Sid Caesar has died in Los Angeles at age 91. The creator of “Your Show of Shows” had been in fragile health for some time. If you don’t know his name ( and I’m sure you do) , Sid Caesar is where all contemporary comedy began. He launched Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen with “Your Show of Shows.” There was even a movie made about him, sort of– “My Favorite Year,” written by one of his other disciples, Norman Steinberg. With Imogene Coca, Sid Caesar created an unparalleled legacy. In recent times, Brooks, Reiner and friends like Lainie Kazan, Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna had been going to Caesar’s house on Sundays to entertain him as he convalesced. More to come…
Say it Ain’t So! Derek Jeter Will Retire at the End of 2014 Season
Derek Jeter: Say it ain’t so! The great Yankee shortstop will turn 40 in June. And in September, he will retire from playing baseball. This will also be his 20th season with the Yankees. Amazing. The Yankees are already suffering. This won’t help anything. Jeter missed most of last season because of injuries. Let’s cross our fingers he has a healthy final run. He posted this on Facebook:
Warren Beatty’s Untitled “Howard Hughes” Film Moving Forward At Last
EXCLUSIVE: Good news! Warren Beatty is finally moving forward with his untitled “Howard Hughes” movie. What we do know is that a production office is in full swing at New Regency, the company making the film with Beatty. New Regency is newly hot these days with the arrival of Brad Pitt’s production company, and a major credit for “12 Years a Slave.” They’ve also got the next Cameron Crowe film, and Ben Affleck’s “Gone Girl.”
I put quotes around Howard Hughes’s name because it’s unclear whether the title character, to be played by Beatty, is still the infamously reclusive billionaire movie producer/aviator/raconteur/enigma. I’ve heard that Beatty, who’s written the screenplay himself, may have abandoned the idea of using Hughes, and decided to create his own character rather than deal with Hughes’s biographical baggage. That much remains in the air.
Right now the imdb calls the Beatty film “The Rules Don’t Apply.” There’s also a cast list that includes everyone from Jack Nicholson to Alec Baldwin. But sources say that “nothing on the imdb” is correct. The movie supposedly recounts a romance Hughes had with a young actress in his later years. Ironically, Beatty himself is now a few years older than Hughes was when he died at age 71. Of course, Beatty looks ten times younger than Hughes did even then.
Beatty is maybe the smartest guy in Hollywood, with a sharp eye and excellent taste. He’s an Oscar winner for “Reds,” and has on his resume many great films from “Shampoo” to “Bugsy” to “Heaven Can Wait” and “Dick Tracy” and “Bulworth.” Some other projects, like “Love Affair” and “Town and Country” did not fare as well. But a new Warren Beatty film is reason for excitement. And we need a little buzz in this, the worst month for movies ever it seems!
Mariah Carey: New Single (Listen Here) Drops, Album Release Set
Mariah Carey dropped her new single this morning– “You’re Mine (Eternal)” and a remix version featuring Trey Songz. You can hear it here. The real video debuts tonight. The album comes on May 6th. It’s no longer called “The Art of Getting By.” A new title is forthcoming.
Eva Marie Saint, 89 Years Young, Makes Her First Film in 7 Years: “Americans Don’t Honor Older Actors”
Why isn’t Oscar winner Eva Marie Saint our Judi Dench or Maggie Smith? She told me last night at the premiere of “Winter’s Tale”: “Americans don’t honor our older actors. It’s that simple.”
“Winter’s Tale” is Eva Marie’s first movie in 7 years. She last played Ma Kent in “Superman Returns” (2006). Was she upset about not working?
“Heck no,” she told me. “I have a family. I’m busy.”
She’s been married for 63 years to Jeffrey Hayden, the TV and stage director whose list of credits is long and deep. The Haydens have two grown children and several grandchildren.
Now, let me tell you: Eva Marie Saint is no little old lady. She is elegant, fiercely intelligent, and very articulate. If you think about it, she was the Meryl Streep/Glenn Close of her time. She had quite a run too: “North by Northwest,” “On the Waterfront,” “Exodus,” Hatful of Rain,” “Raintree County,” “The Sandpiper.”
Her favorite film? John Frankenheimer’s “All Fall Down,” 1962, with Warren Beatty and Karl Malden.
In the 1970s– Saint’s 50s– she moved effortlessly into television. Until “Superman Returns” she worked steadily every year. The Oscar was for “On the Waterfront” in 1957. She has an Emmy from 1990’s “People Like Us.”
Saint has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But she’s missing a Kennedy Center honor. I don’t think she even realizes it.
In “Winter’s Tale,” Saint serves a function similar to what Lois Smith played in “Minority Report.” She gives the ah-ha! moment, helps explain the story, and leaves a lump in the throat.
At last night’s elegant dinner at the Metropolitan Club, following a Ziegfeld premiere, Saint was chatted up by everyone starting with co-stat Colin Farrell, and followed by a procession of well wishers. She told me, “I do get a little overwhelmed at these things.” But the Haydens stuck it out.
By the way, Eva Marie is one of the few Oscar voters who wouldn’t tell me who is she voting for. “I liked five movies a lot,” she said, “but I can’t tell you which ones.” She said, “I’ll interview you, Which ones did you like?”
I mentioned some titles and names. She grinned when I said, “Cate Blanchett?”
“I’m not saying a thing,” the great actress responded. So there!
Woody Allen’s New Movie Already Sold In Many Foreign Countries
I hate to take issue with Page Six, especially my pal Ian Mohr. But Woody Allen is having no trouble selling his new film, “Magic in the Moonlight,” to foreign distributors.
“Magic” is already set for release in Japan, Portugal, South Korea and the Netherlands. And France is a no-brainer since “Magic” was shot in and around Cannes and Antibes. The French already love Woody, and love him more from “Midnight in Paris.” “Magic” will be a big hit there. Woody’s films are loved in the UK, Spain, Italy, and Germany.
It amazes me, the people who plant these items in gossip columns. Woody is a big international hit. And a movie set in the South of France with Colin Firth and Emma Stone? Say no more. “Blue Jasmine” has made $61 million internationally, plus $33 million domestically.
Believe me, European distributors don’t care about any of the stuff we’ve chewed on the last week or so regarding Woody. The love him, and they’d release two at a time if he could make them!
“Magic in the Moonlight” will have its US debut likely in late July from Sony Pictures Classics.
Hugh Jackman Coming Back to Host the Tony Awards
Neil Patrick Harris couldn’t do it since he’ll likely be a nominee for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” So Hugh Jackman is back, June 8th, on CBS. He’ll be singing and dancing on the stage of Radio City Music Hall. The Tonys will need him this year more than ever. The crop of shows coming in is not that star-studded, nor is it very blockbustery. The big musicals so far are “Beautiful” and “Gentleman’s Guide.” The ones still to come include “Aladdin” and “Bullets Over Broadway.” Revivals include “Cabaret.” Jackman will offer added star power.
Beatles Special Will Be Re-Broadcast on CBS Wednesday Night
The Beatles 50th anniversary is not over. CBS will re-broadcast the big special “The Night That Changed America,” tomorrow night from 8:30pm to 11pm. So set your DVRs!The first showing yielded 14 million viewers.
The network would be smart to put the whole thing out on DVD, or at least on iTunes, after this showing. The only other time that Paul and Ringo have played together, post- Beatles, was in April 2009 at Radio City Music Hall for the David Lynch Foundation. And that was not filmed, as far as anyone knows.
The re-broadcast should keep helping sales of Beatles albums. Amazon lists about ten different ones in their top 100 including the 2009 “black” box set. My advice: buy that one, and the individual “Hey Jude” album. And you’re all set!
Funny? Tina Fey’s New TV Series Is Comedy About Women Rescued from a Cult
I know we’re supposed to trust Tina Fey. She is very funny, and she knows comedy. I did love “30 Rock.” But her new comedy is going to take a leap of faith, I think. It’s called “Tooken,” and it’s about women who’ve been rescued from a doomsday cult and its leader. Is this going to be funny? Tina Fey and her “30 Rock” collaborator Robert Carlock evidently think so.
“Tooken” stars Ellie Kemper from “The Office” as Kimmy. She’s kind of Mary Richards, if Mary had been brainwashed by a cult leader instead of just the victim of a broken engagement.
Kimmy’s friends are called Gretchen, Donna Marie, Clarice, and Cindy, according to sources. They were all in the cult led by Reverend Richard. Donna Marie is described as Latina. She got into the cult thinking she was joining a maid’s service that went to clean the cult house and never left. The others are friends who follow Kimmy out of the cult. Presumably, Reverend Richard will be a character as well.
You never know with sitcoms and their descriptions. Maybe this will work. It doesn’t sound funny. In fact, when it was described to me, I thought it was about the women in Pennsylvania who were held against their will for a decade. Now that was funny! (Just kidding.) I’m just not ready to drink the Kool Aid yet on this one.
“Tooken” will be one of many new shows on NBC this fall.
Shirley Temple, 85, Diplomat, Actress, and a Non Alcoholic Drink
Shirley Temple did a lot for the world. She went from child star to international diplomat. Along the way, she inspired a non alcoholic drink that kids could order when their parents were knocking a few back. For all that, we should be grateful.