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The Grammy Awards line up of performers just keeps getting more and more interesting. The BB King tribute will feature Bonnie Raitt, Chris Stapleton, and Gary Clarke, Jr., which means it will be great. I just hope that it’s not at the end of the show.
The cast of “Hamilton” will appear live from Broadway as they start their show at 8pm Eastern. That’s one of producer Ken Ehrlich’s coups. “Hamilton” hasn’t yet done live TV but they’re certainly ready. For people around the country who haven’t seen this amazing show, it should blow their minds
They’ve also added the Hollywood Vampires, a group comprising Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, and Joe Perry. (I’m told Depp likes to be called Mortdecai when he’s playing.) The Vamps released an album last September of cover songs from the 70s by Cooper, Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Maybe this appearance will launch them officially.
Justin Bieber and the people who gave him his popularity back, Skrillex and Diplo, will present “Where Are U Now” with an umlat.
Robin Thicke and Pitbull will do something. I’m just leaving it at that, no snark. Well, actually, I’m not certain what attraction is left for Robin Thicke with the audience.
There was a lot of Twitter movement and squabbling among the trade reporters on Wednesday night. Seems they all went crazy because Steven Soderbergh is going to make a movie. Apparently everyone thinks he retired.
At the premiere of the Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Hail, Caesar!” in Westwood this past Monday night, the low key brothers were a bit more exuberant than usual. They worked the red carpet, which included stars George Clooney (who talked football with much of the press line), the always gracious Josh Brolin and Channing Tatum.
Before the packed screening got started, Joel profusely thanked Universal, making sure to have a shout out to Ron Meyer, Donna Langley and Jeff Shell, as well as Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner. The noted cinematographer Roger Deakins also got a special mention.
There was no mention of the film’s editor, Roderick Jaynes. But he was there in spirit. (Jaynes is actually a pseudonym for the brothers, who edit their own films.)
Ethan thanked the actors, including Jonah Hill, who he asked to stand up. (Hill does a lot of sitting the movie.) Ethan said, “This is our fourth movie with George Clooney. All of our movies are autobiographical, so the main character is always a nitwit. Hey, George Clooney is here.” To which George gamely stood up in full nitwit character, and with his best grimaced face waved to the audience.
Ethan than told the audience, “I hope you find this entertaining and funny.”
I did find it so, albeit a bit rag tag. I loved the glamour and the lush technicolor homage– the ultimate Coen brothers fan boy worship– to the period of post-war Hollywood. The actors are uniformly standouts, especially Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes and the always divine Tilda Swinton. It’s not perfect, the parts could have been woven in a bit more cohesively, and some storylines were a tad unnecessary, but on the whole it’s another hit for the Coen devotees and movie fans in general. Always unique and out of the box. Gotta love the Coen Brothers
My invitation to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show has arrived. Steve Miller, Deep Purple, Chicago and some other people are being inducted. The show takes place on Tuesday, April 8, 2016 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Only one problem: Gold Tickets, the least expensive offered, are $3,000. This includes on-site pre-concert cocktail reception and dinner, arena seating in prime locations, and…open bar! You will NOT Meet Bruce Springsteen or Paul McCartney. (I added that part in.)
I guess it’s a bargain. The top tickets go to people who want to be Chairman’s Sponsor. For One Hundred Thousand Dollars you get ten tickets and a table on the floor, access to rehearsals etc. o also get FOUR (Not ten) tickets to the exclusive private Chairman’s Club Dinner Thursday evening with the inductees. You CANNOT ask Chicago what “25 or 6 to 4” means.
The Platinum table is only $50,000. You still get the ten tickets, but only two for the Chairman’s thing. Someone from Deep Purple teaches your group the air guitar riff for “Smoke on the Water.”
A Gold table is just $30,000. Again, ten tickets. But the table is in Bed-Stuy. No Chairman’s party, but Peter Wolf will re-enact the “Centerfold” video for you at a girl’s college in Vermont.
Seriously.
Did you know that Tom Jones isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Neither is Chubby Checker, nor Carly Simon, the Moody Blues, Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music or…
I’ll tell you what. I’m keeping the three thousand dollars, staying home and watching “The Pompatus of Love.” Just don’t call me Maurice.
There was no official star studded premiere in New York for Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Hail, Caesar!”
But the “all media” screening on Tuesday night yielded quite a powerful foursome in the row. This jury of the Coens’ peers included Brian DePalma, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, and Jake Paltrow sitting together. They went mostly unnoticed, but it’s hard to miss Wes’s hair. And Brian DePalma is not someone you see everyday at a press screening.
Reviews will be divided on “Hail, Caesar!” We’re going to hear tomorrow from our Leah Sydney about the more official premiere in Los Angeles on Monday night, which was unaccompanied by a party. Universal has not sent out positive signals on this one.
But I have to tell you that Coens fans, and fans of movies about old Hollywood, are going to love this movie. The screenplay is very funny. And the performances are excellent. Josh Brolin is outstanding as Mannix, the head of the movie studio. George Clooney is very funny as the movie star who’s been kidnapped off the set. There is a very deft performance from Scarlett Johansson and Ralph Fiennes, among others. Tilda Swinton plays twin gossip columnists, and she is sublime.
Indeed, there are several movies within movies and some eye popping set pieces, such as an Esther Williams-type water ballet and a spectacular musical sequence with Channing Tatum.
Most interesting was Alden Ehrenreich, who kind of steals the film as a movie cowboy-rodeo rider who’s being promoted to leading man status. Ehrenreich is the star of Warren Beatty’s untitled, and still unscheduled Howard Hughes movie. “Hail, Caesar!” shows that Beatty has a good eye for new talent. Now I’m really curious to see what Ehrenreich did for Beatty– considering he shot Beatty’s movie first.
Before a pile on is possible for “Hail, Caesar!” I really caution everyone to let it be digested. The Coens have never been well-subjected to snap judgements.
Epic Records chief L.A. Reid’s memoir, “Sing to Me,” is out today and has a lot of great stories. At last we get the truth about a lot of artists including Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.
Reid’s chapter on trying to produce a record for Jermaine Jackson in the mid 1980s is hilarious and sad. He and Babyface (Kenny Edmonds) had signed Jermaine to LaFace Records and were about to record the tracks. Jermaine moved his family to Atlanta and though that, in the shadow of “Thriller” and “Bad,” he might get his own moment.
Not so fast. Out of the blue, Reid and Edmonds received a call from Michael, asking them to drop everything and come to Los Angeles to work with him. The pair flew out, telling Jermaine he’d have to wait until they returned from a business trip. Michael, Reid writes, tied them up for two weeks and not much came from it. When Jermaine discovered where they were, he was furious and demanded to be let out of his LaFace contract. Reid told Michael how upset Jermaine was. Michael’s answer: “He’ll get over it.”
Back in Atlanta, Reid and Edmonds calmed Jermaine down. They made their record including a single, “Word to the Badd,” in which Jermaine raked Michael over the coals for his shoddy treatment of his brother. The single was picked up instantly by all the top radio stations. Reid received a call from Michael.
“You have to stop this,” he said. “You’re the head of the label. You have to kill this. This isn’t good.”
Reid writes: It wasn’t my fight and I wasn’t going to referee a fight between the Jackson brothers. I told him that it didn’t matter if I agreed with him, the matter was between him and his brother and I couldn’t help. Jermaine was insistent that his record be released. Apparently Michael and Jermaine held a meeting at their mother’s home at Havenhurst. I wasn’t there and I don’t know what happened, but when they came out of the meeting Jermaine called me. “We resolved it,” he said. “The record stays out.” Then Michael called back. “Jermaine and I had our conversation,” he said, “but I’m telling you, you really need to stop this. This is not good.” Two days later, the record disappeared off the air, as if it had never been there in the first place. I don’t know what Michael did, I don’t know if Michael did anything, but it went away in a flash.”
Reid’s recollection, by the way, jibes with Michael’s late press agent, Bob Jones. He wrote in his book that Michael did everything he could to kill his siblings’ chances of success.
And that’s just the beginning. The book is full of good stuff. Well worth the $15 books I plunked down!
Great news. James Corden is hosting the Tony Awards this year. Well, of course he is. Corden, himself a Tony winner, already hosts CBS’s “Late Late Show.”
Whew! Last year’s show with Alan Cumming and Kristen Chenoweth was… challenging, let’s say. And only entertaining maybe for people worked on Broadway.
Corden is smart and hilarious and so much fun to watch late night. He’s also a great entertainer. So now we know June 12th will be a good night on CBS. Maybe the ratings will follow. Don’t forget, “Hamilton” is winning just about everything. You know Corden will some kind of parody.
Indeed, with “Hamilton,” “The Color Purple,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” and “On Your Feet” in good shape, the planning shouldn’t be too hard. And there are 21 new plays and musicals opening soon for Tony eligibility.
David Bowie will get the memorial tribute treatment from Lady Gaga on this year’s Grammy Awards. She’ll be accompanied by producer Nile Rodgers, who produced Bowie’s biggest album, “Let’s Dance.”
Executive producer Ken Ehrlich says in a statement: “We had already booked Lady Gaga on this year’s show, but when David passed — almost in a single moment — we knew we had to change direction. We immediately spoke and agreed that she should be the one to honor David. She’s perfect for it. So I reached out to Nile [Rodgers] and, before long, we were on our way to creating what we believe will not only make a great GRAMMY Moment, but one befitting of David.”
Ehrlich is right– Gaga is the best choice. Not only can she play and sing all the music like crazy, she has the outfits! Should be amazing. Grammys air on Monday, February 15th on CBS.
Next up: who will sing for Natalie Cole, Glenn Frey and Paul Kantner.
Here’s the exclusive video clip of Lady Gaga’s amazing performance of “Til it Happens to You.” The song from “The Hunting Ground” is nominated for Best Song this year.
So happy to see the new Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair.
The fold out cover features famed actresses who cover a range of ages and colors. They are also, smart, sexy, and talented. Photos are by the equally amazing Annie Leibovitz.
Jane Fonda, Helen Mirren, Charlotte Rampling, and Diane Keaton look phenomenal. Their resumes speak for themselves!
Viola Davis, Lupita Nyongo, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw are gorgeous, award winners, and here to stay.
Jennifer Lawrence, Alicia Vikander, Cate Blanchett, Rachel Weisz, Saorise Ronan, and Brie Larson are also the Next Generation.
If all of these women show up at the annual Vanity Fair party on Oscar night, there will be pandemonium for sure. Kudos to VF for managing to get this group together in any fashion. (MIA: Kate Winslet, but I’m sure we’ll see her soon. Next year– Penelope, Salma, and who knows?)
P.S. No one can say Diane Keaton hasn’t stuck with her look. And it’s timeless.
