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Will Smith: “Nothing tortures me more than love. There’s nothing in life that I experience more pain around than love”

Paula Schwartz
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Will Smith: “Nothing tortures me more than love. There’s nothing in life that I experience more pain around than love”

In Collateral Beauty, Will Smith  stars as Howard, an executive so grief-stricken over the death of his six-year-old daughter that he disconnects from life. He barely notices or cares that his advertising firm is going down the tubes, while his friends and  colleagues (Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, Edward Norton) stage an intervention to help Howard reconnect and to protect their interests in the company they co-founded.

Directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) and written by Allan Loeb, the drama also features Helen Mirren, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore and Keira Knightly.

The film’s stars (except for Knightly and Winslet), director and screenwriter turned up at a press conference Friday afternoon at the Crosby Street Hotel to talk about the emotional film with a small group of journalists.

Most of the questions were directed to Will Smith, whose easy-going charm and charisma was on display. Meanwhile Norton got in some wisecracks and Dame Helen’s dry wit kept the discussion lively, even though the topic was mainly Death and Loss.

The first question, directed to Smith, was whether the film would change how he deals with – you guessed it – death and loss.

“I was going to avoid that, and I was going to let someone else answer that, so I don’t bring the brothers down,” Smith said, explaining that while he made the film his father was diagnosed with cancer and the prognosis was only six weeks.

“I was in Howard’s mind studying and reading all of the different religious basis for being able to find an answer for how we recover from this kind of loss. I was sharing with my father through the experience, everything from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, to Elisabeth Kubler-Ross,” Smith noted. “Everything that you’d possibly do to deal with the inevitable pain of death, I was able to do it as Howard, but also be able to share and work on that with my father, so the idea of that loss and that type of pain, this movie and this film and these ideas, have changed me forever,”

The main device in the movie is that in Howard’s grief he seeks solace by writing and mailing letters to the abstractions Time (Latimore), Death (Mirren) and Love (Knightly). Although Howard doesn’t realize it, they’re actually actors his colleagues hired to try to jolt him back to life.

Death, Howard says in surprise, “is an elderly white woman.”

Asked which of the three elements  – death, time or love – would be most painful during loss, Mirren replied, “I would say time probably because I think if you’re in a very dark place time I’m sure Time can become a very painful thing.”

Smith disagreed. “Nothing tortures me more than love. There’s nothing in life that I experience more pain around than love. Even in dealing with my father’s passing, what it comes back to me and how I react to that is, ‘Jada, you’re not loving me enough.’ Everything is about that. Listen if we gonna die, we need to spend more time together. The craving for loving for me is far beyond the loss of death and far beyond the punishment of time.”

Norton – who was quiet up until now – said dryly, “This is why Will and I connect, because I often think, ‘Jada, you’re not loving me enough.’”

A journalist called Collateral Beauty 2016’s “Love Actually” and then segued into a question to Smith about whether he was going to return to music.

“ I always record, so I probably have 60 records that I recorded but it’s about just finding that thing that really feels like it’s going to deliver the truth of what I want to say,” said Smith. “I haven’t hit that record. I’ve been in the studio with everybody. I’m just looking for finding that way back in.”

All the actors were asked to recount their most life-changing moments?

Will Smith turned to Norton and told him to go first.

“It’s been with Jada,” Norton cracked.

“I set myself up,” Smith laughed, adding, “I’ve had huge life-changing moments, almost all centered around love. I am a serious hopeless romantic. I think the greatest experience of love I’ve ever had was when my daughter was born. I took Willow and I sat her down with Jada and just looking at the two of them that was as full as I ever have been. Like that is the maximum amount of love I’ve ever felt or experienced in my life. It was the safest and purest and happiest that I’ve ever been in my life and I think subconsciously I chase that every day of my life. I chase that feeling and that experience.”

Of his most life-changing moment, Norton offered up, “I think when I saw Helen Mirren in “Excalibur.”

“That changed us all,” agreed Smith.

“I’m glad you didn’t say “Caligula (1979),” Mirren said softly.

“No, ‘Excalibur was like high class,” Norton replied.

After 30 minutes the press conference sadly came to an end, as journalists were told to stay seated while the actors got up to leave.

“It’s like the President now. It’s like everybody got to stay still while the Secret Service gets the President out of the room,” Smith laughed, shaking the hands of journalists on his way out the door.

Collateral Beauty opens nationwide December 16.

Oscars: Academy Short Lists 15 Documentaries Including “Weiner,” “OJ,” “13th,” “Eagle Huntress”

Roger Friedman
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Oscars: Academy Short Lists 15 Documentaries Including “Weiner,” “OJ,” “13th,” “Eagle Huntress”

Oscars: The Academy has short listed 15 documentaries for 2017 Awards. From this group, five will be chosen. Among them are “Eagle Huntress,” which I think will make it, plus Ava Duvernay’s “13th,” another likely candidate, “Gleason,” “I Am Not Your Negro,” and the Ezra Edelman “OJ: Made in America” which is winning a lot of critics’ prizes.

Here’s the list:

“Cameraperson,” Big Mouth Productions
“Command and Control,” American Experience Films/PBS
“The Eagle Huntress,” Stacey Reiss Productions, Kissiki Films and 19340 Productions
“Fire at Sea,” Stemal Entertainment
“Gleason,” Dear Rivers Productions, Exhibit A and IMG Films
“Hooligan Sparrow,” Little Horse Crossing the River
“I Am Not Your Negro,” Velvet Film
“The Ivory Game,” Terra Mater Film Studios and Vulcan Productions
“Life, Animated,” Motto Pictures and A&E IndieFilms
“O.J.: Made in America,” Laylow Films and ESPN Films
“13th,” Forward Movement
“Tower,” Go-Valley
“Weiner,” Edgeline Films
“The Witness,” The Witnesses Film
“Zero Days,” Jigsaw Productions

Grammys: Someone Doesn’t Like Justin Timberlake, Plus Gaga, Paul Simon, DNCE All Snubbed

Roger Friedman
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Grammys: Someone Doesn’t Like Justin Timberlake, Plus Gaga, Paul Simon, DNCE All Snubbed

The Grammys are famous for their snubs, but this year seems worse than ever.

First of all Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” number 1 all summer, was relegated to category 61– music for a visual medium. Huh? It should have been Record of the Year nominee at least. Timberlake can now officially feel like someone doesn’t like him at the Grammys. His “20/20 Experience” album, the best seller of 2014, was also ignored.

Also missing: “Cake by the Ocean,” by DNCE. It was a huge hit, a great record, and should have been in Dance music at least.

Lady Gaga was snubbed for her single, Perfect Illusion. Likewise Sting, for I Can’t Stop Thinking About You.

Paul Simon’s album Stranger to Stranger, a beautiful record, was completely blanked. So was Van Morrison’s Keep on Singing.

David Bowie’s final album, Blackstar, was sent to “alternative.” Ridiculous.

keep refreshing….

Grammy Nominations: Beyonce, Drake, Adele but Nada for Justin Timberlake, David Bowie

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Nominations: Beyonce, Drake, Adele but Nada for Justin Timberlake, David Bowie

The Grammy nominees for Album of the year are no surprise. Adele, Beyonce, Drake, Justin Bieber and sturgill Simpson are all in.  biggest snub? Justin Timberlake didn’t get record or song of the year for Can’t Stop the Feeling . it was the biggest hit of the year . Amazing. 

Keep refreshing  

Writers Guild Snubs 3 of 4 Network Soaps, Hands “General Hospital” A Default Win for Best Written Daytime Drama

Roger Friedman
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Writers Guild Snubs 3 of 4 Network Soaps, Hands “General Hospital” A Default Win for Best Written Daytime Drama

There are three soap operas still on network TV– “The Young and the Restless” and “Bold and the Beautiful” on CBS, “Days of our Lives” on NBC, and “General Hospital” on ABC.

But apparently three of the four are so badly written that the Writers Guild decided to skip them entirely for nominations for their TV awards today. Only “General Hospital” was nominated. By default, they win.

No one can say for sure, but such a happenstance is rare for the WGA and unknown in the awards games.

“Y&R” is the number 1 rated soap but they just changed writing staffs after a bad couple of years, so maybe that’s why they were passed over. The other two I don’t know what happened– could they be so bad? Those two are each legacy shows, run by the sons of the people who created them. They’ve all been on the air since James Garfield was president. But maybe this will make them a look at what they’re doing.

Is “General Hospital” so good? Whenever I’m in the hospital visiting a friend or relative I always look around to see if there’s a sniper in the gift shop or a doctor and nurse having sex in a closet, or a good baby switch going on. You never see it, unfortunately. Real life can’t compete!

 

Tom Cruise’s “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” Comes to An End: His 10th Worst Box Office Total of 37 Films

Roger Friedman
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Tom Cruise’s “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” Comes to An End: His 10th Worst Box Office Total of 37 Films

Say goodbye to Jack Reacher. Maybe forever. Tom Cruise’s second Reacher film, “Never Go Back,” is his 10th worst box office total of 37 films. This should be the last weekend it plays in theaters, reaching just $57.5 million after 7 weeks.

When I wrote about “Never Go Back” on November 19th it was just at $56 million. This means pretty much no one has seen it in the last three weeks. Paramount was kind enough to leave it in theaters, gathering dust, maybe hopeful it would get to $60 million. It won’t.

The first “Jack Reacher” was no blockbuster. That film made just $80 million. Someone probably thought, what the hell? Maybe it will take off in the sequel. Alas, it didn’t.

Four of Cruise’s top 5 movies of all time are “Mission Impossible” sagas. His number 1 film was “War of the Worlds” in 2005. That’s eleven years ago. Cruise really hasn’t had a non-MI hit in 10 years. His next, “The Mummy,” will be of keen interest.

My guess is, we’re two or three years away from the Lifetime Achievement Governor’s Award for Tom unless something drastic changes.

Mel Gibson Said Holocaust “Was a Numbers Game” Two Years Before DUI and Infamous Anti-Semitic Rant

Roger Friedman
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Mel Gibson Said Holocaust “Was a Numbers Game” Two Years Before DUI and Infamous Anti-Semitic Rant

In 2004, Mel Gibson was interviewed for Readers Digest by Peggy Noonan. The magazine omitted some of Mel’s comments, but sent them to me in 2006 when Gibson was arrested for a DUI and had his notorious moment in which he barraged a police officer with anti-Semitic rants.

His unpublished remarks, according to the Digest’s publisher, were shocking. Gibson actually ridiculed the historically acknowledged number of Jews killed by Hitler.

Of the Holocaust, Gibson told Noonan: “I mean when the war was over they said it was 12 million. Then it was six. Now it’s four. I mean it’s that kind of numbers game …”

This was at the time that The Passion of the Christ was released. Readers Digest sent me the outtakes and I published them on August 2, 2006. Gibson was not drunk when he spoke to Noonan.

Two years later, drunk, Gibson asked the Malibu cop James Mee, “Are you Jewish? The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.”

Just as Donald Trump’s and Billy Bush’s decade old remarks have come back to haunt them, so too have Mel Gibson’s.

Gibson has invested $70 million into a church in Agoura Hills (Malibu), California that doesn’t support the edict of what’s known as Vatican II. They hold the Jews responsible for the death of Christ. They don’t recognize the Pope as the leader of the Catholic Church. In turn, the Archdiocese doesn’t recognize Holy Family as a Catholic church.

Gibson’s father, now 98 years old, is an infamous Holocaust denier. Mel has never repudiated his father’s statements. Hutton Gibson told Christoper Noxon in that New York Times article linked to above: ”Go and ask an undertaker or the guy who operates the crematorium what it takes to get rid of a dead body,” he said. ”It takes one liter of petrol and 20 minutes. Now, six million?”

But now I’m getting calls and emails because Gibson has made a new movie called “Hacksaw Ridge.” The movie’s supposed to be good. The message is: Mel’s back, all that anti-Semitic stuff happened a long time ago, and everyone wants a hit.

Well, not so fast.

The actor also said to Noonan in 2004: “The Second World War killed tens of millions of people. Some of them were Jews in concentration camps. Many people lost their lives. In the Ukraine, several million starved to death between 1932 and 1933. During the last century, 20 million people died in the Soviet Union.”

Gibson also proved to be prescient in the March 2004 interview, addressing criticism then that he was anti-Semitic.

He told Noonan: “Nobody wants to have their name, you know, besmirched on the front of newspapers and people say wicked things about them and their family and call them all sorts of names, accuse them of being anti-Semitic and everything else. I mean that’s not part of my design. I don’t enjoy experiencing that. That’s just coming from some place that I have no control over.”

Gibson indeed has control over this. He can be a lot clearer, a lot more apologetic, and explain his church and his father, frankly.

We just saw a movie — “The Birth of a  Nation”– ignored by the audience and distanced from its studio because of its filmmaker’s past. I don’t see any difference here. “Hacksaw Ridge” may be a terrific movie, but its creator still has a lot to answer for.

Writers Guild TV Noms Include No Shows on Network TV, And One for Soaps (General Hospital)

Roger Friedman
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Writers Guild TV Noms Include No Shows on Network TV, And One for Soaps (General Hospital)

None of the nominations from the Writers Guild for Best Drama or Comedy come from network TV today. They’re all cable or “other.” There’s 1 nom for American Crime Story on ABC for Long Form.

Funny thing: there’s just one nominee in Daytime Drama, for “General Hospital.” There are four soaps, so maybe it’s a mistake. Otherwise, I guess they win!

DRAMA SERIES

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

Better Call Saul, Written by Ann Cherkis, Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Glatzer, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Heather Marion, Thomas Schnauz, Gordon Smith; AMC

Game of Thrones, Written by David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Dave Hill, D.B. Weiss; HBO

Stranger Things, Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix

Westworld, Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter; Dan Dietz, Halley Gross; Lisa Joy; Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO

COMEDY SERIES

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

Silicon Valley, Written by Megan Amram, Alec Berg, Donick Cary, Adam Countee, Jonathan Dotan, Mike Judge, Carrie Kemper, John Levenstein, Dan Lyons, Carson Mell, Dan O’Keefe, Clay Tarver, Ron Weiner; HBO

Transparent, Written by Arabella Anderson, Bridget Bedard, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Jessi Klein, Stephanie Kornick, Ethan Kuperberg, Ali Liebegott, Our Lady J, Faith Soloway, Jill Soloway; Amazon Studios

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Written by Emily Altman, Robert Carlock, Azie Mira Dungey, Tina Fey, Lauren Gurganous, Sam Means, Dylan Morgan, Marlena Rodriguez, Dan Rubin, Meredith Scardino, Josh Siegal, Allison Silverman, Leila Strachan; Netflix

Veep, Written by Rachel Axler, Sean Gray, Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, Eric Kenward, Billy Kimball, Steve Koren, David Mandel, Jim Margolis, Lew Morton, Georgia Pritchett, Will Smith, Alexis Wilkinson; HBO

NEW SERIES

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

Better Things, Written by Pamela Adlon, Louis C.K., Cindy Chupack, Gina Fattore; FX

Stranger Things, Written by Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, The Duffer Brothers, Jessica Mecklenburg, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Alison Tatlock; Netflix

This Is Us, Written by Isaac Aptaker, Elizabeth Berger, Bekah Brunstetter, Dan Fogelman, Vera Herbert, Joe Lawson, Kay Oyegun, Aurin Squire, K.J. Steinberg, Donald Todd; NBC

Westworld, Written by Ed Brubaker, Bridget Carpenter, Dan Dietz, Halley Gross, Lisa Joy, Katherine Lingenfelter, Dominic Mitchell, Jonathan Nolan, Roberto Patino, Daniel T. Thomsen, Charles Yu; HBO

LONG FORM ORIGINAL

American Crime, Written by Julie Hébert, Sonay Hoffman, Keith Huff, Stacy A. Littlejohn, Kirk A. Moore, Davy Perez, Diana Son; ABC

Confirmation, Written by Susannah Grant; HBO

Harley and the Davidsons, Written by Seth Fisher, Nick Schenk, Evan Wright; Discovery Channel

Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le, Written by Dianne Houston; Lifetime

LONG FORM ADAPTED

11.22.63, Written by Bridget Carpenter, Brigitte Hales, Joe Henderson, Brian Nelson, Quinton Peeples, Based on the novel by Stephen King; Hulu

American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson, 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

Madoff, Written by Ben Robbins, Inspired by the Book The Madoff Chronicles: Inside the Secret World of Bernie and Ruth by Brian Ross; ABC

The Night Of, Written by Richard Price, Steve Zaillian, Based on the BBC Series Criminal Justice Created by Peter Moffat; HBO

Roots, Written by Lawrence Konner, Alison McDonald, Charles Murray, Mark Rosenthal, Based upon the Book by Alex Haley; History Channel

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ORIGINAL

“Episode 101” (Now We’re Talking), Written by Tug Coker, Tommy Dewey; go90.com

“Escape the Room” (Life Ends at 30), Written by Michael Field; vimeo.com

“Itsy Bitsy Spider” Episode 1 (Thug Passion), Written by Motrya Tomycz; vimeo.com

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

SHORT FORM NEW MEDIA – ADAPTED

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

“Under Siege” (The Strain), Written by Bradley Thompson & David Weddle, Based on the novels by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan; fxnetworks.com

ANIMATION

“Barthood” (The Simpsons), Written by Dan Greaney; Fox

“First Day of Rule” (Elena of Avalor), Written by Craig Gerber; Disney Channel

“Fish Out of Water” (BoJack Horseman), Written by Elijah Aron & Jordan Young; Netflix

“A Princess on Lothal” (Star Wars Rebels), Written by Steven Melching; Disney XD

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

EPISODIC DRAMA

“Gloves Off” (Better Call Saul), Written by Gordon Smith; AMC

“I Am a Storm” (Shameless), Written by Sheila Callaghan; Showtime

“Klick” (Better Call Saul), Written by Heather Marion & Vince Gilligan; AMC

“Switch” (Better Call Saul), Written by Thomas Schnauz; AMC

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

“The Winds of Winter” (Game of Thrones), Written for Television by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss; HBO

EPISODIC COMEDY

“Kimmy Finds Her Mom!” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Written by Tina Fey & Sam Means; Netflix

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

“Pilot” (One Mississippi), Written by Diablo Cody & Tig Notaro; Amazon Studios

“R-A-Y-C-Ray-Cation” (Speechless), Written by Carrie Rosen & Seth Kurland; ABC

“Streets on Lock” (Atlanta), Written by Stephen Glover; FX

“A Taste of Zephyria” (Son of Zorn), Written by Dan Mintz; Fox

COMEDY / VARIETY (INCLUDING TALK) – SERIES

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Writers: Dan Amira, David Angelo, Steve Bodow, Devin Delliquanti, Zach DiLanzo, Travon Free, Hallie Haglund, David Kibuuka, Matt Koff, Adam Lowitt, Dan McCoy, Lauren Sarver Means, Trevor Noah, Joe Opio, Zhubin Parang, Owen Parson, Daniel Radosh, Michelle Wolf; Comedy Central

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

Late Night with Seth Meyers, Writers: Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, Andrew Law, John Lutz, Aparna Nancherla, Chioke Nassor, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Conner O’Malley, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker, Ben Warheit, Michelle Wolf; NBC

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Writers: Mike Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Cullen Crawford, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Daniel Kibblesmith, Matt Lappin, Opus Moreschi, Tom Purcell, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack; NBC

COMEDY / VARIETY – SKETCH SERIES

Documentary Now!, Writers: Bill Hader, John Mulaney, Seth Meyers; IFC

Inside Amy Schumer, Writers: Kim Carmele, Kyle Dunnigan, Jessi Klein, Michael Lawrence, Kurt Metzger, Christine Nangle, Claudia O’Doherty, Dan Powell, Tami Sagher, Amy Schumer; Comedy Central

Maya and Marty in Manhattan, Head Writers: Mikey Day, Matt Roberts, Bryan Tucker Writers: Eli Bauman, Jeremy Beiler, Chris Belair, Hallie Cantor, David Feldman, R J Fried, Melissa Hunter, Paul Masella, Tim McAuliffe, John Mulaney, Diallo Riddle, Maya Rudolph, Bashir Salahuddin, Marika Sawyer, Streeter Seidell, Martin Short; Emily Spivey, Steve Young; NBC

Nathan For You, Written by Leo Allen, Nathan Fielder, Adam Locke-Norton, Eric Notarnicola; Comedy Central

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 – MUSIC, AWARDS, TRIBUTES – SPECIALS

68th Primetime Emmy Awards, Written by Jack Allison, Tony Barbieri, Jonathan Bines, Joelle Boucai, Robert Cohen, Gary Greenberg, Josh Halloway, Sal Iacono, Eric Immerman, Jimmy Kimmel, Bess Kalb, Jeff Loveness, Jon Macks, Molly McNearney, Danny Ricker, Jeff Stilson, Joe Strazzullo, Alexis Wilkinson; ABC

73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards, Written by Barry Adelman; Special Material Written by Dave Boone, Ricky Gervais, Jon Macks, Matthew Robinson; NBC

88th Annual Academy Awards, Written by Dave Boone, Billy Kimball; Special Material Written by Scott Aukerman, Rodney Barnes, Neil Campbell, Matthew Claybrooks, Lance Crouther, Mike Ferrucci, Langston Kerman, Jon Macks, Steve O’Donnell, Nimesh Patel, Vanessa Ramos, Chris Rock, Frank Sebastiano, Chuck Sklar, Jeff Stilson, Michelle Wolf; CBS

Triumph’s Election Special, Written by Andy Breckman, Josh Comers, David Feldman, R J Fried, Jarrett Grode, Ben Joseph, Matthew Kirsch, Michael Koman, Mike Lawrence, Brian Reich, Craig Rowin, Robert Smigel, Zach Smilovitz, Andrew Weinberg; Hulu

QUIZ AND AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

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

Jeopardy!, Written by John Duarte, Harry Friedman, Mark Gaberman, Deborah Griffin, Michele Loud, Robert McClenaghan, Jim Rhine, Steve D. Tamerius, Billy Wisse; ABC

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 SCRIPT – EPISODIC AND SPECIALS

“Girl Meets Commonism” (Girl Meets World), Written by Joshua Jacobs & Michael Jacobs; Disney Channel

“Just Add Mom” (Just Add Magic), Written by John-Paul Nickel; Amazon Studios

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

“Mucko Polo, Grouch Explorer” (Sesame Street), Written by Belinda Ward; HBO

CHILDREN’S SCRIPT – LONG FORM OR SPECIAL/h4>

Dance Camp, Teleplay by Nick Turner & Rex New and Cameron Fay, Story by Nick Turner & Rex New; youtube.com

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

R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet Of Souls, Written by Billy Brown & Dan Angel; Freeform

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – CURRENT EVENTS

“Chasing Heroin” (Frontline), Written by Marcela Gaviria; PBS

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

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

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT – OTHER THAN CURRENT EVENTS

“American Reds,” Written by Richard Wormser; WPTS Dayton

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

“Netanyahu at War” (Frontline), Written by Michael Kirk & Mike Wiser; PBS

NEWS SCRIPT – REGULARLY SCHEDULED, BULLETIN, OR BREAKING REPORT

“Ambush In Dallas” (World News Tonight With David Muir), Written by David Bloch, Karen Mooney, David Muir, David Schoetz; ABC News

“Brussels Under Attack” (World News Tonight With David Muir), Written by David Bloch, Karen Mooney, David Muir, David Schoetz; ABC News

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

NEWS SCRIPT – ANALYSIS, FEATURE, OR COMMENTARY

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

Jimmy Kimmel to Host Oscars as Awards Shows Are Now Dictated to by Networks for Their Stars

Roger Friedman
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Jimmy Kimmel to Host Oscars as Awards Shows Are Now Dictated to by Networks for Their Stars

Jimmy Kimmel will host the Oscars, and he’ll be great. It was inevitable he’d host and he probably should have done it sooner.

But we are now in the generation of the networks using all the awards shows to promote their stars, particularly the talk show hosts. NBC’s Jimmy Fallon is hosting the Golden Globes, on NBC. CBS’s James Corden will host the Grammys, on CBS. Last year Corden hosted the Tony Awards on CBS, and he will likely again. Stephen Colbert, also on CBS, is hosting the Kennedy Center Honors on CBS. You get the picture.

It’s amazing when you think about it that Johnny Carson, who was an NBC star, used to host the Oscars. Or that David Letterman did it. But the biz has changed. Knowing ABC we’re not far from Michael Strahan as Oscars host. You say impossible? Donald Trump is…you know…

With Kimmel, expect lots of Matt Damon and the Afflecks. And that should work out nicely since Matt Damon is the nominal producer of “Manchester by the Sea” starring Casey Affleck.

Kennedy Center Honors Features JFK’s Grandkids, Aretha in the Audience, But Some Complain “It’s Become the Grammys”

Roger Friedman
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Kennedy Center Honors Features JFK’s Grandkids, Aretha in the Audience, But Some Complain “It’s Become the Grammys”

The second year of George Stevens Jr. not producing the Kennedy Center Honors yielded some interesting things, spies tell me.

It was the first time in a while that any Kennedys participated. Caroline Kennedy sent her three kids– JFK’s grandkids– to do a reading. Aretha Franklin was in the audience, not on stage, but they cut to her “a lot” during the show especially when Brian Stokes Mitchell sang the national anthem. Aretha’s dates for the night were Clive Davis and Isiah Thomas. I’m told “Color Purple” star Cynthia Erivo was magnificent singing “The Impossible Dream.”

Despite Al Pacino’s induction (by Kevin Spacey, Chris O’Donnell, and Bobby Cannavale) some people complained that the new Kennedy Centers Honors has become “like the Grammys.” There was a nod to classical music with the induction of Martha Argerich. But otherwise, the show is like a jukebox– the Eagles, James Taylor, and Mavis Staples were all inducted, with lots of acts performing their songs.

Oddly, Ringo Starr showed up for the Eagles (Joe Walsh is his brother-in-law) but never mentioned that James Taylor was the first act signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records. Bob Seger, from Detroit like the late Glenn Frey, performed a song the two wrote together– “Heartbreak Tonight.”

James Taylor was inducted by President Bill Clinton, and Taylor was feted by Garth Brooks (but not Carole King and certainly not Carly Simon). Taylor brought his twin boys from his marriage to Caroline Reynolds. Sheryl Crow and Darius Rucker also performed for Taylor, even though they have little connection to him. Like, Mavis Staples’ two biggest hits were sung by Elle King, whose “Exes and Ohs” is a great song, but really? (The Washington Post said she was a “country star.” Maybe because she lives in this country.) All the great R&B stars and they got Elle King to sing “I’ll Take You There.” Hmmm….

With three pop acts, there was no nod at all to Broadway.  Pacino represented both theater and movies, I guess. Opera was covered in the Argerich section by Placido Domingo not singing but introducing a pianist, and Itzak Perlman performed for Argerich as well. But actual opera or jazz?  Gone are the days of things like the fantastic Herbie Hancock tribute of a few years ago. Now it’s the hits, nothing but the hits.

 

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