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Prince on “SNL” (Watch Video): 8 Minute Jam, No Hits, Small Sales Bounce, Show Ratings Good

Roger Friedman
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Prince on “SNL” (Watch Video): 8 Minute Jam, No Hits, Small Sales Bounce, Show Ratings Good

Prince got a little bit of a bounce saleswise from his “SNL” appearance on Saturday night. His own album “Art Official Age” is up to 16 on iTunes. The album with 3rdEyeGirl, “Plectrumelectrum” is at 35. On amazon, they’re 29 and 49 respectively. The ratings for the Chris Rock-Prince combo were very good– 4.9 in the key demo. Interesting, too, because there was heavy use of the black SNL players, black skits, and they were a welcome change.

I was lucky enough to be at the earlier dress rehearsal show, and you could feel the electricity in the room when Prince took the stage. He played 3 songs from the new albums, no discernible classic hits, and didn’t take a bow with Chris Rock and the cast at the end of the show– or on the live show. (Rock was hilarious.)

Cool audience member: Julia Sweeney, (still) cherubic former “SNL” star, with her husband and daughter. “I thought I’d show them what it was like,” she said, as if bringing them back to the old neighborhood. On Friday she’d been on the Today show for Halloween as her “It’s Pat” character.

Michael Jackson Prosecutor Tom Sneddon, 73, Dies; Pursued the Singer on a Vendetta

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson Prosecutor Tom Sneddon, 73, Dies; Pursued the Singer on a Vendetta

There isn’t much nice I can say about Tom Sneddon, the former Santa Barbara District Attorney. He is dead at age 73. You’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead. But this is what I know: Sneddon conducted a vendetta against Michael Jackson that went on for years. He bungled the 1993 investigation with Jordan Chandler. And then in 2005 Sneddon — with no real evidence– brought Jackson to trial and destroyed him. The child molestation case was almost completely fabricated, with Sneddon at its forefront. It almost certainly led to Jackson’s death.

I watched Tom Sneddon in court through the winter and spring of 2005. He was about as unsophisticated as he could be in upscale Santa Barbara. It’s hard to believe a guy who seemed like such a hick could be popular with wealthy constituents. His pursuit of Michael Jackson was ridiculous, and you could say bordered on racist. It was clear he wanted Jackson out of Santa Ynez, Los Olivos and the whole area. Let’s not forget: Sneddon threw a victory party at a local restaurant during jury deliberations. He was convinced he’d won. It was in the poorest taste, and he was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Early on, Sneddon knew that the Arvizo family was nutty. Not only that, there was ample evidence they were lying about a lot of things starting with their “kidnapping” by Jackson. If yours truly had seen the humungous pile of receipts rung up by the Arvizo’s during their “incarceration,” certainly Sneddon knew about them, too. I certainly reported enough stories at the time detailing the Arvizos’ activities– shopping, restaurants, vacations, spa treatments– that a D.A. with a legitimate brief would have questioned the veracity of his government witnesses.

But Sneddon was out to get Michael Jackson. He’d lost out in 1993 when Jackson paid off Chandler. He wasn’t thrilled that Jackson had needled him in songs on subsequent albums. When Sneddon turned up at Neverland in November 2003 with bottom feeding tabloid reporter Diane Dimond for the big search and arrest, he showed his cards. It was a grudge match return.

That Tom Mesereau, Jackson’s defense lawyer, made such mincemeat of that prosecutors’ office should tell us everything. Sneddon did a lot of smirking in that trial. He really thought he was sending Michael Jackson to prison. He certainly humiliated the pop star. But then his case fell apart: Janet Arvizo, revealed as a welfare cheat, told Tom Mesereau she thought Jackson was going to take her kids away in a big helium balloon. She and her kids all had different stories. No one could explain how Arvizo was getting bikini waxes while Sneddon insisted she’d been taken against her will.

Jackson left Los Olivos two weeks after the trial was over. Mesereau had advised him to go. Sneddon, he said, would never give up. He’d make Jackson’s life a living hell. So I’m sorry Tom Sneddon is dead, and certainly it’s a terrible loss for his family. Maybe he was a wonderful father and husband. But his overzealousness to get even with Michael Jackson caused a lot of damage. The fact is, and people don’t like this, Michael Jackson was innocent of those charges. They should never have been brought.

Movie Box Office Ends in Near-Tie, and Very Scary Low Numbers Overall

Roger Friedman
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Movie Box Office Ends in Near-Tie, and Very Scary Low Numbers Overall

The weekend movie box office wasn’t good for a couple of reasons:  it ended in a near tie. And the numbers it ended with were very, very low.

Dan Gilroy’s “Nightcrawler” starring Jake Gyllenhaal made only $10.909 million for the whole freakin’ weekend. On top of that, “Ouija,” a movie based on a board game, finished right behind it with $10.9 million. Okay, Friday was Halloween, so fewer people than usual went to the movies. But what happened on Saturday and Sunday?

Altogether, the top 10 came in under $50 mil for the weekend. Wait. What? This sounds like a story I’d write about the pop music charts. But it isn’t. It’s the movie business. Hollywood. And if the top 10 makes less than $50 mil for the whole weekend, then a lot of heads are going to roll. It takes a lot of money to support Hollywood. That number is not enough.

It may just be the luck of the draw or a bad cycle. But in the top only “Gone Girl” has made over $100 million. All 9 releases are low earners and don’t have big prospects. “Fury” with Brad Pitt and “John Wick” with Keanu Reeves aren’t exactly bringing people in by the droves.

All hopes are now pinned on “Interstellar” and “Big Hero 6” next Friday. We’ll see what happens. But there has to be real concern at the studios about the year’s numbers and how they’re going to translate into lifestyles.

 

Oscars: 2 Months Left and No Clear Leader As Season Reflects This Year’s Box Office Malaise

Roger Friedman
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Oscars: 2 Months Left and No Clear Leader As Season Reflects This Year’s Box Office Malaise

You never know what kind of year it will be in movies. For the last couple of years, it’s been good times. The box office numbers were high, and the critics’ movies were in abundance. There was cross over, too. So the Academy Awards were really a  contest, with lots of nail biting. Prognosticators were in full force.

But 2014? Not so much. We are now two months away from the end of the year, and the big deadline. For the first time in a long time, we’ve seen a lot already. Only a few movies remain serious question marks: Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper,” Rob Marshall’s “Into the Woods,” Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken.”  Another film with a lot of promise, “Selma,” from Ava Duvernay, isn’t ready. It’s so not ready that only 30 minutes of it will be shown at the AFI fest next week.

For once, there is no last minute Harvey Weinstein addition. His films have all been seen. There will be no drama over  “wet print” screenings. We complained about them. Now we miss them.

This year, unlike last, we don’t have a big important movie like “12 Years a Slave.” There’s no “Gravity” (“Interstellar” does however talk about gravity a lot). “American Hustle” for 2014? Closest would be “Foxcatcher.” And so we wait and see. Could it be JC Chandor’s “A Most Violent Year”? That would certainly make up for Roadkill Attractions destroying his “All is Lost.”

I don’t know why, it’s just a feeling, but the importance of “Boyhood,” how people feel when they see it, and how it was made could come back if it has the right campaign. Will Josh Sapan spend the money to make it happen? Could be, he’s very smart.

So, to paraphrase Sting from his new musical, what have we got? This is it:

1. Foxcatcher

2. Boyhood

3. The Imitation Game

4. The Theory of Everything

5. Whiplash

6. The Grand Budapest Hotel

7. St. Vincent

8. Birdman

9. Wild

10. Mr. Turner

What we don’t have: realistic Best Picture nominations for “Gone Girl,” “Inherent Vice,” or “Interstellar.” Elements of these films may wind up with nominations, but the totals are less than the parts. Julianne Moore is a shoo in for “Still Alice,” but the movie is slight.

Mariah Carey Is Going to Do Christmas Shows at the Beacon in NYC

Roger Friedman
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Mariah Carey Is Going to Do Christmas Shows at the Beacon in NYC

Here she comes! Miss Mariah Carey is going to do four shows at the Beacon Theater in New York for Christmas. The shows are December 15, 16, 18, and 20. They’re tied to the 20th anniversary of her Xmas hit “All I Want for Christmas is You.” The shows are billed as holiday extravaganzas, but you know Mariah will be singing her hits. Her “lambily” will go crazy otherwise. Tickets go on sale November 10th. Mariah just wrapped a month of sold out shows in Asia where she had one bad night followed by a dozen or more good ones. The Beacon is just right for her– not too big but big enough. You can also imagine the party atmosphere of lots of different versions of that song, and people on stage rocking out to it. Go, Mariah! Maybe this will become an annual tradition.

Taylor Swift Marketing Rampage Will Bring Her a Whopping 1.3 Million in Music Sales

Roger Friedman
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Taylor Swift Marketing Rampage Will Bring Her a Whopping 1.3 Million in Music Sales

Taylor Swift has partied all week like it’s 1989. The result is that she will likely have sold 1.3 million copies of her “1989” album when the official count begins on Monday.

You can’t say she didn’t work hard. Her media appearances have been endless. So have the commercial tie ins with Clear Channel, er, I Heart Music Radio. She’s been all over “Good Morning America.” And to much consternation she appointed herself tourist ambassador to New York.

No act has sold a million albums this year at all. No one. Nada. That’s how bad things are. Last week’s total for the top 50 was 1.1 million unit. So Swift will actually outsell the entire total top 50 in one fell swoop. Pretty impressive.

Of course, what it is that she’s selling is another story altogether. Almost all of “1989” is a product of Max Martin and Shellback. Swift wrote only one song by herself, and it sounds like the songs she used to sing before turning into a product. But hey, you know, she could always return to that. With Martin, she’s singing anthemic commercials. They’re like Snapchat pictures– they evaporate in 30 seconds.

Does it matter? Nah. Just shake it off!

Broadway: Ain’t Nothing Like “The Real Thing” as Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ewan McGregor Make Debuts

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: Ain’t Nothing Like “The Real Thing” as Maggie Gyllenhaal and Ewan McGregor Make Debuts

It’s 30 years since Mike Nichols directed Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Christine Baranski and Peter Gallagher in Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing.” Cynthia Nixon played the daughter of Irons and Close. It was such a great production thatit’s never been forgotten. There’s a lot to live up to. In 2000, David Leveaux directed a very good revival with the the excellent Stephen Dillane and Jennifer Ehle. They managed to stay the course.

Last night there was a crackle in the air as “The Real Thing” returned, this time to the Roundabout Theater. It’s Stoppard’s most accessible play. This time Sam Gold is directing movie stars Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal in their Broadway debuts. Josh Hamilton, a New York theater stalwart, is supporting, as is Nixon, returning now as an adult even though she’s won a Best Actress Tony Award.

The actors are superb, but this is not “The real thing.” It is something else. It’s all on one set, and an antiseptic one at that. All of Nichols’ dynamic direction is gone. And that’s too bad since — yikes– Nichols was sitting right up front with wife Diane Sawyer. Baranski and Gallagher were also in the house.  So was Rosemary Harris, the legend, and mother of Jennifer Ehle. Harris is starring off Broadway in Stoppard’s “India Ink.”

So many Real Thing/Stoppard grads. They had to be polite. And it’s not because of the actors. I was really impressed with McGregor — who’s done a lot of theater in the West End of London, and Gyllenhaal, who is luminous and top notch. Maggie told me that Glenn Close sent flowers and a note that read “Welcome to Broadway.” (Soon Close will be around the corner in “A Delicate Balance.”) Josh Hamilton get the clipped British attitude really well. (Nixon may be miscast– I think she did it for the novelty of returning to the play. She’s too big for that part now.)

Anyway, it’s too bad “The Real Thing” didn’t measure up to memory. But it’s worth seeing for the actors. Nichols, by the way, was very enthusiastic at intermission when we chatted. But he’s a very generous person. Stoppard looked non plussed, and we talked about “Arcadia” and “Shakespeare in Love.” Graydon Carter was there with wife Anna. “This is Our Youth” playwright Kenny Lonergan came to support Hamilton. I ran into Dianne Wiest, which was the treat of the night. I missed seeing Rosie O’Donnell.

Attendance report: Jake Gyllenhaal already saw his sister’s performance; he was filming a movie last night. Maggie’s mother Naomi Foner was there, as was husband Peter Sarsgard, who skipped the party because he was filming as well. Jake opens today in the excellent movie “Nightcrawler,” which means this is quite a week for the Gyllenhaals. Bravo!

“True Detective” Producer-Writer Cary Fukunaga Says He Isn’t Returning for Season 2

Roger Friedman
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“True Detective” Producer-Writer Cary Fukunaga Says He Isn’t Returning for Season 2

Last night’s opening of the revival of Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing” brought out a lot of interesting guests including Cary Fukunaga, producer-writer of one of my favorite shows, “True Detective.” We talked about the movie he just shot with Idris Elba, called “Beasts of No Nation.” Shot in West Africa with local actors, the movie will go the festival circuit in 2015, maybe even to Cannes.

Fukunaga was sporting a Johnny Depp look — long hair, hat– and was one of the nicest, softest spoken guys I’ve met. He told me, however, that he is not returning to “True Detective.” There had been reports that he was going to be listed as Executive Producer, but we didn’t discuss that. He made it pretty clear (I was surprised) that he won’t return to the second season of the show. What will he do? “Promote the movie, maybe make another one. I’ve got some TV things lined up, too.”

“You’re turning the show over to people who know what they’re doing, I guess, I said. Fukunaga shrugged. “I hope so,” he said. My feeling is the show will be fine, and he has bigger fish to fry. This guy is off to make movies. The agents in attendance were already introducing him to “Real Thing” star Ewan MacGregor, and Fukunaga was in deep chat with Maggie Gyllenhaal’s screenwriter mother Naomi Foner.

PS Don’t jump all over me on this. I haven’t followed any of the backstage saga at “True Detective.” For more on that, Google it, I guess.

 

Case Against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams Over “Blurred Lines” Can Go to Trial: Musicologists Cite Similarities to Marvin Gaye Song

Roger Friedman
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Case Against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams Over “Blurred Lines” Can Go to Trial: Musicologists Cite Similarities to Marvin Gaye Song

Marvin Gaye’s family got the go ahead to proceed to a trial over “Blurred Lines.” The judge, named Kronstadt, rhymes with Ronstadt, made the ruling against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams. The Gaye family says they nicked “Got to Give It Up” to make their song. Practically anyone who’s heard both songs knows the story. But Thicke and Williams will fight it to the end. Thicke has nicked a lot of Marvin Gaye songs over the years including “Trouble Man” (paid for a license for his “Million Dolla Baby”) and “Love After War,” which is also named in the suit. That song rips off Gaye’s “After the Dance.” Thicke should be explaining some of his other songs, too. His “Cloud 9” rips off the lyrics of the 1969 Temptations hit, for example. It just goes on and on. What is with this guy?

Two out of three major musicologists cited all kinds of similarities between Thicke’s songs and Gaye’s, as you can read here.

Here’s the judge’s ruling:

Roman Polanski Detained, Released by Police in Poland after US Request

Roger Friedman
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Roman Polanski Detained, Released by Police in Poland after US Request

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…

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