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No Thanka: Paul Anka Pulls Out of Singing “My Way” for Trump, Jennifer Holliday Says “And I Am Telling You, I May Not Be Going”

Roger Friedman
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No Thanka: Paul Anka Pulls Out of Singing “My Way” for Trump, Jennifer Holliday Says “And I Am Telling You, I May Not Be Going”

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.

Tactful Nicole Kidman– No Endorsement, Resigned to Trump Election: “However That Happened, He’s There And Let’s Go”

Roger Friedman
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Tactful Nicole Kidman– No Endorsement, Resigned to Trump Election: “However That Happened, He’s There And Let’s Go”

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.

Review: Cate Blanchett Makes an Astounding Broadway Debut with Richard Roxburgh in “The Present”

Roger Friedman
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Review: Cate Blanchett Makes an Astounding Broadway Debut with Richard Roxburgh in “The Present”

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.

 

Directors Guild Surprise! Nom for “Lion”– No Eastwood, Scorsese, Denzel, Mel Gibson

Roger Friedman
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Directors Guild Surprise! Nom for “Lion”– No Eastwood, Scorsese, Denzel, Mel Gibson

“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.”

Paris Jackson Angry Joseph Fiennes Playing Michael Jackson in Brit TV Show: “It honestly makes me want to vomit”

Roger Friedman
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Paris Jackson Angry Joseph Fiennes Playing Michael Jackson in Brit TV Show: “It honestly makes me want to vomit”

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…

Theatre: Deborah Cox Wowing Whitney Houston Fans as “The Bodyguard” Musical Hits the Road

Roger Friedman
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Theatre: Deborah Cox Wowing Whitney Houston Fans as “The Bodyguard” Musical Hits the Road

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 Scraps New Album For Easier “Joshua Tree” 30th Anniversary Tour This Summer

Roger Friedman
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U2 Scraps New Album For Easier “Joshua Tree” 30th Anniversary Tour This Summer

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.

Watch Joseph Fiennes Play 2001 Edition Michael Jackson in Brit Comedy “Urban Myths”

Roger Friedman
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Watch Joseph Fiennes Play 2001 Edition Michael Jackson in Brit Comedy “Urban Myths”

 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.

 

 

 

Bill O’Reilly Caused Fox News to Settle Another Sexual Harassment Claim Brought By Former Anchor

Roger Friedman
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Bill O’Reilly Caused Fox News to Settle Another Sexual Harassment Claim Brought By Former Anchor

How is it Bill O’Reilly hasn’t been fired into the next century? For the second time, Fox News has settled a major sexual harassment claim against him by one of their employees.

This time it was from former anchor Juliet Huddy, who I worked with and knew for years. She was a rising star at Fox until she was suddenly yanked off the network and sent to local Fox 5 News in New York– at 4:30 in the morning.

Now thanks to LawNewz website, we know what happened. When Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly overturned Roger Ailes, and Fox made reparations to female staff with claims against the network, Huddy finally came forward.

I wrote about Huddy’s departure, and suggested there was a lot more to it. I asked Juliet about it, but she couldn’t say more than it was “a challenging 20 years” and that she was going to write about rock music now that she’d left the network.

Huddy made claims against O’Reilly and now news chief Jack Abernethy. According to the reports, Fox paid her, and no money came from either employee.

You may recall that a few years ago O’Reilly– whose contentious divorce has been well chronicled in New York’s tabloids– was involved in another sexual harassment case. Fox News was rumored to have paid off $10 million in that case. When you leave here, go check that link.

O’Reilly must be a pain in the side for James and Lachlan Murdoch. After Ailes, he’s FoxNews’s most egregious star. Are his ratings really worth these huge embarrassments? And unlike Greta van Susteren and Megyn Kelly, if O’Reilly leaves he won’t be heading to NBC or a major network. The end of his career is in sight.

Oscars: “Deadpool” Surprise as Producers Guild Names the 10 Pictures Headed to the Big Award

Roger Friedman
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Oscars: “Deadpool” Surprise as Producers Guild Names the 10 Pictures Headed to the Big Award

Here are the 10 Producers Guild nominees. I think this clarifies the 10 Best Picture nominees. Nice to see “Deadpool” getting some recognition. “Hacksaw Ridge” is the 10th choice for an Oscar. The rest are all great. My personal faves, “Silence” and “20th Century Women,” suffered. You can’t have everything.

 

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures:

• Arrival
Producers: Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Aaron Ryder, David Linde

• Deadpool
Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner

• Fences
Producers: Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington, Todd Black

• Hacksaw Ridge
 Producers: Bill Mechanic, David Permut

• Hell or High Water
 Producers: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn

• Hidden Figures
 Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin & Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi

• La La Land
 Producers: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt

• Lion
 Producers: Emile Sherman & Iain Canning, Angie Fielder

• Manchester By the Sea
 Producers: Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin Walsh

• Moonlight
 Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:

• Finding Dory
 Producer: Lindsey Collins

• Kubo and the Two Strings
 Producers: Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight

• Moana
Producer: Osnat Shurer

• The Secret Life of Pets
 Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

• Zootopia
Producer: Clark Spencer

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
* The PGA previously announced the nominations in this category on November 22, 2016. The list below has been updated to include eligible producers.

• Dancer
Producer: Gabrielle Tana

• The Eagle Huntress
 Producers: Stacey Reiss, Otto Bell

• Life, Animated
 Producers: Julie Goldman, Roger Ross Williams

• O.J.: Made in America
 Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow

• Tower
Producers: Keith Maitland, Susan Thomson, Megan Gilbride

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