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“Moonlight,” “Arrival” Take Writers Guild Awards, Trump is Bashed at Ceremony: “Maybe it’s time to build a wall around Hollywood”

Leah Sydney
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“Moonlight,” “Arrival” Take Writers Guild Awards, Trump is Bashed at Ceremony: “Maybe it’s time to build a wall around Hollywood”

“Moonlight,”  and “Arrival” were the big film winners last night at the annual Writers Guild Awards, and FX’s “Atlanta” “OJ” and “The Americans” HBO’s, “Confirmation,” “Last Night With John Oliver,” NBC’s “This Is Us,” also took home prizes. (A full list of winners is below– some films going for Oscars were ineligible FYI.) The ceremony was held simultaneously in New York.

Alas, Donald Trump’s reward for his recent behavior was a night full of jokes directed at him. Wickedly funny host Patton Oswalt, as well as presenters and winners, skewered the 45th president  throughout the evening. Oswalt introduced a running joke throughout the night about the two Russian Guards brought in for ‘security,’ who stood stage left the entire time. He then started on Trump, “People here tonight are angry about two things, that “Deadpool” is nominated for Best Screenplay and that Trump is President. Trump feels that there’s nothing American about the WGA. Maybe it’s time to build a wall around Hollywood. The WGA, proudly serving the Communist party since 1949. Welcome to the last ever WGA awards. Let’s celebrate the end of the written word and say goodbye to the apostrophe in the word ‘your.’ “

Patton referred to guest James Woods in the audience: “I want to be very careful about making jokes about Trump. I don’t want to be kicked to death tonight by James Woods.” Woods leaped on the stage and playfully proceeded to take a shoe off Patton.

The Paddy Chayefsky honoree Aaron Sorkin made clear how ‘out of touch” Trump is and reminded the storytellers out there, that,”So what can we do? A lot actually. Because the most powerful delivery system ever invented for a story is a story. The men and women in this room, and the one just like it in New York, are America’s storytellers. And we come from everywhere. We’re old and young, black and white, gay and straight, wealthy and struggling and liberal and conservative.”

Following Sorkin was Anthony Atamanuik, an Upright Citizens Brigade alum who should be making Alec Baldwin really nervous now with his spot-on imitation of Trump including orange pancake makeup and tacky hairpiece. Speaking as Trump he joked:  “I thought the WGA stood for White Guys Association. When we hired WGA writers for “The Apprentice,” the guild didn’t send their best. They bring the drugs, crime and awful spec scripts of “2 Broke Girls. ” You’re bad writers because you wrote “2 Broke Girls, “ but at least it’s not “Whitney.”

Fake Trump was upset that the WGA did not hold their awards at a Trump Hotel and lauded George Jefferson as a “great businessman.” He also told the crowd not to expect him to be impeached. “Kellyanne Riefenstahl says it’s the biggest win ever. A total landslide or mudslide for you Californians. “

Woods introduced his longtime friend, three-time Academy Award winner Oliver Stone. Woods started his career with Stone’s “Salvador”: “Oliver had the temerity to ask me recently if he should retire? I said, Are you fucking kidding me? Trump just got elected. You can go on forever now.”

Stone took a different turn than the overt bashing. He urged the up and comers to be fearless and to speak out. “It would be remiss of me not to remind you, especially you younger writers, that you can be critical of your government and your society. You don’t have to fit in. It’s fashionable now to take shots at the Republicans and Trump and avoid the Obamas and Clintons. But remember this, in the thirteen wars we’ve started over the last 30 years and the $14 trillion we spent, and the hundreds of thousands of lives that have perished from this earth, remember that it wasn’t one leader, but a system, both Republican and Democrat. It’s a system that has been perpetuated under the guise that these are just wars, justifiable in the name of our flag.”

The LA event also brought out Norman Lear, Denzel Washington, Tom Ford, Louis C. K, Richard Curtis, Mykelti Williamson, Diablo Cody, Chelsea Handler, Jeff Daniels, Kerry Washington, Jeff Goldblum, Tony Hale, Fred Armisen, Shoreh Aghdashloo and was filled with industry VIPS.

In New York, long time soap opera writer (and actress) Courtney B. Simon was honored as well. Congrats!

A full list of Winners is below

 

FILM WINNERS

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Moonlight, Screenplay by Barry Jenkins, Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney; A24

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Arrival, Screenplay by Eric Heisserer; Based on the Story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang; Paramount Pictures

DOCUMENTARY SCREENPLAY

Command and Control, Telescript by Robert Kenner & Eric Schlosser, Story by Brian Pearle and Kim Roberts; Based on the book Command and Control by Eric Schlosser; American Experience Films

TELEVISION AND NEW MEDIA WINNERS

DRAMA SERIES

The Americans, Written by Peter Ackerman, Tanya Barfield, Joshua Brand, Joel Fields, Stephen Schiff, Joe Weisberg, Tracey Scott Wilson; FX

COMEDY SERIES

Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX

NEW SERIES

Atlanta, Written by Donald Glover, Stephen Glover, Jamal Olori, Stefani Robinson, Paul Simms; FX

ORIGINAL LONG FORM

Confirmation, Written by Susannah Grant; HBO

ADAPTED LONG FORM

The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Written by Scott Alexander, Joe Robert Cole, D.V. DeVincentis, Maya Forbes, Larry Karaszewski, Wally Wolodarsky, Based on the book The Run of His Life by Jeffrey Toobin; FX

ORIGINAL SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA

“The Party” (The Commute), Written by Linsey Stewart & Dane Clark; youtube.com

ADAPTED SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA

“Part 4” (Fear the Walking Dead: Passage), Written by Lauren Signorino & Mike Zunic; amc.com

ANIMATION

“Stop the Presses” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Joe Lawson; Netflix

EPISODIC DRAMA

“The Trip” (This Is Us), Written by Vera Herbert; NBC

EPISODIC COMEDY

“Kimmy Goes on a Playdate!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Robert Carlock; Netflix

COMEDY / VARIETY TALK SERIES

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Writers: Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Juli Weiner; HBO

COMEDY / VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

Saturday Night Live, Head Writers: Rob Klein, Bryan Tucker Writers: James Anderson, Fred Armisen, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Mikey Day, Jim Downey, Tina Fey, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Tim Herlihy, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Zach Kanin, Chris Kelly, Erik Kenward, Paul Masella, Dave McCary, Dennis McNicholas, Seth Meyers, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Paula Pell, Katie Rich, Tim Robinson, Sarah Schneider, Pete Schultz, Streeter Seidell, Dave Sirus, Emily Spivey, Andrew Steele, Will Stephen, Kent Sublette; NBC

COMEDY / VARIETY SPECIALS

Triumph The Primary Election Special 2016, Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, Raj Desai, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, David Taylor, Andrew Weinberg; Additional Materials by Ray James, Jesse Joyce, Jason Reich, Alex Scordelis; Hulu

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

Hollywood Game Night, Head Writer: Grant Taylor; Writers: Michael Agbabian, Alex Chauvin, Ann Slichter, Dwight D. Smith; NBC

DAYTIME DRAMA

General Hospital, Writers: Shelly Altman, Anna Theresa Cascio, Andrea Archer Compton, Suzanne Flynn, Janet Iacobuzio, Elizabeth Korte, Daniel James O’Connor, Jean Passanante, Dave Rupel, Katherine Schock, Scott Sickles, Chris Van Etten, Christopher Whitesell; ABC

CHILDREN’S EPISODIC

“Mel vs. The Night Mare of Normal Street” (Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street), Written by Laurie Parres; Amazon Studios

CHILDREN’S LONG FORM

Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas, Written by Geri Cole & Ken Scarborough; HBO

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS

“The Choice 2016” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS (TIE)

“Inside Assad’s Syria” (Frontline), Written by Martin Smith; PBS (TIE)

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“Jackie Robinson, Part One,” Written by David McMahon & Sarah Burns; PBS

TV NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Muhammad Ali: Remembering A Legend” (48 Hours), Written by Jerry Cipriano, John Craig Wilson; CBS News

TV NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“CBS Sunday Morning Almanac” June 12, 2016 (CBS Sunday Morning), Written by Thomas A. Harris; CBS

RADIO WINNERS

RADIO DOCUMENTARY

“Chernobyl: 30 Years Later,” Written by Andrew Evans; ABC News Radio

RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“World News This Week” August 26, 2016, Written by Tara Gimbel Tanis; ABC News Radio

RADIO NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

“Morley Safer: A Journalist’s Life,” Written by Gail Lee; CBS News Radio

PROMOTIONAL WINNERS

ON-AIR PROMOTION (TELEVISION, NEW MEDIA OR RADIO)

“CBS On-Air Reel,” Written by Brian Retchless; CBS On-Air Promotion

TELEVISION GRAPHIC ART AND ANIMATION

“The Real History of Cinco de Mayo” (Gawker Media Group), Graphic Animation by Elisa Solinas; Lifehacker.com

VIDEOGAME WINNER

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEOGAME WRITING

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Written by Neil Druckmann, Josh Scherr; Additional Writing Tom Bissell, Ryan James; Naughty Dog

Cher Fights the Flu, Cancels Shows, And Slams Trump: “Flu is Like the Great Wall of JHINA”

Roger Friedman
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Cher Fights the Flu, Cancels Shows, And Slams Trump: “Flu is Like the Great Wall of JHINA”

A bad case of the flu has temporarily felled the great Cher and forced her to cancel some shows in Las Vegas But she still her sense of humor. On Twitter she writes: “Think I coughed up a lung last nite. Really.Coughed all last nite. Pissed off. Flu is like the great wall of JHINA.”

She also wrote:

Get a lot of rest, Cher, drink a lot of liquids, and you’ll be back in your headdress in no time!

PS No one Tweets like Cher. Check out her account. She pulls no punches!

Beatles Semi-Reunion as Ringo Starr Welcomes Paul McCartney to Studio: “Thanks for coming over and playing Great bass”

Roger Friedman
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Beatles Semi-Reunion as Ringo Starr Welcomes Paul McCartney to Studio: “Thanks for coming over and playing Great bass”

A semi Beatles reunion took place over the weekend, plus an Eagle was involved. Ringo Starr cheerily posted a few times to Twitter that he, Paul McCartney and Joe Walsh got together for some kind of recording session. Ringo posted a photo of himself with Paul, and wrote: Thanks for coming over and playing Great bass. I love you man peace and love.”

Ringo also posted a photo with Paul and Ringo’s brother in law, the great Joe Walsh:

There are also photos with another famed bass player, Nathan East and another Eagle, Timothy B. Schmit, and veteran keyboardist Benmont Tench, from a couple of days earlier. Clearly Ringo is up to something great in the studio, possibly a new solo album to coincide with a new tour of his All Starr Band. His last album, Postcards from Paradise, was released two years ago. McCartney last played bass with Starr on Ringo’s “Y Not” album in 2010.

Ryan Gosling Sings Again in Terence Malick’s “Song to Song,” But There’s Still That Fish Eye Photography

Roger Friedman
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Ryan Gosling Sings Again in Terence Malick’s “Song to Song,” But There’s Still That Fish Eye Photography

What can we say about Terrence Malick? That someone else has put up more money for a new movie no one will see– with a lot of stars gamboling about in fisheye photography? I wish I had more patience for the trailer to “Song by Song.” I’m glad Malick is using Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” but I’m also sad for him that this will get pushed away as the not-sequel to “La La Land.” Ryan Gosling is singing, other famous actors are loping around, the plot looks sketchy and the dialogue random. Who knows? Maybe it’s great. Sometimes it snows in April.

Box Office: Oscar Nominated Movies Doing Great, But LEGO Dominates “Fifty Shades,” “Great Wall”

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Oscar Nominated Movies Doing Great, But LEGO Dominates “Fifty Shades,” “Great Wall”

Maybe the third “Fifty Shades” movie should be made of LEGO.

In its second weekend part two of the “Fifty Shades” series is being dominated by “The LEGO Batman Movie.” LEGO is also snapping apart “The Great Wall,” which luckily made all its money in China– or “Jghina” depending on how you pronounce it.

Luckily, “The Fifty Shades Darker” soundtrack is number 1 on the charts. But it does seem like the “Darker” sequel made most of its money last weekend. It was down by two-thirds from last Friday to last night.

Meanwhile “The Great Wall” should scare up $20 million this weekend. It doesn’t matter. Again, they’ve made their money. “The Great Wall” will go to video without making a dent in the US movie culture.

The good news is that the Oscar nominated movies are all doing well– “Hidden Figures,” “Lion,” and especially “La La Land.” Next Sunday the Damien Chazelle musical will get a lot of awards despite furious “planted” backlash. I have to laugh when I read or hear something negative about this film. Sorry, there is nothing bad to say. And when that plot reel starts playing back the romance of the two main characters, a la “Annie Hall,” you know Chazelle has got it.

Judd Apatow Brings Pete Holmes’ Raunchy and Sweet “Crashing” to HBO Sunday Night Following “Girls”

Leah Sydney
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Judd Apatow Brings Pete Holmes’ Raunchy and Sweet “Crashing” to HBO Sunday Night Following “Girls”

Stand up comedian Pete Holmes’s “Crashing,” premiering on HBO this Sunday, Feb 19th, is bound to be another quirky, albeit raunchy and genuinely sweet at times, hit for them.  Pete plays Pete (‘natch) a truly likeable, Bible-believing guy, who is also a struggling stand up comic braving the rough and tough NYC comedy circuit.

In the first episode, Pete finds his wife (the terrific Lauren Lapkus) in bed with her new age guru called Leif (played hilariously by George Basil).  Pete then finds refuge on a fellow comedian’s couch, the impatient, cynical and screwed up, but endearing Artie Lange.  Lange joked at the recent premiere in Hollywood, “I can’t believe I’m here. I look like a chubby jewel thief.  A year ago I was in rehab.”  

Standing next to Artie was the Hollywood comedy honcho Judd Apatow who is the Executive Producer, he directed the pilot episode as well.  Jimmy Kimmel made a surreptitious late entrance to support his longtime pal Pete but I did manage to ask him if he was ready for the Oscars. Kimmel quipped, “God I hope so.”

Apatow– the executive producer of HBO’s “Girls,” which premieres its final season right before “Crashing”–hopes that the audience will appreciate all the comical facets of Pete’s story.  “If you have somebody like Pete who’s willing to tell you every horrible thing he’s ever done or thought, there’s a lot of comedy there because we all relate to that struggle.”

Gina Gershon, who is hilarious in the second episode (as well as the very funny and biting TJ Miller) told me she wants to do more comedy: “I’m so enamored of Tina Fey, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman.  I’d love to work with them all.” Will we see Gina reprising her very funny role on Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as the Hasidic dry cleaner?  “I’m trying to squeeze myself back on there. Whenever they will have me on, I’ll come on. “

I asked Pete about the recent Friars club brouhaha. “No way, really? That means the next roast will be hilarious, all these inside bookkeeping jokes.” Why did he shoot in NYC and not LA?  Pete replied, “Comedy and New York, neither of them want you or need you.  So if you leave comedy or New York, it doesn’t notice. “

Movies: Brad Grey Is Negotiating His Exit from Paramount After 12 Pretty Good Years

Roger Friedman
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Movies: Brad Grey Is Negotiating His Exit from Paramount After 12 Pretty Good Years

The story in Hollywood this weekend is that Brad Grey, who took over Paramount Pictures in 2005, is negotiating his exit. At one time Brad was the most stable studio exec in town. (Ron Meyer has the title now.) But a combination of bad box office luck and the upheaval with the Redstone family may spell the end for Grey. He’ll be fine, you know, and turn back into a hot producer. But I’ll miss him if this is true.

I’m told that Grey may be replaced, at least temporarily, by some kind of triumvirate from existing execs. But there are plenty of good people out there including ex Warners top dog Jeff Robinov.

The downside first: in the last year, misfires have hurt Grey. Whether it was “Zoolander 2” or the current “Monster Trucks,” Grey has suffered stunning losses.  There’s also the debacle of Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” which just went completely wrong in marketing. I guess hoping to strike gold, Grey’s team pushed “Silence” out for Oscars instead of waiting for the spring and the 2018 Oscars. Big, big mistake.

On the upside: 18 Oscar nominations this year including two for Best Picture– “Fences” and “Arrival.” Many, many Oscar nods and big box office for movies like “The Martian” and “Wolf of Wall Street.” How about this? Eight of Paramount’s all time top 10 films came during Grey’s run including two “Iron Man” movies and two “Transformers.”

Not ever to demean Sherry Lansing, but Grey was artist friendly and press friendly. He gave Paramount accessibility that it had lacked sorely in the prior ten years. His confidence radiated through the staff. The Paramount PR department–many of whom were Miramax grads– has been a total joy to work with.

So we’ll wait and see while Viacom chief Bob Bakish makes his way to L.A. and crafts this parting of the ways. And again, remember, Brad Grey produced “The Sopranos.” Bada bing! He’s not going anywhere.

 

Roger Ailes, Fox News US Attorney Investigation Likely Coming from Former Network PR Guy Brian Lewis

Roger Friedman
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Roger Ailes, Fox News US Attorney Investigation Likely Coming from Former Network PR Guy Brian Lewis

I’m just catching up to the extraordinary news that the US Attorney in New York, Preet Bharara, is investigating Fox News and Roger Ailes. The issue is whether they properly reported all the payouts over sexual harassment. The SEC is apparently involved.

The news of the US Attorney’s investigation was revealed by Judd Burstein, the lawyer for Andrea Tantaros. She’s suing the network saying they retaliated against her after she made her sexual harassment claim. She’s one of many women who filed complaints against Ailes and Fox News, starting with $20 million for Gretchen Carlson.

These complaints don’t include the settlements made on behalf of Bill O’Reilly including a reported $10 million payout to Andrea Mackris– the infamous “loofah” story. Fox News also settled a recent claim made against O’Reilly by Juliet Huddy.

Burstein said he knew of the Fox News  investigation because another one of his clients was subpoenaed. That would likely be Brian Lewis, Ailes’ former PR hatchet man. Ailes is said to have fired Lewis in 2013 because he blamed him for not protecting him from New York Magazine’s Gabriel Sherman’s book about Ailes. Lewis ws then smeared (this is what Fox does) in the press. Lewis sued, and reportedly received an $8 million settlement.

Presumably, Lewis signed an NDA to keep his mouth shut. But Lewis knows where all of Ailes’s bodies are buried. He buried a lot them himself. He’s the only former Foxer publicly connected to Burstein, who features their association on his website. They’ve obviously found a way for Lewis to share his knowledge of Ailes– via the US Attorney.

Strangely, no one who reported the revelation of the  investigation mentioned Lewis’s name. But Ailes and Fox should worry that Lewis, under subpeona, will tell everything he knows.

 

Music: Beatles Extended Family Charting Sgt. Pepper 50th Anniversary Including New Book About Groundbreaking Album

Roger Friedman
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Music: Beatles Extended Family Charting Sgt. Pepper 50th Anniversary Including New Book About Groundbreaking Album

The 50th anniversary of the most groundbreaking album of all time is upon us. June 1st will mark the landmark release of The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” from 1967. It was the album that changed literally everything.

So far the only concrete item to mark the anniversary is a new book called “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band: The Album, the Beatles, and the World in 1967″ by Brian Southall, due May 9th from Imagine Press. Southall was director of PR at EMI Records, the Beatles’ label from 1964 until last year when EMI was subsumed into Capitol Records.

Otherwise, Olivia Harrison and other members of the Beatles extended family are talking right now about what they’ll do to mark occasion. It would be swell if there were some kind of concert. Indeed, Paul McCartney is starting his 2017 tour in Japan at the end of April. It’s unclear where he will be on June 1st, or if he’s set aside the date. A TV special seems like a natural idea, too. So far, though, nothing’s been decided. But I’m told to expect an announcement shortly.

Tony Winner Cynthia Erivo Will Sing at Oscar Governor’s Ball– Hot off Grammy Performance

Roger Friedman
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Tony Winner Cynthia Erivo Will Sing at Oscar Governor’s Ball– Hot off Grammy Performance

I’m so happy to report that “Color Purple” star Cynthia Erivo has finally arrived. The Tony winner will perform at the Oscars’ Governors Ball for the all the winners and nominees after the Academy Awards show is over. Whilst the glitterati chow down on Wolfgang Puck’s cuisine they will get to hear this remarkable singer. It’s a coup for the Academy!

Last Sunday  Cynthia wowed the world when she sang the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” with John Legend during the In Memoriam segment of the Grammys. I have been saying for well over a year that Cynthia is the best new singer anywhere. She needs a recording contract, a great producer and some songs. Being a Broadway star is a great thing, but Erivo is much more than that.

My guess is, some hot shots hear her at the Governor’s Ball and sign her up fast. They’re going to wonder, as I do, where her sound comes from. She’s just extraordinary.

Here’s the audio from the Grammys

and The Color Purple

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