Marvel’s “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” had the second biggest opening night ever last night with almost $85 million. It beat its predecessor by nearly $5 million. The biggest opening ever remains the final installment of “Harry Potter” with $91 million. Yee-ha! “Age of Ultron” could break weekend records, too. Stay tuned. No matter what happens, the new “Star Wars” movie will likely top this number in a few months. But it’s all Disney, so everyone at the Mouse House is happy. Too bad for Loki. He was cut out of “Ultron.” Now he will seek revenge.
B.B. King Website Says He’s in “Home Hospice Care”– Prayers for the Indefatigable Legend
Sad sad news: after losing Ben E. King just two days ago. Now comes the news that B.B. King is in home hospice care in Nevada. His website has posted that statement after CNN’s Las Vegas station reported that King was rushed to the local hospital on Thursday for dehydration. The 89 year old legend has been ill health for some time after abruptly stopping a tour last October. A little more than year ago, B.B. was showing signs of fatigue and ill health on the road after a lifetime of brilliant performances.
Why keep going at age 89? He loves the music but the real reason all older stars are on the road night after night is money. Performers who didn’t write their own music are not paid for radio plays. Only the authors of music are paid. So all your favorite musicians who recorded traditional blues or covered other people’s songs are basically out of luck. They have been since the start of the popular music era in 1954.
You could say that BB King has worked himself to death. We are sending him and his family prayers. He has made an incalculable contribution to the culture of the world.
Riley B. King was born in rural Mississippi on September 16, 1925. Frank Sinatra was his hero.
“Spider Man” Actor Andrew Garfield Got Himself Fired from Series by Insulting Sony Chief
Thanks to the Sony hacks, via Wikileaks, we now know why Andrew Garfield won’t be making any more “Spider Man” movies– or maybe any Sony films for the foreseeable future.
It turns that Garfield insulted Sony chief Kaz Hirai by snubbing him last summer in Rio de Janeiro at a big Sony gala celebrating the end of the World Cup. Kaz had planned to introduce Garfield as the star of “Spider Man 3” set for 2016 in a speech before 750 guests. But Garfield, having just arrived in Rio, made a huge mistake. He snubbed Kaz and never came down for dinner. Yikes. In Rio this didn’t go well, and the bad feeling reverberated. An email alerting everyone read: “Here we are about one hour away from our Gala event and Andrew decides he doesn’t want to attend. He has a rather scruffy beard and he just wants to be left alone.”
Kaz Hirai had planned on making this speech:
Andrew is an actor who has graced the screen in roles in several important Sony Pictures Entertainment films, including The Social Network, in which he played Mark Zuckerberg’s onetime friend and co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin. The Social Network, to my mind, is the Citizen Kane of the 21st Century, a film that social historians hundreds of years from now will point to as one of the most emblematic of our era.
[slide showing poster of The Social Network and The Amazing Spider-Man 2] Another historic movie starring Andrew is The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which continues to weave movie magic in hearts and minds around the world. Together those two films have taken in more than $XXX million at the global box office.
I’m proud to say that Andrew will be returning as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man 3, which will be released in May, 2016.
Needless to say, when Garfield didn’t come down for dinner, the speech was changed. Garfield next stars in “99 Homes” this September, and Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” with Adam Driver.
Here is a series of emails explaining all this:
Fwd: Andrew Garfield in RioBegin forwarded message:
From: “Clark, Nigel”Date: July 14, 2014 6:53:47 PM PDTTo: “Pascal, Amy”
From: “Clark, Nigel”Date: July 14, 2014 6:53:47 PM PDTTo: “Pascal, Amy”
Cc: “Blake, Jeff”
Subject: Andrew Garfield in Rio
Amy,
As requested, here are the relevant emails.
In red, at the very bottom: the email I received on Saturday afternoon, from Steve Bernard informing me that Andrew was not making the red carpet or the Sony gala dinner, and Kay Aoki’s response.
In blue: my email correspondence with Rupert upon receiving the news.
In black (immediately below): an email from Steve Bernard in response to my asking earlier today how Andrew was feeling.
As I mentioned when you called, it may very well be that Andrew met Kaz on the day of the match etc. I’m not aware of that.
Best,
Nigel
Very happy. Mark Wachter took him and Rupert surfing this morning. They are touring the city now.
Sony Music took them out for a late dinner last night.
I asked AG if he minded if I sat Santana next to him at the match. He had a big smile.
All good now
Stevan (Steve) Bernard
Executive Vice President – SEHS
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Rupert,
I’m sure the event was successful, despite Andrew’s absence. The last minute change to Kaz’s speech and to the seating arrangement was manageable, but it’s a slight to Kaz and the Sony hosts on the ground.
Nigel
_____
From: Rupert Fowler
To: Clark, Nigel; Enriquez, Vianne; Knight, Prue
Cc: Aoki, Keiko; Bernard, Stevan; van der Werff, Susan; Blake, Jeff
Sent: Sat Jul 12 16:13:35 2014
Subject: RE: URGENT URGENT: World Cup
​Hi Nigel,
He had been feeling under the weather all day and exhausted from coming off the plane early this morning so I gave as much notice as I could. Not ideal though I understand, hope it didn’t have too great an impact on things.
Rupert
_____
From:Â Clark, Nigel
Sent:Â 12 July 2014 19:56
To:Â Rupert Fowler; Enriquez, Vianne; Knight, Prue
Cc:Â Aoki, Keiko; Bernard, Stevan; van der Werff, Susan; Blake, Jeff
Subject:Â Re: URGENT URGENT: World Cup
Rupert,
I hear that Andrew decided at the last minute to skip the Sony event and dinner. Is that true? It puts us in an embarrassing situation with Kaz Hirai.
Nigel
That is extremely embarrassing….
But I will tell Kaz and change the seating and his speech!!
Thanks for letting me know.
Kay
From:Â Bernard, Stevan
Sent:Â Sunday, July 13, 2014 4:49 AM
To:Â Clark, Nigel
Cc:Â Aoki, Keiko
Subject:Â AG Problem – PLEASE READ
Importance:Â High
Nigel/Kay,
Here we are about one hour away from our Gala event and Andrew decides he doesn’t want to attend. He has a rather scruffy beard and he just wants to be left alone
Grey’s Anatomy Loses 800K Viewers, Down 7% After Killing off Main Character
Well, I hope Shonda Rhimes and ABC are happy happy happy. Last night “Grey’s Anatomy” lost 810,000 total viewers after killing off Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd. The key demo was down 7% from 2.8 to 2.6. Fans didn’t tune in to see the ridiculous two hour special in which Meredith Grey told friends dispassionately that her husband was dead. No one really cared. And then Meredith had a baby girl and named it for her mother. Shonda Rhimes must have really hated Patrick Dempsey. But did she hate him so much that she killed her show? I think “Grey’s” is over. The viewers aren’t coming back. This was really an act of hubris on a grand scale. What more is left to say of this show? It probably should have stopped after 7 seasons. But now, enough is enough. What a shonda (in Yiddish, a “shame.”)
Muscular Dystrophy Finally Ends Labor Day Show After Firing Jerry Lewis and Killing Telethon
They killed their golden goose. MDA has finally decided no more TV special on Labor Day weekend. They had already destroyed the 21 hour annual telethon after kicking Jerry Lewis to the curb. The show was a fraud anyway at this point, as MDA regular counted corporate donations in their “telethon” total since Lewis left. I’ve already reported that they weren’t raising much money and couldn’t collect the pledges they’d received.
The show had been whittled down to a two hour pretape, a shadow of what Lewis had done with it. And now it’s gone. I see in the press release that the latest CEO of MDA, who’d moved the headquarters to Chicago, said the show was outdated. He also cited the Ice Bucket viral challenge as the new way of getting attention. But that was for ALS, not MDA. Someone should throw an ice bucket on MDA.
The real sadness here is that so many people around the country were motivated by, and counted on, the MDA Jerry Lewis telethon. The “Jerry’s Kids” rubric meant so much to people who had little hope and a lot of problems. The new MDA is out of touch with that. Lewis must feel that a lifetime of work has been flushed.
Sony Leaks: Environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio, Pals and Model Girlfriend Used Sony Private Plane as NY-LA Taxi Service
You do wonder where all the money goes in Hollywood? Well, thanks to the Sony leaks we know a little more.
Leonardo DiCaprio with his friends and family used the private Sony jet to fly back and forth Los Angeles to New York last year as if it were a yellow taxi.
Amy Pascal approved hundreds of thousands of dollars to ferry Leo, his mother, his manager, his manager’s brother, and Leo’s posse pals in and out of New York. They left a carbon footprint the size of Godzilla’s left foot.
Leo also got the Sony jet to fly from Las Vegas to Los Angeles for $12,000. The flight lasts 1 hour. (Actually $26,000 round trip.)
The irony is that Leo does not make movies for Sony Pictures. His films have almost all been with Warner Bros., Paramount, and Miramax/Weinstein. His current film, “The Revenant,” is with Fox.
Sony wanted him to play Steve Jobs in a film that never came to be. Michael Fassbender is playing Jobs at Universal.
The other irony is that DiCaprio waxes on and on about the environment. His whole gang could have gotten on a JetBlue flight for considerably less. And they would have had TV and extra legroom.
Sony emails regarding billing approvals for different trips in amounts including $59,000; $37,206; and $63,600. The trips include catering and ground transportation.
One memo:
Provide why travel is required or why in-person meeting is necessary NY Meeting face to face
The gang was picked up at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and chauffeured into New York. This was one of many trips that included manager Rick York, his singer brother Pete Yorn, DiCaprio’s lovely mother, and other pals including model Toni Garrn and the aforementioned Haas, actor Vincent Laresca, and celebrity hairdresser Richard Ward.
Ben E. King of the Drifters, Singer of “Stand by Me” and “Spanish Harlem,” Dead at 76
I won’t cry/I won’t shed a tear— quite the opposite this morning as we say goodbye to Ben E, King, lead singer of the Drifters. He recorded “Stand by Me” by Leiber and Stoller as a solo act and made it a classic song for the ages. He had lots of other hits too including “Spanish Harlem” and much later “Supernatural Thing.” Benny suffered a bad stroke in the 90s but kept going and never gave up.
Benny’s death makes him the third soul legend to die in recent weeks after Don Covay and Percy Sledge. We are losing an essential group of musicians who can never be replaced.
“He was a gem, and a great ballad singer. He was very serious,” says Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame, and a friend and colleague of Benny’s from the legendary Atlantic Records era. Moore told me he was discovered by Atlantic’s Ahmet Ertegun in Miami singing King’s “Don’t Play That Song for Me.” The song later became associated with Aretha Franklin as well.
“What a man, what a friend, he was one of my heroes,” Moore says.
Let’s Review McDreamy Bloodless Exit on “Grey’s Anatomy”: Meredith Sheds Not a Tear, No Kiss Goodbye
Since tonight is the two part “Grey’s Anatomy” in which all the other characters will learn of Derek’s death, let’s review what happened last week. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) shed not a tear over her dying husband. There was no kiss goodbye. She actually says: “You go. We’ll be alright.”
Let’s watch:
How much did Ellen Pompeo want Patrick Dempsey out of her hair? Let’ read her only statement, a Tweet that is just bloodless as it mentions Dempsey not once, or Derek. She started the Tweet with “Happy Monday!” Pompeo is telling you “Greys” fans something you’re not getting. She is HAPPY:
Happy Monday! pic.twitter.com/dSnfKPLQl7
— Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) April 27, 2015
I think the funniest part of this debacle is how the tabs– People, US, ET– have played it as though Pompeo is “upset.” Are people really this stupid? I guess so. Anyway, the new spin is that ABC will save $10 million by getting rid of Dempsey, like his salary was somehow hurting the show or the network. Friends, Patrick Dempsey had a contract that had be to paid off. ABC saved nothing.
Tonight let’s see if Derek is remembered fondly or thrown into a hole or just cremated and spread around Katherine Heigl’s COBRA file.
Mo’Nique Makes a Stunning Comeback in an HBO Movie About Bessie Smith
And she came to the premiere looking like a million bucks and acting serene and lovely. That was Mo’Nique, Oscar winner and more recently participant in a fencing match between herself and Hollywood. Mo’Nique co-stars as blues singer Ma Rainey in HBO’s “Bessie,” in which Queen Latifah gives the performance of a lifetime. This is the Emmy movie of the year come September. It’s just phenomenal.
Queen Latifah– already beloved, hard working, a fabulous singer. When you see her as Bessie Smith she blows your mind. She gets quite naked, as well, which I know will attract attention and headlines. It’s very much part of the story of Bessie’s rise and fall and return.
Before we had Aretha-Gladys-Patti-Diana, or Whitney-Mariah-Madonna, there were the original divas, the women of the blues–Bessie Smith- Ma Rainey- Ethel Waters. This last group was just as contentious, full of fun and drama, lived life large, made headlines etc. Bessie had a voracious sexual appetite fueled by an abusive childhood. She was shocking, loud, stunning, poignant. Queen Latifah will win the Emmy for making Bessie Smith come alive for a new generation. She’s awe inspiring.
And then there’s Mo’Nique. She plays the calm in the storm of these women, the complete opposite of “Precious.” She is all heart as Ma Rainey, who was Bessie Smith’s mentor, guide, and friend. as Latifah explodes like fireworks and Khandi Alexander plays out cruel games with Smith as her older sister, Mo’Nique– of all people– brings compassion to the story. She’ll pick up Best Supporting Actress at the Emmys without fail.
I spoke to Mo’Nique and her husband Sidney Hicks at length following the screening. (Paula Schwartz will have more on Thursday with Monique from the red carpet.) This was not the garrulous Monique of the “Precious” campaign. Her hair was done beautifully and she wore a gorgeous blue gown. The Hickses are not looking for a fight. But I think they are also not looking for acceptance in Hollywood. They just want to do their work and be compensated. In short, they are not interested in the bull-shit.
But here’s Mo’Nique in her first real role since the Oscar. (She and Sidney produced an indie movie, as well.) Don’t we make exceptions for really organic geniuses? Look, Brando was no fun. Bette Davis didn’t want to have tea with you. I’m sure Paul Robeson wouldn’t have done junket press. Mo’Nique has a gift. And you know, she knows it. She’s going to give a phenomenal performance and not want to talk about it. What can you do, really?
At the sensational after party at the Edison Ballroom (following the screening at MoMA), Mo’Nique and Sidney made an appearance. They had a little dinner in a small alcove, took photos, and slipped out. We won’t see them again until the Emmys, and that’s maybe.
Dee Rees is the young black woman who wrote and directed “Bessie.” She previously made a very good film called “Pariah.” She is now officially a talent to watch. Let me also praise the men of “Bessie.” This is no chick lit, by the way. It’s a movie. Mike Epps, Michael Kenneth Williams, Tory Kittles and Charles Dutton all deserve kudos. There are a couple of memorable cameos from Bryan Greenberg and Oliver Platt (wow). Tika Sumpter is a standout as Bessie’s long suffering lover.
“Bessie” debuts on HBO May 16th. So far it’s the best new movie of 2015, in any medium.
Tony Nominees Mix and Mingle: Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Elisabeth Moss Meet, Greet
Very strange seeing all the Tony nominees crowded into the same place, a rabbit warren of narrow hallways and tiny rooms in the Paramount Hotel on West 46th St. But there they are: Helen Mirren, the presumptive winner for Best Actress in “The Audience,” and Carey Mulligan, hot in the revival of “Skylight.” Dame Helen is actually eating fruit from a paper plate as she dances along from interview to interview. She gives Nathaniel Parker, of “Wolf Hall” advice about publicists and reporters: “You must stand your ground.”
I asked Elisabeth Moss, nominated for “The Heidi Chronicles,” how “Mad Men”will end? “Everyone dies,” she says as she runs past. “Don’t tell anyone!”
For four hours leading up to Wednesday matinees everyone who’s been nominated for a Tony is all dressed up and grinning from ear to ear. Chita Rivera, eternally young, has not missed a beat. Someone is waiting to introduce her to the astonishing 11 year old girl from “Fun Home,” Sydney Lucas. “The oldest and the youngest,” I am told. Sydney’s brother is in a show uptown, as well. They’re an acting family.
Sting comes by, with a dark and bushy beard, accepting kudos for his Best Score nod from “The Last Ship.” It makes up for the show sinking too early. Brian d’Arcy James and Christian Borle from “Something Rotten” are very happy– they are also presumptive winners. Nominees Patricia Clarkson and Alessandro Nivola have outlasted their castmate Bradley Cooper from “The Elephant Man.” An interviewer asks them the secret to their success. Clarkson says: “Stay true to yourself.” Nivola jumps in: “I would say the opposite of that” because well, why not?
Alex Sharp is the 25 year old Brit who may win Best Actor for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.” I asked him if he was leaving the show in September, as I had reported a few days ago. “No no, hmmm, it hasn’t been decided,” he says politely. One thing is sure: he’s like to do another Broadway show right away. “I love being part of this community.”
I run into Geneva Carr from “Hand to God,” and the “Something Rotten” composers, and the amazing Judy Kuhn from “Fun Home.” It turned out to be a great Broadway season after all, I say to her. Kuhn shrugs. This is the irony of being on stage 8 times a week, the same time as everyone else: “I wouldn’t know. I’ll never get to see it.”