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
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
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
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
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
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