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Jane Fonda on Relationships: “It took me 72 years to realize kindness is a good thing to look for”

Regina Weinreich
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Jane Fonda on Relationships: “It took me 72 years to realize kindness is a good thing to look for”

Emmy season is upon us, which means Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are back in the mix with season 2 of “Grace and Frankie” on Netflix. The dramedy was in the Emmy comedy section last year, but it’s a hybrid for sure. In the first episode of the new season, Fonda and Tomlin have a priceless scene with a rabbi (one of the funniest things on TV this year) followed by a wedding scene that is heartbreakingly poignant. All four leads– Fonda, Tomlin, Sam Waterston, Martin Sheen– are at the top of their games.

To recap: Tomlin was nominated for an Emmy last year. Fonda was then nominated for a Golden Globe in for her role as an aging actress in Paolo Sorrentino’s “Youth.” Tomlin also had a hit movie last year with “Grandma” and two Globe nominations. Fonda has two Oscars. Whew! With “Grace and Frankie” already slated for its third season, she and Tomlin will be working for a long time.

In April, Fonda and Tomlin premiered the first episode (the whole season is on a par with the best of “Brothers and Sisters” or “The Good Wife) at the Tribeca Film Festival in a Q&A moderated by Gayle King.

Chatting, bickering, japing, with one another, the stars fielded questions on aging, women in the industry, careers, lovers. “This is how it is on the set,” they assured a packed audience. 

 

The episodes screened featured the two women coping with Martin Sheen’s character having a heart attack on the eve of his wedding to Sam Waterston’s character. To catch you up, the two men had been married to Grace and Frankie, so they’re all family, so to speak.

Episode 1, Season 2 features a pre-op wedding officiated by none other than Frankie. Speaking about how they got this going, the show runners came and asked them how they felt about working with each other. After all, they co-starred in “9 to 5.” There was no script. They wrote the script after. “We live the scripts,” said Tomlin. “If it says we get friendly, we get friendly.”

“I didn’t get it at first,” said Jane. “Yeah, she thought she was an aging Barbarella,” quipped Lily, and so it went for the next hour. “Grace could not have ended up with someone as perfect as what she needed as Frankie,” said Jane.

What about age? Gayle King is 61, Jane says, “Those of us who have celebrity should just say it. I’m 78. I’m 76, said Lily.”

Lily: We’re on the dark side of 70. You get to play love scenes. I don’t get to have a love scene, said Lily. We get to have DVO, what’s that? Deep Vaginal Orgasm.

Jane: There were no good old days. It’s right now.

Lily, looking back: “Laugh-In” I got famous. Ernestine.

Sam came out to say he thought the women are being cheated as far as pay. They all get the same. But Jane pointed out, we get the back end, which I don’t think the men do.

Gayle asked Jane: What made you come out of retirement?

Lily: That has to do with your marriage to Ted Turner. I was at the nuptial party where you made that speech.

Fonda: It is unusual coming back when you are 65.

Gayle to Fonda: Uou still feel nervous?

Jane: Yes at the end of season one I got an acting coach and went into therapy. If we’re screwed up, it is really hard to act well.

Lily: She doesn’t think she’s funny. I told her we are not doing comedy. We are doing dramatic life.

Fonda: I come from a long line of really depressed people. This one [pointing to Tomlin] has a funny bone. I like to hang around her so I can see through her eyes.

Lily: I feel that about Jane. I got a Klute hairdo well after she let hers grow.

Fonda: Martin is a diplomat, very Hispanic. Sam is very erudite, not since Gregory Peck have I seen that.

Gayle: Jane, how is your love life? [Lily has been with partner/wife Jane Wagner for 45 years.]

Jane: It took me 72 years to realize kindness is a good thing to look for. I am extremely grateful. [Fonda has lived with famed record producer Richard Perry for six years.]

Lily: I had to make up characters. Jane was a star at 19, with pressure on women to have a certain sensibility. I did not have the same kind of battles because I was a comedian. Bob Altman gave me the part in “Nashville” [for which she was Oscar nominated in 1975].

Gayle: Where would you like to see these characters over time? They seem co-dependent. We’d love you to be lovers.

Jane: I’m told she’s a really good kisser. I would like to see Grace not need a man in her life, capable of intimacy, maybe with one of her children. And take care of Frankie.

 

HBO’s “Veep” Breaks a Huge Language Taboo, Using the “C” Word For Real

Roger Friedman
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HBO’s “Veep” Breaks a Huge Language Taboo, Using the “C” Word For Real

Tonight’s episode of “Veep” is officially called “C—gate.” Apparently the word is used quite liberally in the episode.

Outside of the N word, I can’t think of anything other than the C word which is completely verboten everywhere. Even the f- word finds its way into some mainstream things, and shit so do some others.

But HBO and JDL are going for it. I’ll watch at 10:30 and we’ll see how they do this. “Veep” is the best comedy on TV outside of “Fox and Friends.” And the latter is unintentionally a hoot.

The Monkees (Yes, the Monkees) Have the Number 1 Album on Amazon

Roger Friedman
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The Monkees (Yes, the Monkees) Have the Number 1 Album on Amazon

All weekend, the number 1 album on Amazon’s best selling physical CDs is by Beyonce? Blake Shelton? The “Hamilton” Broadway album? Prince, maybe?

Uh, no.

It’s The Monkees “Good Times” on Rhino. The Monkees, 50 years old this year. A new album by Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith with a rare track by Davy Jones written by Neil Diamond. The album is produced by Fountain of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and features new and unearthed songs.

Besides Diamond the songs are by other Monkee writers from back in the day– Carole King & Gerry Goffin, Harry Nilsson and Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart. Then Schlesinger added in present day rock songwriters like Rivers Cuomo, Andy Partridge, Ben Gibbard, Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller.

The weird thing is, Rhino released this and they are not usually a label for new music. Their Cyndi Lauper country album is struggling, which is a surprise. But the Monkees touch a button in the minds of Amazon-aged fans. Amazon skews much older than iTunes, and much whiter. Rhino may have caught lightning in a bottle with this one.

“Good Times!” is doing well enough by the way on iTunes as a download, around number 20.

What a turn of events! Last July Micky Dolenz was doing his one man show at 54Below in New York and this album wasn’t even a gleam in his eye. I guess “I’m a Believer” does come true!

Johnny Depp “Alice” Movies Drop from $116 Mil Weekend to $28 Mil Six Years Later

Roger Friedman
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Johnny Depp “Alice” Movies Drop from $116 Mil Weekend to $28 Mil Six Years Later

Six years ago, Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland” made $116.1 million in its first three days.

A lot has happened since then including Depp’s poorly timed marital disaster on Friday in which his wife was given a restraining order after accusing him of a litany of things.

Today the three day box office for “Through the Looking Glass,” the sequel not directed by Tim Burton: $28.1 million. Point 1 doesn’t matter.

We’re talking a massive drop in interest in Depp.

Did audiences boycott the movie because of Depp’s domestic problems? Unlikely. This latest episode is just a piece of a big puzzle. Apart from his “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, Depp has no real standing anymore in the movie community.

This collapse is a result of all those huge flops that have snowballed since 2010. And this is what happens when no one’s paying attention to a career.

Now, $28 million isn’t terrible, and “Through the Looking Glass” will have lives abroad and on DVD and downloads and TV. But the box office is a sign that Depp had better do something fast if he still cares about his career. Funny, but his demise seems planned, like that of his hero Marlon Brando.

Is the Old Johnny Depp Back? In the 90s He Was Famous for Trashing Hotel Rooms, Getting Arrested

Roger Friedman
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Is the Old Johnny Depp Back? In the 90s He Was Famous for Trashing Hotel Rooms, Getting Arrested

Johnny Depp– TMZ found his first wife, from the 80s, who says he never hurt a flea. She was only married to him for two years, though, and didn’t get to have the real fun of movie star Depp.

In 1994, Depp was arrested for trashing his hotel room at New York’s The Mark. This is when Kate Moss was in the picture, post-Winona Ryder. Depp already had at least three arrests on his record by then, for speeding, and for bar fights in New York and London that also involved his bodyguards. People magazine noted that he was a cutter, with self inflicted scars.

In the hotel story, Depp blamed his antics on an armadillo that he said got loose in the room. The culprit, however, was never found.

All of this was the year after River Phoenix died outside the Viper Room, a wild Sunset Strip nightclub that Depp owned in the early 90s.

After years of carousing, he calmed down once the first “Pirates of the Caribbean” took off in 2003. The series made him a superstar, and very very rich.

But aside from “Finding Neverland,” Depp has never really had critical acclaim or box office success other than with Tim Burton. Their long collaboration includes “Sweeney Todd,” “Edward Scissorhands,” “Ed Wood,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Willy Wonka,” and “Dark Shadows.”

Depp has had a lot of big financial failures in recent years, however, including “The Lone Ranger” and “Mortdecai.” Plus, the “Pirates” franchise is starting to show big signs of age. “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” done without Burton, is failing this weekend. The combination of that and this mess with Amber Heard is not good. Depp has got to pull it together.

But if you’re new to the Depp saga, or 1994 is before you were interested in such things, just a reminder: Johnny Depp was never a wallflower. He has the police record to prove it.

 

Box Office Bust: “X Men” May Finish Holiday Weekend $30 Mil Off Last Installment

Roger Friedman
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Box Office Bust: “X Men” May Finish Holiday Weekend $30 Mil Off Last Installment

Comic weariness may be setting in.

“X Men: Apocalypse” may finish the four day Memorial Day Weekend some $30 million off the last installment, 2014’s “Days of Future Past.”

“Apocalypse” took in $26.4 million last night. Contrast that with $35.5 million for “Days” two years ago, same day.

“Days” did $110.5 million for the four day weekend in 2014. “Apocalypse” is now hoping for $80 million.

The big difference? No Hugh Jackman and Wolverine. Plus reviews for this one are mixed, about 50-50, with Rotten Tomatoes at 48. “Days” was in the 90s.

And Johnny Depp? His numbers for “Alice Through the Looking Glass” may give him a $40 million four day weekend, but that seems high. And according to wife Amber Heard, he was high for most of their marriage. (Rim shot!) The “Mortdecai” sequel will not be happening.

Scientology Goes Hollywood: Ex Celeb Wrangler, Tom Cruise BFF, Now Right Hand for Major Film Financier

Roger Friedman
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Scientology Goes Hollywood: Ex Celeb Wrangler, Tom Cruise BFF, Now Right Hand for Major Film Financier

This is weird and scary. On the morning that Scientology is unveiling a huge new Hollywood facility with a big unveiling, there’s news that one of their main disciples has infiltrated mainstream movie making.

Tommy Davis is actress Anne Archer’s son was Tom Cruise’s best pal, and the celebrity wrangler for Scientology. He was thick as thieves with Scientology cult leader David Miscavige, and spoke for the group everywhere. Davis was glued to Cruise’s side. He’s featured in the award winning documentary “Going Clear.” His long history with Cruise and Miscavige is detailed in Leah Remini’s recent book. He was chief PR, spin doctor, and devoted to both men. (Davis was a big part of Cruise’s fake girlfriend relationship with actress Nazanin Boniadi.)

The news now is shocking: that Davis is working for Hollywood movie financier James Packer, whose company Rat-Pac (with director Brett Ratner) underwrites rafts of films for studios like Warner Bros. Packer, an Australian billionaire, is “engaged” to singer Mariah Carey, whom he met through Ratner. The report first surfaced thanks to the intrepid Tony Ortega’s website.

Packer is said to have dropped out of Scientology years ago, much to the dismay of Miscavige. Packer’s deep pockets were what Miscavige needed. And Packer certainly knows Davis’s history and ties to Miscavige and Cruise. There are photos on the web of Packer, Cruise and Holmes sailing around together on Packer’s boat in Australia.

But now there’s a fear that Davis has inveigled himself into Packer’s good graces to lure him back into Scientology. Davis otherwise has no experience making films or developing them, and has no higher education. His employment background is working for Scientology, briefly working in real estate.

Davis, sources say, has told people that he’s “renounced” Scientology. Yet he remains close friends with Michael Doven, another close Cruise crony at the cult, who was outed for having spied on Cruise for Miscavige. Doven now calls himself a movie producer, and is indeed credited with a bunch of new B films on the Internet Movie Database. Prior to getting movie producer credits on Cruise films, Doven was a photographer.

Davis was rumored to be on the outs with Miscavige after the group’s leader (whose own father just published a book about him) reportedly held him responsible provoking Lawrence Wright to turn “Going Clear” from a magazine article to bestselling book to award winning documentary. Davis married Jessica Feshbach, whose family has donated millions to the cult. (Feshbach was Katie Holmes’s minder when she was first sucked into the cult by Tom Cruise.) They had a brief exile in Texas, but now they’re back in Hollywood.

Davis’s renunciation has been met with much incredulity, by the way. Both Davis’s and his wife’s families are very entrenched in Scientology. They are in the Hollywood vanguard. It’s nearly impossible to leave Scientology– as we’ve heard in countless accounts- and remain in contact with friends or family who stay behind. Davis was Velcro’d to Cruise for years, by the way. I still can’t forget their appearance in 2004 at the “Collateral” premiere in Harlem. They were like doppelgangers.

All of this is made a little more curious because RatPac last year merged with Dune Entertainment. Dune is owned by Seth Mnuchin, recently appointed by Donald Trump as his finance director for his presidential campaign. Trump and Scientology now are separated by one degree.

Justin Bieber Given Up by Producer Diplo, Who Also Rats Out Beyonce on Sampling

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber Given Up by Producer Diplo, Who Also Rats Out Beyonce on Sampling

Well, this party was over fast.

TMZ, always waiting at some airport, got producer Diplo to give up Justin Bieber, his management, fellow producer Skrillex and Beyonce. I don’t even think the TMZ people understand what Diplo did exactly. He admits in this interview that the conflict between Bieber et al and Casey Dienel (who performs under the odd name of White Hinterland) has been going on for a while. Diplo says, “I thought they [Bieber, Skrillex] sampled it, but I thought they cleared it” meaning Casey’s riffs for Bieber’s song “Sorry.” Her riffs are what make the song. Oy vey.

It’s worse. Diplo admits this goes on all the time, and tells a story about when they made a Beyonce record they had to give 25% of the publishing to Outkast because the horns were taken from the group’s record.

Diplo also says he blames Bieber’s team for the screw up with the White Hinterland song. Scooter Braun, Bieber’s manager, must be drinking Mylanta straight from the bottle after he watched Diplo’s interview.

Diplo also says he’s a fan of the original record.

This is the whole story of how music is made now. It’s frightening and depressing that no one in hip hop or pop is originally, every album and song are stuffed with samples, some of which are not licensed but just stolen. This is why there are few new song catalogs in music publishing. Diplo says there were “10 or more people” working on Bieber’s song! Can you imagine? Pathetic. Sickening. And Stupid. This is absolutely the worst generation ever of commercial music makers.

Tip of the hat to the TMZ guy who got Diplo on the record.

Justin Bieber: Singer Says “Sorry” Rings a Bell- It’s Her Song and She’s Suing Him

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber: Singer Says “Sorry” Rings a Bell- It’s Her Song and She’s Suing Him

Are we shocked?

Here’s White Hinterland’s song “Ring the Bell.”

Sound familiar? Yes, it’s a lot like Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” Casey Dienel, who performs as White Hinterland, is Suing Bieber and producer Skrillex.

Dienel says she tried to contact Bieber and his people, but they ignored her. So now it goes to court. Bieber’s song is at the bottom of this post.

Casey writes on Facebook:
As many of you that follow my career and work have already recognized, Justin Bieber’s song “Sorry” copies the vocal riff prominently featured in my song “Ring the Bell.” The writers, producers, and performers of “Sorry” did not obtain a license for this exploitation of my work, nor did they obtain or seek my permission. Yesterday afternoon, I filed a lawsuit for copyright infringement against Justin Bieber and the other responsible parties.

After this post, I intend to leave the subject matter of the lawsuit in the hands of my lawyers and the legal system. However, because I do not take the act of suing lightly, I want to take this opportunity to briefly explain my decision to those of you who are connected to me through family, friendship, and music.

Creating original and unique music is my life’s passion, but it is challenging and time consuming. I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into writing and producing “Ring the Bell,” and I am proud of the finished product, which Rolling Stone listed as one of its “favorite songs, albums, and videos.” Throughout my career, I have worked very hard to preserve my independence and creative control, thus it came as a shock to hear my work used and exploited without permission.

Like most artists that sample music, Bieber could have licensed my song for use in “Sorry.” But he chose not to contact me. After the release of “Sorry,” my lawyers sent Bieber a letter regarding the infringement, but Bieber’s team again chose to ignore me. I offered Bieber’s team an opportunity to have a private dialogue about the infringement, but they refused to even acknowledge my claim, despite the obviousness of the sample. Justin Bieber is the world’s biggest artist, and I’m sure that he and his team will launch a full attack against me. But, in the end, I was left with no other option. I believe I have an obligation to stand up for my music and art.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Tom Hiddleston as James Bond? First He May Play Richard II for Famed Director of “Howard’s End”

Roger Friedman
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Tom Hiddleston as James Bond? First He May Play Richard II for Famed Director of “Howard’s End”

EXCLUSIVE Lots of talk suddenly that Tom Hiddleston, so great in “The Night Manager” and famed as Loki from “Thor” and “The Avengers,” may play James Bond.

Of course, Daniel Craig still has the job, crabs a lot, gives nutty interviews as part of his negotiations, and usually comes back. So who knows?

My guess in Craig will return.

But Hiddleston is top of everyone’s list. In Cannes a couple of weeks ago I had a chat with the legendary and famed James Ivory of Merchant Ivory fame. Ivory has directed such great films as “Howard’s End,” “Remains of the Day,” and “Surviving Picasso.”

Now a vibrant 88 years old, Ivory told me he’s talked to Hiddleston about playing Shakespeare’s Richard II in a new film. Ivory would direct. He hasn’t made a movie since 2009, although he’s producing a couple of new ones.

Hiddleston has the potential to be the reincarnation of Sir Laurence Olivier. Working with Ivory on Shakespeare sounds ideal. Will it happen? And will this Richard II drink his martinis shaken or stirred? We’ll have to wait and see…

Meantime “Howard’s End” will get a big 25th anniversary tribute in August with a remastered new disc and a theatrical run. Don’t we miss Merchant Ivory films? I know I do. They hold up beautifully, too.

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