Lady Gaga’s new song “Million Reasons” is an excellent anthem and a single that should resonate on the charts. She really had a bad time with Taylor Kinney, since this seems like the second song in a row about breaking their engagement. All that stuff ’bout hell and a woman scorned…Gaga’s back on track.
Kenny Loggins Admits “Footloose” Was Based on “Devil with the Blue Dress,” Says “Don’t Sue Me:
What a historic night for music at the annual Little Kids Rock gala at Capitale. The group honored songwriter-performer Kenny Loggins and Motown legend Smokey Robinson. Legendary Soul Man Sam Moore– mentioned in Bruce Springsteen’s new book four times as an “inspiration”– sang with Kenny, performed a Jackie Wilson song in honor of fellow Detroiter Smokey. Audience members included Marc “Walking in Memphis” Cohn. A Paul Simon-signed Fender guitar was auctioned off for thousands of bucks. Tracy Morgan made a tearful appearance also on behalf of Smokey.
By the way, the house band was led by former Letterman/SNL guitarist Will Lee. And among the featured players was New York Yankee legend Bernie Williams! Bernieeeee!!
Loggins– looking younger than springtime–performed “Danny’s Song,” which Anne Murray covered back in the 70s and revived his career with Jim Messina as a top 40 duo. When it came time to perform “Footloose,” the title track from the 1984 hit movie, he told a little story. He was looking for inspiration himself, and based the song on the Mitch Ryder classic “Devil in the Blue Dress.” He laughed and said, “Don’t sue me” as he launched into the original song, then segued into his own. The songs are similar but I don’t think he has to worry about it.
What Loggins obviously did not know is that “Devil” was co-written by Smokey’s longtime Motown collaborator William “Mickey” Stevenson. Small world since Smokey was sitting right there.
Loggins later joined Sam Moore for the Sam & Dave classic “I Thank You” after Sam brought down the house with “Soul Man” 
and Jackie Wilson’s “To Be Loved.” The audience went wild, as Sam turns 81 next week and sounds better than ever.
Smokey lentertained the crowd with “I Second That Emotion,” a gorgeous version of the Gershwins’ “Our Love is Here to Stay” and his own “Being with You.” He finished with one of his great self-penned Motown hits– “Get Ready”– backed up all the kids from the charity. Quite a night. Smokey pleaded during his acceptance speech for more music education in schools, which was met with applause throughout the cavernous Capitale.
All photos c2016 Showbiz411
Solange, Beyonce Knowles First Sisters Ever in iTunes Top 5, First Ever to Have Number 1 Albums in Same Year– Or Ever
It’s history making time.
Solange Knowles has the number 1 album in the US on iTunes. She’s also headed to number 1 for the week, period, on all charts with her “A Seat at the Table.”
Solange’s older sister, Beyonce, has the number 4 album with “Lemonade.” Beyonce’s numbers are bigger by far, but this week, she’s following her little sister.
That’s the first time sisters have had number 1 albums in the same year, been in the top 5 at the same time, or ever had albums on the chart at the same time.
There aren’t too many cases of singing sisters, anyway. There’s Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft, I guess. The Andrews Sisters. Dionne and the late Dee Dee Warwick. Freda and Sherrie Payne. Aretha Franklin and late sisters Carolyn and Erma. The Scissors Sisters (just kidding).
Ann and Nancy Wilson work together, as Heart. That doesn’t count.
Solange has issued albums before, but none was very successful. She wanted a seat at the table and got it. She made lemonade from lemons considering she’s probably best known for fighting with Jay Z in an elevator.
“A Seat at the Table” has no physical CD yet. It’s available as a download, and for streaming. Luckily, Solange did not put her album on brother in law Jay Z’s Tidal service exclusively.
And get this: Solange wrote all 21 tracks by herself. She’s the sole credit. No teams of writers. Just her. Impressed? You should be., I know I am.
RIP Rod Temperton, 66, Writer of Michael Jackson’s “Rock with You,” “Thriller” and Many Other Hits
British songwriter Rod Temperton is dead at age 66 from “aggressive cancer.” It was a brief illness apparently.
Temperton wrote Michael Jackson’s hits “Rock with You,” “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” as well as “The Lady in My Life.” He also wrote the huge Patti Austin-James Ingram song “Baby, Come to Me” and George Benson’s “Give Me the Night.”
Temperton also gave the group Heatwave their two big hits– “Always and Forever” and “Boogie Nights.”
He worked with Quincy Jones as a producer-writer, and wrote hits for D0nna Summer, the Brothers Johnson, Herbie Hancock, and Michael McDonald.
Condolences to his family. What a shame.
The original #CHICOrganization. Our very 1st our was w Rod Temperton's #RIP band #Heatwave. They were amazing!
— Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers) October 5, 2016
Thank u 4 your superlative songwriting @RodTemperton. U will always Live in Me. Rest in power. https://t.co/uVcYuBzCcG
— Chaka Khan (@ChakaKhan) October 5, 2016
Beatles Producer George Martin’s Estate Worth Much More than $1.5 Mil, Must Be Off Shore
What is the Daily Mail smoking? (Well, I ask myself that a lot.) They report today that the Beatles’ producer George Martin, who died earlier this year at age 90, left a 1 million-pound estate! Of course, the Mail is only concerned that one of Martin’s sons was cut out of it. They also say he produced “the Beatles’ early hits.”
Listen, Fleet Street, George Martin made a million bucks in his sleep. His estate must have been parked off shore, in a place like the Cayman Islands. It has to have been more like 50 million quid.
For one thing, Martin produced all of the Beatles albums except for “Let it Be.” (That was a botch job by Phil Spector.) He produced the Anthology albums, as well, plus “Rarities” and several other post-1970 editions.
A lot of that was chronicled by Martin himself in his 1979 memoir, “All You Need is Ears.” He was an employee of EMI through 1965, when he left and started AIR studios. He started getting a 2% royalty on Beatles albums at that time, and indicates in the book that the number rose to 4%. Martin also wrote the score for “Yellow Submarine,” and has publishing and mechanical royalties from that album.
In addition, Martin remastered the Beatles’ CDs when they were first issued in 1987. Years later, he and son Giles constructed the soundtrack for the Beatles’ “LOVE” show in Las Vegas, which produced a best selling album. It was quite literally their invention, and it has sold and sold. Now that it’s downloadable and streaming everywhere, “LOVE” should have made the Martins quite wealthy.
Plus, Sir George had monster hits with the group America. Their “History” album of greatest hits continues to be a huge catalog seller. (He gave them “Tin Man” and “Sister Golden Hair,” which are played non stop on oldies radio.) George got a permanent cut of that action.
And then there’s Martin’s AIR Studios in Montserrat in the Caribbean. This is a huge, thriving business where everyone from Adele to Pete Townsend, and of course Paul McCartney have recorded.
And that’s probably the tip of the iceberg.
A million pounds? Not likely. Sir George was definitely whistling “Baby you’re a rich man” right up to the end. Daily Mail, get a grip.
Emily Blunt Misses Lavish “Girl on the Train” Party But Justin Theroux, Haley Bennett Are Happy Passengers
Universal threw an old fashioned lavish Hollywood premiere party last for “The Girl on the Train” at Grand Central Station’s Vanderbilt Hall in New York. It was the perfect location since Grand Central is presumably where Rachel, Emily Blunt’s character, would hang around after arriving from Ardsley and before returning there to stalk her ex husband (played by Justin Theroux). Since Rachel’s a raving alcoholic I doubt she sampled the terrific food we got which is available every day in the Food Hall! (She probably just hit the bars.)
Sadly, star Blunt — who does such a great job as Rachel– was under the weather, so she missed the big gala after a plucky walk on the red carpet with husband John Krasinski. This was a disappointment, as was the absence of Laura Prepon and boyfriend Ben Foster, who also went from red carpet to who knows where. Maybe the foursome thought a party in a train station didn’t sound appetizing but it was quite the opposite considering Grand Central’s soaring architecture.
To the rescue came Justin Theroux (yes, he’s married to Jennifer Aniston) who kind of steals the film from Blunt and her female co-stars Haley Bennett and Rebecca Ferguson (who resembles in this film more than ever Ingrid Bergman). The latter is presumably off getting ready for the new “Mission: Impossible” episode. Edgar Ramirez, so good in “Hands of Stone,” also made the most of the premiere. He’s the red herring in “Train,” and he pulls it off with aplomb.
But Bennett, currently winning the west in “The Magnificent Seven,” was there. She told me: “This is my first day off in two years.” She has five more days before she heads to L.A. for “meetings,” she said, where she will pass on a lot of scripts. (She has a good sense of humor, I like her.) Bennett brought her whole family from Ohio for “Girl on the Train.” They could have taken the train home from Grand Central, but they’re sticking around.
Listen: Justin Theroux has been starring in HBO’s “The Leftovers.” He’s not in “The Girl on the Train” to twiddle his thumbs. He’s the break out (if you know the novel, you know what I mean). He’s very good. We did not discuss Brangelina.
Tate Taylor directed “Girl on the Train.” He also directed “The Help.” He’s good with a big cast and a complicated story, as “Girl on the Train” has more going on than an episode of “Days of Our Lives.” But he keeps the tense taut, and Blunt is a delicious drinker. It’s not easy to play an unsympathetic protagonist. Eventually Rachel goes from “being a blur” to getting in focus thanks to the keen actress.
But my advice, as with all movies, is: stay out of the suburbs. Bad things happen there! You’re safer in New York, where the crime rate is nil and you have a door man. And really, use Uber or buy a car. Paul Simon said Everyone loves the sound of a train in the distance. But wait til you have to find a seat.
Robert DeNiro Making 2nd Movie with “Grandpa” in Title, With Writer of “SpongeBob SquarePants”
Robert DeNiro will not stop making terrible movies no matter what anyone says. He’s now signed to star in “War with Grandpa,” his second movie with the word Grandpa in the title in a year. The first one was “Dirty Grandpa,” which had an 11 rating on RottenTomatoes. Eleven.
DeNiro is currently starring in “Hands of Stone,” which has struggled to earn $5 million at the box office. He goes a very good job in it, but the movie has not connected with audiences.
“War with Grandpa” is not directed by Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, or David O. Russell, or any other ‘name’ director. It’s by someone named Tim Hill, whose last feature credit is for a TV movie called “Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever” made in 2014. He is best known as the creator and writer of the “SpongeBob Square Pants” TV series.
As the unofficial president of the Robert DeNiro fan club, I am chagrined. For every decent film DeNiro makes, there are five like this one. There is “Analyze This,” but also “Analyze That.” There’s “Meet the Parents,” plus the two sequels. “Grudge Match”? “Heist”? “The Bag Man”? Hello? “The Big Wedding”? “The Family”? The list goes on and on.
Even when the movie is bad, DeNiro is good. And when the movie is a surprise and DeNiro is top notch– as in “Silver Linings” or “Joy”– it’s a pleasure to see him. But these terrible films now weigh down the Oscar winner’s really great films with Scorsese, Michael Mann (“Heat”), Barry Levinson (sublime “Wag the Dog”), Nancy Meyers (the charming “The Intern”) and so on.
DeNiro should be spending this time of his career working with great writers and directors, making important films. “The War with Grandpa”? Please, no.
Ben Stiller Tells Howard Stern He Was Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer 2 Years Ago
Here’s a surprise: Ben Stiller told Howard Stern this morning on his Sirius radio show that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago.
Stiller said it was “immediately aggressive” and had surgery to remove his prostate. He was 48 when this happened. “It came out of the blue for me. I had no idea.”
This would have been right in the midst of Stiller’s mother, Anna Meara, in her decline. She died on May 23, 2015. Stiller’s dad, Jerry Stiller, is more or less retired and living in the family’s New York apartment. He’s 88 years old.
Somehow during this time Stiller was able to act in and direct films like “Zoolander 2.” Good for him. Sending best wishes. Ben told Howard he hoped his openness would encourage more awareness of the disease.
Kristen Stewart on Run of Recent Good Film Roles: “I’ve just gotten super lucky lately, yeah”
Looking sensational with her punk peroxide haircut and micro mini, Kristen Stewart, was the center of attention Monday afternoon at the press conference for Kelly Reichardt’s new film, “Certain Women,” screening at the New York Film Festival. The film features an ensemble of terrific female actors, including Laura Dern, Michelle Williams and Lily Gladstone. The director and female stars (with the exception of Williams) participated in the 30-minute Q&A following the press screening.
Stewart has three films in the NYFF, including Ang Lee’s “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” and Olivier Assayas’ “Personal Shopper.” And the 26-year old actress will be honored at a special event Wednesday evening for patrons of The Film Society of Lincoln Center with tickets still available to patrons for $500.
“Certain Women” with its strong female ensemble cast looks at three flawed but strong-willed women whose lives don’t intersect but somehow connect. Based on short stories by Maile Meloy and set in a small Montana town with a populations of about 7,000, the director told journalists what intrigued her was that, “It was a new landscape to investigate and all the characters were really part of the environment they were in and so it seemed like an endeavor with all these great women characters that were sort of alienated from the people who were closest to them but somehow making connections to people who were strangers.”
There are lots of quiet moments and pauses and focus on everyday moments, elements Stewart said she appreciated about Reichardt’s work.
“The thing I really dig (about Kelly’s movies) is that it takes forever. ‘What’s the most important part? Like show me the moment where something happens?’ And that’s what we’re used to seeing in movies. Look at the stuff that goes on in between stuff, like getting to and fro and stuff like that,” said the actress.
“It’s really vulnerable to not play something. All of a sudden you start reviewing things rather than displaying them. That’s what I love about her movies!”
Stewart spoke about some of the beautiful shots taken at the ranch with her character’s story arc.
“It’s so stunningly beautiful. The character who lives in this environment, it says so much about her because I appreciate physical beauty but not like somebody that lives in Montana and runs a fucking a ranch and wants to really give themselves completely to this in a way that’s really mystical and kind of totally beyond me That shot for me totally functions as — it’s so character defining for her. She wakes up there every morning and that’s what she loves and it’s so beautiful. There’s a reverence to it that’s immediately contagious.”
A journalist asked Stewart what roles most attracted her?
“Good stuff, you know! I typically don’t have to spend more than five minutes in a room with someone to know if I want to explore something with them and I’m just kind of navigating,” Stewart said. “I’ve worked recently with a lot of people I’ve grown up really loving. This is a great thing. I feel super lucky and it’s super conducive to making like good shit and because I think I have good taste,” she laughed “Also At the same time like I really love not like not knowing that something’s going to be good and spending a few minutes with someone and going, ‘Shit you’ve never done this before?’ Well let’s do it now. So there’s no like formula. That’s so not how you’re ever gonna make anything worthwhile. It’s like, yeah I’m really not precious about it. I’ve just gotten super lucky lately, yeah.”
Are the recent movies she’s made more satisfying that Hollywood movies someone asked?
“Totally the same thing. I would never draw attention to the distinction between doing a big movie and a small one because then you’re like, ‘Cool. Why are you doing it? That’s weird,” said Stewart. “I guess you could technically draw distinctions because you have more money to play with,” she said. “Naturally it affects the dynamic a little but at the end of the day, I’ve never approached anything going, ‘Oh, well this is bigger now therefore I’m like less entitled to something meaningful or something.’ That’s what you’d think. But it’s totally not true even if the result of it makes you think it. We were trying.”
Photo c 2016 Showbiz411 by Paula Schwartz
Desert Trip aka #Oldchella “Ticket Dump” for This Weekend with McCartney, Stones, Dylan, Who Etc
You know, I broke the story of Oldchella, aka Desert Trip. That’s the two mega concert weekends out near Palm Springs, California with Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, the Who, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Roger Waters.
The first three acts mentioned should be getting roughly $7 million a weekend. The other three will get less– between $3.5 mil and $4 million. Plus there are all kinds of VIP packages, meet and greets, or wave and autograph.
But Palm Springs is far away unless you’re on the West Coast or you’re loaded. So build into the price round trip airfare and some kind of accommodations if you’re over 40 and don’t want sleep in a hut or require personal indoor plumbing.
A quick look at Hotels.com reveals plenty of hotel rooms in nearby towns. That’s not an issue.
There are also tons of ticket deals on StubHub.com, Viagogo.com, and Craigslist. If you want to go to Desert Trip this weekend, and have the money, it’s still very possible.
One of my concert sources says GoldenVoice, the promoter, will gross maybe as much as $150 million. Subtract the $70 million or so going to the acts, plus massive other expenses, and there should be a nice profit. But the ticket re-sellers who bought up the tickets may not be so happy. Golden Voice, my source says, “sold tons of tickets to brokers and secondary markets and now everyone trying to dump tickets.”
Indeed, even Desert Trip’s website shows that tickets are plenitude for the second weekend of October 14-15-16. As for the first weekend, there still seem to be quite a few General Admission passes, plus some packages for seating plus shuttles from the outside to the inside.
Of course, the stars and musicians won’t know a thing about any of this. They’re going to be insulated from whatever is going on at Oldchella. They’ll be commuting by limo or luxury bus from the finest suites in the Palm Springs area (or rented mansions) to the stage and back. God bless them.
What remains to be known is recording rights– video, audio etc. There’s lots to be made, especially if there are surprise guest stars, crossovers, duets, etc.
PS I was graciously offered a press pass, but when I calculated how much it would cost to go there, stay there, return, eat, etc. I decided to wait for the DVD. Should be historic if you’re there!