Hard to choose a favorite song, but this might be it. Happy Birthday, John. Thanks for everything.
Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard Are Still “Fools for Love” at His Broadway Premiere
Jessica Lange wasn’t photographed but she was in the audience Thursday night and very much in evidence at the after party for the Broadway debut of “Fool for Love.” This is the legendary one act play written by her partner of 18 years (and father of her three children) actor-playwright Sam Shepard. The couple has been apart since 2010. Jessica was low key but very much there to support Sam, who is known almost more for his canon of plays like “True West” and “A Lie of the Mind” than for his heralded acting.
Lange wasn’t the only bold face name for “Fool for Love,” which stars Sam Rockwell, Nina Arianda, Gordon Joseph Weiss and Tom Pelphrey. The show is a hit and each of the actors is terrific. Fans of “Banshee” on Cinemax, and of the beloved CBS soap “Guiding Light” from a decade ago will recognize Pelphrey, who at 33 is ready to become a movie star. (He won two Emmys on “GL” before Procter & Gamble gutted it.) He’s a hard working “overnight sensation.”
Other A listers who made the scene last night included Emily Blunt and John Krasinski, Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde, Richard Kind (sporting a mustache after shooting “Gotham”), and Margaret Colin (joking about not being in the “Independence Day” sequel– “they killed me off, no cameo!”).
A lot of us discussed seeing the original “Fool for Love” back in 1983 with Ed Harris and Kathy Baker, then Bruce Willis (pre-“Moonlighting”) at Circle Rep in the West Village. Those were the halcyon days of off Broadway, when seeing a new Sam Shepard or Lanford Wilson play with an exciting group of actors (like Willis, or Will Patton, etc) was the hot hot hot thing to do. No one had phones, or the internet or any other diversion.
I was thinking of that last night as the lights went down at the Samuel G. Friedman theater. A young man sitting in front of me promptly took out his cell phone and began either taking pictures or recording the show. I whacked him on the shoulder with my Playbill and he put it down. Beware: this is what I have been reduced to when people take out phones in darkened theaters. It’s an illness that’s seeped through even the most sophisticated audiences.
I did talk to Sam Shepard at the after party, as well as Nina Arianda– one of our great young actresses, but not Rockwell, who left almost immediately. This usually indicates bad reviews, but “Fool for Love” is effusively praised today by all the critics– and rightfully so. Manhattan Theater Club’s Lynne Meadow and Barry Grove were smart to bring it on from the Williamstown Theater.
Shephard told me that even though he’s a main character in it, he’s never read Patti Smith’s wonderful memoir called “Just Kids.” However, he has read the new volume, entitled “M Train.” Sam told me has a memoir, not yet finished, that will be published by Knopf one day soon. He’s finishing a new screenplay, too. Sam is featured in the great new Netflix series “Bloodline” and has not one but three big films set for release in 2016.
Photo from LIFE magazine of what real, glamorous, sexy movie stars used to look like.
Attention Australia: Cate Blanchett is Not Moving Away, She’s Just Taking a Year Abroad
Catching up with two time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett last night at the premiere of “Truth” in New York. Cate stars as Mary Mapes, former “60 Minutes” producer who was fired along with Dan Rather back in 2004 after a story about George W. Bush’s time in the Air National Guard backfired.
I asked Cate whether rumors in the Australian press that she was leaving her home in Australia and moving to the U.S. were true.
She laughed. “No they are not. Why would I leave Australia? We’ve devoted our lives to the theater there. But my husband, Andrew, is ending his run. And we thought we’d travel for a year, a year abroad. No one seems to understand this.”
No secret: Cate is one of my favorite people. I’ve known her since she was in “Elizabeth” in 1998. She was denied the Oscar that year but eventually won Supporting Actress in “The Aviator” and Best Actress for “Blue Jasmine.” This year she’s in a quandary. She has lead roles in both “Carol” and “Truth.” Either won would be a winner, I tell her.
“Forget that,” she said. “Did the movie work? How do you feel about it?” she asked. Blanchett produced the film, which was shot mostly in Australia so she could be home with husband Andrew Upton and her kids. She is much more interested in discussing other current movies. She also has high praise for co-star Robert Redford.
“He transforms himself. His whole demeanor,” she says. “There’s one scene where he calls me, and talks about the history of journalism.” She shakes her head. “Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.”
Friday night, “Carol” plays at the New York Film Festival, then Cate goes home to spend a month with her family. She returns in late November to start an Oscar campaign– although it’s not clear which one yet.
As for “Carol,” she is also — as am I– enthralled with cinematographer Ed Lachman. “I keep begging him to make a book of his Polaroids [of the scenes] he’s designed. They are the movies.”
8 Days of Sam Moore– Five Days til the Original Soul Man Celebrates His 80th Birthday
It’s October 8th– just five more days until the original Soul Man Sam Moore celebrates his 80th birthday.
Here he is with Mavis Staples at last year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
Rock it, Sam!
American Hero Soldier Spencer Stone Stabbed in Reported Bar Fight After Buddy Narrowly Missed Oregon Mass Shooting
Terrible news this morning that Airmen First Class Spencer Stone, the American soldier who helped stop a potential terrorist attack on a French train this summer, last night was stabbed several times in what seems like a bar fight in Sacramento, California.
“It is believed that the victim was out with a group of friends when a physical altercation led to the victim being stabbed multiple times in his upper body,” the public information officer for the Sacramento Police Department said in a statement to KXTV. “Detectives were called to the scene to assist with the investigation and the victim is currently being treated for what appears to be non-life threatening injuries.”
What a crazy thing: On Sunday night we met Spencer Stone at the premiere of Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies.” He’d been in New York for another event and had come at the invitation of the Army liaison to the film. A lovely young guy, he also seemed pretty serious. We talked about how he and his buddies intervened this summer on a Euro train to France and prevented a crisis. He and his friends became international heroes.
This isn’t the first odd thing to happen to one of these guys. On Sunday, Stone told us how Alek Skarlatos was supposed to have started classes at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, site of last week’s mass shooting. But Skarlatos missed class because he was in Los Angeles taping “Dancing with the Stars.” (And think about that– one minute you’re on a train, the next you’re getting an award from the US and French presidents, and then you’re on “Dancing with the Stars.” You couldn’t make it up.)
Stone was such a nice guy. I asked him why he thought he and his pals jumped into action, and if he thought others would do the same in the same situation? He said that adrenaline kicked in, and they knew they had no choice. They never stopped to think about themselves. Stone, by the way, was in formal military dress, and acting like a good soldier. He’d been very impressed with “Bridge of Spies.”
Here’s hoping he recovers quickly, and that nothing else bad happens to these young men.
Rock Hall Makes a U Turn with Nominees in Effort to Regain Respect: Steve Miller, Chicago, Chaka Khan Get Closer
The nominees for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are:
The Cars, Chaka Khan, Chicago, Cheap Trick, Chic, Deep Purple, The J.B.’s, Janet Jackson, Los Lobos, Steve Miller, N.W.A, Nine Inch Nails, The Smiths, The Spinners and Yes.
And this represents a move to regain some respect for the Rock Hall, which was pretty much down on its luck in that department. While a number of people are still MIA– from Carly Simon to Harry Nilsson to Roxy Music– the list is interesting.
N.W.A. has a good chance of getting in now that “Straight Outta Compton” has been such a big hit.
Then there are 70s acts Yes, Steve Miller Band and Chicago, which should have been in a long time ago. Chicago has long been a point of contention. Steve Miller doesn’t care one way or another, but he should be there.
The Cars and Cheap Trick are acknowledgement of the New Wave era, which has been overlooked. I favor the Cars, but Cheap Trick has their fans.
Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan and The Spinners are long overdue. And the Rock Hall is always negligent in R&B. They all deserve to get in before N.W.A.
Not on this year’s list, again, shamefully: Sting, as a solo act. And Bon Jovi. J. Geils still overlooked, despite Peter Wolf being used by Jann Wenner like a door stop. No Moody Blues, Chubby Checker, or Stax’s Rufus and Carla Thomas.
The J.B.s should be inducted IMMEDIATELY as side men, with all members– Fred Wesley, Bobby Byrd, Maceo Parker, et al. They shouldn’t even be on the list for voting. Ridiculous. Other side man glaringly absent: Billy Preston.
Producers Richard Perry and Phil Ramone (posthumous) should also get special awards this year.
PS If I were some of these artists, I’d cut Jann Wenner, his family and friends off from the free tickets he requests for their shows until they’re in. Really. The phoniness is very Salinger-esque at this point.
Cate Blanchett On Fire: The Academy Will Have to Give Her 2 Oscars, What Else Can They Do?
Everyone should have this problem. This year Cate Blanchett has it worse than when Kate Winslet was in “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road.”
Blanchett stars in both “Carol” and “Truth.” She does equal work in each, the best of her career and the best of the year. The Academy rules say one nomination per category per person. If they give two awards to Blanchett, they will get one speech. At least that cuts down the time of the show.
I told you about Cate’s exquisite work in Todd Haynes’s “Carol” last week. Last night I finally saw James Vanderbilt’s movie “Truth” in which Cate plays CBS producer Mary Mapes and Robert Redford — in a performance that will surprise everyone — embodies Dan Rather and does his own best work in years. (Except I did love “All Is Lost,” but he never spoke. Here, he talks. And is great.)
The great thing about “Truth” is you never what the truth is, and the filmmaker doesn’t force one idea of it on the viewer. This is a warts-and-all retelling of what Rather and Mapes endured at CBS a decade ago when their story about George W. Bush’s career in the Air National Guard imploded. It ended both of their illustrious careers at CBS.
You can love this movie without taking sides, which is sort of great. Personally, I feel that CBS and Viacom were cowards, didn’t stand up for their people, and buckled. CBS is making noises against the movie, and Sony is brave to take on Viacom, CBS’s parent company, by releasing the film.
“Truth” is absolutely among the best movies of the year. The supporting performances by Topher Grace, Dermot Mulroney, and John Benjamin Hickey stand out, as does Bruce Greenwood (Hollywood’s all star MVP) as former CBS News chief Andrew Heyward. Stacy Keach has a nice turn, too, as Mapes’s source for the story.
Last night’s premiere at MoMA and Armani brought out the cast as well as directors Taylor Hackford, Julie Taymor, and Bennett Miller. It was nice running into Caroline Rhea, who just about plotzed when she finally got to meet Redford.
Redford probably won’t campaign for an Oscar. He didn’t for “All Is Lost.” But he should, a little. And I urge Academy voters to put him in, I think for supporting, because he is exceptional in this role. He doesn’t look a bit like Rather, but transforms himself in a very neat piece of acting. Think of it: Rather hasn’t played real people since Bob Woodward 40 years ago. Here is one playing another living one, and morphing into him. He gets Rather’s speech and walk just right, without making it an imitation.
As for Blanchett, what do we do? She is on fire. Mary Mapes isn’t a celebrity, she was always backstage. But this is Blanchett’s “Norma Rae,” or “Erin Brockovich,” or “Silkwood,” or “Coming Home.” She’s completely captivating.
Dead Comedian Andy Kaufman to Be Memorialized by Cookies-n-Milk Scented Perfume
Poor Andy Kaufman. Is he alive? Is he dead? While that argument rages on, someone’s found a new way to memorialize– er, exploit– him.
According to a press release I received this morning, Kaufman’s name is being put on a new fragrance called Andy Kaufman Milk & Cookies. Apparently, it’s in honor of the 1979 show in which Andy took his Carnegie Hall audience — 2,800 people– on buses for milk and cookies.
The perfume is not being made by, you know, L’Oreal or Chanel. It’s from an LA company called Xyrena.com.
Andy’s brother Michael says in the release: “It’s great to have Andy brought back, in any way, even if only in a bottle. Call me crazy but I still fantasize about the day when Andy will return, performing in front of live audiences again.”
“Call me crazy” is an expression.
Anyway, Xyrena founder Killian Wells aka Xyrena, says: “Andy Kaufman once said, ‘There’s no way to describe what I do. It’s just me. That quote and Andy’s opposition to the societal norm has always resonated with me. As a New York native and fan I’m excited to pay homage to Andy’s undeniable genius.”
The perfume will sell for $42. I can’t tell you how to spend your money, kids. But I did once give someone Krystal Carrington perfume from the Dynasty collection as a joke years ago, and she was not amused.
Exclusive: Jerry Lewis Listens to Dean Martin’s Music “All the Time– All of It– I Always Listen to My Partner’s Stuff”
Last night: Jerry Lewis, Legend with a capital L, was interviewed for one hour by Oscar winning director Martin Scorsese at the wonderful Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. You know that Lewis starred in Scorsese’s “King of Comedy” in 1982, a modern classic. In the audience last night: Steve Buscemi, Emmy winning star of Scorsese’s HBO hit series “Boardwalk Empire.”
Scorsese and Lewis had a great discussion about film, and Lewis as a trailblazer director. I will post highlights a little later.
After the the one hour talk, I was backstage with Scorsese and Lewis, who will turn 90 in March 2016. Jerry is sharper than a tack, hilariously funny, and dead serious when he comes to filmmaking. We covered a lot of subjects in a short time, but two things stuck out.
One: does he listen to Dean Martin’s music at all? Does he have a favorite song? Martin and Lewis were one of the most famous comedy teams in history until they broke up in 1956. They didn’t speak for years but finally made up in 1989, a few years before Martin’s death in 1995.
Jerry jumped right in at the question: “All the time. Oh yeah.” A favorite song? “All of it. I hear it all. I have it on two Bose units in my home, in my car, in my office.” Does it make him feel good? “Yes, but it’s a tough feeling because I wish he was here.” I tell him what a fan of I was of Dean Martin. Jerry was emphatic: “You should be. Everyone was a fan of my partner’s.”
The other burning question for tonight: will he ever release “The Day the Clown Cried”? The answer, emphatically, is NO. “Why should I?” he asked rhetorically. The unreleased film is about a clown who is put to death by the Nazis with Jewish children.
“It’s bad work. The director did bad work,” Lewis said. meaning Lewis himself. When I told him that someone tried to release clips from it last year, he scoffed. “It’s never coming out,” he said. End of story. “I have the last 400 feet [of film] in a vault.”
He did tell me that he subbed for Johnny Carson for six weeks as host of the Tonight show back in 1962. “Johnny was out, getting a sex change,” Jerry said.
I’ll do an update later on Wednesday. Jerry was just marvelous, as usual, funny, with great timing, and gave Scorsese terrific insights. Scorsese was glowing, he was so happy.
Photo c2015 Showbiz411
Truth About Consequences for Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford in “Truth”
At the packed advance industry screening last night of “Truth,” Cate Blanchett descended the staircase of the Academy Theater in Beverly Hills in true Hollywood glamour style. The Academy is lush and wonderfully old Hollywood, so the sight of Cate, descending down the winding staircase adorned by life size golden Oscars, as the guests downstairs munched on mini hamburgers, all practically stopping to watch Cate, was truly a sight to behold.
Helped by her longtime noted fashion stylist, Elizabeth Stewart, Cate was a Hollywood heavenly vision in white. The two time Oscar winner is going to need Elizabeth’s expertise this coming awards season, as she is on the map for her bravo performance in “Truth,” as well as her talked about performance as a closeted lesbian in 1950’s New York in “Carol.”
Blanchett shines in “Truth” playing the real life veteran CBS News Producer Mary Mapes who, faced harsh, –and many say unjust– scrutiny, for a story about George W Bush’s controversial military record. The fiasco cost not only Mapes her TV career, and ended the nightly news anchor job for the respected Dan Rather (Robert Redford).
This whole saga fell under the radar for most people, including Blanchett, who is Australian. She told me: “This was a fantastic experience. I didn’t know the whole or the true story. I knew vaguely about what happened with Dan Rather, so I did research on it, again, because I didn’t know.”
Producer Brad Fischer said, “Mary is still out there, writing and pursuing what she’s passionate about. She hasn’t worked in television news since this whole thing unfolded. She’s an incredibly smart, witty and a great person. It was a tragic event for everybody involved. This story is more relevant today than it was back then, in terms of what the news has become. There is so much manipulation in stories and in the media by the time it gets to the viewer.”
Cate added that, “I’m so glad this story has been told, because it really needs to be known by the public, what really goes down behind the scenes that we’re not always aware of. So I think it’s a tremendous tribute to all the people that are involved in this film to tell this story. So that the truth came out, that the truth always wills out. You can only hope.”
Other guests included co-star Elisabeth Moss, plus John Savage, Lesley Ann Warren, and Stacy Keach.