It looks like U.S. authorities have stumbled again in their pursuit of Roman Polanski. The controversial director was arrested and question in Krakow, Poland at the request of the U.S. while on a visit to Poland. I’ve spoken to someone who was with Polanski earlier in the week in Warsaw. He went there for a museum opening but also to scout locations for his movie of “The Dreyfus Affair.” By now he should be safely back in Paris. But this little adventure should be a warning that he will always have trouble outside of France. The US is still trying to bring Polanski back on the 1977 charges of sex with a minor. Their last effort to do resulted in a house arrest in Switzerland. Polanski was subsequently released. More to come…
Garth Brooks Sends Out Weird Email About New Album, Gives Wrong Date of Sister’s Death
Garth Brooks is trying to tie the free streaming of his new album to the first anniversary of his sister’s death. He writes in an email to fans sent overnight that “we lost my sister Betsy on Halloween night.” But his half sister, Betsy Smittle, died on November 2, 2013. I’m sure he means well, Garth is a nice guy, but what the heck is this all about?
Well, it’s about ghosts. Betsy is dead, and Garth has his own digital music service called Ghostunes. And on Halloween, for 24 hours, he’s streaming a preview of his new album on Ghostunes. He says a friend of his at Ghostunes suggested this. Maybe. But Brooks owns Ghostunes. He makes it seem like someone else does.
And Ghostunes is really wonky. It’s just kind of a mess. Trisha Yearwood’s new album is listed as having come out on September 20th. When I saw this, I panicked. Really? Did I miss it? No, “Prizefighter” will be released on November 17th. Not only that, on a list of “Garth’s favorite artists” Yearwood is only number 10. She’s his wife! That can’t be a good thing.
Is Ghostunes ready for an onslaught of listeners tomorrow? I doubt it. I tried lots of things, from selecting to actually trying to buy stuff. The site needs a squirt of WD 40, like the Tin Man. And the selection of songs and albums is scattershot. They do have Taylor Swift’s new album, “1989” for $11.99– a dollar less than iTunes– but you have to hunt for it.
As for Garth’s new album, it still has no title. Or release date. And it’s unclear if what’s streaming is little bits of songs with commentary, or the whole thing. The show begins at midnight tonight.
Nathan Lane’s New Job Means It’s Official: Broadway Smash Hit It’s Only A Play Really Does Close January 4th
If you thought there was a fervor for tickets to “It’s Only a Play” on Broadway with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, it’s going to get worse when this news spreads. The show cannot go on past January 4th after all. Despite its staggering box office success, the party in Megan Mullaly’s New York penthouse will come to an end after all.
The reason is that Nathan Lane starts rehearsals the next day for a February 5th opening at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He’s starring with Brian Dennehy in a reunion of their 2012 Goodman Theater production of Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh.” That production runs February 5th-March 15th and was announced last December. It just somehow escaped everyone’s attention. But now BAM has put out a press release, tickets are on sale.
“It’s Only a Play” averages $1.3 million a week, which is like a big musical, not a “straight play.” It could go on for ages. But the audience wants to see Lane and Broderick. While the rest of the cast is superb, that’s a marketing reality. It’s what kept “The Producers” from for playing on and on for years.
Maybe the Terrence McNally play could come back next fall. It’s doubtful that Lane will want to return to it right after the O’Neill. But now I’m afraid people may go to extremes to get tickets before January 4th. What a dilemma. Everyone should have it.
Hollywood No Imagination: Matt Damon in Saving Private Ryan, on Mars This Time
Matt Damon is too smart for this. So is Ridley Scott. Someone, please. Stop this madness. They’re going to make a movie called “The Martian.” Damon is stranded on Mars when he’s left behind by other astronauts. So NASA is sending a crack team to go after him, at all costs.
Okay, Matt Damon played Private Ryan in “Saving Private Ryan,” where he had to be rescued by Tom Hanks and friends. Also, Matt Damon opens next Friday in “Interstellar,” where he plays — wait for it– an astronaut who’s been left behind on some planet, and Matthew McConaughey goes to find him. Why not “My Favorite Martian?”
Call this “Saving Captain Watney.”
It’s bad enough that “Interstellar” is like a long not-sequel to “Gravity.” But really, isn’t there anything else these talented people can do with themselves? Oh, and get this: they’re going to have the Chinese Space Administration be key to the rescue so they can play the movie in China without censorship. And without MSG. Or maybe at MSG! As Elvis Costello once put it: “I don’t how much more this I can take.”
This is why the box office is in the toilet, kids.
Marvel Announce 9 New Comic Book Films, But Nothing for Black Widow or The Hulk
You may have heard: all anyone wants to make these days is movies based on comic books. If I were 12, I’d be very excited. What was a novelty has now become its own business. Who’d-a thunk it? Anyway, sort of screwed in this deal are Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo, respectively Black Widow and The Hulk. Why don’t they get their own movies? Meanwhile, Chadwick Boseman was chosen as Black Panther. But no word on whether we’ll see more of Anthony Mackie in Captain America films. Also, Tom Hiddleston will return as Loki in a new Thor movie. But no Loki movie. Hiddleston, I am sure, wants an Oscar and to get Daniel Day Lewis type roles. Marvel is part of Disney. Kevin Feige made the announcement. But Alan Horn runs Disney, used to run Warner Bros. until it was “rearranged.” This has to be sweet for him.
Here’s the list:
May 5, 2015: Avengers: Age Of Ultron
July 17, 2015: Ant-Man
May 6, 2016: Captain America: Civil War
November 4, 2016: Doctor Strange
May 5, 2017: Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 (previously July 28, 2017)
July 28, 2017: Thor: Ragnarok
November 3, 2017: Black Panther
May 4, 2018: Avengers: Infinity War – Part I
July 6, 2018: Captain Marvel
November 2, 2018: The Inhumans
May 3, 2019: Avengers: Infinity War – Part II
Rene Russo Is Back After 5 Years Off: “I Wasn’t Sick, I Just Did it for Myself”
I am happy to report that Rene Russo is back in the movies! She co-stars this week in her husband Dan Gilroy’s exceellent film “Nightcrawler” with Jake Gyllenhaal. Rene took five year off after working since age 9. Some people– like me!– thought it was because of something she told a TV show recently about being “bi-polar.”
“Oh no!” Russo said at the Stone Rose (Time Warner Center) after party for “Nightcrawler” this week. She laughed. “IÂ think I was always bi-polar, or something! That’s not the reason I took time off! ” Her off handed remark got a lot of headlines. But Russo seems about as grounded as a person could be after making a lot of movies with Mel Gibson (in his pre-crazy days), Pierce Brosnan, Kevin Costner, Dennis Quaid, Al Pacino– the list of leading men goes on and on. Russo is always the number 1 choice to play “the wife” in big budget movies.
“Nightcrawlers” should fix that. Rene plays a local TV news producer in LA with a voracious appetite for ratings, headlines, and personal enjoyment. In one scene, she kicks the LAPD out of her station (improbably but fun to watch). She flirts shamelessly with Gyllenhaal, who’s getting Oscar buzz for his role as a freelance cameraman who scours LA at night looking for sensational stories.
So what’s Russo been doing? “Gardening,” she says. “And being with my daughter. It was time.” Now she’s back, if anyone wants to know . She’s got one film in the can, and she’s starring in Nancy Meyers’ “The Intern” next. According to the imdb, she’s 60. But 60 is the new 40 in Hollywood. Rene is a fox. And she’s had no plastic surgery. (Maybe the gardening is good for you!)
PS “Nightcrawler” is one of my favorite films of this year. And it’s a Gilroy family affair. Dan wrote and directed, Tony — best known for writing three “Bourne” movies and “Michael Clayton” — is a producer on this one, and brother John is the film editor! By the way, superstar cinematographer Robert Elswit makes “Nightcrawler” look pretty damn sumptuous.
Elton John Tells Crowd of Stars and Donors: “Pope Francis is My Hero–Make Him a Saint Already!”
Elton John and David Furnish threw their annual AIDS fundraiser in New York Tuesday, with Sir Elton sitting down at the piano and playing his hits for the well-heeled, formal-clad crowd at Cipriani Wall Street. (UPDATE: They raised $3.7 million.)
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The audience was more star studded than usual: Alec Baldwin with wife Hilaria, Mike Myers and his wife Kelly, Al Roker and Deborah Roberts, Matt Lauer, Cynthia McFadden, even New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his lady friend, famous cook book author and lifestyle personality Sandra Lee was there. I ran into famed director Baz Luhrmann and his multiple Oscar wining wife Cahterine Martin as well.
Anderson Cooper was the emcee, as usual. Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, is a huge EJAF supporter. Other guests included Padma Lakshmi of “Top Chef,” Tommy Hilfiger, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tony winner Judith Light with actor husband Robert Desiderio.
Sir Elton spoke passionately about ending AIDS in his lifetime to the point that the EJAF could cease to exist. And he had high praise for the Vatican. “Pope Francis my hero,” he said, praising the Pontiff lavishly for his efforts to educate about AIDS and change international attitudes. The Pope should be doing the Crocodile Rock this morning after hearing so many compliments !
“He is a compassionate, loving man who wants everybody to be included in the love of God,” Sir Elton said of the pope. “It is formidable what he is trying to do against many, many people in the church that opposes. He is courageous and he is fearless, and that’s what we need in the world today.” He added: “Make him a saint already, ok?”
Elton and David are true mensches. Their charity is one of the most effective in the world when it comes to raising money and disbursing it for AIDS research and programs. They are far more frugal with their administrative money than some other more publicized groups, that’s for sure.
Taylor Swift Will Sell More Copies of New Album This Week Than the Total Top 50 This Week
Taylor Swift, here to save the record business. Her new album, “1989,” is on track to sell 1 million copies this week. That would make “1989” the only million seller of 2014. It would also mean that the album will sell more copies than the total top 50 sold last week. Even with strong debuts today by Slipknot, Neil Diamond, and Aretha Franklin, the top 50 albums sold on CD or digital download came in just under 1 million total. That’s the state of the business now, with Spotify and other streaming services outstripping actual sales now by huge numbers. If all boats rise with Swift’s success, next Tuesday could be a very happy day in music land. Inaddition to lots of other bad news, U2 sold only 12,055 copies in its second week for “Songs of Innocence.” That kind of sale wouldn’t pay for a pair of Bono’s glasses, let alone The Edge’s Malibu complex of homes.
Review: “Interstellar” Is A Big, Beautiful, Insane B Movie Tribute to Spielberg and Kubrick
Christopher Nolan’s very big budget, big studio, big screen “Interstellar”: it’s three hours long, and completely insane. Some of it is a tribute to “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Some of it riffs Steven Spielberg’s later period — “Minority Report,” “A.I.,” “War of the Worlds.” Some of it is really cheesy. Some of it is incomprehensible. Ambitious? Oh yes. Does it stop when it should? (No, just like “A.I.”) Is it boring? Never. It’s a big, beautiful B movie.
First, you want to know: there’s formidable work by all the actors. It’s not exactly Oscar caliber because the story, and the dialogue, are often mad. But you know you’re in good hands with Oscar winners Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, who have to advance the story while explaining it. Jessica Chastain and surprise player Matt Damon have showier roles, so they resonate a tad more– they’re more reactive. John Lithgow and Michael Caine are the steady sages–always great to see them. Ellen Burstyn, too, in old-old make up, very “Benjamin Button,” is a pleasure. Bill Irwin is the ironic voice of the “Lost in Space” type robot, R2D2 as the walking slab riffed from “2001.”
There’s a kid, too: Mackenzie Foy is outstanding as the younger version of Jessica Chastain’s character, McConaughey’s daughter.
Nolan and his brother Jonathan started with “Memento,” a movie told backwards. It was brilliant because it was fresh, even if it didn’t totally make sense. Is that 15 years ago? Increasingly, the movies have become tone poems that are impossible to understand. “Interstellar” is the pinnacle of this process.
After a while, you figure out enough to get by. You will make it to the end and kind of understand the main points. There’s some philosophizing on the order of Linus discussing Nietzsche in “Peanuts.” The cinematography is stunning. Outer space really looks cool. The CGI is very good, although there are a couple of “Lost in Space” kind of moments. The music is a hodgepodge, and often way too loud. A key revelation is nearly drowned out by a mashup of faux Wagner and “Tubular Bells.”
Will it be a hit? I think so. “Interstellar” if nothing else is the Big Movie Experience of the fall-holiday season. People will be talking about it. All the tech stuff will be up for awards. I mean, the film company says it grew a 500 acre cornfield in Canada just for the movie! Plus, there are so many close ups of the spine of Stephen King’s “The Stand” that that book should get a big boost in sales. Plus Hamilton watches has a huge product placement. There’s too much riding on this film!
Kudos to McConaughey. He does his job very well. He’s the guide to a maze, and he keeps the audience in place. And he gets rewarded in scenes with Matt Damon that you won’t forget.
Steve Carell Teaming up with “Lone Ranger” Director Gore Verbinski?
Hi ho! “The Lone Ranger” disaster wasn’t enough to stop Gore Verbinski from directing another movie. Word has it that he will shoot a new feature next winter called “Gregory the Nuisance.” The star is supposed to be Steve Carell, and the producer is Arnon Milchan. Carell, if he goes through with this, will be just fresh from the Oscars and a likely nomination for “Foxcatcher.” Verbinski is recovering from “Lone Ranger” and 35
“Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. Adam Merims, whose credits include Lee Daniels’ “The Butler,” is going to be executive producer. “Gregory” will shoot partially in Serbia, but is set in North Korea, where Carell’s title character goes as a filmmaker. I guess North Korea is now the setting for a lot of comedies. Can Gore Verbinski make a comedy? That’s funny? This remains to be seen. Anyway, I just pass along the news. If something changes, let me know. But this does seem like it’s happening. An LLC for this production was set up last March according to public records. It might be good for Korean actors. You never know.