Really, kids. Listen to Linda Ronstadt sing Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou.” That shrill performance by a “Voice” contender makes my ears bleed. This is how it’s done. Good lord. Standards have really collapsed.
Hillary Clinton Rock Show Tonight: Plenty of Seats Available to See Elton John, Katy Perry, Bill Clinton
Tonight’s best entertainment bet: the I’m with Her concert to raise money for Hillary Clinton at Radio City Music Hall.
Secondary market ticket sellers have plenty of seats at good prices. Perfomers include Elton John, Katy Perry, Andra Day, and Bill Clinton.
Most of Radio City’s top mezzanine is empty according to three different re-sellers.There also seem to be quite a few seats in the rear orchestra.
Craiglist also has a number of ads for people wanting to dump tickets at the last minute.
It’s not a bad deal. And Sir Elton was on fire this past Sunday at his Oscar party, performing with his band like it was still 1975. He is still Captain Fantastic!
“Today Show” Insiders: Matt Lauer Likely to Leave When Contract is Up this Year
A new presidential administration in 2017 may also bring a new “Today” show.
Insiders at NBC’s longest running show — maybe the longest running show ever — say Matt Lauer is likely to leave as co-host when his contract his up this year. “There’s no way he’s staying this time,” they say, confidently.
This comes as NBC News has just announced that Willie Geist is taking over “Sunday Today” in the next few weeks, and revamping it to be more like CBS’s “Sunday Morning.”
The theory is that Lauer will leave sometime after the November elections, and Geist will step in to his hosting shoes Monday through Friday. The “Sunday Today” gig is like a warm up for the big change come the end of the year.
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I balked when I heard this, because Lauer signed a two year contract in June 2014 for $20 mil a year. This came after the 2012 public relations debacle with Ann Curry, which sent the ratings plummeting.
But Lauer and “Today” have risen in the ratings in the last year, and now beat “Good Morning America” in the key 18-49 demo. The two shows are also very close in total viewers. Lauer’s had a lot of good interviews, too, including one in which Charlie Sheen admitted to being HIV positive. If Lauer left “Today” now, it would be on a high note.
The funny part of this is that Josh Elliott, who came over from “GMA” two years ago– and was speculated to be Lauer’s successor– has departed for CBS. But he may have seen the writing on the wall as Geist is more than likely the home grown “Today” show future.
Lauer leaving “Today” doesn’t mean leaving NBC. He could easily do specials for “Dateline” and so on. But with all that money, he may actually want to live a life that doesn’t include getting up at 4am every day.
Katie Holmes’ Bi-Polar Movie Has Made Almost No Money in 17 Days’ Release
It’s not fair to call “Touched with Fire” Katie Holmes’s movie. But she was signed to give Paul Dalio’s movie a marquee name. Katie could not have known what was coming. Roadside Attractions released the former “Mania Days” some 17 days ago. And its total take at the box office: $138,845. The movie had a decent but not great 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dalio enlisted Spike Lee as executive producer, but even that didn’t help. Nice reviews handled the movie with care. But Roadside– er, Roadkill– is famous for suffocating its movies until they’re dead. This was no exception.
Who loses all the money spent on this? Luckily, Paul Dalio is the son of Ray Dalio, who runs Bridgewater Associates, a monster hedge fund in Connecticut. Actually, Bridgewater may be the biggest hedge fund in the world. Ray Dalio is said to be worth $15 billion. So five-or-ten million for an art film is a minor annoyance.
Roadkill’s next movie is Sally Field in the much liked “Hello My Name is Doris.” Michael Showalter directed it. I advise everyone involve to get their own publicists and do their own marketing. Or they, too, like “Touched with Fire,” will be heading to Netflix, VOD, and video kiosks in a Publix market.
Jimmy Carter Joins Bono As We Are Family Foundation Honoree
Former president Jimmy Carter has joined Bono as honoree for this April’s We Are Family Foundation gala.
The foundation, started by Nile Rodgers and Nancy Hunt right after September 11th 2001, throws their annual fundraiser on April 29th at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York.
President Jimmy Carter will receive the distinguished Mattie J.T. Stepanek Peacemaker Award which honors a person who has made a significant contribution towards promoting a peaceful society.
Bono will also be honored at the Gala and receive the We Are Family Foundation Humanitarian Award, which honors a person in the public eye who has made tremendous efforts and inroads into making the human condition better throughout the world.
To purchase tickets, or to make a contribution to the We Are Family Foundation, please visit wearefamilyfoundation.org. Contributions are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
And yes, there will be music. Nile Rodgers and CHIC are performing. And you know Bono and other guests will rock out with them!
Lady Gaga’s “Til it Happens to You” Takes off on Radio A Year Later
Lady Gaga gave the most impassioned performance on the Oscars, with her Diane Warren co-written “Til it Happens to You.” The date was February 28th– exactly one year since the documentary containing the song — “The Hunting Ground”– was released in theaters.
“The Hunting Ground” played in theaters through June and was shown on CNN in September. Despite the film’s praise and awards, and Lady Gaga’s fame, no effort was made to turn “Til it Happens to You” into a radio hit.
I wrote about in September, and still, alas, nothing happened.
Now, a year after release, “Til it Happens to You” is number 10 on iTunes. Even better: the single is zooming up the Adult Contemporary radio chart. Today it’s at number 14, up from 19, with more radio stations adding it every day. Lady Gaga’s stunning performance on the Oscars has driven sales and radio requests.
Still, “Til it Happens to You” might have actually won the Oscar if it had been released and promoted last year when it was issued. Oscar voters had trouble connecting it to the doc– which was not nominated for an Oscar– and they didn’t know it from the radio. How differently things might have gone.
Meantime, Sam Smith’s doorstop of a James Bond song, “Writing’s on the Wall,” which wasn’t a hit when it was released, continues to be a chart disappointment.
Oscars: What Goes on Off Stage While Everyone’s Watching the Show
So what really was going on during the Oscars yesterday and last night? Everyone has a different perspective but…
New and improved: on the red carpet the security guards told us they’d been asked to cool it from last year. The vibe was mellow once you got through security. Even with the Secret Service clamping down for Joe Biden, there was a very different atmosphere than in prior years. And most welcome.
At the entrance to the red carpet, we huddled with Mark Rylance, his wife and daughter. This was their first trip to the Oscars–Mark is one of the most famous stage actors in the world, and a superstar in the U.K. Here he is best known for his work on Broadway, in Shakespeare, in the play “Jerusalem,” and in the comedy “Boeing Boeing.”
I took a picture of him with Sylvester Stallone which would prove to be ominous. They each though Sly was winning Best Supporting Actor. The Rylances hung out at the entrance until Mark’s “Bridge of Spies” director Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw arrived so they could all walk together…They were joined by Joel and Ethan Coen, who gave “Bridge of Spies” script a polish and were also nominated for Oscars…
The order of how the awards are presented is known to us in the auditorium because it’s in our lovely souvenir book. This means that after the first segment, the bars usually fill up. This year there was free drinks and snacks– which ran out very quickly. After Best Supporting Actress knocked out Kate Winslet and Rooney Mara, they each made their way into the beautifully new appointed side bar (thanks Dolby theater for an amazing viewing screen and sensational Dolby sound).
With Rooney came her parents, Chris and Kathleen, who are also part of the New York Giants’ Mara family. Rooney has no interest in football whatsoever, but Chris is one of the reasons I’m glad his daughter is a famous actress. We talked sports for quite a while, and he reassured this NY Yankees and Giants fan that good seasons are coming. Whew!
Also stationed in the bar: the luminous K/Cates– Blanchett, as well as Winslet. (I really like Kate’s new husband, btw.) Eddie Redmayne and his pregnant wife Hannah, my old pals and neighbors Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich, Sony Pictures Classic’s co-prez Michael Barker in a very punk custom made tux, and Harvey Weinstein and wife Georgina Chapman. Brad Grey reassured me that Paramount was in for a “very big 2017.”
Virtually unnoticed in the bar Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He’s very low key, understated guy, and I think he’s nervous that I always spot him. But after all, half my life is spent on Amazon. Isn’t yours? I asked him if Amazon was going to buy the now floundering Lions Gate? He asked, very politely: “Should I? How much should I pay or it?”
I told him, I thought he could get it for a good price these days. Hey, you never know…
Mariah Carey on Elton John: “His commitment to charity is amazing. I strive to be like him always”
I’ve been going to the Elton John famed Academy Awards party for years, to benefit his AIDS Foundation. Last night was the 24th under a swanky tent at the Pacific Design Center. Near the stage, the rockin’ 68 year old Elton pounded the piano so hard playing like he was like a 20-year-old upstart. The floor shook like it was a typical LA earthquake.
Sir Elton, in a jewel studded, glittering jacket emboldened with the words, “Captain Fantastic,” on the back, started with hits of old, including: “The Bitch is Back,” “Bennie and the Jets,” “Tiny Dancer,” “Rocket Man,” Levon,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “I Guess That’s Why They Call it the Blues,” and “Your Song,” as well as some tracks from his excellent new album, “Wonderful Crazy Night.”
Elton ended with “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting.” Some of the celebs, including Sheryl Crow, who was cuddling platonically with pal Steven Tyler throughout the night. Tyler also canoodled with his very young girlfriend. Other guests at the event– which raised $6.2 million– included Caitlyn Jenner, Melanie Griffith, Hilary Swank, (who modeled a Bulgari diamond ring that sold for $40,000 at the auction) Mariah Carey, Heidi Klum, Beck, Zooey Deschanel, Vince Vaughn, Brandy, Sarah Hyland, Jeffrey Tambor and Lana Del Rey.
Charlie Sheen arrived after the Oscar telecast and told anyone who’d listen: “Hey, I’m bringing my HIV to the party.” To keep the narcissism going, he wore a t-shirt with his face on it saying, “stay positively negative.”
Most of the aforementioned stars left after the telecast ended, probably to head over to Vanity Fair, but the adoring crowd could have cared less. They stayed to watch Sir Elton rip the roof off the place. I asked Steven Tyler about his good pal Diane Warren– who wrote Aerosmith’s Oscar nominated song from “Armageddon, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” –what he felt about her surprising and shameful loss for her eighth nominated song, ’Til It Happens To You,’ sung by Lady Gaga.
“Diane completely deserved it. Still can’t believe it. She’ll get one; she’s one of the best songwriters ever. Shocking really.” Elton said about the event that “This started off as 150 people at a little restaurant around the corner and now we have 950 people for dinner. We used to go around to every table, but my legs ain’t what they used to be.” I asked Mariah as she was leaving why she didn’t go on stage with Elton. “I have a cold” she explained, but gamely added, “I just love Elton. His commitment to charity is amazing. I strive to be like him always.”
Speaking of diamond rings, you could be blinded by Carey’s 35 –carat ring from billionaire Aussie James Packer. Boy George left because he needed to get back to his “Celebrity Apprentice” gig with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He told me, “it’s high speed crazy.” Steven Tyler hung around and greeted Mary J. Blige who came in while Elton was singing “Bennie and the Jets,” which they warbled together in the back of the room. Lady Gaga made a drive by appearance, before she went to the Vanity Fair party, where she was joined by Elton and his husband David Furnish after Elton finished his set. This famed event raised 6.2 million. Bravo Sir Elton. On to the 25th!
photo c2016 Showbiz411
Lady Gaga Lost the Oscar But Her Song Zooms Ahead of Sam Smith’s on Charts
The absolutely ridiculous Best Song Oscar race ended with Lady Gaga losing to Sam Smith last night. She had “Til it Happens to You,” a powerful, moving message song written with Diane Warren. Smith had “Writing’s on the Wall,” weak of a James Bond theme.
But Gaga and Warren get the last laugh. “Happens” zoomed up to number 8 this morning on iTunes and 7 on amazon.com. “Wall” is 14 on iTunes and 9 on amazon. The people have spoken!
Vanity Fair’s Oscar Party Like a Tsunami of Celebrities, or “Room: the A List”
Basically, Vanity Fair’s annual Oscar party was rocking when I arrived at 11:30pm from the Oscar show and Elton John’s amazing $6.2 million fundraiser. And the Vanity Fair party was still rocking when I left at 2:30am. For all I know, every A list star in Hollywood is still inside the gi-normous single room tent on Santa Monica Boulevard next to the Annenberg Center, dressed in formal wear, eating In and Out Burgers, vaping, gossiping, and hooking up.
The first people I saw had arrived almost simultaneously and I was sucked into their vortex: show host Chris Rock, who looked he had PTSD, and Leonardo Di Caprio, who was very Gatsby as everyone in the room rushed over (you could feel it tilting) toward him to see his long awaited Oscar. His mother and her husband were with him. You can see them (sitting) in the photo I took of Chris and Leo meeting after leaving the Rome Colosseum– er, Dolby Theater.
After a bit of mugging (male hugging), Chris sat down on one of the modular white sofas in our area, eyes wide shut and hollow. He’d just come from the Governors Ball and looked shell shocked. Are you alright, I asked? He nodded. I assured him the night had gone well, and that the reviews would be good. (They were but the ratings were terrible– but that had to with the movies, not the Oscars show.)
What was his favorite part, I asked? He said, “Once I made it past the monologue, nothing else mattered. It was all a blur.” Indeed, he handled the whole massively complicated enterprise with aplomb and still came off very funny. I said, “Jada [Pinkett] can take it,” referring to his joke about her. Chris said, “Well, it’s true he got $20 million for Wild Wild West!”
I like Leo’s style when juggling his long ago divorced parents, by the way. He parked his mom at the Vanity Fair party, and gave his dad and his wife tickets to the Oscars. I walked the red carpet with George DiCaprio, who told me: “I think Leo will take a break now and focus n environmental issues. He deserves a break.”
Just to give you an idea of how bizarre it is to see 500 famous people at the same time: into this little Leo scrum came someone I recognized but hadn’t seen in some time: magician David Copperfield. And then the famed director of “The Insider” and “Heat” Michael Mann.
The Vanity Fair party is the only place where you will see Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who are divorcing, as well as Matt Damon (and his wife Lucy) all talking together like nothing is amiss. I ran into Justin Timberlake (who put me in headlock) and Jessica Biel, Anthony Mackie and his super manager Jason Spire, and then sort of a flood of people from all corners of show biz including Sean Puffy Combs, turned out in a tuxedo (he is the David Dinkins of hip hop) to the very pregnant friends Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, who became famous as co-stars in “The Devil Wears Prada” and are still best pals.
“Look at us!” exclaimed Anne, who is ready to go in May. “You didn’t know what strong women we are!” The two gals cracked up laughing. Oh boy!
Back in the main room there were plenty of reunions, celebrating and some grieving. The latter came as Lady Gaga, fiance Taylor Kinney, and songwriter Diane Warren rolled in after inexplicably losing Best Song to the watery James Bond theme sung by Sam Smith. Gaga was philosophical– her performance, with Veep Joe Biden and fifty rape survivors sent a powerful message. But after 8 nominations, Diane Warren would like her statue already.
Then there was Sylvester Stallone, who everyone, including me, thought was going to win his Oscar after 40 years. He lost instead to Mark Rylance, Britain’s most famous theater actor. There I was consoling Rocky Balboa. “I have my theories,” he said. We agreed, on to bigger and better things. But I’m told Stallone didn’t feel he had the financial support from MGM in ads or screeners, and that he paid for a lot of his Oscar campaign himself.
Yes, I did listen in while Roger Federer and Serena Williams talked tennis. And I did sit and chat with 87 year old Martin Landau about all the movies he’s making now. Nick Jonas told me he’s starting to plan his new album. So did Mr. Timberlake. I ran into a crush of New York types (Paul Dano, Jon Hamm, Hamish Linklater) and hung out with Sissy Spacek and her legendary production designer husband Jack Fisk. I asked Fisk if he really knew Terence Malick, who he’s worked with since the 70s. “Do you ever actually see him?” I asked. He laughed. “Oh yes! He just doesn’t like the press.” No kidding.
photo c2016 Showbiz411