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Jane Fonda Hailed in Hollywood as A Legend: “More Important to Stay Interested than Interesting”

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Of all the luminaries who spoke for and showed up for Jane Fonda’s American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award last night, the most moving came from two different parts of the double Oscar winner’s life: her son, actor Troy Garity, and famed Vietnam vet Ron Kovic, who wrote “Born on the Fourth of July.”

Garity, keeping back tears, spoke poignantly about being the son of “Hanoi Jane.” He joked, “My firs 13 birthday parties were Hollywood fundraisers.” Garity was joined by his wife, Simone, and his older sister Vanessa. Also speaking on behalf of the Fonda family was Jane’s famous actor brother Peter Fonda, who toasted her from his table on the floor of the Dolby Theater with recollections of their Oscar winner Hollywood icon dad, Henry Fonda.

Kovic, a surprise speaker from the stage in his wheelchair, reminisced about protesting  the Vietnam war with Fonda in the 1970s. “I love you, Jane,” he said.

Fonda, glowingly beautiful at age 76 in a Vera Wang gown, told the crowd: “It’s more important to stay interested than interesting.” She bemoaned the fact that she hadn’t asked more questions of the legends she acted with when she had the chance. She said the only younger star who ever asked her questions was Meryl Streep, on the set of “Julia” in 1977.

In his opening remarks of the night, AFI head Bob Gazzale told the glittering crowd that Fonda had picketed the annual AFI dinner at least twice. Once was over American involvement in Vietnam. Another time, she and Shirley MacLaine protested the lack of women in key Hollywood roles. Gazzale pointed out that led directly to the AFI changing its policies.

The crowd dressed in formal attire could not have been more star oriented. Michael Douglas (who gave Fonda the award) was joined by wife Catherine Zeta Jones. Among the presenters was Sir Howard Stringer, Sally Field, Sandra Bullock, Lily Tomlin, Meryl Streep, Cameron Diaz, Jeff Daniels, Eva Longoria, Eve Ensler and comedian Wanda Sykes– who made some unpublishable jokes about the cause of Michael Douglas’s throat cancer and HPV. Sykes was also dressed like “Barbarella.” Much of what she said will be cut from the televised version.

HBO brought a contingent from “The Newsroom,” in which Fonda stars, including Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer (with actor husband Alessandro Nivola), Sam Waterston, Rosario Dawson, Alison Pill and Marcia Gay Harden. Other guests included director David O. Russell, married actors William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman, and Morgan Freeman, Corey Stoll, Kathryn Hahn, Diane Lane, Samantha Mathis, Dylan McDermott, plus cinematographer Haskell Wexler and Fonda’s great friends, producer Paula Weinstein and actresses Melanie Griffith and Rosanna Arquette.

Last year’s AFI recipient, Mel Brooks, vowed humorously not to return, but did anyway. He told me that because of the new “Star Wars” movies, he was thinking of actually making “Spaceballs 2: The Search for the Money,” the never made but much wanted sequel to “Spaceballs.”

Fonda was seated at the main table with significant other, famed record producer Richard Perry. Perry had some of his own guests from the music world including Clive Davis and Arnold Stiefel, longtime manager of Rod Stewart, and great songwriter Carole Bayer Sager (with husband Bob Daly, former Warner Bros chief and AFI leader). Also at their table: Jackie Collins and indefatigable philanthropist Barbara Davis.

Streep’s speech is one I hope they keep intact for the TV broadcast. She remembered her work on “Julia,” her very first film, and how Fonda– hilariously– taught her how to hit her mark and stand under the right light. She thanked Jane for her “generous heart” and “presentness.”

In fact, before Meryl Streep was The Greatest American Actress, that distinction was owned by Jane Fonda, winner of two Best Actress Oscars– for “Klute” and “Coming Home,” with several more nominations.

A terrific after party nearly ended on a sour note as Hollywood regular Robert Wolders, boyfriend of Fonda’s step mother Shirlee, fell off a raised platform and hit his head. Fonda and daughter Vanessa rushed to his aide as paramedics swooped in. Luckily, Wolders recovered well enough to sit up after the Fondas’ ministrations.

 

Hillary Clinton’s Ghost Writer Once Fronted Band as “Lord Rockingham”

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As we await the publication of Hillary Clinton’s “Hard Choices” next Tuesday, here’s a little more about her ghostwriter, Ted Widmer. Like Bill Clinton, Widmer has a musical background. He was once part of the stunningly unsuccessful Boston rock band called the Upper Crust. The group actually played gigs and appeared on Conan O’Brien’s NBC show. Widmer was called Dr.Lord Rockingham during his 1995-97 term. (Correction thanks to some sharp readers!)

The group soldiered on without Widmer, putting out CDs and a DVD called “Horse & Buggery.” The premise was that they dressed like 18th century French aristocrats, wore the requisite white wigs, and spoke with English accents. This is our youth! Widmer emailed me: “…that was a lifetime ago — the early 90s. Was fun though.”

Not as much fun, I’m sure, as writing and researching “Hard Choices.”

 

 

Irony: Tom Cruise Makes a Good Movie and No One Wants to See It?

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Here’s a weird irony that was unexpected: Tom Cruise has made a good movie but it seems like no one wants to see it.

“Edge of Tomorrow” opens tomorrow, directed by Doug Liman, and it’s pretty good. In fact, it’s the best thing Tom Cruise has been in, in a long time. When you think of “Oblivion” and “Valkyrie” and endless “Mission Impossible” movies– I mean, really, Cruise’s original non franchise films that really worked are “Jerry Maguire”– 1996!–and “Minority Report” (2005).

“Edge” is around 90% on Rotten Tomatoes– getting great reviews. But the early international release appears to be a dud- $26 million so far including the UK. Of course it hasn’t opened yet in South Korea, where Tom is strong, or Russia and China. And “Edge” hasn’t been seen yet in Australia- there are a few Aussie actors in the pic so that may help.

But word is that tracking in the US is soft, and that “Edge” may have a disappointing launch. How funny– well, not haha funny– would that be? Cruise finally comes through and everyone shrugs. I sure hope it doesn’t work out that way. We’ll have to wait and see.

Mike Myers Makes a Movie About Alice Cooper’s Manager, Shep Gordon, “The Nicest Guy I’ve Ever Known”

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The best documentary I’ve seen in ages opens Friday and it’s directed by Austin Powers. Er, not really, it’s Mike Myers, who turns out to be as thoughtful a filmmaker as he is a comedic actor and writer. He’s made a film called “Supermensch” about Shep Gordon, the legendary manager of Alice Cooper, inventor of the celerity chef, and sort of Zen Jewish Buddhist.

Last week, a group of luminaries met in New York to launch “Supermensch” including Clive Davis, Elvis Costello, Paul Haggis, Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde, Michael Stipe, Julie Panebianco, Anthony Bourdain, and DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus. After the screening, the group repaired to the upstairs at the Wayfarer on 57th and 6th, where bodyguards watched Myers as if he were going to be attacked by Brad Pitt’s red carpet nutter.

But before the screening I wandered into the bar at the Modern, next to the MoMA screening room. And there was Shep, having drinks with a bunch of old friends who were not celebrities. They’d all known him forever, like everyone. All the celeb stuff was elsewhere, and you’d have no idea that his movie would include tributes and stories from Michael Douglas, singer Anne Murray, Alice Cooper, Emeril Lagasse, home movies with Mick Fleetwood etc.

Myers was smart in choosing his subject. He says in the film that Shep Gordon is the nicest guy he’s even known, and it’s true. A ladies man with no kids, Gordon wound up unofficially adopting the grandchildren of one of his first loves, an African American model. They are his family now, all grown up, and it shows you “family” can mean all kinds of things. Gordon also has lots of famous “family”; all of them are in this must-see film.

One cool spoiler:

“Supermensch” goes into theatres this weekend and will eventually play on A&E. Expect a lot of awards action on it this fall. For one thing, the more it’s seen, the better its chances. And Shep is the film’s best ambassador. He’s  been in  New York on and off for weeks doing promotion. I must say it’s been a pleasure to have him around. For a very big guy he’s extremely laid back and sweet. (Must be the Dalai Lama connection.)

See this movie– I do think my favorite thing about it is the reveal that he never really cared for Alice Cooper’s heavy metal stuff. He was more of Anne Murray fan! Maybe that’s why Alice finally wrote a great ballad in “Only Women.” Anyway, this is the side of rock and roll nostalgia we don’t see enough.

Tom Cruise Saves the World Again in “Edge of Tomorrow,” But It’s OK

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Have you seen “Edge of Tomorrow” before? Yes, maybe, in some ways. But Doug Liman’s original sci-fi thriller comes off as a hit, with a lot of originality, and Tom Cruise is more appealing than he has been in a long time.

The movie, which opens Friday, has a fresh feel to it also thanks to an excellent screenplay (by Jez and John Henry Butterworth, polished up by Christopher McQuarrie) and solid supporting performances from Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, and the suddenly ubiquitous Ben Mendelsohn.

For once, Cruise isn’t a martyr with a know-it-all grin. His character, Bill Cage, wants nothing to do with combating aliens from other worlds who are destroying Europe. He’s happy just to film the whole thing as an army major with a public relations mandate. He doesn’t know how to fire any gadgets or blow things up. He’s a coward.

That’s a nice twist, so that when Cage is sent to the front lines, and knocked down to Private, he has to learn everything new. Liman uses Cruise to great advantage. There’s no preening. He’s not an insta-hero. Or any hero, really. He just “is.” And Liman doesn’t force any romance on Cruise. He and Blunt kiss once, but there’s nothing more than camaraderie.

The story is your basic War of the Worlds, only this time it involves a “Groundhog Day” like concept. Cruise has to keep re-starting the same day, getting a little further each time, until he can get to the ultimate goal of eliminating the aliens’ source of power. The plot plays like a video game, where in each journey you reach a new level.

Luckily, Liman keeps it human throughout. Even though the movie is expensive, with lots of CGI and 3D effects, “Edge” feels grounded. The good news is: no sequel. When it’s done, it’s done. Everyone comes out a winner, starting with the audience.

So it’s all good. But do we really need to see Tom Cruise do this thing again and again? After this. he’s got to find some actual films. He almost, dare I say it, acts in this movie. It would be nice to see more of that.

Mariah Carey’s Album Comes in At Number 3, With Disappointing Sales So Far

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Mariah Carey’s “Me I am Mariah” got the best reviews for the singer in about ten years. But sales have not immediately translated. Carey came in at number 3 this week with around 56,000 copies sold. That’s over 100,000 less than her last studio release did in its debut week.

Also known as “The Elusive Chanteuse,” the album is suffering more from a marketing problem than anything else. While all the tracks are strong and there are plenty of possible singles, the release may have been hampered.

For one thing, the album was due a year ago. Then Carey announced it would be released on May 6th. As that date approached, and it was clear there was no album, there was also silence. Then the singer announced May 27th.

There’s little a record company can do when chaos ensues. A more planned attack would have given DefJam 90 days to set the record up, place songs in movies or commercials, work a real single at radio. Carey had already had two singles early on. “#Beautiful” and “You’re Mine (Eternal)” were not big hits. Given time, DefJam could have worked “You Don’t Know What to Do” or “Thirsty” a few weeks ahead of the album. But it didn’t work out that way.

Now it’s a matter of radio catching up to those two new tracks. No one is better at entertaining radio stations than Mariah. She has charm to spare. “Me I am Mariah” is not over, by a long shot. But it’s going to take some old fashioned elbow grease to get it moving.

Who’d ever a-thunk it? Mariah as the Underdog. I’m rooting for her.

 

Movies: Tear Jerker “Fault in Our Stars” Mocks Anne Frank More than Justin Bieber

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First Justin Bieber, now someone named John Green. I know, he’s the beloved author of the teen swoon melodrama “The Fault is in Our Stars.” But just as the Beebs hoped Anne Frank would have been a Belieber, Green picks the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam as the spot where his romantic (and cancer stricken) teen couple can make out. This is followed by slow clapping from the other tourists visiting the most famous spot in the world where Jews hid from the Nazis. Why not?

The fault is with the writing and directing. But nothing I say can take away the experience of Josh Boone’s ham-fisted weeper from teenage girls. Last night at the Ziegfeld, there were oodles of them. I myself brought two. They all cried, wept, screamed, shrieked, through the length of this rather interminable film. These girls have not seen “Love Story” or “Brian’s Song.” They don’t know from tragic star crossed romance. They know nothing of “Romeo and Juliet.”

Whose fault is that?

Bottom line for Fox: my nieces loved it. They will see it again. You know, ice cold water runs through Uncle Roger’s veins. But you knew that.

There is a marketing and sales phenomenon around “Fault,” the novel, by Mr. Green. All the fangirls know it. They want to indulge the most morbid fantasy of having your one great love attend your funeral, read a eulogy, and throw themselves on the casket. I don’t know what Green’s book is like. I do know the movie is beyond insufferably hokey. Boone has no directing style, but then again, he’s not working with much. Think of some recent teen movies that really hit home. I kept recalling another Fox movie, “Juno,” and another, “Napoleon Dynamite,” while “Fault” played. They were authentic and organic.

“Fault” is a glorified TV movie, an afterschool special that intermittently rises to the occasion. That’s because Shailene Woodley, Oscar nominee for “The Descendants,” literally carries the film on her back. Ansel Elgort (son of fashon photog Arthur) starts out wobbly as her teen lover. He loves to mumble. But every once in a while he gets Woodley’s rhythm. Nat Wolff (son of “thirtysomething” star Polly Draper and musician Michael Wolff) is the capable self-deprecating sidekick.

The movie has great lapses of reality. Elgort’s character, Augustus, seems to live in a void. He has terminal cancer and his leg has been removed. But his parents are one dimensional cardboard cutouts. They look like they were found in a stock photo in a West Elm frame. The talented Laura Dern tries to make something out of Woodley’s mother. She tries so hard. But she’s also just window dressing in Boone’s world. When she takes the kids to Amsterdam, for example, they go out to a fancy dinner, meet a famous author, and have moonlit walks. She stays in the room, maybe carving wooden shoes.

But this is this generation’s dumbed down “Love Story” (and that’s saying a lot since “Love Story” was no Mensa meeting). It’s not about the parents. It’s about the kids. It’s about love being “always.”  Young girls clutch this book to their bosoms and sob. Now they’ll do it in the movie. Will it be a big hit? Sure. This weekend, cineplexes will swell with 14 year old girls carrying Kleenex boxes. I doubt a male, straight or gay, will find much use for it.

And the quote? It doesn’t matter to Boone since he left it out of the movie. ‘The fault is not in our stars.’ That’s the quote. ‘The fault is not in our stars, Dear Brutus. It’s in ourselves.’ This is from “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare. No one mentions it in the movie. Maybe Shakespeare wouldn’t license it to the producers. Smart man.

PS A note to the fan girls: please read “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Everyone from that house except her for Anne’s father was taken out and killed. There was no making out. John Green, get a grip.

New York’s WOR Radio Unceremoniously Dumps Last Vet, Legend Joan Hamburg

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Last Thursday I was supposed to do a taped segment for the weekend with Joan Hamburg, the last remaining veteran star of what used to be WOR Radio here in New York. At the last minute I was advised something was wrong, the show wasn’t being taped, and I’d get a call. (Same thing happened to my pal Jill Brooke, who was going to talk about her book, “The Need to Say No.”)

This morning, Cindy Adams reports in the New York Post that Joan was fired on the spot on Thursday, and told to leave the station. After nearly 40 years, Joan Hamburg is out at WOR for no reason except that she’s too old, has too much experience and too loyal a following. Shame on them.

Clear Channel is replacing her with infomercials. The station is already jam packed with pre-paid sponsored ad shows pitching non FDA approved “health” products and all kinds of other crap that doesn’t work and you don’t need.

The only actual human being on the air is Mark Simone, whose show I’ve enjoyed being on for the last year. Otherwise, WOR is now all syndicated. Their morning show is a mess since the failure of replacing another vet, John Gambling, with a horrible show from Washington DC called “Elliot in the Morning.” It was cancelled almost immediately. The morning show now limps on without direction or ratings.

Clear Channel has miscalculated WOR. It was the station that made New York a small town. Listeners were loyal to Joan, to Gambling, to Dr. Joy Browne (gone a while now), cooking experts like Arthur Schwartz, and so on. You could call in to find out how to cook a turkey or find a restaurant for your wedding. WOR made a big city accessible, and created a community. That is now all but destroyed.

Joan Hamburg wasn’t just giving out recipes, by the way. Her topics ranged from literary to intellectual to Broadway, local politics, movies, whatever was of the moment. She’s part of a very with it family: husband Mort is a well known attorney, son John is the screenwriter of “Meet the Parents,” daughter Lizzie has regularly filled in for her. Joan’s first cousin was the legendary Iran-Contra lawyer Arthur Liman. His son is Doug Liman, director of the new Tom Cruise movie “Edge of Tomorrow.” These are not small potatoes.

Before Clear Channel bought Buckley Broadcasting, the station prepared for the acquisition by cancelling Joey Reynold’s popular overnight local show and replacing it with George Noory’s “Coast to Coast.” Noory mostly entertains wackos, but they’re all fun, discussing alien abductions and UFOs. Noory also plays excellent music at the top and bottom of each show. But now even that’s gone, as the station has made some deal with the Devil for Mets games. They actually repeat these little tragedies in the middle of the night. I’d laugh if it weren’t so sad.

Tony Awards: Neil Patrick Harris Has Lost 21 Pounds So Far Playing “Hedwig”

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They do say the camera adds at least 10 pounds. So viewers at home for Sunday night’s Tony Awards (CBS, 8pm) may not be as surprised as I was last night when I ran into Neil Patrick Harris. NPH and partner David Burtka were among the many luminaries at the annual pre-Tony cocktail party where nominees mingled with newly presented Lifetime Achievement Award winners. Harris was in a great mood, accepting kudos from everyone for his nominated performance in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”

But he is gaunt. It’s almost as if Neil Patrick Harris were playing Ben Stiller’s Zoolander, sucking in his cheeks. Someone call Doogie Howser. How much weight has he lost, I asked?

“Twenty one pounds,” Harris told me. Honestly, it looks like more. “John Cameron Mitchell told me this would happen,” Harris said of the show’s creator, who played Hedwig himself years ago. “And then, when it’s over, whomp, I’ll just go back to normal.”

Playing Hedwig for 90 minutes without intermission every night, sometimes twice a day, is beyond arduous. What will Harris do when the show does end? “Go home and play with my kids,” he said without hesitation.

Meantime, Tony nominees roamed around the Paramount Hotel’s basement, now converted into a ballroom for the interactive show “Queen of the Night.” Among them was the great LaTanya Richardson, who’d better win a Tony for her performance in “A Raisin in the Sun,” as well her two nominated co-stars Sophie Okenedo and Anika Noni Rose.

By the way, I asked: is Denzel Washington still on Broadway? “He’s there every night,” Sophie told me, “and he gives 1oo percent.” And the show is sold out to the rafters. They wrap up their knock out run on June 15th.

At another table, the two Best Supporting actor nominees from musicals– Nick Cordero, the playwright-gangster from “Bullets Over Broadway” and James Monroe Iglehart, the genie from “Aladdin.” It’s impossible to guess which of them will win, or if someone else in the very tight category (Will Swenson?) will surprise every one.

Also spotted at the party: Tony Shalhoub, plus Bryce Pinkham and Jefferson Mays from “Gentleman’s Guide,” Bryan Cranston (tipped to win Sunday night), the great Bebe Neuwirth, and, for some reason, Alec Baldwin.

Watch the Tonys Sunday night!

20 Years After the Murders, Nicole Brown Simpson Foundation is Gone

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We are quickly approaching the 20th anniversary of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. OJ Simpson is in jail for the time being, but not for the murders. At least he’s in prison.

Two decades later, the Nicole Brown Simpson Foundation is kaput. It actually went out of business about three years ago, when I wrote that they claimed only $66 in assets. Long gone are the days when Denise Brown, Nicole’s sister, drew a salary and had her expenses paid from the money that came in. Starting around 1999, the Foundation operated questionably. My very first column for Foxnews.com in July 1999 was about just that.

All that’s left is a homepage for a website. But under Contact Us, readers are directed to 800 numbers for national organizations that help battered women.

I can still recall seeing the whole Simpson family on “Geraldo Rivera,” and Geraldo handing them a check for $20,000. It was just part of the circus that surrounded the whole case.

Back in the days of the trial, the Simpson family was a pre-Kardashian bunch. Indeed, the Kardashians and Jenners were their close pals. The Simpsons sold pictures of Nicole to the press via a file system in their living room– this was before the internet. They even sold a video of OJ and Nicole’s wedding to the public for $49.99. Ah those were the days.

More about those good old days as we get closer to the anniversary on June 12th…