This speaks for itself. The late Mr. Cocker should been in a long time ago.
Also this year Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, Bad Company, White Stripes, Soundgarden.
Note to Sir Paul: Cocker continues to send you royalties for his versions of “With a Little Help from My Friends” and very much also “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window.” Two songs, Paul. Not just one.
Vanity Fair didn’t get it. They will one day.
The magazine that no one reads anymore welcomed Amazon/Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos to their charity-free party last night.
Maybe Conde Nast, their publisher, wants to be bought by Bezos. He’s wrecked the Post, sacking important journalists and forcing others to exit.
Of course, the funniest part of that would be Lauren Sanchez taking over Vogue.
What Vanity Fair didn’t get is that the Oscars took two shots at Bezos and Amazon last night on the Academy Awards show.
First, they had a funny bit of Amazon delivering a package to the foot of an Oscar statue, then having the delivery guy take a picture of it.
Then, the Oscars put on a huge end of an era tribute to the James Bond movies with three singers performing past theme songs, with dancers. This was a salute to Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who gave creative control of James Bond to Bezos for a suspected billion dollars.
The message was clear: Oscars were acknowledging the end of James Bond’s 62 year run in the cinemas. Bezos and co will take a sledgehammer to Bond the way he did to the Post.
Bezos has sold out to Donald Trump in the Washington Post situation. He refused to let them publish an endorsement of Kamala Harris. Then he forced out the Editorial section editor David Shipley and announced the editorials will now focus on “open markets” and not politics. There will be no criticism of the Trump adminitration.
Vanity Fair loves to suck up, so does Chanel. They each invited Bezos without a care to what has happened to journalism thanks to him. Maybe Radhika Jones and Anna Wintour will get a ride on a rocket one day.
Asà llegó #Amazon a la #RedCarpet de los #Oscars 2025
¿Qué te parece su estrategia? pic.twitter.com/9cOXXsaXsd
— Revista InformaBTL (@InformaBTL) March 3, 2025
Last year, Bradley Cooper — in the running for Oscars for “Maestro” — was dating Gigi Hadid, the model.
Hadid was very busy on social media promoting “Free Palestine” and coming across as antisemitic.
Cooper didn’t need that baggage. Leonard Bernstein, whom Cooper played, was a huge Zionist who would have been appalled. Hadid was a flashpoint for Academy voters, and even for audiences.
So, as the Oscar campaign heated up, Hadid disappeared. Cooper took his mom to the Oscars. If “Oppenheimer” hadn’t been such a force, Cooper might have gotten his Oscar for “Maestro.” But the damage was done.
Did someone speak to Cooper and tell him to cool it with Hadid? I don’t know. I do know that the big stars’ “teams” are afraid to offer advice because they might be fired.
I can tell you that no one in Timothee Chalamet’s inside circle was brave enough to tell him the truth about two things. The first was about his fashion choices, which were fun for a young guy but no good for Academy voters. Outlandish styles and colors, or looking like he’d rolled out of bed, didn’t endear him to anyone. He looked like an ice cream cone last night, which is fine for 29 but not in a room of adults.
But the big problem was Kylie Jenner, a Kardashian who dressed scantily in public when she was on his arm. The Kardashians are jokes, and Chalamet comes across as their latest punchline. (Think of all the past K suitors and hsubands.) But she’s hot, he’s in love, and couldn’t stay away. If he’d been five years older, he might have said, ‘Kylie, I’m taking my mom to these things.’ But the more she was in the picture, the Academy soured on her.
Why did he win the Screen Actors Guild Award? The actors didn’t care. They rightly so respected his intense work on playing Bob Dylan — a five year investment — and wanted to reward him. But beyond the SAG contingent, it was Adrien Brody — elegant, with a classy looking dame on his arm — who came off as sincere, and serious.
One of the great things about Chalamet is that he’s incredibly articulate. He’ll get an Oscar one day, but the next time the opportunity arises he’ll be older and wiser about his public identity.
In the end, Demi Moore didn’t make it to the finish line.
After winning a ton of awards, including SAG, Moore was upended by Mikey Madison for Best Actress in “Anora.”
Her performance wasn’t lacking at all. But “The Substance” was not a great movie, and it had a small distributor. It also had no momentum except among a niche of voters.
“Anora” did well at the box office, was raved about by reviewers, and had the inside lane. The three Oscars “Anora” won during the night made Madison a cinch to win Best Actress.
For Demi, it’s not over yet. She’ll be back, probably next year, and will likely win. This is the history of the Oscars with out of the box, unusual winners. Look at Cher losing for “Mask” and then winning for “Moonstruck.”
Following that path, Demi has a shot with a Boots Riley movie called “I Love Boosters.” She plays a Miranda Priestly type character — a fashion maven preyed upon by a group of shoplifters. It’s obviously a comedy, and one that — distributed the right way — could be gold for Moore.
In meantime, Demi Moore will have a lot of other scripts to choose from. I don’t think she’s done by any means. But the film she’ll win with will be a little more accessible that the stomach churning “The Substance.”
Diane Warren lost her 16th nomination for Best Song last night.
But she’s not a loser, she’s a winner.
Warren’s song, “The Journey,” recorded by HER aka Gabi Wilson, jumped to number 11 this morning on the iTunes Top 100.
It’s a great song, and deserves to be a hit.
The only other nominated song from the Oscars that’s on the chart is Elton John’s “Never Too Late.” It’s at 43.
The winning song, from “Emilia Perez,” isn’t anywhere to be found.
It was almost four hours long, but tonight’s Oscar show was the best in years.
Conan O’Brien was an exemplary host, totally funny, apolitical, and engaging. No one was made fun of and only a couple of declarations were made from the stage.
Conan and his team including Jeff Ross, his longtime producer, won everyone over. They’ll be back next year.
Presenters for Best Picture were a great idea: Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, continuing their reunion tour from “When Harry Met Sally.”
Almost all the presenters made sense except for Darryl Hannah, who was semi-retired. She was an odd choice but did a great job.
The only miss was Queen Latifah’s unnecessary musical number with “Ease On Down the Road.” It was a tribute to Quincy Jones that just didn’t work.
“Anora” won Best Picture, Director, Best Actress, and Original Screenplay. It’s quite a coup for Sean Baker and tiny Neon Pictures. Congrats to them.
Almost every film got something except for “A Complete Unknown,” a movie that people will be watching for years. The Academy just didn’t go for Timothee Chalamet in weird costumes, and a Kardashian on his arm. Adrien Brody came off classy and thoughtful. Chalamet will get an Oscar one day. He’ll learn a lesson here.
Diane Warren was denied her Oscar for the 16th time. She deserved to win. Oh well. Back to the drawing board.
Oscars keep refreshing…
The opening was excellent. Conan O’Brien will definitely be asked back. He’s bright and warm and very clever. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande smashed it with their medley of “Over the Rainbow” and “Defying Gravity.” Kudos to Ariana for letting Cynthia take the spotlight at the end.
Kieran Culkin won Best Supporting Actor for “A Real Pain.”
“Flow” is Best Animated Feature.
Best Costumes to “Wicked” Paul Tazewell. First Black man to win the award.
Best Original Screenplay: “Anora” beats “A Real Pain.”
Best Adapted Screenplay: “Conclave”
Hair and Makeup: “The Substance”
Nice tribute send off to James Bond with song and dance medley. Lisa, Doja Cat, and Raye knocked it out. Raye killed “Skyfall,” giving Adele a run for her money!
Best Editing: “Anora”
Best Supporting Actress: Zoe Saldana
Production Design: “Wicked”
Best Song: “Emilia Perez” Diane Warren loses for 16th time!!!!
Mick Jagger surprise presenter. So good to see him!
Best Documentary Short: “The Only Girl in the Orchestra”
Best Documentary: “No Other Land”
Best Sound: “Dune Part Two”
Visual Effects: “Dune Part Two”
Live Action Short Film: “I’m Not a Robot”
Best Cinematography: “The Brutalist”
Best International Film: “I’m Still Here”!!!!!!
Best Score: “The Brutalist” the composer looks like Dr Evil!
Best Actor: Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Best Director: Sean Baker, “Anora”
Best Actress: Mikey Madison, “Anora”
Best Picture: “Anora”
We are five hours away from the Oscars.
The show starts at 7pm on ABC. Conan O’Brien is the host.
In a strange year for eclectic films, there are hot races.
Demi Moore is hoping to cap off her season with Best Actress for “The Substance.” After 40 years in the business, Demi has become a role model. Can she win after never being nominated for anything? Or will she lose to Mikey Madison from “Anora” or even Fernanda Torres from “I’m Still Here”?
Adrien Brody could pull off a second win after his 2003 triumph with “The Pianist.” He’s tipped for the gold but Timothee Chalamet is hovering after turning in a tour de force performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown.”
Best Picture is likely down to “Anora” vs. “Conclave.” The latter doesn’t have a director nomination. Here’s what it comes down to: do the Academy voters want a Best Picture with a hard R rating that would have to be heavily edited on TV in the future? Sean Baker’s comedy is fresh and original but it’s also over the top. “Conclave” is a more middle of the road crowd pleaser. Will it prevail?
Will Diane Warren win Best Song after 16 tries? Her song “The Journey” is her best in years even though no one’s ever seen the movie it was in.
We’ll be ready at 7pm!
Publicist Charles Finch went all out last night for the Chanel Oscars party.
He welcomed knock offs, not originals, like Kim Kardashian and Jeff Bezos to the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Their respective connections to the Academy Awards? Zero, Zilch, nada.
Indeed, Bezos making the scene is pretty ugly considering his recent gutting of the Washington Post and incessant attachment to Donald Trump. Mick Jagger, who did go to the party — love him, but again no Oscars connection — must have thought he was hallucinating when he rant into Bezos.
Kardashian, of course, made her film debut with a home porn tape.
The Chanel party made no effort to promote donations to the LA Fire Department or wildfire relief. The fashion house continues to make Hollywood look self-congratulatory in the middle of tragedy.
There was no sign of potential Oscar winners Timothee Chalamet, Kieran Culkin, Zoe Saldana or Mikey Madison, but Adrien Brody — who was making the rounds at every Oscar party — was present, along with Colman Domingo, Demi Moore, Jeremy Strong, Sebastian Stan, Ralph Fiennes, and Gayle King.
Chanel was one of a number of fashion houses including Yves St. Laurent, and Armani to cash in on Oscar weekend. They’ll all be on the red carpet tonight.
Thursday night: Looking in a long mirror on stage at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY placed next to his high stool, the great iconoclastic singer songwriter Elvis Costello caught his own reflection — one that included a natty Trilby, the same kind kind Chalamet sports in “A Complete Unknown.”
He said, “Timothee Chalamet gave me this hat!”
Costello — a new wave musical descendant of Bob Dylan — took a beat, admiring himself, and observed: “I’d like Timothee Chalamet to play ME in a movie!” The set up was perfect if for nothing else Costello crossed generations. He’s no “Man out of Time” (included later in the set list).
With that, Costello’s two man show with ace pianist and keyboardist Steve Nieve began in what turned out to be an unexpected gem mixing lively comic patter with insanely nuanced musicianship.
Costello and Nieve are usually part of the four or five members of The Imposters, but on Thursday — and this tour — they were on their own. That may suggest a stark presentation. But not so in this case. The duo made such a large sound that several times I looked around on stage to find the other band members, surprised to find they weren’t there.
Costello has so many songs over 48 years that most of this set — which itself is tweaked daily — contains a nice mixture of hits, recognizable tunes, and deep tracks. For hard core fans, this set list took deep dives (“Wednesday Week”), glorious mashups (“Alison” with “Everyday I Write the Book”), and soul tributes (Sam Dave’s “I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down”). Deep tracks you vaguely remember — like “Come the Meantimes” or “Shot with His Own Gun” — now have the audience — which included Jimmy Fallon and master musical director to the stars Rob Mathes — singing along.
Costello’s songs are so strong that their deconstruction into guitar and piano makes for stunning surprises. A lot of this has to do with Nieve, who can his instrument inside out to find thrilling new takes.
This was especially true on 1977’s tongue twisty “I Don’t Want to Go to Chelsea,” which the pair reinvented with stuttering syncopation. The stage seemed to levitate during the shredding. Even the retiring Nieve agreed with me afterwards when I mentioned this startling moment to him that it was “something special.”
Quite a night — and one not be missed as Costello and Nieve continue their way through the next two weeks more including four splendid nights in Chicago. (Lucky them!)
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