Jimmy Fallon is putting out about 200% every night on The Tonight Show. In his seventh show, last night, Fallon did another musical number– this one, a lip synch battle with actor Paul Rudd. The show was top notch all the way through. Comedian Hannibal Buress did a hilarious stand up routine about New Orleans. Shaquille O’Neal actually picked Fallon up and twirled him around.
MSNBC Throws Ronan Farrow into the Deep End, And He Drowns
Ronan Farrow’s debut on MSNBC on Monday was a ratings disaster, but that’s not all. Farrow, despite his show business lineage, came off today– his second day– like the host of a show on UHF or closed circuit TV in a community college. Physically, he comes off as small. The set doesn’t help him. His voice his high and uncertain. He reminded me (this is an old reference) of the high school stringer hired by Lou Grant who phones in a scoop. Watch this clip below. Does this seem like a show that should be on a network connected to NBC?
Really? This is enough to make me turn to Fox News.
Today Farrow put up Arizona Governor Jan Brewer’s phone number. He urged the audience to call her if they don’t agree with her position on gay rights. (Later, he will call Justin Bieber and egg her house.) I think we did this in 11th grade to our high school principal.
Meanwhile, Farrow, one day on the job, is hitting the lecture circuit. He’s already booked Fairfield (CT) University for March 18th on the topic “A New Generation of Protest: How Technology Is Changing the Art of Uprising.” His official bio says he’s the son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen. So much for Frank Sinatra!
If only Farrow had started out as a contributor on some show first. You think of all the talented people who could host that hour and do a great job. This is going to end in tears, I’m afraid.
Bruce Springsteen Releasing New Songs, MusiCares Concert DVD
It’s never too soon for more Bruce Springsteen releases. His new album, “High Hopes,” is just a few weeks old. But on April 19th, Springsteen is putting out a four track “EP” (EP used to mean extended play, like a big single. Now it’s just four songs on iTunes.) They didn’t make the cut apparently. But now they do! The EP is called “American Beauty.” You can guess that Jimmy Fallon has already booked Bruce for that week.
There’s more. At last, MusiCares, one of the two official NARAS branded foundations, is releasing a DVD of one of its Person of the Year concerts. The first one is 2013’s Springsteen tribute. That release is March 25th. I hope MusiCares releases more of these DVDs soon. This year’s Carole King concert would be perfect, so would the Don Henley, Neil Young, and Barbra Streisand shows. Maybe they can take great tracks from each of the annual shows and make them a compilation album.
Here’s the tracklist for the Springsteen:
- 1. “Adam Raised a Cain” Performed by Alabama Shakes
- 2. “Because the Night” Performed by Patti Smith
- 3. “Atlantic City” Performed by Natalie Maines, Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
- 4. “American Land” Performed by Ken Casey
- 5. “My City of Ruins” Performed by Mavis Staples and Zac Brown
- 6. “I’m On Fire” Performed by Mumford and Sons
- 7. “American Skin (41 Shots)” Performed by Jackson Browne and Tom Morello
- 8. “My Hometown” Performed by Emmylou Harris
- 9. “One Step Up” Performed by Kenny Chesney
- 10. “Streets of Philadelphia” Performed by Elton John
- 11. “Hungry Heart” Performed by Juanes
- 12. “Tougher Than the Rest” Performed by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
- 13. “The Ghost of Tom Joad” Performed by Jim James and Tom Morello
- 14. “Dancing in the Dark” Performed by John Legend
- 15. “Lonesome Day” Performed by Sting
- 16. “Born in the USA” Performed by Neil Young with Crazy Horse
- 17. “We Take Care of Our Own” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
- 18. “Death to My Hometown” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
- 19. “Thunder Road” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
- 20. “Born to Run” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
- 21. “Glory Days” Performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band & cast ensemble
Ratings: Seth Meyers Gets Biggest “Late Night” Numbers in 9 Years
The last time “Late Night” got numbers as big as they got last night, Michael Jackson was on trial in California. George W. Bush was president. Conan O’Brien was the host of the show.
From NBC this morning:
- At 12:35 a.m. ET, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” has delivered strong ratings with its premiere telecast, averaging a 2.6 rating, 9 share in household results from the 56 markets metered by Nielsen Media Research. It’s the highest “Late Night” rating on a Monday in nine years (since Jan. 24, 2005 for a “Late Night” encore, 4.2, which followed a high-rated “Tonight Show” tribute to Johnny Carson).
- The debut of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” is up 63% versus “Late Night’s” season average (2.6 vs. 1.6, L+SD). Monday’s “Late Night” retained 58% of its “Tonight Show” lead-in (2.6 vs. 4.5), versus the show’s 55% season average (1.6 vs. 2.9). The 2.6 topped the combined ratings in the time slot of ABC’s “Nightline” (1.4/5 for the first half-hour of the time period) and CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (1.0/4).
- In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” averaged a 1.2/8 in adults 18-49, best for “Late Night” on a Monday since June 1, 2009 (1.4, following Conan O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” premiere).
Robert DeNiro: “I Don’t Know If I’ll Ever Direct Another Movie”
Robert DeNiro, a man who does not like to talk too much, was left to do a lot of talking last night at the First Time Fest’s 20th Anniversary Benefit screening of his directorial debut, “A Bronx Tale.” The star of the movie, Chazz Palminteri, who wrote the screenplay, was a no show because of food poisoning. This left DeNiro and actress Katherine Narducci, to handle the screening and Q&A moderated by David Schwartz from the Museum of the Moving Image. The audience was formidable: it included DeNiro’s beautiful wife Grace, plus Tony Bennett, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and Gay Talese. Bennett’s daughter, Johanna, presented the evening as part of her First Time Film Festival along with co-founder Mandy Ward and the Tribeca Film Institute. DeNiro made his directing debut in 1994 with the critically acclaimed film, set in the Bronx in the 1960’s. He’s only directed one other film since then, “The Good Shepherd,” with Matt Damon. The famed actor was unexpectedly poignant. He said, “I don’t know if I’ll ever direct another movie. If I did 5 in my life I’d be happy. I might not do three. I don’t know if I’ll do another movie because it’s a lot of work.” “A Bronx Tale: a rueful story about a kid’s relationship with a local gangster (Palminteri), which troubles his bus driver father (De Niro.) The “Raging Bull” actor said getting the film on the big screen took six years, give or take a year. He’d Palminteri’s one-man show in L.A. and knew there was a “feeding frenzy” by the studios to get it on the screen. Palminteri turned down many offers. “He wanted to make sure that he could play the part of Sonny. If you opt to sell it to them,” De Niro told him, “at the end of they day they’re going to want somebody with a name to hedge their bets and they’ll probably come to me.” “Let’s eliminate that whole process.” De Niro promised him, “Give it to me and I’ll promise you that you can play the part of Sonny, and that’s what happened.” As why he chose to make his directing debut with “A Bronx Tale,” De Niro said, “I wanted to direct a movie for a while, but I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. You always want to tell the perfect story. In a movie you want to make it your letter to the world. It’s not quite what I imagined that I would want to make it my letter to the world, but I liked Chazz, and the whole thing, and I knew at least (I could) attempt something special out of this material, and that I understand that world.” Many of the roles were cast with non-actors, especially the children. “You gotta find kids from that neighborhood. Kids that understand that world,” De Niro said. The first boy who played his son, Francis Capra, was 12. “He’d say to me, ‘You want me to cry yet?’ I’d say hold on,’ so he understood the meaning and the reason and the importance of that emotion and he was ready to do it so I was always amazingly surprised how he understood that at such a young age.” De Niro added, “These are kids, 14, 15, 16, who want to be men. In that culture they want to be grown ups. They aspire to what they see before them in the gangster culture, the Sonny culture.” It was about 13 years after “A Bronx Tale” when De Niro directed his next film, “The Good Shepherd,” about the early history of the C.I.A., starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. “I’d always been interested in that subject matter,” De Niro explained. The screenplay is by Eric Roth (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”). “I wanted to do a sequel to it but he (Roth) has not come up with that. He dilly-dallied with doing a television show, which would mean we would have more time to get into details, all the intricies of that world. In a feature you don’t have time to do that, but at the same time it’s more grand, it’s more like opera.” As for whether there will be a sequel, “It’s unresolved at this point,” De Niro said. De Niro took questions from the audience. The last one was from an acting student who asked the “Taxi Driver” actor about his “process,” whether it was a method approach or more technically driven, and if these techniques had an “inherent danger.” “I don’t know what the dangers are because I’ve never experienced that,” De Niro said. “I don’t know if you’re saying somebody gets so involved in their role that they’re going to wind up losing themselves and go crazy. I’ve never seen that ever. Ever! Ever! Ever!” De Niro said. “Whether it’s Stella Adler or whether it’s Lee Strasberg, do the technique whatever, and they overlap a lot, because at the end of the day actors use whatever works for them. When they’re in there, in the moment, you have to use what’s good for you. You think about your mother who died last week. You think about this, you can think about that. You do whatever. My two things are, you don’t hurt yourself. You don’t hurt others. Everything else is okay. Whatever your wildest imagination is that can make you arrive at that point in that scene that’s fine,” De Niro said, “but the rest of it is all bullshit.” (Everyone cheered at the last sentence.)
Video: Jimmy Fallon on How the Beatles Would Have Liked Twitter, Instagram, Etc.
Jimmy Fallon simply excels at these skits. Here he’s John Lennon in a witty take from last night’s show. How would the Beatles embrace social networking? Remember, they licensed “Baby You’re a Rich Man” to “The Social Network for well over a million dollars. (That was a Showbiz411 scoop a couple of years ago.)
Seth Meyers is Relaxed and Confident in his “Late Night” Premier
Seth Meyers’ debut tonight as host of “Late Night” signals Lorne Michaels’ full takeover of NBC’s late night schedule. Michaels has Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight” show and “Saturday Night Live.” Fallon debuted last week to great reviews and huge ratings. Now comes Meyers, straight from head writing “SNL” and doing the Weekend Update for years, along with plenty of stand up comedy.
You can’t predict a golden era, but maybe we’re starting one. The combination of Fallon and Meyers is sort of brilliant. Meyers also brings with him “SNL” key player Fred Armisen as leader of his band. On tonight’s debut, we get a glimpse of how much Armisen is value added just in a little repartee at the start of the show about Fred’s supposed new series called “Recent History.” Watch Seth playing with the idea, and then Amy Poehler pick it up later.
But the show is about Seth Meyers, who I really did hear — some 18 months ago– would be Kelly Ripa’s permanent co-host in the morning. He had no trouble playing a young Regis and engaging the audience. (Michael Strahan has done fine, too.)
Meyers is made for “Late Night.” He’s got to be fun but he doesn’t have to go big big big like Fallon. This isn’t the Tonight show, after all. “Late Night” gives Meyers the ability to get serious sometimes, be on a smaller scale, and still get in a lot of trenchant observations. His opening guests are Poehler, whom he describes as his “best friend” or “close friend,” and you know he really means it.
Poehler is followed by Vice President Joe Biden, who came to the studio Monday night with a huge contingent of Secret Service. He and Poehler had history from his appearance on “Parks and Recreation.” Meyers, rather than get into anything heavy, played off their past. It worked pretty well. Biden proved to funny enough. The studio audience enjoyed him. The Secret Service agents never cracked a smile. The trained German Shepherd attack dog, whose named, coincidentally was Seth, slept through the whole show.
Musical guest is A Great Big World, featuring Ian Axel singing their big hit “Say Something.”
Meyers makes the most relaxed, confident debut ever as a talk show host. Fallon at least had five years of “Late Night” to prepare him for the Tonight show. Meyers just steps into it, and scores. There are some things to tweak, including a very cluttered set that contains not the most interesting furniture. There is no couch. The chairs provided for the guests look uncomfortable and, dare I say, cheap. But those things are minor. The set also has no reference to New York, although the studio does. But you can’t see it unless you’re in the studio.
I can’t wait to see how this week unfurls for “Late Night,” and how Meyers secures the show in his own image.
Oscar Presenters Revealed: From Sidney Poitier to Jessica Biel, Robert DeNiro to Kristen Bell
The Oscars are on this Sunday! At last! And the presenters have been announced. They range from Hollywood royalty Sidney Poitier to contemporary mega stars (Robert DeNiro, Sally Field, Goldie Hawn, Harrison Ford) to youthful non sequitirs (Jessica Biel, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Bell). Bill Murray is a presenter, which may be worth the entire evening. Add to this list host Ellen DeGeneres, and singers/performers U2, Idina Menzel, Pharrell Williams, Bette Midler, and Pink, and it’s quite a show. Angelina Jolie is presenting. Maybe she’ll be in tandem with Kim Novak. Now that would be something. And Hawn could be paired with her daughter, Kate Hudson. Lots to look forward to!
Amy Adams
Kristen Bell
Jessica Biel
Jim Carrey
Glenn Close
Bradley Cooper
Penélope Cruz
Benedict Cumberbatch
Viola Davis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Robert De Niro
Zac Efron
Sally Field
Harrison Ford
Jamie Foxx
Andrew Garfield
Jennifer Garner
Whoopi Goldberg
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Anne Hathaway
Goldie Hawn
Chris Hemsworth
Kate Hudson
Samuel L. Jackson
Angelina Jolie
Michael B. Jordan
Anna Kendrick
Jennifer Lawrence
Matthew McConaughey
Ewan McGregor
Bill Murray
Kim Novak
Tyler Perry
Brad Pitt
Sidney Poitier
Gabourey Sidibe
Will Smith
Kevin Spacey
Jason Sudeikis
Channing Tatum
Charlize Theron
John Travolta
Christoph Waltz
Kerry Washington
Emma Watson
Naomi Watts
SPOILERS Downton Abbey Ends Season Four with Inside Jokes, Pomp, and Circumstance
The end of season four of “Downton Abbey” has lots of little inside jokes. Just as Elizabeth McGovern got to utter the word ‘ragtime’ a few weeks ago (she was nominated for an Oscar in that movie), Maggie Smith had a similar moment tonight in the final 90 minute episode. When the Dowager Countess said she felt she’d spent the whole night in a whodunit, she might have been thinking of “Murder by Death” (1976) or “Death on the Nile” (1978). She was in both whodunits to much acclaim.
Creator-writer Julian Fellowes had a lot of fun introducing the scandal plagued Prince of Wales who would one day become the resigned King of England, aka the Duke of Windsor. The Crawleys go to great lengths to spare the Prince from another public scandal involving his mistress, a married woman. When it was all resolved, one of the Crawleys observes that this won’t be the last time Edward will be in trouble. Indeed, not. Mrs. Simpson is still more than a decade away.
Shirley MacLaine and Paul Giamatti guest-starred as Lady Cora’s (McGovern) mother and brother, the Levinsons. They are described as incredibly wealthy, and we know they’ve bailed out Lord Grantham a couple of times. They are also probably Jewish and modeled on the Rothschilds. This is never mentioned. But the Dowager Countess sneers at them so, and not just because they are American. MacLaine seemed more at ease this time in Downton. Giamatti felt like he’d been on the show all along. He was an easy fit, and will probably get an Emmy nod for his work. He is just damned good at almost everything he does.
I don’t know how Julian Fellowes does it, and believe me I’ve asked. He writes all the shows, keeps all these characters straight, and mostly on track and true to their personalities. It’s sad to see Ivy leave for the U.S. but it’s time for new servants and kitchen help. One of the best lines of the night came from Daisy, who told Giamatti’s valet: “I don’t get excited.” The glaring differences between the Brits and the Americans is something Fellowes loves playing with, language especially, as evidenced by the Dowager Countess’s shock at almost every new phrase she hears.
Because Season Three had the two big deaths, Fellowes ended Season Four sweetly, with Mrs. Hughes and Mr. Carson hand in hand tip toeing into the sea (the future). What a lovely note. But Season Five will obviously address Edith’s situation with the baby and Gregson; Mary’s decision on a new mate; and how Branson will grapple with moving on but staying part of the Crawleys. January 2015 seems like eons away.
Full Moon? Alec Baldwin, Sean Parker, and Piers Morgan All Implode at the Same Time
What the heck is happening? IN the time it took to have a family dinner and watch “Downton Abbey,” three volatile public figures have all imploded at the same. Alec Baldwin tells New York Magazine that he hates everyone and is leaving town. Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake in “The Social Network,” rails against the New York Post because they picked up a negative story about him, and Piers Morgan is leaving CNN– or they’ve left him.
I’ll start with Parker, who lives a quarter of a block from me in Greenwich Village. I don’t know whether he actually got Verizon FIOS wired to his house and I don’t care. But several days ago, with snow everywhere on our street, traffic came to a halt. A white truck parked near Parker’s $20 million carriage house was the culprit. Further, snow was being removed from our side of the street starting with his house, going toward Fifth Avenue.
There was chaos, too, because there was a garbage truck stuck behind the FIOS van. We live on a narrow block. When traffic backs up into Sixth Avenue, the horns start blaring. I don’t know if Sean Parker’s living in that huge house with its own garage, or renovating it. But I can tell you, he’s been the least discreet neighbor I’ve seen in 30 years. Even when Ronald Reagan Jr. and his wife moved in, along with the Secret Service, there wasn’t this much hubbub.
Then comes Piers Morgan. He tells the New York Times he’s done with CNN, and that America didn’t appreciate him. I could never get through one of his shows. He had no feel for America, or Hollywood, or any of the people he was talking to. I never thought I’d miss Larry King so much. There was a time when you’d turn to Larry at 9pm automatically on a night when the news was popping. In his prime he was in the middle of everything. That’s what CNN needs at 9pm. They must get back to it. I’m sorry Piers Morgan is upset. It’s more emotion that he showed while had the program.
Alec Baldwin? Why he can’t just stuff roll off his back is a mystery to me. He’s the most thin skinned person in New York history. Paparazzi outside your house? Who cares? Someone tweets about your wife’s Tweets? Stop tweeting. We lived without Twitter for a long time. Stop picking fights. He can’t do it. Everything is an argument. Regular people do not care about these things. So he gave away $14 million to charity. OK. You didn’t have to. We’ll send a thank you note.
You know, he’s funny, he’s very talented. He doesn’t have to shout at people in the streets. Alec, go to L.A. Go live in Connecticut, in Greenwich. A lot of celebs live there. For god’s sake, Lady Gaga, Woody Allen, and Yoko Ono live on Central Park, and they manage to live life without this much drama. Madonna, Tony Bennett, Liam Neeson, all seem to go about their business. On Sunday afternoon, Seth Meyers was walking his dog down my block. A couple of people came up and congratulated him on the new “Late Show.” He smiled, shook hands and moved on. So easy.