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Tribeca Film Fest Reveals Heavy Slate Including Hot Prospects “The Dinner” and Burt Reynolds Comeback “Dog Years”

Roger Friedman
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Tribeca Film Fest Reveals Heavy Slate Including Hot Prospects “The Dinner” and Burt Reynolds Comeback “Dog Years”

Here’s the Tribeca Film Fest list and it’s hot: I’m really interested in Oren Moverman’s all star “The Dinner,” from the Herman Koch novel, and Adam Rifkin’s “Dog Years” starring Burt Reynolds. The latter is said to be very, very good and a total surprise comeback for Reynolds. I sure hope so. Kathleen Nolan is in the cast. I had a crush on her from “The Real McCoys.” Go look it up.

U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Aardvark, directed and written by Brian Shoaf. (USA)
Abundant Acreage Available, directed and written by Angus MacLachlan. (USA)
Blame, directed and written by Quinn Shephard. (USA)
The Endless, directed by Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, written by Justin Benson. (USA)
Flower, directed by Max Winkler, written by Alex McAulay, Max Winkler, Matt Spicer. (USA)
Keep the Change, directed and written by Rachel Israel. (USA)
Love After Love, directed by Russell Harbaugh, written by Russell Harbaugh, Eric Mendelsohn. (USA)
One Percent More Humid, directed and written by Liz W. Garcia. (USA)
Saturday Church, directed and written by Damon Cardasis. (USA)
Thirst Street, directed by Nathan Silver, written by Nathan Silver, C. Mason Wells. (USA, France)

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION
The Divine Order (Die göttliche Ordnung), directed and written by Petra Volpe. (Switzerland)
Holy Air (Hawa Moqaddas), directed and written by Shady Srour. (Israel)
Ice Mother (Bába z ledu), directed and written by Bohdan Sláma. (Czech Republic, Slovakia, France)
King of Peking, directed and written by Sam Voutas. (China, USA, Australia)
Newton, directed by Amit V Masurkar, written by Mayank Tewari, Amit V Masurka. (India)
Nobody’s Watching (Nadie Nos Mira), directed by Julia Solomonoff, written by Julia Solomonoff, Christina Lazaridi. (Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, USA, Spain)
November, directed and written by Rainer Sarnet. (Estonia)
Sambá, directed by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, written by Ettore D’Alessandro, Carolina Encarnacion. (Dominican Republic)
Son of Sofia (O Gios tis Sofias), directed and written by Elina Psykou. (Bulgaria, France, Greece)
Tom of Finland, directed by Dome Karukoski, written by Aleksi Bardy. (Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany)

WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Bobbi Jene, directed by Elvira Lind, written by Elvira Lind, Adam Nielsen. (Denmark, Israel, USA)
Copwatch, directed by Camilla Hall. (USA)
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, directed by David France, written by David France, Mark Blane. (USA)
The Departure, directed by Lana Wilson. (USA)
No Man’s Land, directed by David Byars. (USA)
The Reagan Show, directed by Pacho Velez and Sierra Pettengill, written by Josh Alexander, Pacho Velez. (USA)
A River Below, directed by Mark Grieco. (Colombia, USA)
The Sensitives, directed by Drew Xanthopoulos. (USA)
Shadowman, directed and written by Oren Jacoby. (USA)
A Suitable Girl, directed by Smriti Mundhra and Sarita Khurana. (USA, India)
True Conviction, directed by Jamie Meltzer, written by Jamie Meltzer, Jeff Gilbert. (USA)
When God Sleeps, directed and written by Till Schauder. (USA, Germany)

SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE
The Boy Downstairs, directed and written by Sophie Brooks. (USA)
Buster’s Mal Heart, directed and written by Sarah Adina Smith. (USA)
Chuck, directed by Philippe Falardeau, written by Jeff Feuerzeig, Jerry Stahl. (USA)
The Clapper, directed and written by Dito Montiel. (USA)
Dabka, directed and written by Bryan Buckley. (USA)
The Dinner, directed and written by Oren Moverman. (USA)
Literally, Right Before Aaron, directed and written by Ryan Eggold. (USA)
The Lovers, directed and written by Azazel Jacobs. (USA)
Manifesto, directed and written by Julian Rosefeldt. (Germany)
Permission, directed and written by Brian Crano. (USA)
Rock’n Roll, directed by Guillaume Canet, written by Guillaume Canet, Rodolphe Lauga, Philippe Lefebvre. (France)
Sweet Virginia, directed by Jamie Dagg, written by The China Brothers. (USA)
Take Me, directed by Pat Healy, written by Mike Makowsky. (USA)
Thumper, directed and written by Jordan Ross. (USA)
The Trip to Spain, directed by Michael Winterbottom. (U.K.)

SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY
ACORN and the Firestorm, directed and written by Reuben Atlas and Sam Pollard. (USA)
AlphaGo, directed by Greg Kohs. (USA)
Blurred Lines: Inside the Art World, directed and written by Barry Avrich. (Canada)
ELIÁN, directed by Tim Golden, Ross McDonnell. (USA)
Frank Serpico, directed and written by Antonino D’Ambrosio. (USA)
Get Me Roger Stone, directed and written by Dylan Bank, Daniel DiMauro, Morgan Pehme. (USA)
Gilbert, directed by Neil Berkeley, written by Neil Berkeley, James Leche. (USA)
A Gray State, directed by Erik Nelson. (USA)
Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of ISIS, directed by Sebastian Junger and Nick Quested, written by Mark Monroe. (USA)
Hondros, directed by Greg Campbell, written by Greg Campbell, Jenny Golden. (USA)
I Am Evidence, directed by Trish Adlesic and Geeta Gandbhir. (USA)
LA 92, directed by Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin. (USA)
No Stone Unturned, directed by Alex Gibney. (USA, Northern Ireland)
WASTED! The Story of Food Waste, directed by Anna Chai and Nari Kye. (USA)
Whitney. “can I be me,” directed by Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal, written by Nick Broomfield. (U.K)
Year of the Scab, directed by John Dorsey. (USA)

VIEWPOINTS
City of Ghosts, directed by Matthew Heineman. (USA)
Dog Years, directed and written by Adam Rifkin. (USA)
The Family I Had, directed by Katie Green and Carlye Rubin, written by Tina Grapenthin, Katie Green, Carlye Rubin. (USA)
The Farthest, directed and written by Emer Reynolds. (Ireland)
Flames, directed and written by Zefrey Throwell and Josephine Decker. (USA)
For Ahkeem, directed by Jeremy S. Levine and Landon Van Soest. (USA)
The Last Animals, directed by Kate Brooks, written by Kate Brooks and Mark Monroe. (USA)
Mr Long, directed and written by SABU. (Japan, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan R.O.C., Germany)
My Art, directed and written by Laurie Simmons. (USA)
My Friend Dahmer, directed and written by Marc Meyers. (USA)
Pilgrimage, directed by Brendan Muldowney, written by Jamie Hannigan. (USA, Ireland)
A Thousand Junkies, directed and written by Tommy Swerdlow. (USA)
The Wedding Plan (Laavor et HaKir), directed and written by Rama Burshtein. (Israel)

MIDNIGHT
Devil’s Gate, directed by Clay Staub, written by Peter Aperlo, Clay Staub. (Canada, USA)
Dumb: The Story of Big Brother Magazine, directed by Patrick O’Dell. (USA)
Hounds of Love, directed and written by Ben Young. (Australia)
Psychopaths, directed and written by Mickey Keating. (USA)
Super Dark Times, directed by Kevin Phillips, written by Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski. (USA)
Tilt, directed by Kasra Farahani, written by Jason O’Leary, Kasra Farahani. (USA)

Watch “Green Light” Lorde’s First New Single in 2 Years Since Her “Royals” Success

Roger Friedman
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Watch “Green Light” Lorde’s First New Single in 2 Years Since Her “Royals” Success

Lorde is back. The 20 year old New Zealand pop star has just dropped her first new single since her “Royals” success. Sounds good. Her album is on its way. Lorde promotes her new phase on “SNL” March 10th. Congrats to Charlie Walk and Republic Records.

Review: Watching Brilliant Brit Version of “Sweeney Todd” with Stephen Sondheim Blew My Mind

Roger Friedman
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Review: Watching Brilliant Brit Version of “Sweeney Todd” with Stephen Sondheim Blew My Mind

“Sweeney Todd,” my favorite musical, has arrived from the UK in its most stripped down version ever at the Barrow Theater in the West Village. And I mean stripped down– there are 8 actors, 3 musicians, and 130 people in the audience all sitting at communal tables as if they were in Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop.

The Barrow is very, very small. And the communal tables, as it were, are set in long rows. Before the show, pies are served or sold, I’m not sure how that worked. They are meat or vegetarian. There are none stuffed with priests or friars, which is just as well.

In my little section last night, Stephen Sondheim sat directly in front of me. Bernadette Peters was a couple of seats away Everyone is very close. There is no stage, really. The show was originally staged in Harrington’s pie shop in a village outside of London called Tooting. There were 32 seats. The producers have recreated Harringtons in the Barrow Theater, using clever lighting and some special effects to create Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop, Sweeney’s barber shop, and the ovens below.

The result is quite extraordinary and shocking. “Sweeney Todd” is a big musical, with a chorale and a booming orchestra. Somehow, director Bill Buckhurst has drastically reduced the size while keeping the show large. His version of Sondheim’s masterpiece lives up to all the great productions that have preceded it over 38 years.

Sondheim loves the show. He’s seen it at least five times, I was told. Last night, he leaned forward in his seat, smiling widely, when Siobhan McCarthy made her entrance as Mrs. Lovett. She is a gem of an actress, a comic genius who gives Mrs. Lovett a whole new lease on life. She and Jeremy Secomb, our Sweeney, have come all the way from Tooting and the pie shop to this incarnation. Secomb, who will go back to playing Javert in “Les Miz” in London after April 9th, is a sensation singer with matinee idol looks. It’s impossible to believe he’s never been on Broadway.

These two are matched evenly with Matt Doyle and Alex Finke, respectively young lovers Anthony and Johanna. The latter brings sharp comic timing and winsomeness to Johanna. Doyle– well, he gets to sing “Johanna,” one of Sondheim’s incredible classics, and is sensational himself.

The rest of the cast is all top notch. Except for Brad Oscar, who’s playing the Beadle, they will all leave on April 9 and be replaced by Americans. Broadway starts Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello will take over the leads. Carmello was there last night, observing. I can’t wait to see them– Lewis is maybe Broadway’s best and least known musical star. But for the time being the Tooting Players are overnight stars.

I could rattle on and on about “Sweeney Todd”– very hard to ruin, but a very complex show musically and structurally. How all the pieces fit together still amazes me. Watching with Sondheim was like sitting with God and asking him How’d ya do it? You can’t ask him that. You just have to appreciate its genius. A nice way to come home from the Oscars and the end of awards season!

Pop Charts: The Future Is Now as Rapper Has Top Two Albums of the Week

Roger Friedman
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Pop Charts: The Future Is Now as Rapper Has Top Two Albums of the Week

The future is now, kids.

The rapper Nayvadius Wilburn calls himself “Future.” He’s on L.A. Reid’s Epic Records via SonyMusic. And this week he has the top 2 albums on the charts.

Two Fridays ago Future released an eponymous album that went right to number 1. Then last Friday he released “Hndrxx,” a follow up with special appearances by Rihanna and The Weeknd. The latter album is supposed to be more radio friendly. It sounds that way from my quick listen. “Hndrxx” sounds like the latest album I;ve heard inspired by Marvin Gaye’s work from the early 70s. That’s not a bad thing.

Both albums exist in the air only, as digital downloads or for streaming. So far there is no physical product.

The streaming is so far beating the digital download side.

First Look: Brad Pitt in His Netflix Film “War Machine” Based on Story About Disgraced General Stanley McChrystal

Roger Friedman
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First Look: Brad Pitt in His Netflix Film “War Machine” Based on Story About Disgraced General Stanley McChrystal

Circle May 26th for Netflix’s original movie “War Machine,” starring Brad Pitt as disgraced General Stanley McChrystal. David Michod, of “Animal Kingdom” fame, directs what looks like a bit of a send up of late journalist Michael Hastings’ now famous book. Hastings’ original piece about McChrystal in Rolling Stone forced the general to resign. The movie co-stars Tilda Swinton, Ben Kingsley, Topher Grace and Meg Tilly– the latter MIA for some time. It will be nice to see her again. This is Pitt’s first non-theatrical release. But I wonder if we won’t see it in Cannes? Netflix paid $30 million for “War Machine.” They’re going to make a big, big deal of it!

Met Museum Director Out as Finances Spiral: Will Anna Wintour’s Super Expensive Met Ball Be Next?

Roger Friedman
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Met Museum Director Out as Finances Spiral: Will Anna Wintour’s Super Expensive Met Ball Be Next?

Thomas P. Campbell is out as director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The New York Times has reported this month about spiraling finances at the museum and huge deficits. Russell was making $1.4 million and was suing a swanky apartment across the street on Fifth Avenue courtesy of the museum.

With Campbell gone, what happens to Anna Wintour’s Met Ball? The garish Costume Institute spectacular had direct expenses of $3.6 million in 2014, according to the Met’s 2015 Form 990 tax filing. It’s a very costly enterprise. But that’s the money needed to feed and entertain models and movie stars wearing crazy over the top costumes. And it’s not all top notch peeps like Meryl Streep. Lately, the guest list has devolved into the world of Kardashians.

This year, I am told, Melania Trump will likely get the spotlight. Wintour’s former aide de camp Stephanie Winston Wolkoff now works for Melania. Wintour recently indicated she would cover the new First Lady the same way she has the prior ones. There’s little doubt that while the Met bleeds money, a festooned Melania will head up the red carpet into Wintour’s waiting arms.

And how will Melania be received at a museum as her husband tries to cut the NEA, PBS, and NPR, as well as other arts funding?

But will a new Met CEO want to splash all that money around for the Met Ball? This question looms large, especially as the museum faces layoffs. Stay tuned…

Oscar Nominee Lucas Hedges Skating Toward Jonah Hill’s Directing Debut Co-starring Oscar Nominee Michelle Williams

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Nominee Lucas Hedges Skating Toward Jonah Hill’s Directing Debut Co-starring Oscar Nominee Michelle Williams

Exclusive
What I’m hearing: Oscar nominee Lucas Hedges is going to star in Jonah Hill’s directing debut “Mid 90s.” The deal is as good as done.

The project was announced almost a year, with a script written by Jonah. Michelle Williams was already announced.

But now we get a clearer picture. Williams and Hedges were each Oscar nominees from “Manchester by the Sea.” And even though Lucas is 20 and Michelle is 36, they will likely play mother and son.

The story is based on Jonah Hill’s brother, Jordan Feldstein, who now manages Maroon 5 and is a big success in the music management field. “Mid 90s” is about his beginnings as a skateboarder and a hustler (business type), a Sammy Glick.

Of course, tall, blonde, lanky Hedges bears no resemblance to the more zaftig Feldstein in real life, but that won’t matter. A New Yorker, Hedges pulled off being from the north shore of Boston (or ‘nawth shaw’). And he’s been around show business enough to know the type. And this is back when Feldstein was a skateboarder.

Feldstein is a larger than life character. I saw him get into a huge fight with Sharon Osbourne a couple of years ago at Clive Davis’s pre-Grammy dinner. He scared the heck out of Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. Osbourne wound up throwing a full wine glass at him after she thought he insulted one of her kids. But that’s rock and roll, kids! Hopefully Jonah has made the teen Jordan more sympathetic!

(And yes, Feldstein was also married for a week in November 2013 to Clint Eastwood and Frances Fisher’s daughter, Francesca. The marriage was instantly annulled. These days Francesca is dating actor Clifton Collins Jr.)

So let’s see what happens here. I’m already intrigued that “Mid 90s” will be Jonah Hill’s “Almost Famous.” I hope it all happens.

For Millions More than the Clintons, Random House Will Publish Books by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama

Roger Friedman
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For Millions More than the Clintons, Random House Will Publish Books by Barack Obama and Michelle Obama

Former president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have sold their memoirs to Penguin Random House, or what we used to call Random House.

There’s a suggestion that they were paid $60 million for the two books, but that seems a little excessive. In any case, they’ll be paid millions and gazillions, more than anyone. But the number isn’t so far off, since this worldwide rights, for hardcover, paperback and other media, forever and ever.

Of course, the books better be juicy, and filled with rich observations about the Obamas’ eight years in Washington, their relationships to the Clintons and Trumps, especially. For $30 million apiece, there will no soft shoe on any subject.

Random House is no stranger to this world. In 2001, they paid Bill Clinton $15 million for his memoir. But Hillary Clinton’s initial book after leaving the White House, called “Living History,” was published by Simon & Schuster in 2003. They paid Mrs. Clinton $8 million. It broke records.

So it’s instructive that the Random House group– rival to CBS’s Simon & Schuster– swept in and bought the books by both Obamas at once. It’s a smart move because Michele Obama has the potential to be a huge selling author. But also because CBS didn’t want to spend the money for S&S, even though that company has a rich history of publishing political tomes with editor Alice Mayhew.

Elton John Jokes About Raising $7 Mil for AIDS at Oscar Bash: “Thank [blank] we didn’t have Warren Beatty do the auction!”

Roger Friedman
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Elton John Jokes About Raising $7 Mil for AIDS at Oscar Bash: “Thank [blank] we didn’t have Warren Beatty do the auction!”

Get back, honky cat! Elton John and David Furnish raised a record breaking $7 million Sunday night with their 25th annual Oscar bash. The money goes to their EJAF AIDS Foundation.

The event, which started years ago as a smallish dinner at the Maple Drive Restaurant, has now come to be this famed soiree in a massive tent facing the Pacific Design Center. Bravo! The fun, mostly non-political night was sponsored by BVLGARI, Neuro Drinks and Diana Jenkins. The event featured a five-course dinner prepared by Chef Gordon Ramsay, an exciting live auction.

Sir Elton quipped before he introduced the live auction, “Wow. Thank goodness we didn’t have Warren Beatty do the auction.” Elton noted later that, “As much as I wanted ‘Moonlight’ to win, you have to feel bad for ‘La La Land,’ for having to give that trophy back.” Celebs Peter Fonda, Adam Lambert and Russell and Ciara Wilson were among the celebrity pledgers who were also nudged by Sharon Stone who got on stage and noted, “Last year $6.3 million was raised this very Oscar night. Let’s set our sights on even more this year.” The special performance by St. Paul & the Broken Bones had the VIP crowd on their feet. Elton joined in at the end, prompting lead frontman Paul Janeway to declare, “you can’t beat this shit!”

And what a group of guests! For one thing, Sting and Trudie Styler and a lot of their family headed over to the Elton gala after Sting finished his performance on the Oscars. Daughter Kate Sumner (who sings “Amazing Grace” on the new “Logan” commercial), son Giacomo, and daughter Mickey with fiancée Chris Kantrowitz all arrived as well.

There were plenty of other stars, too, starting with of course Bernie Taupin, plus the great Anita Baker, my pal Smokey Robinson and his wife Francis, as well as “Transparent’s’ Jeffrey Tambor, (who playfully was telling the reporters on the carpet to sneak into the main party) his TV ex-wife, the wonderful Judith Light, (currently at the Pasadena Playhouse co-starring with Al Pacino in “God Looked Away”) and their TV daughter Gabby Hoffman.

The “Transparent” team also took the stage to ask the bigwigs to donate. More celebrities included Big Sean, Tim Allen, Leona Lewis, Freida Pinto, Matthew Morrison, Michelle Dockery, Lea Michele, Tony Goldwyn, Andie MacDowell, Heidi Klum– you get the picture! Longtime Elton friend Eric McCormack, they first met when Elton was a guest on “Will and Grace,” was fielding congrats from all about the show being revived. He and Laverne Cox had a playful dance, with Smokey Robinson and Sharon Stone joining in. Quincy Jones bopped along.

Laverne shouted with glee when her pal Viola Davis won– and that got the room’s attention. Elton then added, “I never thought we’d get to 25 years. It’s grown from a little seed into a big tree.” Furnish said: “HIV/AIDS continues to be a global issue. We’re making some fantastic strides, but its important people are not marginalized in society and that everybody is treated equally and fairly.” Elton and David, this party never fails to be star studded, and always raises a ton of money for a most worthy cause.

with Leah Sydney

Exclusive: Is “Scandal” Almost Over? 7th Season Renewal Would Be Just 16 Episodes Again

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Is “Scandal” Almost Over? 7th Season Renewal Would Be Just 16 Episodes Again

Is “Scandal” almost over?

A couple of weeks ago, ABC revealed that the Shonda Rhimes hit was renewed along with “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

But I’m told that “Scandal” will return for a seventh season that’s much shorter than usual. There will be just 16 episodes, and then that’s probably it. This season– on now– is also just 16 because of Washington’s pregnancy last fall. The first 5 seasons were orders for 21 or 22.

A main reason would be Kerry Washington. She wants to get back to movies, and she should ASAP. As much as “Scandal” has done for her, Washington just had a hit movie playing Anita Hill on HBO called “Confirmation.” She received a Golden Globe nomination and high praise all around. Prior to “Scandal,” Washington starred in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.”

I hear that Washington will definitely do some kind of movie between seasons 6 and 7 of “Scandal.” But after that either the series will end or she’ll do shorter seasons to accommodate her film career. She should, too. Kerry just turned 40 and looks 30. She still has the potential for a breakout film career a la Halle Berry or even Viola Davis.

As for “Scandal”– we’ve seen Tony Goldwyn’s character as president, then his First Lady ran for the office. If the show went as long as “Grey’s Anatomy,” Kerry’s Olivia Pope might get a whack at the job. Of course, these days, we’ve learned, anyone really can be president!

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