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Ed Sullivan Talent Exec: Beatles Were Paid $3500 for Each of Three Shows

Roger Friedman
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Ed Sullivan Talent Exec: Beatles Were Paid $3500 for Each of Three Shows

Donovan was a no show because of the death of a friend. But Martin Lewis’s Beatles panel at the 92nd St. Y on Thursday night kicked off Beatles weekend with a bang. Peter Asher, Billy J. Kramer, Freda Kelly, and Vince Calandra of the Ed Sullivan Show more than made up for Donovan’s absence.

They were/are, respectively, a famous 60s singer, producer, and the man who ran Apple Records (Asher); a Liverpool pop star and pal of the group (Kramer); the secretary for the Beatles fan club for 10 years (Kelly); and the guy who commanded the Sullivan show when the group played there.

On Saturday, the erudite Asher performed the first half of his one man (with a band) show recounting his life at BeatleFest at the Grand Hyatt to his largest audience ever. Part one tells the story of Peter & Gordon, Paul McCartney living in the Asher home, and Peter inadvertently introducing John to Yoko.

Denny Laine, of Moody Blues and Wings fame, stopped by to sing “Go Now” with Asher’s crack band.

Part two is all about Apple Records, Badfinger, how Asher discovered James Taylor, and went on to produce classic albums by Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. It starts at 1:30pm Sunday in the main ballroom.

Later today (Sunday) there’s a CBS panel at the Ed Sullivan Theater featuring Pattie Boyd, the first Mrs. George Harrison, and the woman for whom “Layla” was written by Eric Clapton.

At the Lewis panel, there was much chuckling about how Liverpool became a mythic place in Beatle lore. But Kramer and Kelly reassured everyone it was not a hip place. Asher agreed that no one wanted to go there. The goal was to leave and get to London.

“Love Me Do came out in 62, and Please Please Me in 63, and that was the start of Beatlemania for me,” Kelly offered. Billy J Kramer’s career took off then too. He said, “I had a hit with ‘Do You Want to Know a Secret’ before the Beatles did. It was tied to the Profumo scandal.”

Another guest chimed in. Vince Calandra, talent executive for Ed Sullivan. He’s 79 now and has a sharp memory: “We really heard about the Beatles in March of 1963 when they had Please Please Me. We had an agent in London named Peter Prichard. He, Bob Precht, Ed Sullivan, Sid Bernstein. Those were the people responsible for the Beatles coming to America.

“Our talent person went to see them in London twice and turned them down. It wasn’t like they were bad. We had to convince everyone they were better than American groups like Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Sullivan would see clips on CBS and NBC of them on the Val Parnell show. They did the Royal Command Performance. Sullivan saw that and got excited.”

“For some reason, Capitol Records wouldn’t release any of their records. When Brian Epstein came to New York [the label didn’t know who he was in New York]. Brian did have a meeting with Sullivan. He wanted two shots, and top billing. We never did that. My boss was never aware of the meeting. Brian and Sullivan had lunch at the Delmonico and ironed at the deal. Three shots, $3500 apiece. That’s all we gave them.”

Calandra, by the way, gives credit to a 15 year old girl in Maryland named Marsha Albert who got WWDC to play “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” She’d be 67 or so now. Marsha, this is all your fault. You can read more about that at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/martin-lewis/tweet-the-beatles-how-wal_b_239202.html

Calandra’s last thoughts: “They were so polite, you wanted them to succeed. After the Rolling Stones and the Doors, I could tell you stories…”

PS Everyone agreed that Dusty Springfield was their favorite female singer.

You can see more of Vince in this video.

 

 

“Captain Phillips,” “American Hustle” Receive Eddie Editing Awards in L.A.

Roger Friedman
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“Captain Phillips,” “American Hustle” Receive Eddie Editing Awards in L.A.

It must be some consolation to Paul Greengrass, Tom Hanks and Sony Pictures– “Captain Phillips” was named the Best Edited dramatic film of the year last night by the Eddie Awards. Billy Ray has the screenplay award for the same movie. Tom Hanks got shut out of the Oscars. But voters in these awards are circling back to this fine film. Maybe Tom will get to present Best Picture. The Oscars theme this year is about heroes. Makes sense.

Sony actually got both of the big awards last night. “American Hustle” received the comedy Eddie for Best Editing.

Here are the winners:

64th ANNUAL ACE EDDIE AWARD WINNERS

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (DRAMATIC):

Captain Phillips

Christopher Rouse, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY OR MUSICAL):

American Hustle

Jay Cassidy, A.C.E., Crispin Struthers & Alan Baumgarten, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

Frozen

Jeff Draheim

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE):

20 Feet from Stardom

Douglas Blush, Kevin Klauber & Jason Zeldes

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (TELEVISION):

The Assassination of President Kennedy

Chris A. Peterson

BEST EDITED HALF-HOUR SERIES FOR TELEVISION:

The Office: “Finale”

David Rogers & Claire Scanlon

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:

Breaking Bad: “Felina”

Skip MacDonald A.C.E.

BEST EDITED ONE-HOUR SERIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL TELEVISION:

Homeland: “Big Man in Tehran”

Terry Kelley, A.C.E.

BEST EDITED MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE FOR TELEVISION:

Behind the Candelabra

Mary Ann Bernard

BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES:

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown: Tokyo

Nick Brigden

BEST STUDENT EDITING

Ambar Salinas, Video Symphony

Where In the World Is Rupert Murdoch? Vanished from Twitter, Public Sightings

Roger Friedman
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Where In the World Is Rupert Murdoch? Vanished from Twitter, Public Sightings

Where in the world is Rupert Murdoch? The 82 year old media magnate has been radio silent recently. He’s also been no-profile. It’s not like him.

Murdoch is a proficient Twitter-er. Until last December 22nd, he usually spat out a Tweet once or twice a day. On that day, he sent out two messages. And then, nothing. Until January 24th, almost three weeks ago.
He wrote:

 

And that was it. Murdoch has not Tweeted since, or commented on the State of the Union speech or anything else to do with the government– either here or in Australia. Is he suffering from Twitter fatigue? You’d think he’d have something to say about Bill O’Reilly’s pre Super Bowl interview with President Obama, for example. Or about Sochi. Or Woody and Mia. Or “12 Years A Slave,” his company’s Oscar contender.

rupert murdoch

Curiously, there have been no signs of him in person for a while either. Both WireImage and Getty Images, the main photo agencies, show no pictures of him in public taken since mid November. Murdoch is now Howard Hughes. He’s usually seen somewhere–New York, London, Los Angeles, Sydney.

Murdoch has been off the grid back at Fox, too. His assistant, Natalie Raditz, usually posts pictures of him that either she takes or someone in the office shoots. But between December 22nd and February 2nd, there was nothing. She’s put up five photos since last Sunday including two from the Super Bowl. They’re from inside MetLife Stadium and one is with son James. There are none of Murdoch with anyone else, or shot by anyone on the outside.

Of course, Murdoch has had a couple of blows recently besides those financial. A book about Roger Ailes that came out last month was an annoyance if nothing else. And this week Vanity Fair has its big feature on his divorce from Wendi Deng. All that, plus continued news about the phone hacking case in the UK, may have made him feel like keeping a lower than usual profile.

Did Mia Farrow Get the Molestation Idea from a Song By Ex Husband’s Wife?

Roger Friedman
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Did Mia Farrow Get the Molestation Idea from a Song By Ex Husband’s Wife?

Woody Allen’s Op Ed piece brings up an interesting idea in the matter of Mia Farrow and her molestation charges. Woody points out that Dory Previn, ex wife of Mia’s husband Andre Previn, wrote and recorded a song called “With My Daddy in the Attic.” It was after Mia helped break up Dory’s marriage to Andre. Dory Previn was kind of a budding Carly Simon/Carole King in the late 60s. But the blow up of her marriage sent her down a path of mental breakdowns. She wrote a song about Mia around 1970 called “Beware the Young Girls.” “With My Daddy in the Attic,” about incest, was on the same album. It’s almost a blueprint for Mia Farrow’s charges against Woody regarding Dylan. Mia would have known this song as well as anything else she’d ever heard. Maybe Dylan and Ronan should look into that.

Here are the lyrics:

Ba ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba…With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
That is where
My being wants to bed
With the
Mattress ticking showing
And the tattered pillow slip
And the pine
Unpainted rafters overhead
With the
Door closed on my mama
And my sibling competition
And my Shirley Temple doll
That truly cries
And my essay on religion
With the pasted paper stare
Proving tangibly
I’d won the second prize
With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
That is where
My dark attraction lies
With his
Madness on the nightstand
Placed beside
His loaded gun
In the terrifying nearness
Of his eyes
With no
Window spying neighbours
And no
Husbands in the future
To intrude
Upon our attic
Past the stair
Where we’ll live on
Peanut butter
Spread across assorted crackers
And he’ll play
His clarinet
When I despair
With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
Passed the stair
Where we’ll live on
Peanut butter
Spread across assorted crackers
And he’ll play
His clarinet
When I despairBa ba ba ba
Ba ba ba ba…

With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
Passed the stair
With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
With my
Daddy in the attic
Passed the stair

 

Breaking: Woody Allen Speaks Out in the New York Times: I Did Not Molest Dylan

Roger Friedman
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1
Breaking: Woody Allen Speaks Out in the New York Times: I Did Not Molest Dylan

Woody Allen has written an Op Ed piece for The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/opinion/sunday/woody-allen-speaks-out.html?_r=0

Definitively: “I did not molest Dylan.” That’s what Woody Allen writes in an Op Ed piece published tonight in the New York Times. He most vehemently denies all of Mia and Dylan Farrow’s accusations. I’ll get to that in a minute.

He does address the issue of his son Ronan being Frank Sinatra’s.

“Is he my son or, as Mia suggests, Frank Sinatra’s? Granted, he looks a lot like Frank with the blue eyes and facial features, but if so what does this say? That all during the custody hearing Mia lied under oath and falsely represented Ronan as our son? Even if he is not Frank’s, the possibility she raises that he could be, indicates she was secretly intimate with him during our years. Not to mention all the money I paid for child support. Was I supporting Frank’s son? Again, I want to call attention to the integrity and honesty of a person who conducts her life like that.”

And about Dylan he writes:

“Of course, I did not molest Dylan. I loved her and hope one day she will grasp how she has been cheated out of having a loving father and exploited by a mother more interested in her own festering anger than her daughter’s well-being. Being taught to hate your father and made to believe he molested you has already taken a psychological toll on this lovely young woman, and Soon-Yi and I are both hoping that one day she will understand who has really made her a victim and reconnect with us, as Moses has, in a loving, productive way. No one wants to discourage abuse victims from speaking out, but one must bear in mind that sometimes there are people who are falsely accused and that is also a terribly destructive thing. (This piece will be my final word on this entire matter and no one will be responding on my behalf to any further comments on it by any party. Enough people have been hurt.)”

 

Fox Cancels “The X Factor,” Says “American Idol” Is “Winding Down”

Roger Friedman
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2
Fox Cancels “The X Factor,” Says “American Idol” Is “Winding Down”

Our long national suffering is over. Fox has cancelled “The  X Factor.” Simon Cowell is going back to England to host the show there. With Cowell long off “American Idol,” that leaves Cowell with no on-air work in the United States. For the first time in recent memory, America will be without the caustic observations of the British opinion maker. What shall we do?

At the same time, “American Idol” is quote– “winding down.” Those were the words of Chase Carey, head of Fox TV on conference call with Wall Street analysts Thursday. Carey conceded the show is coming to an end, although he didn’t say this would be the last season.

“It’s not a show that drives the whole network as it did in years passed. The show is 13 years old. We hope to have years 14, 15, 16, 17. But it won’t be like seasons 5, 6, and 7. We know it’s coming to an end. It’s a great show. The ratings fell faster for American Idol and X Factor than we hoped. It’s winding down to where it’s just a great, successful show.”

That was yesterday. Today, Fox cancelled “X Factor.”

This week “Idol” took a pounding on Thursday night from the Olympics. But the show has seen some uptick from new judge Harry Connick, Jr, the return of Jennifer Lopez, and the ever popular Keith Urban. Can they save it? From what Carey indicated, it’s not likely.

But the cancellation of “X Factor” indicates that Fox is ready to call it a day for their competition shows. The genre is pretty much saturated. Plus NBC’s “The Voice” continues to squash Fox’s shows. For Cowell, there’s still “America’s Got Talent.” Some think he may turn up there, with Howard Stern and friends.

It’s all about money, in the end. Profits for 21st Century Fox, the new company separated from News Corp, fell 49% this quarter. Carey pointed out that TV advertising revenues have dropped because of low ratings for “American Idol” and “X Factor.”

 

Wolf of Wall Street Worldwide Hit at $160 Mil: French, Germans Love the Sex, Drugs

Roger Friedman
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0
Wolf of Wall Street Worldwide Hit at $160 Mil: French, Germans Love the Sex, Drugs

Usually movies that do better abroad than in the US are action films. They don’t require much understanding of the English language. If the story stinks or the dialogue is bad, foreigners don’t care so much. They want to see movie stars.

Then how do you explain “The Wolf of Wall Street”? Sacre bleu: “Wolf” has racked up $160 million internationally, versus $102 million here in the U.S. All those long speeches! Apparently they don’t matter. The French have spent $25 million on “Wolf.” Germany has forked over $20 million. Spain, Italy, Poland have each embraced this three hour tale of debauchery and greed. I wish I knew what Quaaludes translated into in those places!

Of course, the movie’s been a big hit in the U.K. and Australia, but that was to be expected.

“Wolf” has turned into the best bet a big studio has made on a long shot in a long time. Everyone worried the three hours running time would turn off audiences. There was also the math– a three hour movie plays fewer times a day. Plus, Martin Scorsese almost didn’t make a release date. He edited the movie in his home, in kitchens and bathrooms, around the clock. So it’s a very happy ending.

Domestically, “Wolf” has a way to go before it surpasses “Shutter Island” ($128 mil) and “The Departed” ($132 million). But if it can hold on through the Oscars on March 2, the Jordan Belfort story could become Scorsese’s biggest grossing film.

“American Idol” Down 6 Percent from Last Week, Down 2.6 Million Viewers from Wednesday

Roger Friedman
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0
“American Idol” Down 6 Percent from Last Week, Down 2.6 Million Viewers from Wednesday

Whatever viewers liked about “American Idol” on Wednesday night, it didn’t keep them on Thursday. The show fell a whopping 2.6 million total people from Wednesday to Thursday. From Thursday to Thursday to Thursday the loss was 6%. Hello!

Last night “Idol” scored a 3.0 in the key demo and a total 10.94 viewers. The night before they were at a 3.9 and over 13.4 mil viewers.

From last Thursday, it was quite a drop too considering they were at 3.2. Maybe they should just have one show a week? Just sayin’…

Where did everyone go? To the Olympics, “The Big Bang Theory,” and “The Millers.” Just by contrast, The Olympics scored twice as many viewers as “American Idol” — almost 20 million. “Idol” may have trouble competing against it. The competition stakes are much higher!

Beatles 50th Anniversary Show On CBS Will Run At Its Full Length After All

Roger Friedman
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2
Beatles 50th Anniversary Show On CBS Will Run At Its Full Length After All

Sunday’s “Night that Changed America” salute to the Beatles on CBS will run its entire length after all. Originally the show was booked for three hours to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the group’s arrival in the U.S. and appearance on “Ed Sullivan.”

Then there was some kind of skirmish with the network. They only wanted two hours. Some people were dropped from the show. I know a couple of names, but what the heck. It’s not important now.

On January 27th, the show was taped at two and a half hours anyway. I wrote about it–here’s the link. http://www.showbiz411.com/2014/01/28/beatles-celebrate-50th-anniversary-with-star-studded-tv-taping

It was a dazzling experience with one bump in the road: Katy Perry’s rendition of “Yesterday” was kind of flat. We’ll see if they fixed it in the mix.

Now CBS is running the show as it was taped. An episode of “The Millers” will play at 10:30pm. But the full show is actually must-see TV. Here’s the list of performers and songs. You should see a lot of cutaways featuring Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson dancing around with Yoko, Sean, Ringo, Paul, Olivia, Dhani, et al:

More on this later…

Maroon 5                                                         “All My Loving”

                                                                        “Ticket To Ride”

John Mayer & Keith Urban:                            “Don’t Let Me Down”

Ed Sheeran:                                                     “In My Life”

Imagine Dragons:                                             “Revolution”

Stevie Wonder:                                                            “We Can Work It Out”

Alicia Keys & John Legend:                            “Let It Be”

Katy Perry:                                                      “Yesterday”

Eurythmics:                                                     “The Fool On The Hill”

Dave Grohl & Jeff Lynne:                               “Hey Bulldog”

Brad Paisley & Pharrell Williams

w/The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil:       “Here Comes The Sun”

Jeff Lynne & Joe Walsh:                                 “Something”

Gary Clark Jr., Dave Grohl & Joe Walsh:                    “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”

Ringo Starr:                                                      “Matchbox,” “Boys,” “Yellow Submarine”

Paul McCartney:                                              “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Get Back,” “Birthday”

Paul, Ringo, All-Star Finale:                                                 “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “With A Little Help From My Friends,” “Hey Jude.”

Apocalypse Confirmed: American Music Awards Extended Through 2023

Roger Friedman
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0

No one ever expected these things to do on forever. Did we? I mean, seriously? I just got a press release that the American Music Awards and New Year’s Rockin’ Eve are going to be on ABC for another decade. A decade. Through 2023-2024.  Really? Can you imagine who the second tier music stars will be by then? And the whole ball drop thing from Times Square? Ryan Seacrest in 2023?

This is what we have to look forward to, for better or worse. Won’t all these things be gone on Google Glass, in hologram form? One thing’s for sure, I will be on another planet by then. Or teaching Scientology on the moon. But that’s the news. Yikes.

Oh PS the music stars: look around at all the available six year-olds now, and imagine them in 10 years. All the Jolie – Pitt children will be involved, Suri Cruise will be a pop star, Jaden and Willow Smith will get the Lifetime Achievement Award, Paris Jackson will host.

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