At last here’s Adam Levine singing “Lost Stars” from “Begin Again.” The movie opens June 27th in New York and L.A. and then expands. A great movie, with great songs. You have to see this film. “Lost Stars” was written by Gregg Alexander and Danielle Brisebois. It’s a hit!
“Teenie” Hodges, Famed Memphis Guitarist and Al Green Songwriter, Dead at 68
Mabon Lewis “Teenie” Hodges, the famed Memphis guitarist and co writer of many of Al Green’s most famous hits, has died in Dallas at age 68. Among the songs he wrote with Al Green and/or the late Willie Mitchell: “Take Me to the River,” “Love and Happiness,” “LOVE (Love),” and “Here I Am (Come and Take Me).” Teenie and his brothers Charles and Leroy made up the Hi Records Rhythm section, a killer group that played on all those hits as well as Ann Peebles’ many hits (“I Can’t Stand the Rain”) as well as those by Syl Johnson and Otis Clay. It’s a sad sad day in Memphis.
Brad Pitt Movie World War 2 Epic Movie “Fury”: Reshoots in July for November Release
Will “Fury,” Sony’s big World War II epic, make its November release date? Hard to say considering that a casting call went out today for re-shoots beginning July 1st in Los Angeles. The mega-expensive looking explosive fest is seeking two new actors to play SS officers, even though characters sounding like them already appear to be in the film.
“Fury” stars Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf, with a huge cast that includes Logan Lerman, Scott Eastwood, and Michael Pena. (It’s all guys, too. There are no women, which means no love story. There isn’t even a token well-known young actress.) David Ayer, who made the highly respected but grim “End of Watch” iwth Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal, directs. John Lesher and Bill Block are the producers.
For Pitt, troubled reshoots are no stranger. “World War Z” endured almost an entire reshoot before it became a big hit. But “Fury” isn’t produced by Pitt’s company, Plan B. And the need for two more actors (at least that’s what’s public) suggests either the story doesn’t make sense, or has to be altered.
Last week, Sony released a mini teaser trailer for “Fury” and it looked pretty good. But it also looks pretty expensive, too- a lot more than the advertised $80 million– at least twice that.
Will “Fury” make November? Or will it join Warner Bros’ Wachowskis’ movie in February 2015? This is why everyone in Hollywood still lives on Mylanta and Xanax!
Daytime Emmys: “GMA” Beats “Today,” Eileen Davidson Best Actress in a Soap
Daytime Emmy awards winners: “Good Morning America” beat the “Today” show, which seems ridiculous, but what do I know? “GMA” most mornings is a jackal-fest. One morning in this last year they were having a game show in the middle of the program. This is what people want or think is good, I guess.
On soaps, Eileen Davidson finally won Best Actress after 20 something years on “Young and the Restless” and “Days of Our Lives.” (She hasn’t aged, either, which is worth an award.) She won for “Days,” a show that is mostly unwatchable. But Davidson is the rare beauty with a brain. She deserves it.
“Young and the Restless” was named Best Daytime Drama, which it wasn’t (General Hospital should have gotten that). Interesting, Best Directing team was from “One Life to Live,” which was online after being cancelled by ABC. “All My Children” and “OLTL” won some technical awards on Saturday night, too. They’re both gone now. ABC should really figure out how to bring them back.
Here are the winners:
Outstanding Drama Series
“The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS)
“Days of Our Lives” (NBC)
“One Life to Live” (TOLN.com)
“The Young and the Restless” (CBS)
Outstanding Children’s Series
“Animal Science” (Syndicated)
“Game Changers With Kevin Frazier” (CBS)
“R.L. Stine’s the Haunting Hour: The Series” (Hub Network
)
“Sea Rescue” (Syndicated)
Outstanding Culinary Series
“A Moveable Feast With Fine Cooking” (PBS)
“Beer Geeks” (Syndicated)
“Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction” (Food Network)
“Giada at Home” (Food Network)
“The Mind of a Chef” (PBS)
“My Grandmother’s Ravioli” (Cooking Channel)
Outstanding Game Show
“The American Bible Challenge” (Game Show Network)
“The Chase” (Game Show Network)
“Jeopardy!” (Syndicated)
“Let’s Make a Deal” (CBS)
“The Price Is Right” (CBS)
“Wheel of Fortune” (Syndicated)
Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Show
“Divorce Court” (Syndicated)
“Judge Judy” (Syndicated)
“Justice for All With Christina Perez” (Syndicated)
“The People’s Court” (Syndicated)
Outstanding Morning Show
“CBS Sunday Morning” (CBS)
“CBS This Morning” (CBS)
“Good Morning America” (ABC)
“Today Show” (NBC)
Outstanding Talk Show/Information
“The Chew” (ABC)
“The Dr. Oz Show” (Syndicated)
“Dr. Phil” (Syndicated)
“Steve Harvey” (Syndicated)
Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (Syndicated)
“Live! With Kelly and Michael” (Syndicated)
“Rachael Ray” (Syndicated)
“The Talk” (CBS)
“The View” (ABC)
Outstanding Entertainment News Show (Tie)
“Access Hollywood” (NBC)
“E! News” (E!)
“Entertainment Tonight” (CBS)
“Extra” (Syndicated)
“TMZ” (Syndicated)
Outstanding Special Class Special
“A World of Dreams: Voices From the OUT100″ (Here TV)
“Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade” (ABC)
“mun2 News Special: Hecho en America” (mun2)
“The Young and the Restless: Jeanne Cooper Tribute” (CBS)
Outstanding Lead Actress Drama
Eileen Davidson, “Days of Our Lives” (Kristin)
Katherine Kelly Lang, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (Brooke)
Heather Tom, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (Katie)
Arianne Zucker, “Days of Our Lives” (Nicole)
Outstanding Lead Actor Drama
Peter Bergman, “The Young and the Restless” (Jack)
Doug Davidson, “The Young and the Restless” (Paul)
Christian LeBlanc, “The Young and the Restless” (Michael)
Billy Miller, “The Young and the Restless” (Billy)
Jason Thompson, “General Hospital” (Patrick)
Outstanding Supporting Actress Drama
Melissa Claire Egan, “The Young and the Restless” (Chelsea)
Jane Elliot, “General Hospital” (Tracy)
Amelia Heinle, “The Young and the Restless” (Victoria)
Elizabeth Hendrickson, “The Young and the Restless” (Chloe)
Kelly Sullivan, “General Hospital” (Connie)
Outstanding Supporting Actor Drama
Bradford Anderson, “General Hospital’ (Damian)
Steve Burton, “The Young and the Restless” (Dylan)
Scott Clifton, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (Liam)
Eric Martsolf, “Days of Our Lives” (Brady)
Dominic Zamprogna, “General Hospital” (Dante)
Outstanding Younger Actress Drama
Kristen Alderson, “General Hospital” (Kiki)
Lindsey Godfrey, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (Caroline)
Hunter King, “The Young and the Restless” (Summer)
Kim Matula, “The Bold and the Beautiful” (Hope)
Kelly Missal, “One Life to Live” (Danielle)
Outstanding Younger Actor Drama
Bryan Craig, “General Hospital” (Morgan)
Chad Duell, “General Hospital” (Michael)
Max Ehrich, “The Young and the Restless” (Fenn)
Chandler Massey, “Days of Our Lives” (Will)
Daniel Polo, “The Young and the Restless” (Jamie)
Outstanding Culinary Host
Bobby Flay, “Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction” (Food Network)
Giada De Laurentiis, “Giada at Home” (Food Network)
April Bloomfield, “The Mind of a Chef” (PBS)
Rachael Ray, “Rachael Ray’s Week in a Day” (Food Network)
Outstanding Game Host
Wayne Brady, “Let’s Make a Deal” (CBS)
Jeff Foxworthy, “The American Bible Challenge” (Game Show Network)
Steve Harvey, “Family Feud” (Syndicated)
Todd Newton, “Family Game Night
” (Hub Network)
Outstanding Talk Show Host (Tie)
Dr. Mehmet Oz, “The Dr. Oz Show” (Syndicated)
Katie Couric, “Katie” (ABC)
Rachael Ray, “Rachael Ray” (Syndicated)
Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler, Sheryl Underwood, “The Talk” (CBS)
Whoopi Goldberg, Jenny McCarthy, Sherri Shepherd, Barbara Walters, “The View” (ABC)
Outstanding Drama Series/Writing Team
“The Bold and the Beautiful”
“Days of Our Lives”
“The Young and the Restless”
Outstanding Drama Series/Directing Team
“The Bold and the Beautiful”
“One Life to Live”
“The Young and the Restless”
Outstanding Drama Series/Casting Dept.
“The Bold and the Beautiful”
“Days of Our Lives”
“General Hospital”
“The Young and the Restless”
Outstanding Drama Series/Original Song
“Parachute,” “All My Children”
“A Love That Never Ends,” “Days of Our Lives”
“Make Me Remember,” “The Young and the Restless”
“While We Can,” “The Young and the Restless”
Outstanding Drama Series/Costume Design (Tie)
“The Bold and the Beautiful”
“Days of Our Lives”
“General Hospital”
“The Young and the Restless”
Outstanding Drama Series/Hair Styling
“The Bold and the Beautiful”
“Days of Our Lives”
“One Life to Live”
“The Young and the Restless”
Outstanding Drama Series/Makeup (Tie)
“The Bold and the Beautiful”
“Days of Our Lives”
“General Hospital”
“The Young and the Restless
Box Office: “Jersey Boys” Sleeps with the Fishes, “Think Like a Men” Sequel Wins the Weekend
They’ll be second guessing this one for a long time to come. Should “Jersey Boys” have been released in September or October? (Yes.) Should Clint Eastwood have cast someone known to the key demo audience in one of the roles of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons? (Maybe.) Should the movie have glossed over the darker points of the story and just been a jukebox musical on screen? (We’ll never know.)
Anyway, “Jersey Boys” is a dud at the box office with $13.5 million total for the weekend. Luckily it didn’t cost that much. And in the end, it could make money from DVD, streaming and cable. It might have helped if Frankie Valli had turned up to promote it. But Valli skipped all the premieres. It’s clear he didn’t like the movie.
Honestly, the idea of Clint Eastwood and Frankie Valli in the same sentence is odd. Let’s face it. Which two things do not go together? Clint is an American icon, the stoic representative of mid Western values. Frankie is New Jersey. Clint is jazz. Frankie is Atlantic City pop. They’re each great but they don’t mix. Still, I hope people see the movie, it’s very good, it’s just not the fantasy.
“Think Like a Man Too” won the weekend, a killer sequel to the first “Think.” The comedy made $30 million. It only cost $24 million. “Think 3” must already be in script form.
“Edge of Tomorrow” has now made $50 million in China, according to Warner Bros. Is that possible? The Chinese people have taken to the concept of continually starting over and trying to remember what happened the last time. Interesting.
Soaps: “General Hospital” Overtakes “Young and Restless” for Number 1 in Key Demo
ABC tried to kill “General Hospital” right after it cancelled “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.” Somewhere an executive named Brian Frons sits in a darkened room and wonders where it all went wrong. This week, in newly posted ratings, a revived “General Hospital” is number 1 in the keyest demo in soaps– Women 18 to 49. The 51 year old soap beat long time champ “Young and the Restless” with significant numbers.
Of course the irony is that “Y&R” hired the terrible executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps, who nearly destroyed “General Hospital.” Phelps has systematically wrecked “Y&R,” forcing out key actors and letting the ratings slide precipitously. One actor, Michael Muhney, was fired, then smeared in the press, causing the show’s fans to rebel. Nothing’s been resolved, the situation is a mess, and keeps getting worse.
Meanwhile, sources say “GH” snatched away popular actress Michelle Stafford, who’d left “Y&R” to go make YouTube videos with fellow Scientologists. Her one or two weeks on “GH” have obviously helped their ratings. Praise Xenu.
The rise of “GH” is due to former “One Life to Live” writer and producer Ron Carlivati and Frank Valentini. They’ve made the show hip, and fast, and brought back a lot of popular actors who’d been driven away under Phelps’ regime. They’ve also stretched the boundaries of network censors. This past week, a male character observed of a female who’d eaten ribs with him: “She ate my meat and she liked it.”
Soap operas have really changed, I guess.
Women 18-49 rating
1. GH 1.1/7 (same/+.2)
2. Y&R 1.0/7 (-.1/-.3)
3. B&B 0.9/6 (-.1/-.2)
4. DAYS 0.8/6 (-.1/-.1)
Michael Jackson: Sanity Prevails, Disbarred Lawyer Brian Oxman Loses Lawsuit Against State Bar
Remember the good old days when Brian Oxman was fired in the parking lot of the Santa Maria courthouse by Tom Mesereau? Oxman always presented himself on TV as “the Jackson family lawyer” or spokesman. He was neither. Randy Jackson forced Mesereau to put Oxman on Michael’s defense team in the 2005 child molestation trial. I was there the day Oxman fell asleep in court.
Flash forward: Oxman was disbarred last year by the California State Bar Association. His wife, also a lawyer, was suspended for 18 months. Oxman had nothing to lose, so he sued the Bar. Today, his case was dismissed, according to L.A.’s Westside Today.
Oxman was disbarred for mixing funds from a trust account with his own, then obstructing the investigation. He sued the Bar, and all its Board of Trustees. Again, what did he have to lose? So the whole thing was thrown it, and that’s it, he can’t practice law ever again.
A nice flourish as we get to the 5th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. He is no doubt smiling widely in heaven over this one.
Casting Exclusive: Rich Sommer (Mad Men), Fun Popster Jack Antonoff Added to Sally Field Film
Exclusive: “Mad Men” star Rich Sommer, who plays Harry with very thick muttonchop sideburns, has been added to the new Sally Field comedy, “Hello My Name is Doris.” Michael Showalter co-wrote the script and will direct. Also joining the film is Jack Antonoff, better known as one of third of the pop group Fun (“We Are Young”). Antonoff is also known as Lena Dunham’s boyfriend.
Two time Oscar winner Sally Field co-stars with Max Greenfield, the guy who plays Schmidt on “New Girl”, along with Beth Behrs. Sally is a 60ish single woman who takes a self-help class. The result is that she dates a younger guy who turns her onto the hipster scene. I don’t know how that sounds, but everyone involved is pretty talented so we’ll hope for the best.
Showalter takes a big step here. He comes from the comedy troupe The State, has done a lot of acting and writing, but this is his first directing job.
“Jersey Boys” and Why Clint Eastwood Couldn’t Cast William Holden
Clint Eastwood, whose craggy features are by now as familiar as those etched on Mount Rushmore, got a lot of flak for his presenting duties at the Tony Awards. He had problems finding the Teleprompter and mispronounced the last name of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” director Darko Tresnjak. (Anyway, who knows how to pronounce Tresnjak?)
The snarky comments on social media directed at the superstar-director’s age and mental state were by cranky people who didn’t realize that the “Million Dollar Baby” actor-director had spent that entire day in a grueling round of interviews and press events for his new film “Jersey Boys.” His schedule would have taxed anyone twenty years younger.
Earlier in the day Eastwood participated in a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria that included Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice (screenwriters who also wrote the musical book) and the four stars of the film – John Lloyd Young (Frankie Valli), Erich Bergen (Bob Gaudio), Vincent Piazza (Tommy DeVito) and Michael Lomenda (Nick Massi).
Throughout the 40-minute press conference, the young actors addressed the famed director as “Mr. Eastwood.” Almost all the press questions were for Eastwood, whose drawl is a little slower but who is just as sharp and dryly humorous as ever.
As to the question from the moderator, “Why in the world” he decided to do “Jersey Boys”?
“It seemed like something to do,” Eastwood replied.
As for his cameo in the film, drawn from a clip of his famous TV show of the early 1960s: “’Rawhide is more than just a bar in the West Village,” Eastwood joked.
He credited Erich Bergen – his character is the brainchild of all of the Four Seasons hits – for what he called his “Hitchcock moment.” In the scene the guys sit around and watch television and Bergen suggested that a scene from “Rawhide” be playing.
“I started thinking, yeah, it could be because after all that was about the same era, and so I thought, maybe,” Eastwood added. Then when someone he worked with went ahead and put it into the film, “Ok, I’ll live with that,” was his reaction.
Something else resonated about that time for the director that reminded him of what the Four Seasons were going through. “It was that period, 1959-60, that was my first break after doing years of doing bit parts and unappealing roles, so it was a chance to gain a lot of experience in five-six years working with various directors,” especially Sergio Leone.”
Asked about how he related to the Jersey group’s story, Eastwood replied, “I try to relate to the whole thing. I grew up in a neighborhood that was about half Italian-American. It was quite an interesting era in Oakland, Callifornia, so I thought I understand something about that community.”
About those before-PC times, he joked, “When Dinah Washington came out with ‘What a difference a day makes,’ we were going around saying what a difference a dago makes, so these kids were all very friendly and it was a fun era to be in.”
He came to understand how tight the Italian-American community was, something he touched on in the film. “You don’t forgive a lot of things. Maybe clichés, maybe not, but the Italian-American community where you get on the bad side and you’re on the bad side forever but I don’t know if that’s true nowadays but there is sort of a historical feeling about that that I related to.”
To cast “Jersey Boys” Eastwood saw three companies perform the musical in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
John Lloyd Young, an original cast member of “Jersey Boys,” won the Tony in 2006, and was asked to reprise the role from 2012 to 2013. He heard Eastwood was attached to the movie and going around the country watching various companies. When Darren Aronofsky interviewed Eastwood during the Tribeca Film Festival in 2013, Lloyd Young had a hunch the director would take in his matinee next day.
“I was in the wings before I was about to start work and we heard that there was a standing ovation in the audience because they had seen Clint Eastwood walk into the audience,” Lloyd Young said. “It was a joyful performance because I felt that no matter what would happen with the movie I felt that how great was it to have somebody who has dominion in his world in Hollywood seeing me in the one thing in my life so far that I know I have dominion over, which is this role.”
As for the applause at the theater, Eastwood cracked, “I got a standing ovation for actually going to the men’s room. That’s the first time and probably the last time that will happen.”
The director cast Michael Lomenda after he caught him in the San Francisco company.
But he credited Bob Gaudio for choosing the actor who portrayed him. “Of all the people who have played you, who do you think was the best?” Eastwood asked him. “And he said William Holden,” Bergen cracked.
“I love William Holden,” Eastwood mused. “I was the second choice,” Bergen countered.
“But he was deceased at that time. We couldn’t get him,” Eastwood added.
Watch Jerry Seinfeld and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Hilarious Video
The new season of Jerry Seinefeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” has launched. Sarah Jessica Parker and Jerry drive a faux wooden panelled Country Squire station wagon out to East Meadow, Long Island, which is not the Hamptons, by the way. We learn that Jerry’s parents never smiled at him, and that he over tips. SJP seems to go for 18%. “I’m glad I’m not married to you,” she says when they negotiate at a coffee shop. We also learn that SJP and her siblings sang back on a Harry Chapin one week before he died in 1978.
From Crackle: