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Mariah Carey Gets Toasted by Her Fresh Air Camp Graduates on 20th Anniversary

Roger Friedman
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Mariah Carey Gets Toasted by Her Fresh Air Camp Graduates on 20th Anniversary

Mariah Carey got home  from Monaco and the World Music Awards just in time yesterday. Last night at Chelsea Piers Mariah was toasted by the Fresh Air Fund for 20 years of her Camp Mariah in upstate New York. It was a poignant event as Carey, who arrived in a black Rolls Royce, arrived with “The Butler” director Lee Daniels and record producer Jermaine Dupri and many of the gang from DefJam Records including president Steve Bartels.

Inside the packed dining hall, Carey was toasted by emcee Al Roker, followed by a few graduates of her Camp Mariah. Believe it or not, Mariah started the camp two decades ago and has never let go of it whether in good times or bad. Now a former camper is the leader of the camp, and he spoke beautifully introducing Mariah. Carey sat at the center front table dressed in a powder blue gown designed by Donatella Versace. She blushed as one by these high school kids paid homage to her.

At one point, Roker made a joke purposely confusing Dupri for P Diddy. That got some chuckles. But Dupri is having the last laugh. The album he’s made with Carey has gotten more good reviews than any of her previous ones in two decades.

In  a crush of fans and former campers, Mariah and I did have a chance to talk. I told her I was impressed with all the detail in her new album. She told me: “That’s why it took so long. Now you can see.” I told her I particularly liked the track “Thirsty.” She said: “I wrote that so long ago. I don’t know what Nick [husband Nick Cannon] was talking about the other day. That song is not about him.”

Mariah fans can see more of her and the making of her album tomorrow night on NBC at 8pm. Matt Lauer hosts a special taped at Mariah and Nick’s home in Bel-Air, California.

Meantime, sales of “Me. I am Mariah” are just fine, says Bartels, who will launch the first official single, “You Don’t Know What to Do,” featuring rapper Wale, very shortly. I love this track, although fans are divided about which single should come first. There are too many to choose from!

Here it is:

Aretha Franklin Gets Honorary Doctorate at Harvard, Performs National Anthem, Gets an A

Roger Friedman
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0
Aretha Franklin Gets Honorary Doctorate at Harvard, Performs National Anthem, Gets an A

Call her Doctor Aretha now. Aretha Franklin received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University today. She sang the “Star Spangled Banner” and played the piano to earn all her credits! She gets an A plus!

TV: Edward Snowden-Brian Williams Interview Beaten by CBS Rerun

Roger Friedman
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TV: Edward Snowden-Brian Williams Interview Beaten by CBS Rerun

Edward Snowden? Living in Russia, world’s most wanted leaker of government secrets, Snowden, you’d think, would be a huge “get” for any network anchor. Last night Brian Williams got the scoop and presented an interview with Snowden called “Inside the Mind of Edward Snowden” on NBC.

Big ratings? They were ok. The total viewer number was 5.91 and the key demo was 1.3. But “Inside” didn’t win its time slot. It was beaten by a rerun of “CSI” on CBS. “CSI” had a larger total audience– 6.14 million viewers. Of course, the “CSI” viewers were slightly older, as the rerun scored a 1.1 in the key demo.

How frustrating for Williams et al that not a lot of people cared about finally seeing and hearing Snowden.  It didn’t help that NBC didn’t care very much either. The lead in was a two rerun of “Last Comic Standing.” They had this big news scoop, and didn’t bother to just put it on at 8pm and say Here, look what we’ve got. Maybe that’s why the Snowden interview was also beaten for the night by CBS’s rerun of “Criminal Minds.”

Fiction is better than fact!

 

Apple Pays $3 Billion for a Fashion Accessory, and a War on Spotify and Pandora

Roger Friedman
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Apple Pays $3 Billion for a Fashion Accessory, and a War on Spotify and Pandora

Everyone is asking: why would Apple pay $3 billion for Beats headphones? Are they really so good? The answer is: they’re not. The headphones aren’t good, and Apple  isn’t paying $3 billion for them. Believe me, Apple isn’t interested in great audiophile sound. When I finally made the switch to an iPod this year, I learned that the hard way. First you throw away the Apple earbuds. Then you buy a pair of Shure or Ultimate Ears.

Apple is interested in style over sound. There’s nothing more beautiful in the gadget world than that iPod. I love holding it. Forget the fact that is far inferior to my old Creative Labs Zen 3 MP3 player. The latter has an enormously rich sound image while the iPod literally collapses the music into a messy PB&J sandwich.  But Creative Labs couldn’t keep up financially. And the iPod is gorgeous and convenient.

Beats headphones are not very good. They’re expensive. But they are comfortable and attractive. They’ve become a status symbol for kids. And that’s what matters. For half the price you could buy a much better pair of headphones from Grado or Sennheiser. For earbuds, I rely on Ultimate Ears.

Beats are twice as expensive. And they sound like mud pie. Lots of bass, no music articulation. On the subway, three out of four people are wearing them. You can hear the music leaking out, and the boom boom boom. No one cares. They are the 2010s equivalent of wearing a large gold chain.

Read this review from Consumer Reports. Or this one from Stereophile.

What the $3 billion is about: taking Beats’ streaming music library and adapting iTunes to it. So far, iTunes is all purchase. But Spotify and Pandora are where it’s at. The trend now is subscription streaming. Last year, streaming music beat actual music sales– digital or physical–by miles.

We’re not talking Beatles box sets. The music of this generation is disposable. Kids– the target music audience– don’t need CDs or albums cluttering up around them. They don’t need digital files eating up space on their iPods. Ok, maybe one or two favorite songs. But it’s not like when my generation “had to have the album.” Have you listened to all this crap? No one needs to have it. It’s all background music to 40 other things.

Jimmy Iovine, very very smart, is charged with moving the massive iTunes audience into the streaming age. The headphones are just the fashion accessory. Spotify and Pandora are probably having 24/7 meetings. Apple/Beats is coming for them.

PS Everyone in New York City better get these earbuds and headphones off their heads when they’re crossing streets. Heads up boys and girls!

Hyatt Hotels Heir Dan Pritzker Will Never Finish His $100 Mil Plus Jazz Movie

Roger Friedman
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0
Hyatt Hotels Heir Dan Pritzker Will Never Finish His $100 Mil Plus Jazz Movie

It’s that time of the year again. Last May and the one before I wrote about Hyatt Hotels heir Dan Pritzker and long, long stalled jazz movie called “Bolden!” Pritzker started making the movie 7 years ago, has spent well over $100 million. I told you a year ago that Pritzker was planning to re-shoot most of the movie, about obscure jazz musician Buddy Bolden. That’s because actor Anthony Mackie wouldn’t come back to do more work on “Bolden!” even though he was the star of the movie.

Now Deadline’s Mike Fleming says that Pritzker has replaced Mackie with someone as obscure as Buddy Bolden: Gary Carr, who played the jazz singer last season on “Downton Abbey.” Ha ha. Good luck. Pritzker is never going to finish this movie. Carr is not able to sustain a three hour film about someone no one’s ever heard of, either. He’s considerably less well known than Anthony Mackie. It’s all sad and hilarious.

Of course Pritzker can afford to play with this thing like a cat with a toy until Kingdom come. But for the people who worked on “Bolden!” it’s too bad. Everyone involved with this ridiculous pipedream wrote it off a long time ago.

Pritzker did produce a 70 minute black and white film about Louis Armstrong with actor Jackie Earle Haley. It played in a few places with live music from Wynton Marsalis. For a while “Louis” had a website and was available on YouTube. But all that remains of it is a two minute teaser. The website is gone.

A movie no one wants to see, which costs hundreds of millions of dollars, released a decade after it was started. Wait? Is this “Citizen Kane”? Crazy story. Not a word of it is to be believed anymore.

Critics Choice TV Award Nominees: “Mad Men,” “House of Cards,” “Homeland” Shut Out

Roger Friedman
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Critics Choice TV Award Nominees: “Mad Men,” “House of Cards,” “Homeland” Shut Out

The Critics Choice TV Awards have announced their nominees. Both “Mad Men” and “Homeland” were shut out pretty much completely. The new game in town is “The Americans” on FX. “Modern Family” was also omitted. Time waits for no one. Even “House of Cards” and Kevin Spacey weren’t selected. Very weird.

BEST COMEDY SERIES

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Broad City (Comedy Central)
Louie (FX)
Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Silicon Valley (HBO)
Veep (HBO)

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Louis CK, Louie (FX)
Chris Messina, The Mindy Project (FOX)
Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley (HBO)
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Adam Scott, Parks and Recreation (NBC)

Robin Williams, The Crazy Ones (CBS)

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Ilana Glazer, Broad City (Comedy Central)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
Wendi McLendon-Covey, The Goldbergs (ABC)
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central)
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Emmy Rossum, Shameless (Showtime)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX)
Keith David, Enlisted (FOX)
Tony Hale, Veep (HBO)
Albert Tsai, Trophy Wife (ABC)
Christopher Evan Welch, Silicon Valley (HBO)
Jeremy Allen White, Shameless (Showtime)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Kaley Cuoco, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Allison Janney, Mom (CBS)
Kate Mulgrew, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie (Showtime)

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A COMEDY SERIES

Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black (Netflix)
Sarah Baker, Louie (FX)
James Earl Jones, The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Mimi Kennedy, Mom (CBS)
Andrew Rannells, Girls (HBO)
Lauren Weedman, Looking (HBO)

BEST DRAMA SERIES

The Americans (FX)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
The Good Wife (CBS)
Masters of Sex (Showtime)
True Detective (HBO)

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Hugh Dancy, Hannibal (NBC)
Freddie Highmore, Bates Motel (A&E)
Matthew McConaughey, True Detective (HBO)
Matthew Rhys, The Americans (FX)
Michael Sheen, Masters of Sex (Showtime)

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Lizzy Caplan, Masters of Sex (Showtime)
Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel (A&E)
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife (CBS)
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
Keri Russell, The Americans (FX)
Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Josh Charles, The Good Wife (CBS)
Walton Goggins, Justified (FX)
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Peter Sarsgaard, The Killing (AMC)
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan (Showtime)
Jeffrey Wright, Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Christine Baranski, The Good Wife (CBS)
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Annet Mahendru, The Americans (FX)
Melissa McBride, The Walking Dead (AMC)
Maggie Siff, Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Bellamy Young, Scandal (ABC)

BEST GUEST PERFORMER IN A DRAMA SERIES

Beau Bridges, Masters of Sex (Showtime)
Walton Goggins, Sons of Anarchy (FX)
Allison Janney, Masters of Sex (Showtime)
Joe Morton, Scandal (ABC)
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife (CBS)
Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones (HBO)

BEST MOVIE

An Adventure in Space and Time (BBC America)
Burton and Taylor (BBC America)
Killing Kennedy (National Geographic Channel)
The Normal Heart (HBO)
Sherlock: His Last Vow (PBS)
The Trip to Bountiful (Lifetime)

BEST MINI-SERIES

American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Bonnie & Clyde (A&E/History/Lifetime)
Dancing on the Edge (Starz)
Fargo (FX)
The Hollow Crown (PBS)
Luther (BBC America)

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES

David Bradley, An Adventure in Space and Time (BBC America)
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: His Last Vow (PBS)
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dancing on the Edge (Starz)
Martin Freeman, Fargo (FX)
Mark Ruffalo, The Normal Heart (HBO)
Billy Bob Thornton, Fargo (FX)

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES

Helena Bonham Carter, Burton and Taylor (BBC America)
Minnie Driver, Return to Zero (Lifetime)
Whoopi Goldberg, A Day Late and a Dollar Short (Lifetime)
Holliday Grainger, Bonnie & Clyde (A&E/History/Lifetime)
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Cicely Tyson, The Trip to Bountiful (Lifetime)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES

Matt Bomer, The Normal Heart (HBO)
Warren Brown, Luther (BBC America)
Martin Freeman, Sherlock: His Last Vow (PBS)
Colin Hanks, Fargo (FX)
Joe Mantello, The Normal Heart (HBO)
Blair Underwood, The Trip to Bountiful (Lifetime)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE OR MINI-SERIES

Amanda Abbington, Sherlock: His Last Vow (PBS)
Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Ellen Burstyn, Flowers in the Attic (Lifetime)
Jessica Raine, An Adventure in Space and Time (BBC America)
Julia Roberts, The Normal Heart (HBO)
Allison Tolman, Fargo (FX)

BEST REALITY SERIES

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX/National Geographic Channel)
Deadliest Catch (Discovery)
Duck Dynasty (A&E)
Mythbusters (Discovery)
Top Gear (BBC America)
Undercover Boss (CBS)

BEST REALITY SERIES – COMPETITION

The Amazing Race (CBS)
Project Runway (Lifetime)
Shark Tank (ABC)
Survivor (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)

BEST REALITY HOST

Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
Carson Daly, The Voice (NBC)
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
Gordon Ramsay, MasterChef (FOX)
RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race (Logo)
Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (FOX/National Geographic Channel)

BEST TALK SHOW

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Time Telepictures)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central)
The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Conan (TBS)

BEST ANIMATED SERIES

Archer (FX)
Bob’s Burgers (FOX)
The Simpsons (FOX)
Family Guy (FOX)
Phineas and Ferb (Disney XD)
Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)

Maya Angelou, The Great Poet, Writer, Philosopher, Dead at 86

Roger Friedman
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0
Maya Angelou, The Great Poet, Writer, Philosopher, Dead at 86

Dr. Maya Angelou has reportedly died at age 86. The poet laureate, philosopher, educator, author of the seminal text “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” was an international influence.

News of Dr. Angelou’s death comes from TV stations in Winston Salem, NC.

Watch her read “On the Pulse of the Morning” at the 1993 Clinton inauguration. We have lost an irreplaceable hero.

“Whiplash” Star Miles Teller’s Break Out Year: Will “Bleed” Next

Roger Friedman
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0
“Whiplash” Star Miles Teller’s Break Out Year: Will “Bleed” Next

Just about the best movie in Cannes this year was Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash.” First seen in Sundance, “Whiplash” was snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics. It will hit theaters this fall with hot as a pistol Miles Teller and veteran actor J.K. Simmons in what it literally the role of his very successful life time.

Exclusive: I can tell you that 28 year old Harvard grad Chazelle is so hot himself now that LionsGate has signed up his next film, a musical called “La La Land.” Joked “Whiplash” producer Michel Litvak of BOLD Films to me at the movie’s Director’s Fortnight screening: “He’s a star now! I couldn’t afford it!” (It’s a joke because I think Litvak can afford most anything.)

Teller, who first appeared in “Rabbit Hole” with Nicole Kidman, next shoots “Bleed For This” directed by Ben Younger in November, with Aaron Eckhart. He goes from being a college drummer in “Whiplash” to a young boxer in “Bleed.” He’s poised to be the new Leo, on a very fast track with substantial movies. We will try and forget the movie he had out this past winter with Michael B. Jordan and Zac Efron, the latter naked on a toilet.

“Bleed” is produced by Martin Scorsese’s Emma Koskoff and Oscar winner Bruce Cohen. The budget is also $5 million now. But wait til Scorsese adds his name as Executive Producer.

Indeed, when “Whiplash” hits, Koskoff and Cohen are going to look brilliant. The reception at the Director’s Fortnight was a smash– and Teller wasn’t even there.

But Simmons was, and he couldn’t have been more overwhelmed. Starting with Sundance, he knows they have a it. Simmons has been a dramatic (“Oz”) and comedic (“Spider Man” movies with Tobey Maguire) all-star. He was Ellen Page’s understanding dad in “Juno.” And he’s been featured in dozens of different “Law & Order” episodes over the last decade. All of this prepares him for the role of Terence Fletcher, the zealous demanding leader of a New York college jazz ensemble. Teller is the star drummer whom Simmons is trying to mold. The pair are incendiary together.

It’s a little like “Master Class” with percussion. Both actors are going to be up for a lot of awards. Chazelle is the Ryan Coogler of 2014.

 

 

 

Michael Jackson “Xscape” Drops 58% as Coldplay Rocks to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson “Xscape” Drops 58% as Coldplay Rocks to Number 1

Michael Jackson’s “Xscape” album dropped 58% in its second week of sales. After moving 161,000 copies in its debut, “Xscape” moved only 68,000 copies in its second week. The new number 1 is “Ghost Stories” by Coldplay with 385,978 copies sold– more than twice what Jackson sold in his first week. Number 2 is country star Brantley Gilbert with 215, 087– again considerably more than Jackson. “Xscape” fell to number 3 on hitsdailydouble, but it’s already plummeted to number 20 on iTunes.

More competition comes next week with Mariah Carey’s well-reviewed “Me. I am Mariah. The Elusive Chanteuse.” Already number 2 on iTunes, “Me. I am Mariah” is a hit out the box with three or four possible singles starting with “You Don’t Know What to Do” featuring Wale.

The album has several more possibilities, and a long life ahead of if played right. After being a year overdue, Carey really pulled it out, as they say, and came home a winner. Even I’m surprised that “Me I am Mariah” is so good. There isn’t a  weak track on it. I’ve already raved about her re-working of George Michael’s “One More Try.” But you’ve also got “Thirsty,” “Make it Look Good,” and the opening track, “Cry.” A lot of thought was put into this record. It will be interesting to see how it hits. I think: big time.

Melanie Griffith Joins Doc Director Joe Berlinger’s First Feature “Facing the Wind”

Roger Friedman
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0
Melanie Griffith Joins Doc Director Joe Berlinger’s First Feature “Facing the Wind”

At last, Melanie Griffith is getting back into the feature world. She’s joining famed doc director Joe Berlinger’s first feature, “Facing the Wind.”

The true crime drama stars Alessandro Nivola as Bob Rowe, subject of the 2001 book by Julie Salamon. Rowe was acquitted of killing his entire family in 1978, using the insanity defense. It was one of the first successful uses of that defense.

Co-stars include Vera Farmiga, Evan Rachel Wood, Rita Wilson, and Jennifer Beals.

Berlinger is the director of many well known and award docs including the “Paradise Lost” series about the West Memphis Three.

Read the New York Times review of “Facing the Wind.” This could be a great movie. Nivola is up to the challenge. http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/01/reviews/010401.01stewart.html

 

 

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