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Whew! Here’s a Live Video from Van Morrison Singing His New Song, “Transformation”

Roger Friedman
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Whew! Here’s a Live Video from Van Morrison Singing His New Song, “Transformation”

Whew! See, things will be okay. Van Morrison has a live video of his new hit, “Tranformation.” New album “Roll with the Punches” comes out September 29th. Jeff Beck plays on the studio version.

Van says in a press release: “From a very early age, I connected with the blues. The thing about the blues is you don’t dissect it–you just do it. I’ve never over-analysed what I do; I just do it. Music has to be about just doing it and that’s the way the blues works–it’s an attitude. I was lucky to have met people who were the real thing–people like John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bo Diddley, Little Walter & Mose Allison. I got to hang out with them and absorb what they did. They were people with no ego whatsoever and they helped me learn a lot.”

Transformation by Van Morrison on VEVO.

Broadway: Bill Murray’s Visits Didn’t Help, “Groundhog Day” Will Close Anyway Next Month

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Bill Murray’s Visits Didn’t Help, “Groundhog Day” Will Close Anyway Next Month

It’s all over for “Groundhog Day.”

I told you on Monday that Bill Murray’s two visits last week to the Broadway show based on his hit movie helped the box office– a bit.

But the $96,000 Murray added wasn’t enough. “Groundhog Day” will close on September 17th. It joins “Bandstand” and “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet” as shows that– without winning Tony Awards– failed to find audiences.

Andy Karl was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical for “Groundhog Day.” He was killed off of “Law & Order SVU” so he could play the role. Maybe they can bring him back as a twin.

Next to go should be “A Doll’s House, Pt. 2” which no one is going to, “1984”– a puzzlement anyway, and “War Paint.” The whole 2016-17 season is going to be left with “Evan Hanson,” “Hello, Dolly!” and two terrible musicals cashing in on movie tie-ins– “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Anastasia.”

Ratings Disaster: Showtime’s “Twin Peaks” Reboot Fails to Make Top 150 Cable Shows for Sunday Night

Roger Friedman
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Ratings Disaster: Showtime’s “Twin Peaks” Reboot Fails to Make Top 150 Cable Shows for Sunday Night

“Twin Peaks” has just three episodes to go (the finale September 3 is a double), but it’s over as far as everyone is concerned.

The Showtime reboot failed to make the top 150 cable shows on Sunday night. It was beaten by everything. The number 150 show, “Ouija: Origin of Evil” on Cinemax Prime, scored 124,000 viewers. “Twin Peaks” was somewhere below that, in a space that can’t be counted. Even I couldn’t be counted since I was at the Khalid show and watched the extremely daunting Part 14 on the Showtime press site.

Meanwhile, “Game of Thrones” won the night with 10.7 million viewers for the HBO show.k

Showtime at least can be happy about “Ray Donovan,” which took in 1.1 million viewers after “Twin Peaks” at 9pm. And the comedy “I’m Dying Up Here” benefited from “Ray Donovan” and had 240,000 viewers– not great but something.

Moving “Twin Peaks” to 8pm was supposed to help the ratings. But this past Sunday, at 8pm on cable most everyone was watching sports or something on TLC called “90 Day Fiancee.”

No one knows what “Twin Peaks” cost but let’s say 18 episodes cost at least $9 million on the low side, ad $18 million on the high side. The show has lots of name actors, and a ton of special effects. But ratings have collapsed from Part 1, usually resting around 240,000 viewers. The fact that fewer than 124,000 showed up Sunday really seals the deal.

Part 14 was just as frustrating as the entire 13 that preceded it. There’s no plot, a lot of filler, long pointless scenes. There’s no continuity. People come  and go. On Sunday, Kyle MacLachlan– the star– wasn’t even on the show. But several members of producer-director David Lynch’s family were including his wife, Emily Stofle, who’s appeared in several episodes for no particular reason. (She plays a character no one knows, who discusses people we’ve never heard of and don’t care about.)

Sunday’s episode was full of special effects and weird stuff that connected to nothing. Lynch has indulged himself playing FBI chief Gordon Cole, who used to be a minor ingredient in the old “Twin Peaks” and here takes up screen time for no purpose. Cole’s continued trait is that he’s hard of hearing and must shout all the time. He hears nothing. This is an embarrassing hiccup in 2017.

On Sunday, Italian actress Monica Bellucci also played herself, in dream Cole has. Why? I guess, why not? She has no connection to the show, and the dream didn’t further the plot. Sitting next to Bellucci in a cafe was actually someone I know– a French journalist and publicist named Melita Toscan du Plantier who ran the late lamented Marrakech Film Festival in real life. She looked good.

This week: unicorns? Spaceships? Viewers?

Very Good “Logan Lucky” Has Daniel Craig Ditching James Bond, a Script Written by A Phantom, No Red Carpet Premiere

Roger Friedman
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Very Good “Logan Lucky” Has Daniel Craig Ditching James Bond, a Script Written by A Phantom, No Red Carpet Premiere

Steven Soderbergh’s heist comedy “Logan Lucky”– we’re lucky to have it. Like the Logan family, we were having a cursed summer. But here’s an original film that’s so entertaining, funny, witty, well made, acted, directed and,hmmm… written by someone.

Someone is Rebecca Blunt, who is either Soderbergh using a pseudonym, his wife Jules Asner, some member of Emily Blunt’s family, or an actual person with that name who somehow scored her first screenplay with a two time Oscar winning director.

I’ll say it’s Soderbergh. Leave it at that.

Soderbergh, you recall, was supposedly retiring from filmmaking. He was done. And then he wasn’t.

Well, he’s back just in the nick of time with “Logan Lucky,” a clever heist movie with a lot of inside jokes and humor. One of the characters refers to their job– stealing all the money from the Charlotte Motorway during a NASCAR race– as “Oceans 7-11.” LOL.

Instead of Clooney, Pitt, Roberts and Zeta Jones– cool, classy– we get Channing Tatum and Adam Driver as white trash brothers from West Virginia, their sister (Riley Keough– best yet– Elvis is smiling), Daniel Craig as a smarter than you think jailed con, Katie Holmes, Seth MacFarlane (hilariously unrecognizable as a Brit billionaire a la Richard Branson), with Hillary Swank as dessert.

There’s just enough character development that you get it, we know the story right away, who’s with who, backstories, all simple and clean. (Thanks, Rebecca Blunt.) Then we have the heist–also clean, told one way first then we back up to get what really happened. The looting of the Motorway is totally ingenious– it involves pneumatic tubes. That’s all I can say.

Daniel Craig is so happy not to be James Bond, he’s grinning through the whole film. He has one of the show stopping scenes involving bleach pens and a plastic bag. Channing Tatum, shirt on whole movie, is completely winning. He really is the Danny Ocean of this group, and pulls it with aplomb. Kudos.

Great country rock soundtrack. Editing by Soderbergh, as usual. One spoiler– “Game of Thrones” is used as a knockout punchline– you’ll see. Katherine Waterston has a minor role but it’s always good to see her.

I’m a huge Hillary Swank fan, so I was thrilled to see her come in to try and clean this craziness up. Maybe I’m reading into it, but I thought she was doing a little Dirty Harry as her own inside joke.

“Logan Lucky” is depending on reviews– so far 96 to 100 on Rotten Tomatoes. They had one weird premiere in Tennessee with Tatum and Soderbergh. No one else. No New York or Hollywood publicity. I guess the screenwriter thing is being avoided, and maybe Craig didn’t want to answer questions from nosy reporters. Despite all that, it’s going to work out.

Broadway: “Groundhog Day” Box Office Recovers After Bill Murray’s Two Very Public Visits

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: “Groundhog Day” Box Office Recovers After Bill Murray’s Two Very Public Visits

Congrats to the PR team behind “Groundhog Day” on Broadway. The musical was faltering at the box office after not receiving any Tony Awards. Summer can be a killer on Broadway– just ask “Bandstand,” which just put up closing notices, and “The Great Comet,” which committed suicide.

So what to do? Bring in Bill Murray, star of the movie “Groundhog Day.” Make a BIG deal of it. Have him carry on, cry, interact with the audience. Murray had not seen the show since it opened, but he’s more identified with it than Tony nominee Andy Karl, who’s doing a great job.

During Tony week, June 11th, “Groundhog Day” was its peak box office with around $936,000 for the week. But no Tonys came, so the ticket purchases slowed down.For the week ending August 6th, they were down to $607,345.

And then came Bill. He went to the show two nights in a row last week. He made the New York Times, Page Six and everywhere anyone could think. He met with the cast, cried, carried on, gave speeches. And that was just the first night. Then he went back again. Just like the plot of “Groundhog Day.” Genius!

The result: The gross was $703,000 this week, up by $96,550. The Murray Effect worked. Now people want to see this show. Hey, maybe Bill Murray will be in the audience!

It’s like Bill Murray waved a magic wand. Will it have a lasting effect? Will they bring in Andie McDowell next? An actual groundhog?

The “Groundhog” team will have to keep pumping out the Murray publicity if they want to stay alive. I do hope Bill gets something out of it. But knowing him, he just did it as a lark, to help them out. Good for him. Maybe he’ll get a cut if they ever recoup. It’s very hard out there unless you’re “Evan Hanson.”

Listen: go see this show. Their top ticket back on June 11th was average price $103.11. They’re down to $87.77. Andy Karl is worth it.

Pop Review: Khalid, 19, Debuts NY Show to Standing Room Only, Heir to Babyface, Usher, Even The Weeknd

Roger Friedman
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Pop Review: Khalid, 19, Debuts NY Show to Standing Room Only, Heir to Babyface, Usher, Even The Weeknd

Khalid Robinson– well, just Khalid. Get ready. He’s the brightest light to take the 2018 Grammy Best New Artist. At least he’ll be nominated.

Last night Khalid fans were literally hanging from the rafters at Terminal 5. His fans– a mixed group of black and white, teens and young twenties– knew all the words to all his songs, even “Silence,” which was released on Friday. It was the 21st stop on his first real national tour.

Did I tell you Khalid, from El Paso, Texas, just turned 19?

The middle child of military parents, Khalid put a few of his songs on SoundCloud from Texas. A manager in New York, Courtney Stewart, heard them. Next stop: RCA Records. Forget “American Idol.” Khalid, whose album, “American Teen,” was released on March 3rd, is off like a rocket.

The songs are all so catchy they’re hits once you hear them. RCA has spent the last six months breaking him on radio. Why “8 Teen” isn’t the song of the summer I don’t know. The title track, plus “Young, Dumb & Broke,” “Saved,” “Coaster” — recall The Weeknd, Usher, Babyface, and a half dozen other R&B crooners. Khalid, just hatched, is their natural successor.

You can catch him tonight again at Terminal 5 (they had to add a second show). He’ll be in Los Angeles soon– don’t miss him there or anywhere in between. Clean cut (as yet, we cross our fingers for the future) Khalid is so ready for the Grammys and success I just hope none of it will spoil him. His show consists of all 15 songs from the album plus two new ones. He’s pretty much on stage by himself, with two dancing cheerleaders (love the pom poms) and a crack band that propels him.

On a weekend when things looked pretty bleak in the world, Khalid was very reassuring. There’s nothing like pop songs to save the summer.

Report: Movie Box Office On Track for Lowest in 25 Years as Spielberg-Lucas “Blockbuster Implosion” Omen Prevails

Roger Friedman
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Report: Movie Box Office On Track for Lowest in 25 Years as Spielberg-Lucas “Blockbuster Implosion” Omen Prevails

Reports now, according to Exhibitor Relations: if things continue as they have, this will be the lowest box office in a quarter century. While there have been bright spots (“Dunkirk”) and surprises (“Baby Driver”) the failures have outweighed everything.

Start with a total write off on “King Arthur” and go from there. Then go to “The Dark Tower.”

One terrible new failure: “Nut Job 2,” they say, is the biggest loser ever in  wide release (4000+) studio movie. It made just over $8 million this weekend.

Four years ago, at a USC symposium, famed and very successful directors George Lucas and Steven Spielberg warned the film industry that reliance on blockbusters– tent pole movies that failed would cause an implosion. At first no one took them seriously. But now maybe we’re seeing what they meant.

Spielberg said at the time: “That’s the big danger, and there’s eventually going to be an implosion — or a big meltdown. There’s going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen mega budget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that’s going to change the paradigm.”

Other huge flops this year include “Life” — the sci fi movie no one saw, “Monster Trucks,” which was a monster disaster. “Ghost in the Shell” with Scarlett Johansson also came and went quickly. Plus Will Ferrell’s “The House” was a total write off, and Sony’s “Rough Night” was an embarrassment.

I’m not counting the $100 million plus lost on “The Promise,” because it was a vanity production.

This year also brought Tom Hanks’s biggest flop in decades, “The Circle.” And of course there were the two misbegotten TV remakes– “Baywatch” and “CHiPs.”

Even blockbusters that seemed like hits weren’t — “Pirates of the Caribbean 5” was a bloated mess. And “Transformers 5” was so bad that critics wondered why it was made. “The Mummy” also reeked of failure and desperation.

Studios keep counting on international sales to bail them out. And it works a lot of the time. But continuing to send bad product from the US will eventually take its toll.

 

 

RIP Joe Bologna, Star of “My Favorite Year,” Half of Hollywood’s Most Married (And Happiest) Couple

Roger Friedman
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RIP Joe Bologna, Star of “My Favorite Year,” Half of Hollywood’s Most Married (And Happiest) Couple

I am so sorry to hear that Joe Bologna has died in Hollywood at age 82. They say it was pancreatic cancer, the most unfair thing in the world. Joe was one of half of Hollywood’ most married– and happiest couple. He and Renee Taylor (you know her from “The Nanny” among other things) renewed their vows every year since 1965. They were probably one of the most popular couples ever in Hollywood.

Joe and Renee always worked, whether it was stage, TV, or film. He’s probably best known for playing King Kaiser (really Sid Caesar) in the brilliant Richard Benjamin movie, “My Favorite Year.” This is a must see if you love great comedy. He had a steady run in good movies from 1971 for two decades including “Blame it on Rio,” with Michael Caine and “Transylvania 6-5000.”

In 1971, Bologna was nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay with Taylor for “Lovers and Other Strangers.” The cast of the movie–based on their hit play– was like a Who’s Who–Cloris Leachman, Diane Keaton, Bea Arthur, Richard Castellano, Bob Dishy, Gig Young, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. The play, which premiered on Broadway in 1968 and ran for two months, was directed by Charles Grodin.

It always seemed like his movies were just filled with friends who happened to show up. In 1996, Joe co-wrote and directed another movie like that called “Love is All There Is.” It was one of the first films to showcase Angelina Jolie, daughter of one of their friends. (That’s when I met her, and she was like a scared fawn that night– no tattoos or blood in vials yet.) For some reason, when I think of the Bolognas I think of Paul Sorvino and Lainie Kazan. They’re all in that group.

What a shame– condolences to Renee Taylor and their writer-director son Gabriel. Joe Bologna was a really good guy.

 

It’s a Shonda: ABC Loses “Grey’s Anatomy” Creator Shonda Rhimes to Netflix, Which Gets Away with Murder

Roger Friedman
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It’s a Shonda: ABC Loses “Grey’s Anatomy” Creator Shonda Rhimes to Netflix, Which Gets Away with Murder

Shonda Rhimes is moving Shondaland from ABC to Netflix. This is a ‘shonda’ or shame in Yiddish, for ABC, which has lived on “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal,” and “How to Get Away with Murder” for years.

Now Netflix has gotten away with murder, luring Rhimes and partner Betsy Beers from broadcast TV to the land of whatever you call it– computer watching, Smart TV, Something. The ‘other’.

The trades are freaking out because Netflix probably spent a fortune and took one of ABC’s best providers of content. But who knows what the future is for Shondaland? “Grey’s” is a soap opera. The other two shows, no one has really understood a word of them. The acting is great, but they’re melodramas that are hard to explain.

It could be Shondaland’s biggest days are behind them. Maybe that’s why ABC-Disney didn’t pony up. For example, the Shondaland series “The Catch” — no one knew what that was about. Finally, it was put out of its misery. And there’s a legal drama called “For the People” coming to ABC next winter that seems unfocused.

IN any case, it’s a big deal for Netflix. Rhimes and Beers attract a lot of talent. For ABC it’s a blow because they are not good at doing hour long dramas, not even commercial ones (forget about Emmy level). Their dramas come and go. At least the phase of shows being like “Lost” has come to an end.

Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Pharrell, Jon Bon Jovi, Mavis Staples Raise Money for Harlem’s Legendary Apollo Theater

Roger Friedman
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Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Pharrell, Jon Bon Jovi, Mavis Staples Raise Money for Harlem’s Legendary Apollo Theater

Last night in the Hamptons: Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Pharrell, Jon Bon Jovi, Mavis Staples, Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx performed before a very well heeled crowd to raise money for the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

Among them, probably only Mavis had ever performed at the Apollo in its heyday. Tickets were $10,000 apiece. Jennifer Lopez was there with Alex Rodriguez, but she did not sing. She socialized and dined.

Bon Jovi and Mavis did duets on Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and “Let’s Do it Again.” Downey and Foxx performed together, along with Alicia Keys. Timberlake and Pharrell went on together. The Roots were the backup band. Gary Clark Jr. also chimed in on guitar of course.

Other guests included Chris Rock, Howard and Beth Stern, Matt Lauer, Priyanka Chopra, Harvey Weinstein, Kyle MacLachlan, and Patriots owner/Trump supporter Robert Kraft.

Unlike in past years there was no sign of Jack Nicholson or any Clintons. Maybe they were at Authors Night in East Hampton benefiting the East Hampton Library– a more literary crowd. That’s where you could find Dick Cavett, Robert Caro, Alec Baldwin, Alan Alda, Jessica Seinfeld (and Jerry presumably), Laurie Gelman, Florence Fabricant, and the last of the elder generation Kennedys, Jean Smith.

Most of the Apollo guests, especially the non celebrities from Wall Street with big bucks, have never set foot in Harlem or at the Apollo. But the money helps keep the Apollo’s status as cornerstone of 125th St. and northern Manhattan’s most important cultural icon.

All of the Authors Night guests have been to the East Hampton Library.

Don Lemon from CNN posted a video here: https://www.facebook.com/donlemoncnn/videos/1403092459744655/

 

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