“Call Me Caitlyn” — Vanity Fair scores the coup of all time with Annie Leibovitz shooting Bruce Jenner as his new self, Caitlyn. And all pronouns are now “she.” Caitlyn upstages Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s pregnancy announcement. Caitlyn gets the last laugh on the K’s.
Awards handed out last night. Winners, losers, people who weren’t even nominated (Mad Men, Grace and Frankie). Why? Who knows why? Does it all matter? No. But it kept an audience at home on Sunday night in good air conditioning. In Columbus Ohio there’s a 10pm curfew. Did you know that? So these shows pacify the public until they fall asleep. Congrats to everyone. I don’t know who T.J. Miller even is, but congrats to him/ her too.
WINNERS OF THE CRITICS’ CHOICE TELEVISION AWARDS
· Best Drama Series: The Americans (FX)
· Best Actor in a Drama Series: Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul (AMC)
· Best Actress in a Drama Series: Taraji P. Henson, Empire (FOX)
· Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul (AMC)
· Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Lorraine Toussaint, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
· Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series: Sam Elliott, Justified (FX)
· Best Comedy Series: Silicon Valley (HBO)
· Best Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon)
· Best Actress in a Comedy Series: Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
· Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley (HBO)
· Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
· Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series: Bradley Whitford, Transparent (Amazon)
· Best Movie Made for Television: Bessie (HBO)
· Best Limited Series: Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
· Best Actor in a Movie or Limited Series: David Oyelowo, Nightingale (HBO)
· Best Actress in a Movie or Limited Series: Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
· Best Supporting Actor in a Movie or Limited Series: Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge (HBO)
· Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Limited Series: Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Freak Show (FX)
· Best Reality Series: Shark Tank (ABC)
· Best Reality Competition Series: Face Off (Syfy)
· Best Reality Series Host: Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
· Best Talk Show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
· Best Animated Series: Archer (FX)
· Critics’ Choice LOUIS XIII Genius Award: Seth MacFarlane
· Most Exciting New Series: American Crime Story (FX), Aquarius (NBC), Blindspot (NBC), Minority Report (FOX), The Muppets (ABC), Scream Queens (FOX), Supergirl (CBS) and UnREAL (Lifetime)
Awards Tally by Networks, Channels & Distributors*
HBO – 7
FX – 4
Amazon – 2
AMC – 2
Comedy Central – 2
FOX – 2
ABC – 1
CBS – 1
Netflix – 1
Syfy – 1
Awards Tally by Show
Olive Kitteridge – HBO – 3
Better Call Saul – AMC – 2
Silicon Valley – HBO – 2
Transparent – Amazon – 2
The Americans – FX – 1
American Horror Story: Freak Show – FX – 1
Archer – FX – 1
Bessie – HBO – 1
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart – Comedy Central – 1
Empire – FOX – 1
Face Off – Syfy – 1
Inside Amy Schumer – Comedy Central – 1
Justified – FX – 1
Mom – CBS – 1
Nightingale – HBO – 1
Orange Is the New Black – Netflix – 1
Shark Tank – ABC – 1
So You Think You Can Dance – FOX – 1
Well, there really was nothing to else. And Warner Bros. did a great job apparently. Because “San Andreas” over-performed and finished the weekend with $53 million. That was well beyond the $45 million high of an estimate by soothsayers. It was everyone’s fault in the end.
Way behind it, out past the top 5, poor “Aloha” made around $10 million for the whole weekend. Big stars, potential panorama of Hawaii, and everything went wrong. The good news is we’ll see it on VOD or DVR or DVD sooner rather than later.
The only other box office news is that Ray Subers, the steadfast captain of Boxofficemojo.com, has left for greener pastures at Paramount distribution. No one seems to have replaced him. Boxofficemojo is owned by Imdb, whose own editor Keith Simanton maybe is filling in. But in the meantime, other sites are gaining fast ground for entertainment press research. Ray was running the hot restaurant in town. But now we’re going to see Exhibitor Relations and BoxOfficeGuru, former big eateries, see revivals.
Sorry for the metaphors. I guess it’s time for brunch. Aloha!
Almost six years after Michael Jackson’s death, his son, Prince, has graduated high school. Prince Michael celebrated his graduation from the Buckley School with friends and family including aunt LaToya and cousin TJ, his legal guardian. No sign of biological mother, Debbie Rowe. But Michael would have been beaming, I think. After all the craziness, he raised three nice kids who’ve survived his death and seem to be in good shape. What a nice story, for a change. Prince starts Loyola Marymount in the fall. Congrats!
Prince, you have grown into an incredibly special young man. Words can’t express how proud I am of… https://t.co/BNU0WPyaLI
— TJ Jackson (@tjjackson) May 30, 2015
So very proud of @princemjjjaxon YOU DID! And you did it with Honors!!! #buckleyclassof2015 pic.twitter.com/mc2JSfFKwj
— La Toya Jackson (@latoyajackson) May 30, 2015
Friday night lights: “San Andreas” brought in $18.2 million on Friday night because, well, there was nothing else to see. There are predictions of $45-$48 million for the weekend. But that may be overzealous. We’ll see.
“Aloha” came in 5th, and earned $3.6 million. If it makes $10 million for the weekend, everyone will get grass skirts. The first eight minutes are actually available on YouTube for free. That should be enough for anyone. Sony knows it, too.
“Tomorrowland” is still playing.
Originality is not the problem with either “Aloha” or “Tomorrowland.” Those arguments are just steam being blown up the internet’s behind by fake pundits. These are just bad movies. In the fall, when all the Oscar movies are out, the same “writers” will opine about the triumph of original movies.
Go outside.
It turns out there is a place in the world for an Angry Young Man. Especially now, when he’s finally happy (and about to become a dad again).
Last night I checked in on Billy Joel’s monthly residency at Madison Square Garden. His publicist, my old friend Claire Mercuri, invited me. I was laughing on my way into MSG, saying Oh I’ll bet they give away lots of tickets. After all there must be plenty of seats if he’s playing there every month.
My bad: the Garden was sold out last night as if it were the Rangers’ most important game ever. As if Billy hadn’t played MSG in three years. And I mean sold out. Every single possible seat was taken, even the huge chunk of seats behind the stage. All the boxes. Up to the rafters on all sides, even way at the top. And really, I looked everywhere, even took pictures. It was sort of shocking. This was Billy’s 17th monthly show in a row.
It’s an amazing sight to behold.
The first time I saw Billy Joel was in April 1976 at the Cellar Door in Washington DC. It was a little club. “Piano Man” had already been a hit, and I was a fan. Subsequent albums “Streetlife Serenade” and “Turnstiles” had come out. I loved them. But they were duds commercially. Columbia Records was unhappy, Billy was unhappy. His big breakthrough with “The Stranger” was 18 months away. It was kind of a lull, but no one knew that yet.
So Billy Joel, from my second home of Long Island, played this tiny club and I sat at the lip of the stage while he pounded away on the keyboards singing songs from his three official albums. What I remember: He had a big, dark Jewfro. When he played the piano, it was like a time lapse flurry, especially on “Angry Young Man.” He was clearly a trained, and natural. musician, dedicated to this craft. I was in, for life.
Fast forward: it’s 2015. It’s like, forty years. Is that possible? In between I’ve seen Billy Joel dozens of times, all at the Garden. He used to leap among pianos, play using his elbows, stand up, slide around. He and Elton John were neck and neck on who could outdo each other using the piano as a sock puppet. Liberace had nothing on them.
Billy is 66 now. (I have also aged proportionately.) He is bald and has a white goatee. There are no more acrobatics on Steinways. He sits at a piano placed on a turntable so he is always facing some part of the crowd. Occasionally he gets up, bops around, but that’s it.
Otherwise, nothing has changed. Billy’s commitment and musicianship have never flagged. His voice remains pretty close to the original, maybe better because it’s less nasal, richer. He is always in the moment.
The songs– a vast catalog that stops in 1994 with “River of Dreams–stand up beautifully. They have a classic timeless quality because they’re built on doo wop, jazz, Tin Pan Alley, R&B. They are almost all stories, with characters. The audience knows the people who inhabit them as if they were Dickens or Damon Runyon. Every one of the 20,000 people in MSG knows a Brenda or Eddie from “Scenes from Italian Restaurant.” They all know someone who quit the rat race a la “My Life.” We all know an “Uptown Girl” (although maybe not like Christie Brinkley.)
There should be some special award for singing along with “Piano Man.” Like “Born to Run” or “Every Breath You Take,” it’s an anthem that never grows tired. The lights go up and the whole crowd sings every word. You think it’s corny and then halfway through you realize how moving all those stupid people in the song are– “the regular crowd shuffles in”– and the audience is shouting — shouting— the names of each character as Billy introduces them– “John at the bar,” Davy’s who’s still in the Navy, and Paul the real estate novelist. They are old, dear friends. (I was actually wondering last night what had happened to all of them.)
You understand– MSG has become that bar, these 20,000 people are the regulars, and they will all be back next month for show 18. Everything about Billy’s monthly meeting of true believers is honest and intimate, you’re getting 100% of him, and you leave feeling great. What else can you ask for? Hah! There was a guest cameo by the Rascals’ legendary Felix Cavaliere on his great hit “Good Lovin’.” A gift from heaven.
It’s not looking good at the box office this weekend. The two new releases, “San Andreas” and “Aloha,” are busts with critics.
Cameron Crowe’s “Aloha” registered an average 10% among all critics. And that was during a good hour. Already castigated in emails at its own studio, Sony, “Aloha” is going to post an alarming low number tomorrow morning for its opening night. Apparently it’s incomprehensible. The whole thing will be a huge write down for Sony, but they expected that. Former studio chief Amy Pascal lost her job over it.
Then there’s “San Andreas,” a disaster movie that’s said to be incredibly dull. The critics rating is 50%, but at times “San Andreas” was down around 37%. The odds are it will open at number 1 this weekend because there’s nothing else, and then be gone by mid week.
One big problem is that last weekend’s new release, “Tomorrowland,” has already done just that. On Wednesday “Tomorrowland” finished third behind hold overs “Mad Max” and “Pitch Perfect 2.” This has been a sorry time in Hollywood as 7 out of the top 10 movies are remakes, sequels, or reboots of old material. The big hope right now is on June 12th, for the fourth “Jurassic Park” in 22 years.
Looking for originality? Try HBO, Netflix or Amazon.
Joni Mitchell, revered and beloved, is improving my sources say, after a brain aneurysm felled her on March 31st. I am told definitively that she didn’t have a stroke, and that’s a relief. Recently Joni was moved to a rehab facility. The word among her friends is that her pal, Leslie Morris, who stepped in to take care of her, is trying to arrange a way Joni can continue her rehab at home.
“It’s a long way to go, but she can do it,” a friend tells me.
Morris, who is said to be an excellent choice for all this, has not returned emails I’ve sent her. But the news is encouraging for Mitchell, who will be 72 this November. She is not unresponsive, as other outlets have suggested. Speech is difficult but she’s communicating. Knowing Joni, she’s getting her ideas across without fail.
Sending prayers and good thoughts for a speedy recovery to Joni, a true artist and a huge influence on all music.
Of all the cameos (and there are many) in “Entourage: The Movie” none is more dismaying seeing Matt Lauer and Natalie Morales of the “Today” show shilling for the Golden Globes. The movie has a big plug for the wacky awards show, and Matt and Natalie supposedly work for the Hollywood Foreign Press.
But maybe that’s what “Entourage” is all about. The movie based on the long running TV Series is a hoot, lots of fun, a breeze that almost really requires a gin and tonic (or two), feet up. It’s too bad every movie theater can’t deliver that.
Last night’s screening at the Paris Theater followed by a very “Entourage” like loud party at Lavo was just the beginning of the promo push. Next Monday there’s a real red carpet big deal premiere in Hollywood. On Tuesday night, director Doug Ellin showed the movie in his hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut at their film festival.
We did have the main cast– Jeremy Piven, Adrien Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Kevin Connolly and Jerry Ferrara. And we also had a couple of guests— “Friends” star David Schwimmer and New York actor Joey Slotnick. But mostly it was a “friends and family” screening for the cast and crew, most of whom come from Queens and its environs. They ate the movie up like it was a chicken parm sub from Don Peppe’s. (We actually got one in the gift bag. Yum!)
“Entourage” picks up a short time after the TV series ended. But just in case you have no idea what’s going, Ellin does a quick recap explaining how Vincent Chase was discovered in a Mentos commercial by peripatetic agent Ari Gold. Chase came to Hollywood with his best pals including Eric Murphy (“E”) now his manager, half brother Johnny (“Drama”) a never made it TV actor, and Turtle (their driver who’s made a fortune with a Tequila brand.
The story is based on real life ups and downs of Mark Wahlberg, who produced the series and the movie, and makes a cameo in the film with his own crew. (Think of it– Johnny Drama is Donnie Wahlberg, now a hit on “Blue Bloods” after working hard forever.)
There were a lot of crews, posses, and entourages at the show last night– so many that it was hard to differentiate between fact and fiction.
As for the movie, it’s everything you’d want and more. With a bigger budget, Ellin was able to throw in a mix of celebrities, real actors, and has beens: Rhonda Rousey, Kelsey Grammer, David Faustino, Chad Lowe– like where has he been?, Mike Tyson, Armie Hammer, Liam Neeson, Billy Bob Thornton, Andrew Dice Clay and so on. Even Warren Buffet has lines.
Some of this works and some doesn’t. Emily Ratajkowski, the model from Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” is very attractive. But she can’t act. Imagine if someone who could had played Vince’s sexy girlfriend who is pivotal to the plot.
But the pleasant surprise is the return of child star Haley Joel Osment, now an adult, in an equally pivotal role that does work. He’s kind of a mess aesthetically, but he’s really an actor. It will be interesting to see if he can parlay this into character work. He’s very good.
The main cast hums along. Jeremy Piven’s Ari never gets old, Emmanuelle Chriqui is very welcome as Sloan, Eric’s girl friend. Dillon is a hilarious buffoon, as usual, and Grenier is the calm, cool center as Vince, the Leo DiCaprio of the gang.
More next week, but for now, I do think “Entourage” could be a sleeper. It’s just totally enjoyable.
Dancer Wade Robson’s child molestation against Michael Jackson’s estate has been dismissed by family court judge (and by Michael Jackson expert) Mitchell Beckloff in Los Angeles. The estate had asked the judge for summary judgment and dismissal most recently on the grounds that it was too late after the alleged incidents. The judge concurred. The estate also denied all claims.
Robson had testified in 2005 for Jackson in the child molestation case brought by the state of California over Gavin Arvizo. Robson, his mother and sister all testified that nothing untoward had happened with Jackson when Wade was staying overnight at Neverland.
But a couple of years ago Robson suddenly declared he’d had a nervous breakdown and remembered all kinds of things done to him by Jackson, who died in 2009. But some in the Jackson camp felt that Robson, a choreographer, was bitter about not being selected to work on posthumous projects by the estate.
Adding to this was a claim by Jimmy Safechuck, another kid who’d stayed at Neverland, and whose family had been doted on by Michael during those years. Safechuck also filed a suit. It’s unclear if that case was dismissed too.
Robson worked at one time for Michael’s MJJ Productions. Robson’s lawyer has indicted he’ll continue on this path, suing as a former employee. But it does seem the endless suits against the estate will end here.
I know the Jackson super fans have a lot of questions at this point. I think it’s instructive that with these filings, the only other people who turned up were previously discredited claimants from years ago. Also, back in that period of 2003-2005, I actually trailed around old leads from places like the National Enquirer, looking for kids who were said to have been molested by Jackson. Nothing ever panned out. They were all dead ends. If Jackson had really been a serial molester, some of those names would have turned up to back Robson and Safechuck. No one ever did.
In the end, Michael’s bad decisions- to let boys sleep over, to ignore how things “looked”– was what did him in. We’ll probably never know more than we do now about why he let things get so exaggerated.