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
Michael Jackson’s Very Wise Son Prince Acknowledges His Biology But Cautions: “I Was Raised By My Father”
Prince Jackson, the son of Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe, has turned out to be a very cool and wise kid indeed. I told that last spring, when he graduated from high schoo, Prince Tweeted a long thank you to his family for getting him to that point.
On October 6, on Twitter, Prince responded to a nasty message about his biology and paternity with a proverb: “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.” He adds: “I was raised by my dad with my brother and sister.”
"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb" I was raised by my dad with my brother and sister. https://t.co/0Ofs2vrnZs
— Prince Jackson (@princemjjjaxon) October 6, 2015
The inference here is that Prince, in his freshman year of college, knows that Michael Jackson was not his biological father. But he also knows that in every other sense of meaning, Michael was indeed his father and the Jacksons are his family. This is a kid wise beyond his years. Michael Jackson should be proud. He did a good job.
Prince’s sister, Paris, meanwhile, has changed her Instagram account and added “Castellaw” as her last name. Page Six is concerned that she may have gotten married at age 17. She’s certainly in love with an 18 year old soccer player named Chester Castellaw. RadarOnline says her family is demanding Castellaw sign a prenup before anything more happens– a lot of money is involved.
Paris may be not as comfortable as her brother with her biological news, and certainly has struggled the last couple of years. But she also seems too smart to toss away her future on an impulse.
Meanwhile, all the Jacksons have been involved in the Lifetime series, “Jacksons: The Next Generation.” The show is very much worth watching as Tito Jackson’s kids, especially TJ, have turned out to be exceptional. (Randy Jackson’s daughter, by the way, is a Harvard graduate.)
Three Dog Night’s Cory Wells Dies Unexpectedly at 74, Sang on Group’s Many Top 10 Hits
Cory Wells is the second member of Three Dog Night to die this year. He was 74, was a founding member of the group that was once fronted by Chuck Negron. Three Dog Night had a lot of top 10 hits and introduced songs by songwriters who went on to fame, like Randy Newman and Hoyt Axton. They covered Stevie Wonder’s “Never Dreamed You’d Leave in Summer.” This was before Stevie’s huge mid 70s Grammy run. Yet the idiots at the Rock Hall and the folks at the Songwriters Hall of Fame don’t get their influence. So sorry about Cory Wells. Condolences to his family and friends.
from Three Dog Night’s website:
For Immediate Release:
Los Angeles, CA (October 21, 2015) “It is with deep sadness and disbelief that I must report the passing of Cory Wells, my beloved band mate for over 45 years,” announced Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night. “Cory was an incredible singer – a great performer, he could sing anything.”
Wells, one of the three lead singers of iconic American pop band Three Dog Night, died unexpectedly yesterday in Dunkirk, NY. Wells had been with Three Dog Night from the beginning and continued performing with the band up until September of this year when he developed a problem with severe back pain.
“Cory was like a brother in so many ways,“ said Hutton. “We had been together since 1965 and I am in shock at this sudden loss.”
Los Angeles, CA (October 21, 2015) “It is with deep sadness and disbelief that I must report the passing of Cory Wells, my beloved band mate for over 45 years,” announced Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night. “Cory was an incredible singer – a great performer, he could sing anything.”
Wells, whose band The Enemys was the house band at Whisky A Go-Go, met Hutton, a solo artist and a writer/producer at Hanna Barbera Records, when they had both been invited to tour with Sonny and Cher. After that tour, Hutton contacted Wells about forming a group with three lead singers.
Three Dog Night went on to have 21 consecutive Top 40 hits. The band recorded the music of the best (and mostly undiscovered) songwriters of their time including Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Elton John, Laura Nyro, Paul Williams and Hoyt Axton among many others. The group’s eclectic taste, combined with their ability to recognize and record hits in a unique, distinctive and appealing style, resulted in Three Dog Night dominating the charts for years.
Cory Wells was born Emil Lewandowski on February 2, 1941 to a single mother in Buffalo, NY. Seeking a way out of his hard-scrabble youth in Buffalo, Wells joined the United States Air Force directly out of high school. While in the Air Force, he formed a band of interracial performers, inspired by his boyhood love of a popular band called The Del-Vikings. Following his military tour of duty, Wells returned to Buffalo and formed a few bands, like the Fidelitones and Satellites. In the early 60’s he became the singer of a band named the Vibratos that migrated to California and finally evolved into Cory Wells and the Enemys.
Though he devoted most of his life to music and Three Dog Night. Wells did balance out his professional life with family and leisure pursuits. An avid fisherman, Wells appeared on national TV, filming several episodes on The American Sportman in New Zealand and the Amazon. He also participated in charity fishing tournaments around the country and took time whenever he could to teach his grandchildren to fish and enjoy the natural beauty of the Great Lakes and Western New York. Wells is survived by Mary, his wife of 50 years; daughters Coryann Wells and Dawn Marie Cussins (William), and 5 grandchildren.
Singer Adele Issues Manifesto About New Album: “This is a Make Up Record”: “I’m making up with myself”
The album is called “25.” It comes out November 20th. Adele says it’s a “make up record.” via Twitter, natch. Click on the box below to read her remarks:
Bradley Cooper’s “Burnt” Serves Up A List Movie Premiere Including Jim Ignatowski
There were a lot of well known peeps at the premiere of John Wells’s “Burnt” Tuesday night. Some came for the screening at MoMA, others popped into the after party at Mario Batali’s Otto Restaurant at One Fifth Avenue.
Of course, stars Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys made the scene. But I also ran into two greats– Christopher Lloyd of “Taxi” and “Back to the Future” fame, and the amazing Paul Sorvino. I asked Chris Lloyd what he thought Jim Ignatowski might be up to if a rumored “Taxi” reunion ever took place. We surmised he might be a big shot at Apple or in the Silicon Valley, a billionaire. You never know.
Also spotted: Bradley Cooper’s “Elephant Man” costars Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola (who came with wife Emily Mortimer). But they just missed Brad, who left early for a cool after after party in Chelsea.
Also ran into Jill Hennessy and husband Paolo Mastopietro. They tell me that since Jill’s first Cutting Room show, she’s been booking shows like crazy and selling out (in addition to being a semi-regular on “Madame Secretary”– producers make her a regular already!). Jill has shows coming up in L.A., Nashville, and Santa Fe. Don’t miss her.
More tomorrow from our Paula Schwartz on “Burnt.” Happy to say Matthew Rhys finally gets to act with his real Welsh accent. “Burnt” opens October 30th…
Watch-Listen: The Beatles “Revolution” Original Video, Remastered, New Audio Mix
Here’s “Revolution” as you’ve never heard it, remixed and remastered with a video unseen until now.Just listen: if all of the new “1 + 1” album sounds like this — amazing. Giles Martin has done an outstanding job. The album hits us November 6th. Get really good headphones for this release– Grado, Sennheiser, AKG, Master and Dynamic– no Beats– or try to listen on a real stereo, not a compressed iTouch or phone.
from the press notes:
Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and filmed on the 4th September 1968 at Twickenham Film Studios. Restored and remixed for The Beatles 1 Video Collection, which is available for pre-order at thebeatles.com.
“Plugging directly into the Abbey Road desk and pushing the needles into the red achieved the fuzz-guitar sound. According to George Martin “We got into distortion on that, which we had a lot of complaints from the technical people about. But that was the idea: it was John’s song and the idea was to push it right to the limit. Well, we went to the limit and beyond.”
“I did the slow version and I wanted it out as a single: as a statement of The Beatles’ position on Vietnam and The Beatles’ position on revolution. For years, on The Beatles’ tours, Brian Epstein had stopped us from saying anything about Vietnam or the war.”
Ben Stiller: Late Mom Anne Meara “Had No Patience for Donald Trump”
Actress comedian writer Anne Meara got a beautiful send off this afternoon at a star studded memorial service on Broadway. Among those who toaster her at the Eugene O’Neill Theater were husband Jerry Stiller, kids Ben Stiller and Amy Stiller, and stars like Liam Neeson, Bob Saget, 89 year old actress Charlotte Rae, director Peter Farrelly, singer Peter Yarrow, writer Donald Margulies, “Sex and the City” producer Michael Patrick King, and the Stillers’ Nantucket neighbor Judy Collatz. In the audience: Cynthia Nixon, Larry David, Robert Klein, and dozens of others.
The nearly two hour presentation was elegant, funny, and funny as Meara’s many fans paid tribute to her sense of humor, her great heart, and her salty tongue. The “F” word was dropped many times, often quoting Meara herself.
The very last speakers were sister and brother Amy and Ben Stiller, who obviously adored their mother.
“I find myself imagining how she’d react to things going on in the world, like this whole Trump thing,” Ben Stiller said. “She had no patience for Donald Trump, ever since he closed down the 72nd exit to the West Side Highway. I continually hear her saying Putz in my head. Weirdly I feel closer to her because of this so I’m enjoying watching him,” he paused. “I’m also realizing how truly, deeply I love her, so deeply and how much her life has filled me, and her shadow has loomed over me. And that’s what you want from a parent, that there’s no hiding from their imprint.”
The final speaker was Jerry Stiller, Meara’s lifelong partner in comedy and marriage. Ben and Amy stood on either side of Stiller, who’s a little fragile now and white haired at 88 years young.
Jerry recalled that their 60 plus appearances on “Ed Sullivan” may have been because Sullivan was married to a Jewish woman– and he probably related to the Stiller and Meara marriage which was also Jewish and Irish.
Stiller said at one point after they skyrocketed to success Meara insisted they have kids. “Either we have kids or it’s over,” Meara told him. “And Bingo,” he said, pointing to his kids. “We had two kids, and I was the father of one,” he cracked, sending the memorial audience into convulsions.
Among the performers: a musical number that featured Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jody Eisenstein-Miracle, Ben Stiller’s actress wife Christine Taylor and their daughter Ella singing “The Body Electric” from the movie “Fame,” which featured Meara.
“She was more than just a comedian and actress, she was something so far up there that someday we’ll all know all about it,” Jerry concluded.
Legendary Singer Merry Clayton Lost Both Legs in 2014 Car Accident, But Is Prevailing
Merry Clayton– it’s been well known in the music world that she lost both of her legs in a terrible auto accident in June 2014. I’ve known about it for some time but didn’t write it because Clayton was recovering and in rehabilitation.
Today, the news is buried in a short piece in the New York Times because Merry is receiving the Clark and Gwen Terry Award this week at the Apollo Theater. She will accept on a video, and not in person.
Merry is one of the most amazing people in the world, as well as a terrifyingly gifted singer. Of course, Merry was featured in the Oscar winning film “20 Feet from Stardom.” Prior to that a lot of people didn’t know it was she who sang on the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and had lent her voice to dozens of hits as a back up singer.
Over the last year I have heard of the many friends in the music biz who’ve helped her including Carole King. Now that the news is out, I hope everyone– everyone including MusiCares and the Grammys– will celebrate Merry’s life and career. I know she will overcome this obstacle and come roaring back with that wonderful spirit and voice.
Viva Merry Clayton!
Watch the New “Star Wars” Trailer and Get Excited: This is Going to Be Big
Color me officially psyched for “The Force Awakens.” The new “Star Wars” trailer is very exciting. Everyone’s in it, they all look great. Will this be the biggest movie ever? Very close, certainly. Nice to see Han Solo and Princess Leia sort of like Ma and Pa Kent. Can’t wait for more! JJ Abrams is on deck for a monster! PS Who is that new Darth Vader, er, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver)? Hmmmm….And where is Luke Skywalker?