“The Interview”: Was the Joke on Us? Sony Adds Another 250 Theaters, for 581 Total Plus Video
Well, was this joke on us or what? Sony is adding 250 theaters to the release of “The Interview.” That brings the total this weekend to 581.
What happened to the Guardians of Peace? The threats like “11th of September”? The end of the world? Presidential press conferences? WTF?
Was it all a game? First of all, it’s clear now that North Korea had nothing to do with this. The hacks were too personal. Sony was hacked by people who hated the executives or wanted revenge for something. If this were “NCIS” or “Law and Order,” I’d point to Daniel Loeb of Third Point. He was severely rebuffed in his takeover attempt of Sony. But Loeb, I’m sure, is too classy and smart. Still, he’d have been a great villain.
And then Sony took advantage of the hack to market the movie. They opened anyway on Christmas Day, with the most press of any film since who knows when? Not only did they go into 331 theaters, but they put the stupid comedy on 20 different platforms. They even gave it away on their own site for $5.99. And still they cleared $18 million. Another $18 mlllion this weekend and Sony is almost at break even. What happened to losing so much money? Too bad “Annie” was threatened.
When “The Interview” hits 1,000 theaters– maybe a week from Saturday– we’re all going to feel even more foolish. But maybe this is a marketing genius at play– a soon to be text book case of how to release a not very good movie and turn it into an event.
End of the Year Chart: Taylor Swift Can’t Shake it Off– She’s the Pop Queen of 2014
Our pals at hitsdailydouble.com have made up an unofficial chart for the last week of 2014. Taylor Swift has just sold boatloads of that 1989 album. Look at the numbers. But I think it’s more significant that Barbra Streisand has hung in and is still at number 15 with her “Partners” album. Good for her. And all told, it’s not a bad mix: Sondheim (Into the Woods) and AC/DC and hits from the 70s (Guardians of the Galaxy). Not bad! Happy New Year!
Watch (Listen) Best Song from a Movie 2014 “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again”
“Begin Again” had the best songs, best score, and best soundtrack of 2014. Here’s Keira Knightly singing “Lost Stars” by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois. My runner up would the “Selma” theme song from John Legend and Common.
HarperCollins (Owned by Rupert Murdoch) Leaves Israel Off Mid East Maps of Region
In the Middle East, Israel is off the map– at least according to Rupert Murdoch owned Harper Collins. According to the Tablet, a Catholic website in the UK, Collins Bartholomew, a subsidiary of Harper Collins, has left Israel off the map in Arab countries. The maps are made for school kids all over the Middle East.
Bishop Declan Lang, chairman of the Bishops’ Conference Department of International Affairs, told The Tablet: “The publication of this atlas will confirm Israel’s belief that there exists a hostility towards their country from parts of the Arab world. It will not help to build up a spirit of trust leading to peaceful co-existence.”
On the maps, Jordan and Syria run right to the Mediterranean Sea. Tel Aviv and all other Israeli cities are gone.
A HarperCollins spokesperson said: “HarperCollins regrets the omission of the name Israel from their Collins Middle East Atlas. This product has now been removed from sale in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped. HarperCollins sincerely apologises for this omission and for any offence caused.”
TV Ratings: Kennedy Center Honors Post Big Gains with Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Bruce Springsteen Performing
George Stevens Jr. goes out with a bang: the Kennedy Center Honors garned big ratings and a good gain from last year. They added 200,000 viewers– up to 9.2 million total viewers. More importantly, the key demo was up to 1.2 from 0.9. That’s very good. And a nice tribute to George and Michael Stevens, who put together a great show with Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Bruno Mars, Jane Fonda, David Letterman and host Stephen Colbert among others. Shame on the Kennedy Center for chucking the Stevenses because they thought they’d get better ratings or something. Ridiculous.
Some clips:
Kennedy Center Scandal: See Exclusive Video of Producer George Stevens, Jr. Announcing He’s Leaving
You won’t see this tonight on the show:
This was the video from the Kennedy Center honors taping on December 7th. But it’s not shown on the program, it was only inside the auditorium. Toward the end when George Stevens Jr. says David Rubenstein came to him and said it was time to go, there was an audible gasp in the room. Stevens is a class act.
And now it turns out that the Kennedy Center under David Rubenstein is launching something new next month: The Lincoln Awards. It’s to honor people who’ve supported the military. Bruce Springsteen is the only celebrity getting the award. But there are tons scheduled to perform. So as I said before, get ready, because tonight may be the last Kennedy Center Honors as we knew them.
Tonight’s Kennedy Center Honors Could Be Last of Its Kind as Founding Producer is Ousted
What you won’t see tonight during the Kennedy Center Honors (9pm CBS) is what happened when we all returned from the intermission break at the December 7th taping. The group’s CEO, David Rubenstein, who is also head of the Caryle Group, the largest hedge fund in the world, came out and made some perfunctory comments. Then he thought he was introducing the show’s founding producer, George Stevens Jr., who created the Kennedy Center Honors 37 years ago with Nick Vanoff.
Stevens, who is a very spry 82, on his game, with lovely patrician manners, stepped on stage. He then shocked the audience with the emotional news that, essentially, he’d been ousted after 37 years. “This will be our last show,” he said. He thanked his son Michael who’s worked with him for years and whom he credits for really being the main producer of late. There was literally a gasp in the room. No one knew.
The Kennedy Center Honors was the last bastion of civility on broadcast TV. In a culture now where nothing is taboo, and the lowest of the lowest gets a reality show, it’s hard to believe that once there was theater, ballet, classical music, jazz and opera on regular channels. Now it’s relegated to PBS. The Kennedy Center Honors was the only PBS-like program on a main network. But Rubenstein and new president Deborah Rutter aren’t interested in that, sources say.
“They want something more like the Grammys, but the worst aspects of it,” says a source. “The glitz and the glamor. And young people.” In other words: Taylor Swift presenting an award to Jennifer Aniston. You get the picture.
Tense negotiations were said to having been ongoing since August between Stevens and Rubenstein-Rutter. A few days before the taping, Stevens staff had stopped using Kennedy Center email addresses. Most of the staff did not know the end was coming before Stevens’ speech. Rubenstein didn’t know Stevens was going to address the audience with the news. But George Stevens Jr Productions had already been told they had to be out of the building by the end of the month.
After the show, at an informal gathering in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the 8th floor, the usual post- celebration was like a wake. When Stevens and son finally arrived, all the new honorees (Sting, Lily Tomlin, Tom Hanks, Patricia McBride) rushed to his side, as did many stalwarts who’d been involved with the show and Stevens for years. Steven Spielberg, upon hearing the news, said: “But isn’t the show supposed to be about honoring people who’ve achieved something?” Among many the sentiment was, if it’s called the Kennedy Center Honors, it’s not going to attract the MTV-Facebook-TMZ crowd.
The word now is that CBS and Rubenstein may indeed have brought in Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich, who excels at that show, a different kind of animal. The announcement should come soon. Of course, the producer of the show isn’t in charge of who gets in– that’s a whole separate committee. But watch for a total rebranding, like Kennedy Center specials akin to the new (and poorly rated) Grammy Christmas nominations show, one source suggested to me. We might be far away from LLCoolJ (perpetual Grammy host) giving Kennedy Center awards to Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus.
Michael Jackson Estate Turned Down King of Pop Cameo in New 3D Adam Sandler Flick
EXCLUSIVE Michael Jackson– the beloved version, from the 1980s– will not be making a film comeback anytime soon. According to emails culled from the voluminous Sony hack, Sony Pictures wanted use of Michael’s likeness for their summer 2015 3D Adam Sandler movie “Pixels.” They were turned down flat.
The emails turned up in a group found by musician Val Broeksmit, who’s been releasing his findings much to Sony’s chagrin on Twitter. Sony has vowed to sue Twitter and Broeksmit. But so much of the material is already coursing its way through the internet that it might be difficult to rebottle this genie.
According to the emails, a production exec reached out to Sony’s Amy Pascal for help persuading Jackson estate lawyers John Branca and Karen Langford in their quest to include Jackson with a bunch of 80s icons including — this is from the email– Bruce Springsteen, Mr. T, Ronald Reagan and Hall & Oates.
Langford tells Jonathan Kadin that, off the record, she might consider letting them use Jackson’s image if the fee were in the high six figures. But Kadin says the studio usually pays $20,000 for cameos such as these, and the budget allows for a maximum of $25,000. So it’s not going to happen even though Kadin says “Sandler is anxious for this to happen.” Kadin notes that the request for such a high fee was a polite way for the Jackson estate to turn them down.
Langford, Kadin says, recalls Jackson’s infamous cameo in “Men in Black 2” and that it wasn’t received well. You may recall that Michael wouldn’t give Sony Music the final master tapes for the “Invincible” album to release until they secured him this role.
FBI Help Wanted: Posts Ads Looking for Cyber Specialists: “Discover why, more than ever, an FBI cyber career is for you”
Is this really the way they do it? The FBI is posting help wanted ads looking for special agents who are cyber specialists.
The ads implore potential employees: “Discover why, more than ever, an FBI cyber career is for you.”
Special Agent Minimum Requirements:
Must be between the ages of 23 and 36 1/2
Must have a bachelor’s degree from a U.S accredited college/university
Must have three (3) years of full-time work experience in one or more of the area(s) listed below**
Must be available for assignment anywhere in the FBI’s jurisdiction
Must be in excellent physical condition with the ability to pass a rigorous physical fitness test
Must meet all other requirements for the Special Agent position
There’s no mention of typing skills. But I’d guess a minimum of 20 words a minute.
Computer Scientist:
Highlights:
8-week training course in Quantico, VA
Legal and ethical training for investigations
Advanced malware reverse engineering analysis
Intrusion detection and investigation techniques
Digital forensic and evidence gathering techniques
Computer Scientist Minimum Requirements:
Must have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or any degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. Fifteen of those hours must include differential and integral calculus.
Internship Requirements:
Must be enrolled full-time in an accredited school or university
Must be a college sophomore, junior, senior or graduate student at the time of hire. (A participant cannot be graduating before the program begins)
Must have a 3.0 GPA at the time of application
Not sure if this is paid or unpaid. Must know Windows Vista and xywrite*. (*this an inside joke for writers who used computers in the late 1980s.)