Just in case we forgot, Jerry Seinfeld was not a Scientologist. He did say once that he’d looked into it. When he left, he obviously had problems. In an early “Seinfeld” episode, Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer get lost in a mall parking lot. They finally ask a beautiful girl named Michelle to drive them around to look for their car (this is before cell phones, etc.) Watch this clip and see what happens when Michelle reveals who she is.
Leah Remini Says “You Are Evil” If You Criticize Tom Cruise or Scientology in New ABC Special
Leah Remini is coming for Tom Cruise and Scientology. She’s made across the board deals with Disney’s news network to promote her book and tell the story of how she left Scientology. Good for her!
It’s ironic since ten years ago, Cruise used ABC and Diane Sawyer to promote his relationship with Katie Holmes and his love of Scientology.
“Being critical of Tom Cruise is being critical of Scientology itself… you are evil,” Remini told ABC’s Dan Harris in a new promotional clip from the interview.
I would show you the clip but ABC hasn’t given it an embed code.
“As time goes on, you start to lose touch with the real world. The mindset becomes ‘Us against them,’” Remini said. “The decision to leave is you are giving up everything you have ever known and everything you have worked for your whole life.”
The star of TV’s “King of Queens” reveals all about Scientology, its celebrities, and how she extricated her family in her new memoir, “Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology.”
“I feel that people need to understand this has been my whole life,” Remini said. “I want them to understand how it happens.”
I wonder how Cruise will feel about Disney turning Remini’s “outing” of him into an across-network spectacle. But I give the Mouse House and the alphabet news net a lot of credit for just taking a stand. This will only help Alex Gibney’s “Going Clear” doc from HBO another shot at at winning the Oscar, I’m sure.
Box Office Bust as “Steve Jobs,” Dan Rather Movies Prove More Interesting to Media than to Public
It’s not good news at the box office this weekend. Danny Boyle’s excellent “Steve Jobs” movie is proving of not that much interest to the public. Going into wide release, “Steve Jobs” will make just $7 million this weekend. Apparently even devotees of Apple products are not that fascinated with the megalomaniac behind them.
Also in a box office ditch is “Truth,” the well made but questionable film about Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes’s ouster from CBS after corporate cowards failed to back them. As with “Steve Jobs,” the filmmaking and acting are superb. But the subject matter isn’t universal enough to captivate a mainstream audience.
Even worse this weekend is Barry Levinson’s amusing “Rock the Kasbah” with Bill Murray and Bruce Willis. It’s just not happening.
Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” is doing a lot better than all these movies, and I think may be a keeper in the long run. But it’s not going to be “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Box office pundits should relax about “Bridge” being Spielberg’s low-grosser. It’s a really great film. Everything can’t be “Jurassic Park.”
And so we wait for the new “Star Wars,” for James Bond, for Tarantino. In the meantime, these other films are what movie making is all about. Don’t miss them on a big screen.
RIP The Great Anita Sarko, DJ, Queen of NY Nightlife, Friend to Everyone
I am heartbroken over the news that Anita Sarko is gone. Glamorous, yes. A real person, even more. She was one of the people who made New York nightlife light up in the late 70s and the early 80s, from the Mudd Club to Danceteria to the Palladium (which I think now is an NYU dorm, goddamnit). There is no New York like this now, it’s all banks and Dunkin Donuts and box stores thanks to Rudy and Mike’s suburbanization program.
But the Real New York was so hot and so wild and so much fun. Anita in her crazy outfits was at the red hot center of it all. She came in just at the end of the Warhol era, but what was also the apex of it. She was a star of Michael Musto’s columns and Patrick McMullan’s photos, a regular in the Voice and Paper and Interview. She was the quintessential hip at a time when Blondie, the B52s, Cyndi Lauper and the Ramones ruled our world.
Anita was also such a dear person. She had a heart of gold and a real soul. It’s tragic to think that at 68, suffering from cancer, she couldn’t find a place for herself in the world. Michael Musto reports that between the pain of the illness and the changes in the world, Anita was obviously bereft. Michael writes today on Facebook: “… the letter she wrote before ending her life last weekend was full of love and gratitude toward those who passed her test and were special to her…”
There wasn’t a time I ran into Anita when she wasn’t full of smiles. She wanted to know what I was doing, she had lots of news about herself, about people we knew from the 80s, from a time when you only saw people in the middle of the night and never in daylight. She’s not in Martin Scorsese’s “After Hours,” but rent it because her spirit is there– sort of in the Teri Garr character a little bit.
I’m so sad. Anita, we will really really miss you. Thanks to everyone on Facebook and Twitter who are writing great things and sharing memories including Michael, Stephen Saban, and all the others. Time has really flown.
Please add comments if you knew Anita and loved her. I will put them all up, promise.
Adele’s Secret Weapon for New Chart Topper: Kelly Clarkson’s Hit Songwriter, Greg Kurstin
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, Kelly Clarkson sang on her massive worldwide hit. But she didn’t write that line. Greg Kurstin did. He’s the 46 year old L.A. based songwriter who’s been having hits for the last few years with Clarkson, Katy Perry, Lily Allen, and Pink. He produced, engineered, and mixed my all time favorite Pink song, “Try.” This guy knows what he’s doing.
And now Greg Kurstin is Adele’s collaborator. For better or worse he wrote “Hello,” the endless sob story of a single that’s propelled her back to number 1 since Friday morning. “Hello” is everywhere, and we have Greg Kurstin to thank for it. Adele met with a lot of songwriters last year looking for “collaborators”– people she could share ideas with who actually write songs. They have another song on the album as well.
Adele’s other collaborators for this album are the creme de la creme, from her own Paul Epworth, to Ryan Tedder, and the ubiquitous Max Martin.
Here’s “Try,” a great record:
Updated with a tip of the hat to Amir Syarif Siregar @Sir_AmirSyarif
Janet Jackson Halts CD Sales Collapse By Bundling Downloads with Concert T Shirts
This week Janet Jackson’s “Unbreakable” album only dropped 3% since last week and sold 18,888 copies according to hitsdailydouble.
That’s a marked change from the prior week, when “Unbreakable” dropped either 81% or 74% depending on which calculation you accept. Either way, “Unbreakable” careened down from 105,000 copies in its debut to 19,000 the second week.
It’s great that sales stabilized, but what happened? It turns out Janet has been selling physical CDs, vinyl, and digital downloads as part of a package with T shirts and merchandise. For either $29.99 or $39.99 you get a nice T shirt plus three or four different kinds of recordings. And those recordings count toward sales.
Is it fair? Well, both Prince and Madonna have been selling CDs bundled with concert tickets for some time. Initially it inflates sales of the music and puts them on the charts. It doesn’t always work, however, and hasn’t very much for those two artists. In Janet’s case it looks like it helped a lot. Her tour is going well, and everyone wants a T shirt. Bundled with the music, the whole thing thing a bargain.
Is it kosher? The business is tough, so every marketing idea is welcome now. Janet’s people are treating it like a concert souvenir. Even with all this, BMG is losing money on that album.
(Watch) Adele Out-Depresses Sam Smith With New Soap Opera of a Single “Hello”
Are things this melodramatic and somber in the UK these days? First Sam Smith released “Writing’s on the Wall,” a listen-to-me once single. Now Adele returns after rolling in the deep for four years with a soap opera of a new ballad that sounds like it could be a commercial for a cell phone company.
Adele has blues, but no rhythm on “Hello,” the lead off single from her new album. It’s a good thing we don’t have to depend on vinyl anymore– you’d have to get up and move the needle to the second track after a couple of minutes. There’s nothing wrong with Adele’s voice. It’s just as rich as ever. But the song–sheesh. Plus Lionel Richie may be thinking he already wrote this.
Here’s hoping the rest of “25” is a little more upbeat.
Hello! It’s Adele with a New Single, Track List for Album “25” and More!
Hello! Adele is out with a new single this morning, a track list for her “25” album and new Instagram account.
Adele Adkins is ready to take over the pop world again, friends. The question is, will she disappoint? Will the shadow of “21” hang over everything? Or will “25” cause a tsumani on November 20th.
Here’s the tracklist, which is basically meaningless since we don’t know these songs yet. But we will, I’m sure, ad nauseum, rather sooner than later.
1. Hello
2. Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
3. I Miss You
4. When We Were Young
5. Remedy
6. Water Under The Bridge
7. River Lea
8. Love In The Dark
9. Million Years Ago
10. All I Ask
11. Sweetest Devotion
A deluxe version of 25, available exclusively at Target, will include three bonus tracks: “Can’t Let Go,” “Lay Me Down” and “Why Do You Love Me.”
While we’re waiting, here’s the best song ever that starts with the words “Hello, it’s me”:
Listen to Rod Stewart’s New Album “Another Country” Here– It’s Very Good
I think Rod Stewart’s people forgot about me. But what the heck– here’s his new album. I found it myself. I’d worry about that marketing. Anyway. I think it comes out October 23rd. Good luck!
Oscar Likely Nominees “Carol” and “Spotlight” Lead Gotham Award Nominations
Oscar likely nominees “Carol” and “Spotlight” lead the list of Gotham Awards nominations. There are a couple of glaring omissions on this list. First of all, “Room” is not on the Best Feature list, which is a shock. Second, Patricia Clarkson isn’t on the Best Actress list for “Learning to Drive.” Also, the list of actors doesn’t include anyone from “Spotlight.” It does include Paul Dano, a nice nod to the Brian Wilson movie “Love and Mercy” which was destroyed by Roadside Attractions. And I’m very happy to see Lily Tomlin on there for “Grandma.” She’s on her way to the Oscars.
The 2015 IFP Gotham Independent Film Award nominations are:
Best Feature
Carol
Todd Haynes, director; Elizabeth Karlsen, Tessa Ross, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley, producers (The Weinstein Company)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Marielle Heller, director; Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit, Miranda Bailey, producers (Sony Pictures Classics)
Heaven Knows What
Josh and Benny Safdie, directors; Oscar Boyson, Sebastian Bear-McClard, producers (RADiUS)
Spotlight
Tom McCarthy, director; Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Pagan Faust, producers (Open Road Films)
Tangerine
Sean Baker, director; Darren Dean, Shih-Ching Tsou, Marcus Cox & Karrie Cox, producers (Magnolia Pictures)
Best Documentary
Approaching the Elephant
Amanda Rose Wilder, director; Jay Craven, Robert Greene, Amanda Rose Wilder, producers (Kingdom County Productions)
Cartel Land
Matthew Heineman, director; Matthew Heineman, Tom Yellin, producers (The Orchard and A&E IndieFilms)
Heart of a Dog
Laurie Anderson, director; Dan Janvey, Laurie Anderson, producers (Abramorama and HBO Documentary Films)
Listen to Me Marlon
Stevan Riley, director; John Battsek, RJ Cutler, George Chignell, producers (Showtime Documentary Films)
The Look of Silence
Joshua Oppenheimer, director; Signe Byrge Sørensen, producer (Drafthouse Films)
Bingham Ray Breakthrough Director Award
Desiree Akhavan for Appropriate Behavior (Gravitas Ventures)
Jonas Carpigano for Mediterranea (Sundance Selects)
Marielle Heller for The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Pictures Classics)
John Magary for The Mend (Cinelicious Pics)
Josh Mond for James White (The Film Arcade)
Best Screenplay
Carol, Phyllis Nagy (The Weinstein Company)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Marielle Heller (Sony Pictures Classics)
Love & Mercy, Oren Moverman and Michael Alan Lerner (Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, and River Road Entertainment)
Spotlight, Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Open Road Films)
While We’re Young, Noah Baumbach (A24)
Best Actor*
Christopher Abbott in James White (The Film Arcade)
Kevin Corrigan in Results (Magnolia Pictures)
Paul Dano in Love & Mercy (Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, and River Road Entertainment)
Peter Sarsgaard in Experimenter (Magnolia Pictures)
Michael Shannon in 99 Homes (Broad Green Pictures)
Best Actress*
Cate Blanchett in Carol (The Weinstein Company)
Blythe Danner in I’ll See You in My Dreams (Bleecker Street)
Brie Larson in Room (A24 Films)
Bel Powley in The Diary of a Teenage Girl (Sony Pictures Classics)
Lily Tomlin in Grandma (Sony Pictures Classics)
Kristen Wiig in Welcome to Me (Alchemy)
Breakthrough Actor
Rory Culkin in Gabriel (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Arielle Holmes in Heaven Knows What (RADiUS)
Lola Kirke in Mistress America (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez in Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)
Mya Taylor in Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures)
* The 2015 Best Actor/Best Actress nominating panel also voted to award a special Gotham Jury Award jointly to Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci and Brian D’Arcy James for their ensemble work in Spotlight. (Open Road Films).
Twenty writers, critics and programmers participated in the nomination process. The Nominating Committees for the 2015 IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards were:
Nominating Committee for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director:
Ty Burr, Film Critic, The Boston Globe
Eric Kohn, Deputy Editor & Chief Film Critic, Indiewire
Christy Lemire, Film Critic, ChristyLemire.com and co-host, What the Flick?!
Andrew O’Hehir, Film Critic, Salon.com
Joshua Rothkopf, Film Editor, Time Out New York
Nominating Committee for Best Documentary:
Joanne Feinberg, Curator and Consultant, FeinFilm
Cynthia Fuchs, Film-TV Editor, PopMatters
Mike Maggiore, Programmer, Film Forum
Rachel Rosen, Director of Programming, San Francisco Film Society
David Wilson, Co-Conspirator, True/False Film Fest
Nominating Committee for Best Actor and Best Actress:
Bilge Ebiri, Film Critic, New York Magazine and Vulture
Mark Harris, Editor-at-Large, Entertainment Weekly
Ann Hornaday, Film Critic, The Washington Post
Amy Nicholson, Chief Film Critic, L.A. Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Freelance Journalist and Critic
Nominating Committee for Breakthrough Actor:
Florence Almozini, Associate Programmer, Film Society of Lincoln Center
Cara Cusumano, Senior Programmer, Tribeca Film Festival
David Ehrlich, Staff Writer, Rolling Stone
Rodrigo Perez, Founder and Editor, The Playlist
Ray Pride, Film Critic, Newcity; Editor, MovieCityNews.com; Contributing Editor, FILMMAKER.
Spotlight on Women Directors ‘Live the Dream’ Grant
For the sixth consecutive year, IFP is proud present the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Directors ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs or IFP’s Screen Forward Lab. In 2015, Screen Forward Lab directors have been included in this opportunity for the first time. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging women directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film or episodic series. The nominees are:
Claire Carré, director, Embers
Deb Shoval, director, AWOL
Chanelle Aponte Pearson, director, 195 Lewis