirit Awards are also awarding Best Ensemble to “Mudbound,” which already received the same exact award from the East Coast version of the Spirits, the Gotham Awards. But at least that makes two times to see Mary J. Blige in person, so that’s the upside.

 

Bruce Willis “Death Wish” Remake, Postponed from Last November, Scores a 15 with Critics, Fans Wonder What’s Wrong with Star?

Roger Friedman
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Bruce Willis “Death Wish” Remake, Postponed from Last November, Scores a 15 with Critics, Fans Wonder What’s Wrong with Star?

Bruce Willis’s zonked out appearance this week on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight show made fans on social media wonder– is he on painkillers? Why is he so mellow? What’s happened to the glib, funny, cocky Willis? It was the actor’s one promo shot for his remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson thriller killer “Death Wish.”

Reviews for the film were embargoed until Thursday night. When they finally spilled forth, “Death Wish” got a 15 rating. Every regular reviewer hated it. The New York Post said: “Willis, who was once a formidable action star, is performing “Die Hard With an Ambien” as he exhibits zero emotion and mutters under his breath like an accountant who’s upset with his boss.”

“Death Wish” was supposed to be released last November but was pulled after the Las Vegas mass shooting. Last week’s Parkland mass shooting was only 17 dead vs. 59 dead, so MGM figured it was alright to release a movie about a guy who goes around killing people.

“Death Wish” will be eaten alive by the third weekend of “Black Panther” and some box office for “Red Sparrow.” Willis’s last official movie, “Extraction,” made $16,775 so “Death Wish” can only go up from there. On Fallon, Willis made some reference to a possible 6th “Die Hard” movie, but I wouldn’t hold your breath. It is extremely unlikely.

Oscars 2019 Ramp Up: “This Is Us” Creator Dan Fogelman Getting Early Raves for “Life Itself”– 50% of it in Spanish!

Roger Friedman
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Oscars 2019 Ramp Up: “This Is Us” Creator Dan Fogelman Getting Early Raves for “Life Itself”– 50% of it in Spanish!

Here’s a combo for next year’s Oscars– Amazon Pictures and Dan Fogelman, the creator of network TV’s only drama hit, “This is Us.”

I’m getting word this week that Fogelman’s feature film, called “Life Itself”– not to be confused with the Roger Ebert doc of a couple of seasons ago– is sensational. Oscar Isaac and Antonio Banderas lead a big cast that includes cameos from Samuel L. Jackson, among others.

The big news is that according to my spies, half of “Life Itself” is spoken in Spanish!

Amazon will release this feature in late September, launching from a big premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. This should be around the time “This is Us” starts its 3rd season on NBC.

Like the TV show, the movie is also “full of tears,” says a spy. “There’s a lot of death and talk about death,” they say. Fogelman knows how to make a ‘three-hanky’ picture that’s for sure.

No one has mentioned a cameo from Sterling K. Brown, this year’s ubiquitous award winner from “This is Us.” But “Life Itself” is said to cut back and forth in time like the TV show, making the viewer guess how everyone is related. (Maybe Antonio is Oscar’s dad!)

For Amazon, “Life Itself” will try and wipe out the memory of last fall’s good tries but commercial failures from Todd Haynes, Woody Allen, and Richard Linklater.

Ryan Seacrest Problems Grow: Personal Foundation Paid More Last Year in Salaries to Family Members than Grants to Charities

Roger Friedman
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Ryan Seacrest Problems Grow: Personal Foundation Paid More Last Year in Salaries to Family Members than Grants to Charities

Ryan Seacrest is in hot water today with sexual harassment charges from a former stylist. There are reports that NBC and the E! Channel may yank from him the red carpet Oscar show on Sunday. This may prove to be the start of something bigger if ABC gets cold feet about Seacrest on “American Idol” or “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”

A couple of times in the last two years I’ve reported on Seacrest’s personal foundation, a 501 c3 that’s supposed to help children in pediatric hospitals by teaching them about media. (That’s their mission statement.)

But as I’ve reported before, the Ryan Seacrest Foundation just seems to be a way for the radio deejay and TV host to pay salaries to family members. His sister, Meredith, and dad, Gary, are the only two staff members of the foundation who receive payment.

The foundation’s Form 990 for 2016 is now available. Together Meredith and Gary made $310,603. Meredith got $208,784 plus extra compensation of $5,819– a bump up from last year of $10,000. Gary, the father, a personal injury lawyer, $96,000.

But that money for family members is MORE than the Ryan Seacrest Foundation donated to anyone with a charity. Grants from the organization only totaled $303,148.  And THAT amount was paid in equipment, not money. So the Ryan Seacrest Foundation only exists to give cash to his relatives.

It’s all in black and white. As I’ve written before, I don’t understand why Seacrest just doesn’t put his family members on his payroll. Is this just to beat taxes? Some time soon, someone is going to take a look at this.

Motion Picture Home CEO Makes $750K a Year As Revenue, Assets Decline, Residents File Elder Abuse Lawsuits

Roger Friedman
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Motion Picture Home CEO Makes $750K a Year As Revenue, Assets Decline, Residents File Elder Abuse Lawsuits

The Motion Picture and Television Home in Woodland Hills, California– it’s a nursing home kind of place, assisted living, long term care facility. You know the drill. You have them in your town, maybe your grandma is living there.

The only difference is that with the Home, a couple of times a year they have big star studded fundraisers. Movie stars come and get gift bags with iPhones or custom sneakers or discounts on airlines. This Saturday they’ll have the The Night Before Party on the 20th Century Fox lot, as usual.

A really good job to have is CEO of the Motion Picture Home. Back in 2010, when the home was under siege because it was cutting services and celebrities were picketing their events, Bob Beicher was making $440,000.

So what’s happened since then? In 2011-2012, Beicher was bumped up to $800,000 a year and he’s remained at that level for every year since then–$750,000 a year for each of those years plus another roughly $50,000 n health benefits. That’s pretty good since in every one of those years revenue has fallen drastically.

On their Form 990, the MPTF lists total revenue going back to 2013 as:

2013–$108,820,000

2014 — $89 million

2015–$51.7 million

Total net assets for those years are also in decline: $124,4 mil (2013), $116 mil (2014), $108 mil (2015).

So that’s pretty good for Bob Beicher. I’d like that job, please.

It’s also pretty good since in 2012 there was a devastating report on the Home.

When the celebs are trooping around filling their candy bags on Saturday night, they might be thinking about the declining funds at the Home and asking themselves, hey, wassup here?

Wassup is a good question. In December, Deadline.com reported that a resident of the facility sued the Home for elder abuse among other things.

That was the second such suit last year.

The Motion Picture Television Fund denied the allegations in the lawsuit, promised to investigate them and defend themselves.

Searing Big Screen “Chappaquiddick” Thriller: Mary Jo Kopechne as First #MeToo Victim of Kennedy Family Money, Power and Corruption

Roger Friedman
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Searing Big Screen “Chappaquiddick” Thriller: Mary Jo Kopechne as First #MeToo Victim of Kennedy Family Money, Power and Corruption

I think John Curran’s masterful “Chappaquiddick” was shown once in Toronto for a handful of critics and distributors. Byron Allen was very smart to pick it up for his new Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures company–it’s going to be a big hit. What he could never have predicted back in September that by now the movie would have a whole new layer of meaning: Mary Jo Kopechne, left to drown in the waters of Martha’s Vineyard in July 1969, was the first #MeToo victim. Her death, suggested here as caused by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, is the paradigm for everything being discussed today.

Curran has made a couple of movies I really liked– “Tracks” with Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver, and “We Don’t Live Here Anymore” with Mark Ruffalo and Marisa Tomei. He’s Australian and almost 60, so his sensibility is outsider and his interests would be the Kennedys and how power corrupts. The Australian part is lucky because he’s brought Jason Clarke along as Ted Kennedy, and it’s a powerful performance that should put him on early awards lists. Clarke was borbn to play Teddy as it turns out.

“Chappaquiddick” refers to a scandal that in hindsight is stunning that it didn’t end Kennedy’s political career– or put him in jail. Let’s say you’re a fan of Kennedy for everything but this episode. Still, on a boozy summer night — the same weekend that Neil Armstrong walked on the moon–a married but philandering Teddy drove his car off the Chappaquiddick bridge with Mary Jo Kopechne (astute performance by Kate Mara, she’s excellent), a young secretary who’d worked for his late brother Bobby, at his side.

Were they screwing, or just driving around, drinking, having a grand time? No one knows. But the car went into the water and turned upside down. Teddy escaped and did not try to save Mary Jo. He return to the party house where he and friends had been whooping it up, found two of his sycophants (Ed Helms and Jim Gaffigan), brought them back to the scene of the accident. By then, Mary Jo had certainly died.

They never reported the accident. Instead, they created massive cover up that presaged Watergate. The car and Mary Jo were discovered the next morning by passersby. Curran peels the cover up like an orange, and it’s beautiful to watch. Clarke portrays Teddy so ambiguously you almost can’t tell if he’s calculating, stupid, just a lost man child. The result is you can’t take your eyes off of him. Teddy’s scenes with his father– Joe Kennedy after a stroke, wheelchair bound, wordless perfection from Bruce Dern–are riveting.

The Kennedys will not be happy. They may try to kill this film. (In 40 years no one has even tried to tell this story accurately.) Allen will have to present quite a PR front and solid distribution. This isn’t a tabloid story. Curran is damn serious.  If Mary Jo as #MeToo victim takes off, the movie will click. This really happened. Ted Kennedy–using his brothers’ assassinations for sympathy–convinced the world that he just didn’t know what happened to this beautiful, smart young woman. “Chappaquiddick” is quite stunning.

Release date is April 6th. More to come, oh yes, when we get closer…

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

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

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

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

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!

 

 

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