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William Shatner Had a Great Time at Palm Beach Ball, Promoted Priceline

Roger Friedman
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William Shatner Had a Great Time at Palm Beach Ball, Promoted Priceline

Well, it looks like William Shatner had a great time in Palm Beach last night at the International Red Cross Ball. He mixed and mingled with co-hosts Shirley MacLaine and Wayne Newton, chatted with the press about Leonard Nimoy, and promoted Priceline.

Shatner told Channel 10 that Nimoy “had a good, long life. He did a lot of things. He inspired a lot of people. He was loved by a lot of people and he loved a lot of people.”

He also said that he’d used Priceline to get flights to West Palm Beach. (If you believe this, you also think it’s 82 degrees today in New York.)  He said: “I hold Priceline as a banner whenever I travel because you get some great seats, great cars (and) great hotels from Priceline.”

Shatner will not be attending the funeral of his co-star Leonard Nimoy, with whom he has been associated in fame and fortune since 1967. He said earlier “I feel really awful” about it. Nimoy, who went into the hospital last week, died on Friday.

Everyone mourns in their own way. Actor Eric Roberts attended the Oscars three days after his mother died last week. And when Michael Jackson died, his father attended the BET Awards a couple of day later with a Jackson impersonator.

 

“Downton” Season 5 Ends Tonight: Lily James, Allen Leech Are (May Be) Leaving

Roger Friedman
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“Downton” Season 5 Ends Tonight: Lily James, Allen Leech Are (May Be) Leaving

update: with spoilers So “Downton” is losing Rose and Branson. The season 5 finale was so well executed and hit every mark, from the “Golden Girls” stories to the nearly interminable Bates-Anna murder saga. Who will Fellowes introduce? Will Matthew Goode’s Henry Talbott be the match for Mary? All done with such zip and grace, including the mini plots of this episode. Well played. The finale episode should win the Emmy for Best Drama, hands down.

EARLIER “Downton Abbey” season 5 ends Sunday night in the US with some farewells. Newly married Rose, played by Lily James, is moving to New York with her Jewish husband, Atticus. (There they will meet Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, and be caught up– off camera– in the Roaring 20s.) James is about to open in “Cinderella” with Cate Blanchett and is also making an exit, although she can return at any time. Show creator Julian Fellows has left the door open.

Then there’s Tom Branson, the chauffeur turned son-in-law played by Allen Leech. Branson wants to move to Boston, where he has a cousin. (Tom will meet Joseph P. Kennedy and get caught up in Democratic party politics– maybe. Or he will strike out and return with an American bride no one likes.) Leech has had a taste of Hollywood this season, making a strong appearance in “The Imitation Game.” Fellows is also writing him out, but he can return, too.

Into the mix comes Matthew Goode, straight from “The Good Wife” and also “The Imitation Game.” A big ticket name, Goode arrives at “Downton” as Mary’s possible end game to replace Matthew Crawley (Dan “I’m so sorry now” Stephens.) Goode plays Henry Talbot, and I dare say he’ll be running the estate by the end of Season 6. Goode has been waiting a while for a breakthrough role; I hope this it.

Fellowes will have to come up with a romance for Edith (Laura Carmichael) and somehow add in a young woman with the Crawleys to replace Rose, who replaced Sybil. Ah, Poor Sybil. Jessica Brown-Findlay thought she was leaving the show for the Big Screen. But in quick order her successor– Lily James– has gotten their first.  I’ll bet she wishes Sybil had taken better care of herself during that pregnancy!

Last Sunday’s episode, of Rose marrying Atticus, was beautifully written, as usual. There were a couple of times I caught myself laughing out loud. Of course, I’m not so sure about the Sinderbys, the wealthy Jewish family Fellowes has invented.  Their rise to status after leaving Russia in 1850 seems sketchy. And the actor who plays Lord Sinderby looks more like Yul Brynner than a Hebrew. My own family left Poland for London around that time, and I assure you their descendants didn’t look like Lord Sinderby or Atticus by 1924. But, hey…

Both Maggie Smith and Penelope Wilton  are coming to town this week for the premiere of “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” so maybe we’ll get some answers about Season 6. I’d have to guess that Isobel (Wilton) marries Lord Merton, he dies and leaves her everything. She marries the doctor and they buy the Abbey. Who knows? And what of Isis? The poor dog died. What will replace him? And will Lord Grantham realize the new dog can die, too?

We’ll be watching the big finale tonight.

UPDATE Will Smith “Focus” Lowest Opening ($19 Mil) Since 2008 For Former Box Office Star

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE Will Smith “Focus” Lowest Opening ($19 Mil) Since 2008 For Former Box Office Star

UPDATE SUNDAY 11:40am: Total was $19 million. It was at least $1 million less than any predictions other than mine below. Everyone said $20 mil or more. If Smith didn’t get at least $10 million of it, that would be fine. The domestic total should come to around $65 million. Let’s hope for better things in December with “Concussion.”

EARLIER: Will Smith didn’t stay in “Focus” last night. His latest film opened to $6.465 million, his lowest opening since 2008. That disaster was the awful, depressing “Seven Pounds.” Since then he’s been in “Men in Black 3” and “After Earth.” The latter opened to $9.8 million and and sank quickly, ending up with a domestic box office of $60.5 million.

It’s unclear whether “Focus” will have better legs. Right now predictions are a weekend finish of $19 million if lucky. But it’s clear that the affable Smith, who radiates charm and is certainly a welcome presence on movie screens, has to re think what’s going on here.

Once he was the go-to star for July 4th weekend. That isn’t the case anymore. It’s odd that he passed on the sequel to “Independence Day,” one movie that fans would clamor to see him in. Perhaps his attitude toward aliens has changed since then.

President Obama Issues Leonard Nimoy Remarks: “I loved Spock”

Roger Friedman
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President Obama Issues Leonard Nimoy Remarks: “I loved Spock”

 

obama star trek

Doesn’t this explain everything now that you think about it? Obama IS Vulcan. I get it all now.

Illogically, Mr. Spock Is Dead: Leonard Nimoy, Who Lived Long and Prospered, Passes Away at 83

Roger Friedman
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Illogically, Mr. Spock Is Dead: Leonard Nimoy, Who Lived Long and Prospered, Passes Away at 83

Was he the favorite Star Trek character? I dare say yes. Leonard Nimoy, who started playing Mr. Spock in 1967, and was a world wide icon, has died at 83. A great actor and director, Nimoy was also an artist and a philanthropist. He will be mourned by millions, including me, but he will live long and prosper forever in reruns and in videos.

Willisam Shatner: “I loved him like a brother. We will all miss his humor, his talent, and his capacity to love.”

shatner

Box Office: No Big Oscar Bounce for Winner “Birdman” Or Other Best Pic Nominees

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: No Big Oscar Bounce for Winner “Birdman” Or Other Best Pic Nominees

We all know the ratings for the Oscars were dismal. Some people blamed it on the low box office numbers for seven of the eight nominees except “American Sniper.”

Well, since the Oscars on Sunday night, the nominees still in theaters haven’t done a lot of business. There was no big bounce from the show. The sole exception might be “Still Alice,” with the Best Actress performance by Julianne Moore. “Alice” is 765 theaters. On Wednesday it had the unique distinction of making more money than the Wachowskis’ “Jupiter Ascending,” which is in 2,503 theaters.

But the others– “Birdman,” “Theory of Everything,” “Selma,” and “Into the Woods”– didn’t exactly turn people away so far this week. Curiosity didn’t drive people into theaters. “The Imitation Game” did a little better, but not much.

The exception, of course, was “American Sniper,” which has made almost $3 million since Monday. Clint Eastwood gets the last laugh. A few years ago, the Academy ignored one of his masterpieces, “Gran Torino.” It went on to make $148 million. “Sniper” is already over $322 million domestically and going very strong.

Hey Hey It’s the Monkees: Micky Dolenz to Chill at 54 Below In July

Roger Friedman
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Hey Hey It’s the Monkees: Micky Dolenz to Chill at 54 Below In July

Exclusive: Micky Dolenz, of Monkees fame, is coming to 54 Below this July. Tickets will go on sale Monday for “A Little Bit Broadway, A Little Bit Rock and Roll.” (The title is a spin on the Monkees’ classic single “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.”)

Micky is one of three surviving members of the beloved mid Sixties pop group that included Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith and late great Davy Jones. In addition to the 54 Below dates, Micky and Tork will hit the road in April for some dates together. Nesmith, whose mother famous invented Liquid Paper, has rarely joined them.

If you were 10 in 1967, the Monkees hold a soft spot in your heart. While the Beatles were breaking ground with “Sgt.Pepper” and the Stones were causing trouble with “Let it Bleed,” the Monkees were delivering pure pop for now people, as well as entertaining everyone with their “Hard Days Night”-kinda hip TV series.

Dolenz was a child star in the late 5os on a show called “Circus Boy.” An actual L.A. native (born at Cedars Sinai) Micky made a great career for himself after the Monkees. He has appeared already on Broadway in “Aida” and last summer starred in a play by Mike Reiss, longtime co-writer  of “The Simpsons.”

If you want to hear what real boy band pop pre-One Direction, NSync, Backstreet Boys, sounds like, go listen to the Monkees. 54 Below is going to be very hot in July.

 

Taylor Swift Dumped Spotify, But She’s Streaming Everywhere Else 20K Copies A Week

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Dumped Spotify, But She’s Streaming Everywhere Else 20K Copies A Week

UPDATE Hits Daily Double explains:

“Taylor Swift is streaming  due to the higher number on our Sales Plus Streaming chart. The difference between Taylor’s album sales number (55.6k) and her SPS number (82.8k) is attributable not to streams, on our chart, but to single sales (TEA, or track-equivalent albums). As you’re no doubt aware, “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off” continue to sell like hotcakes at iTunes and elsewhere, while other tracks, including “Style,” are taking off.”

EARLIER

Remember last November when Taylor Swift dumped Spotify? After a month on the service with her “1989” album, Swift (via managers and her record label) pulled her music and struck a chord for artists.

Well, not so fast.

It turns out that “1989” has been streaming along on a lot of other services right along since then. Last week, “1989” sold a total 82,888 copies. But that broke down to 55,618 digital and physical copies, and 27,270 streamed copies according to hitsdailydouble’s calculations. That’s not all. Swift has paid streams of “1989” of between 20K and 25K for the last few weeks. Every week, her streamed copies are a big chunk of her totals.

Can she shake it off? Doubtful. Taylor surprised everyone a couple of weeks ago when she attended the Warner Music party at the Chateau Marmont. Warner is not her label, for one thing. And the party was sponsored by Spotify. All guests received Spotify gift cards for a year’s free service!

 

EXCLUSIVE Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, 97, Funding Epic Feature Film About Armenian Genocide

Roger Friedman
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EXCLUSIVE Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, 97, Funding Epic Feature Film About Armenian Genocide

Kirk Kerkorian is 97 years old and worth $4 billion. The one time owner of MGM, and wealthy Las Vegas real estate and casino over ( he also owned the MGM Grand), is not done, however. He still has one more wish. My sources tell me that Kerkorian is funding a secret feature film about the Armenian genocide that took place concurrent with World War I.

The Ottoman Empire, precursor to the country known as Turkey, killed around 1.5 million to people in the effort to destroy Armenia and establish itself. Kerkorian is hoping to produce the Armenian “Schindler’s List” to memorialize the holocaust.

There is already an Oscar nominated director and screenwriter signed to the project. Various actors’ names have come up, and some of that may become clear soon. The movie is described to me by the director– who’s asked me not to reveal his name yet– as a “Reds” or “Dr. Zhivago”, a sweeping World War I romance set against the Armenian genocide.

Kerkorian, who’s always been fascinated with Hollywood, is said to have contributed over $1 billion to Armenian charities and causes over his long life time.

I’ll have some more info on this soon. For now expect the still untitled film to begin shooting this summer in Europe. And the budget should be pretty big, considering there’s one backer. This movie has the potential to be something on a large historic scale, unseen for many years.

And PS,  I am assured that the Kardashians, the most famous Armenian Americans since the great writer William Saroyan, will be not be appearing in the film under any circumstances.

Falling Stars: Will Smith Seen Joining Johnny Depp in the Flop Club with “Focus”

Roger Friedman
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Falling Stars: Will Smith Seen Joining Johnny Depp in the Flop Club with “Focus”

Will Smith opens in “Focus” on Friday. Rotten Tomatoes already gives it a 50, with Todd McCarthy, dean of reviewers, panning it. So does our Leah Sydney– see below. If “Focus” fails, it follows “After Earth” and Smith’s disastrous appearance in the huge mistake called “Winter’s Tale.” No kidding, this is bad news. “Concussion” is coming at Christmas time, which may be better. But Smith is following in Johnny Depp’s footsteps, it seems.

Here’s Leah’s review:
Will Smith mega star wattage is a huge part of why his new romantic con caper will probably do well in the opening weekend. But once the word spreads that ‘Focus,’ is mostly unimpressive and predictable– with some flashes of humor and stylish, hip coolness–that will probably figure into the big picture box office gross.

Will plays Nicky, a longtime con artist who offers to tutor the novice Jess (played by the impossibly sexy Margot Robbie) after they hook up at posh Manhattan restaurant. What ensues is their quest for the big con, figuring out their relationship, Nicky trying to come to terms with his relationship with his father and on and on.

For a caper con to work it has to have mega chemistry between its stars, and this pairing falters. Since they both are consistent insincere liars, with nary a break, it’s hard to root for either of them. Perennially likeable Will gives it his talented all, as does Robbie– who proves again post “Wolf of Wall Street”– she’s an actress to watch. She is game and committed.

Adrian Martinez provides welcome comic relief as Nicky’s right hand plus size man. The always-reliable B.D. Wong gives a fun stint as a billionaire Chinese gambler and the equally solid Gerald McRaney adds to the talented ensemble.

Ultimately, ‘Focus’ is a sloppy movie. You see the same plot twists coming a mile away; the element of surprise is shot. The production looks cheap, the international locales don’t feel nearly as luxurious or swanky that a romantic con film should, even the scenes with extras look cheap and staged. The second half of the film takes place in Buenos Aires, which livens the film up, a bit. Although the film has its moments, ‘Focus’ is ultimately unsatisfying. You kind of feel that you’ve been played without the payoff. Also, you can’t help but wonder if most of the film’s budget went to Will’s salary.

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