Add Marie Osmond to the list of people who won’t perform at the Trump Inauguration. That’s really bad, isn’t it? When Marie Osmond says she will, and then she won’t.
But Marie says now: “I had no intention of performing, no matter who won!”
OFFICIAL STATEMENT pic.twitter.com/kWseoR4T9G
— Marie Osmond (@marieosmond) January 12, 2017
The no list is longer than any yes list at this point. Donald, are you seeing a trend? What is this telling you?
It’s a rare day when the soundtrack from a movie is even on the charts. “Saturday Night Fever,” “The Bodyguard,” “Chicago” among the few.
But number 1? That hasn’t happened in a long, long time. Yet here’s the news: “La La Land” is number 1. It’s number 1 on iTunes right now, it’s number 1 on the actual album chart that gets announced this evening for the week ending today.
Plus, “City of Stars,” sung by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, is on the top 100 iTunes songs chart.
“La La Land” soundtrack is also the number 1 selling soundtrack on Amazon.com.
And take this news with this addendum: the hit Broadway show “Dear Evan Hansen” will be up for many Tony Awards. The guys who wrote the book and lyrics to that show — Benj Pasek and Justin Paul– wrote the lyrics to the “La La Land” songs. They’re having the biggest year of their lives.
FRIDAY LATE UPDATE: Looks like Jennifer Holliday is going to sing on the mall. Holliday says she voted for Hillary Clinton, but she’s going to sing to “Welcome America.” She says she’s been deluged with criticism. I don’t believe in blacklisting, and a paid gig is a paid gig. But will it overshadow everything else she does going forward? Holliday indicates she doesn’t care.
EARLIER: Paul Anka has said “no thanka” to Donald Trump and the Inaugural committee. He will not be singing “My Way” to the Donald and Melania after all. Anka told TMZ it’s because of his ongoing custody battle over his little boy (Anka is 72, the boy is 2– “You’re Having My Baby” sequel). But when he was asked if endorses Trump’s policies, etc, Anka said: “No.” He also intimated that he knew “the president for 50 years” which isn’t possible.
Meanwhile, the Inaugural committee announced “Dreamgirls” star Jennifer Holliday was going to perform at the big show. She immediately said she wasn’t. As part of the Broadway community, Holliday is unlikely to be part of the Inauguration. She should join the Concert4America January 20th at Town Hall in New York.
The very small Inauguration will now feature a rock group no one cares about, Three Doors Down, and a country performer whose time passed decades ago, Lee Greenwood.
The rest of the Inauguration stands as announced– the 16 year old Jackie Evancho, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Rockettes who needed the paycheck and didn’t mind Trump’s policies. We face the possibility of Jon Voight, one of the great nuts in Hollywood, reading poetry at the dais. PS What happened to Kid Rock, Ted Nugent, Scott Baio? No sign of them yet.
Separately, Blues Traveler has agreed to perform at the Creative Coalition’s non sectarian gala. The Coalition is a group of non partisan actors, but we all know it’s mostly Democratic. They do a good job debating policies and issues from all sides. A few celebs will go to Washington with the CC, but it won’t be like 2009 when Washington looked like Hollywood.
What a sad state of affairs — the Inauguration will be largely unviewed. The former presidents and their wives will come for the swearing in, then split. The main show will get no ratings. And then chaos will reign.
Nicole Kidman did NOT endorse Donald Trump in a BBC interview. Before this gets out of control, you can hear what Nicole said at 13:49 on this video. She’s promoting her wonderful movie, “Lion.” Nicole, a longtime Democratic donor by the way, does say “he’s now elected…however that happened, he’s there and let’s go.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but a very Aussie resignation to a bad deal. She’s extremely tactful which is right since she is not thought of as American (although she was born in Hawaii). The whole interview is worth viewing because Kidman is so articulate and thoughtful.
You think you know Cate Blanchett from her sensational film résumé and two Oscars. But you haven’t seen her on stage. A limited group got to see her a couple of years ago with Joel Edgerton in “A Streetcar Named Desire” out in Brooklyn at BAM. But now here she is, at the Ethel Barrymore Theater on West 47th St. and you know she’s got “The Present” in hand.
Blanchett’s director-writer husband Andrew Upton has adapted Anton Chekhov’s unfinished play sometimes called “Wild Honey” or “Platonov” for his wife’s Broadway debut. They’ve brought over members of their Sydney theater group for the limited run (through March 19th). Michael Frayn directed Ian McKellen in a hit version in 1986 in New York.
Upton’s version is pretty great and very different than the Frayn one; Chekhov is probably amused by it in heaven. Upton has retained a lot of the Chekhov but updated it. You do hear the ‘f’ word a lot, references to climate change, and a lot of The Clash used as bumper music. This is not your grandad’s Chekhov. He’s also condensed four acts into two, with a running time (including intermission) of three hours.
Believe or not, the time passes quickly. Upton has found lots of humor and spread it wisely. The audience I saw it with last night was enthralled. There are a lot of laughs. while still retaining the drama of the main character– a rogue schoolmaster named Platonov (Richard Roxburgh) who cannot keep seducing the ladies at his old friend Anna Petrovna’s (Blanchett) Russian estate. Her friends have arrived for her 40th birthday, and you know, a lot will be revealed about her older husband, her three stepsons, and miscellaneous guests.
Give Blanchett a lot of credit because Platonov is the main character no matter how much is updated for Anna. Roxborough doesn’t steal the show, he just occupies the center of it, and he’s a revelation. Even Blanchett knows it. When I saw her after the show, the first thing she said to me was, “How did you like Richard?”
Let’s say Roxburgh leads the magnificent supporting cast. But “The Present” cast is an ensemble, only that Blanchett cannot keep from being the centerpiece. Watching her is seeing a legend at work in her heyday. She is so comfortable on stage you know she could keep going after the third hour. She’s loving Anna, and all the plot twists and turns. The machinations at the estate never get dull.
Indeed, there are fireworks, explosions, gun shots, smoke. Again, no one is knitting on the front porch. And a party sequence toward the end of Act 1 is enough reason to see this production again and again. Anna’s 40th birthday party literally explodes on stage, and the denouement after this catalyst is equal to its highest points. Irish director John Crowley brings Upton’s ideas to life, and it’s interesting– the Irish really get Chekhov. Three years ago I saw an Irish adaptation (directed by Max Stafford Clark, starring Trudie Styler) that got raves. Who knew?
But do see Cate Blanchett now if you can. This is like seeing Janet McTeer–she’s the real real thing, we’ll be talking about Anna Petrovna long after the show closes. And the Tony Awards– this is for them.
“Lion” is a huge surprise nominee from the Directors Guild awards– director Garth Davis is in, and it’s the best news of the movie season. “Lion” is the favorite movie of so many people, and it’s trailed behind in kudos severely. Well played by Harvey Weinstein and co.
The other nominees are Kenny Lonergan for “Manchester,” Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” Denis Villeneuve for “Arrival” and Barry Jenkins for “Moonlight.”
Not nominated are Martin Scorsese for “Silence,” Denzel Washington for “Fences,” Clint Eastwood for “Sully,” and Mel Gibson (thank god) for “Hacksaw Ridge.”
The DGA is the best predictor of the top 5 movies, which means the four we were used to, plus “Lion,” are now the leaders in the Oscar race.
The other four, just as deserving, should nevertheless include “Fences.”
“Lion” — which has strong supporting acting from Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel, plus an excellent screenplay and Oscar worthy cinematography–now makes a strong bid for Best Picture. No kidding. The Golden Globes sort of ate up the enthusiasm for “La La Land” and “Moonlight.” At least with the DGA, we now have a real dark horse in the race.
Hot stuff. And even if this is the farthest Garth Davis gets for now, next season we him directing Rooney Mara in “Mary Magdalene.” So stay tuned…
Davis sent out this statement: “I am both humbled and astonished at this great honour. Deepest thanks to the DGA for these nominations – I can’t thank you enough for this support. Love and thanks goes to the entire cast and crew, whose immense passion and commitment made this possible, and to the Brierley family – your trust and openness touched us so deeply and allowed us to do our best work on LION. Thank you to my family, and to all the families of the crew that support us in all we do.”
On Twitter today, Michael Jackson’s very astute daughter Paris commented on her father being played by actor Joseph Fiennes in a British comedy for SKY Television. “Urban Myths” is a series of 30 minute comedy sketches about things that never happened– but people believe they did. This was about Michael, Liz Taylor and Marlon Brando driving cross country from New York to LA after 9-11.
Last year I wrote that the idea of Fiennes playing Michael was not a good one. When I saw the clip the other day. I wrote that it wasn’t so bad– it’s a comedy and nothing can take away from Michael Jackson.
But my opinion doesn’t count when it comes to Paris or Michael’s other children. They have a right to be upset and to say so. I think Paris has put it very succinctly here. Again, this is for British TV, I don’t know if we’ll see it here. But I will endorse Paris’s opinion, largely because of the three stars potrayed in the show, Michael comes off as most buffoonish.
Paris wrote in three separate Tweets:
“i’m so incredibly offended by it, as i’m sure plenty of people are as well, and it honestly makes me want to vomit.it angers me to see how obviously intentional it was for them to be this insulting, not just towards my father, but my godmother liz as well..where is the respect? they worked through blood sweat and tears for ages to create such profound and remarkable legacies. shameful portrayal..he [Michael Jackson] made a point of it plenty of times to express his pride in his roots. he would never have wanted this..”
PS Paris made a low key appearance at the Golden Globes, even got a picture taken with Jimmy Fallon in the Bev Hilton garage. She wore a beautiful gown to the InStyle/Warner Bros. party. It looks like she had a good time. And I’m sending get well wishes to her mom, Debbie Rowe, who’s a real fighter and a winner…
There’s no better tribute to Whitney Houston than what pop and Broadway star Deborah Cox is doing right now: she’s starring in the national tour of the musical “The Bodyguard” singing Whitney’s hits as a nod to the late diva’s memory.
“It’s a real treat,” Deborah told my by phone recently. “We were label mates at Arista Records. We’d see each other at all the events.
Cox, like Whitney, was a Clive Davis protege. A decade younger than Whitney, Cox had a lot of hits for Davis, but none bigger than “No One’s Supposed to Be Here” in 1999. It was a top 10 smash, and launched her for good. “I came up listening to Whitney,” she adds.
But Cox also came from theater, unlike Whitney, and couldn’t help but get back in that game. In 2004, she made her Broadway debut when she joined Elton John and Tim Rice’s “Aida.” Since then she’s been able to mix pop and Broadway effortlessly. “When Clive saw me in Aida, he said, You’ve got to continue this, too,” Cox recalls.
Davis has been very supportive of Cox playing Rachel Marron in the new musical. “He told me about the part seven years ago, and pushed me for it.”
The idea is to bring “The Bodyguard” to Broadway after the tour, sometime next year. The show just finished a very successful run at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey– where many Broadway shows come from. The musical adds Whitney hits to the movie’s soundtrack (still the number 1 movie soundtrack of all time). But the song everyone waits for is “I Will Always Love You.” It’s the 13th number of the night for Cox, which isn’t easy considering she’s got to belt it out and make it perfect.
“I know the pressure,” she told me. She goes on vocal rest, doesn’t speak, just sips water. She’s also battling the temperature in the theatre. Remember– Whitney used to turn off the air conditioning. “I keep a humidifier in the dressing room,” she says.
To solidify her tribute to Whitney, Deborah will record her eight songs from the show this month, probably for release on iTunes. It’s not a cast album, but she’s been getting requests from her fans. And everyone knows it’s done with love.
Her favorite song from the show– besides “I Will Always Love You”? “All the Man That I Need,” she says. “It’s overlooked, and it’s such a great arrangement.”
U2 has scrapped plans for now, for “Songs of Experience,” their expected new album this spring.
Instead, they’ll do a world tour for the 30th anniversary of their hit “Joshua Tree” album released in 1987. An expanded “Joshua Tree” collection is expected with outtakes, etc.
This is SO much easier than marketing and releasing a new album. The Edge told Rolling Stone, complicit in all publicity matters, that the band wanted to re-consider the album in light of Trump’s election.
That’s a good hook, but really, a new album is a risky undertaking. Legacy groups have been striking out saleswise and radio-play-wise with new material for the last few years. U2’s last album was given away free with iTunes, which made a lot of people angry. It also kept them out of commercial competition. A new album would have to face the music, so to speak.
As I said, very few older acts have had much success lately. The Rolling Stones hit a bullseye with their “Blue and Lonesome” set. But otherwise, fans seem only to want the hits, not new music of old stars. Everyone from Van Morrison to the Pretenders came and went with new albums this fall. Only Leonard Cohen stayed on the charts, and that’s sadly because he died.
U2 will have to come up with some real radio hits, too. “Songs of Innocence,” the last album, had none. The whole preceding album, “No Line on the Horizon,” had no hits on the record. Their last big hit was “Vertigo,” in 2004. That’s right– if you’re 14 now, there has never been a new U2 song on the radio. Weird, huh?
I love U2, and had favorite songs from those last two albums. But that doesn’t mean anything. So take your time, guys. You still haven’t found what you’re looking for.
Yes, Oscar nominated very white actor Joseph Fiennes is playing Michael Jackson on British TV. It’s for a one off 30 minute comedy called “Urban Myths.”
This is the NOT TRUE story that became an urban myth, that after the 9-11 attacks Michael, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando drove from New York to L.A. instead of flying home. It is NOT TRUE, this is a comedy.
What were the producers going to do? Michael’s skin was translucent white by then. I sat next to him on a sofa a few months before this happened. He was whiter than me!
Stockard Channing plays Taylor, Brian Cox is Brando.
Listen: in real life, Michael should have flown them all home. After all, I reported them that he gave Liz a $600,000 piece of jewelry to show up a his 30th anniversary concert that weekend. He PAID Brando a million bucks cash to lounge around like a giant lox on a sofa on stage and say some gibberish.
Anyway, Joe Fiennes makes a perfectly good Michael.