Sunday, December 21, 2025
Donate
Home Blog Page 1800

Beyonce Releases Unscheduled Surprise 14 Track Album on iTunes–and It’s Very Good

Roger Friedman
-
0
Beyonce Releases Unscheduled Surprise 14 Track Album on iTunes–and It’s Very Good

Beyonce surprise! Today, Friday the 13th, arrives a surprise new album from R&B pop star Beyonce. It wasn’t on any schedule. But here is is, a well kept secret. There’s no album art to speak of– just a plain black cover. The album is called “Beyonce” but Sony is calling it “The Visual album” because in addition to 14 new tracks there are 17 videos. Among the guest artists are Drake, Frank Ocean, and of course, Jay Z. Plus the couple’s baby, Blue Ivy, makes an appearance.

The songs seem to feature Beyonce’s voice for a change, and they also sound like they were actually composed instead of sampled. All the credits aren’t available yet. “Pretty Hurts,” “Heaven,” and “Blow” already sound promising. This is the second surprise iTunes album– that kid, whathisname, has one coming out as well. Beyonce beat him to it.

The album is available until December 20 as a collection, then turns into just 14 singles on iTunes. I’ve no doubt a CD will emerge due to “popular demand” at some point. Watch Beyonce liven up the moribund Christmas charts starting right now! Hats off to Sony’s Rob Stringer for pulling a good ‘fast one’!

Billy Joel Adds 8th Monthly Consecutive Show at Madison Square Garden

Roger Friedman
-
0
Billy Joel Adds 8th Monthly Consecutive Show at Madison Square Garden

The Billy Joel streamroller is here. Last week Madison Square Garden announced Billy’s monthly residency. We jokingly said he’d play 1 show per month until the end of time.

No kidding: Billy just added  8th consecutive monthly show, this one for August 2014. He’s already got sold out shows every month from January through July totally sold out. And mind you, that’s along with a New Years Eve show at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. I guess the MSG people saw the demand at Barclays and decided to move fast in securing the Piano Man forever.

So I guess now we head to a September date. The shows are being produced with AEG Live (and new chief Jay Marciano who used to run MSG, by the way) and Q104.3FM which still has the best deejays in Jim Kerr, Carole Miller, and Ken Dashow.

PS No, Billy will not be at the Jingle Ball tonight. But he should be! He could teach one of his master classes to all the new pop stars!

Kelly Clarkson Special Has More Viewers Than Former Mentor Simon Cowell’s “X Factor”

Roger Friedman
-
15
Kelly Clarkson Special Has More Viewers Than Former Mentor Simon Cowell’s “X Factor”

This must hurt. “The X Factor” is just not doing well. We all know it. But on Wednesday night there was an added insult: Kelly Clarkson’s Christmas special had more total viewers than Simon Cowell’s competition. The irony of course is that Clarkson was discovered on Cowell’s “American Idol” and was the very first winner of that show.

“X Factor” was the eleventh–yes 11th– most watched show on Wednesday night. That’s also rough news. From 8 to 10 pm “X Factor” had 4.97 million viewers. It was up against another singing competition on NBC called “The Sing Off.” That show had 6.03 million viewers. Ouch!

Later on NBC, Clarkson’s Christmas special came on at 10pm and scored 5.31 mil viewers. Indeed, if you take away the shows on the almost non existent CW network, “X Factor” had the lowest total audience of any show on Wednesday night.

The people at “American Idol” had better be watching this news. If they haven’t made severe changes for the upcoming season, they’re going to be in the same predicament.

Jane Fonda Foundation “In Compliance,” Actress is Very Charitable

Roger Friedman
-
0
Jane Fonda Foundation “In Compliance,” Actress is Very Charitable

What looked like a good story for the reliable Smoking Gun website has kind of backfired. These things happen, as we all know. But the Smoking Gun’s assertion that Jane Fonda’s personal foundation was not in compliance with IRS law was incorrect as it turns out. Fonda’s lawyer Barry Hirsch confirmed to me last night that the foundation is “in compliance.”

The Smoking Gun was worried that Fonda not doling out large donations put her in legal peril. They also questioned what was going on.

Hirsch pointed out that Fonda had made enough sizable donations prior to 2006 that they carried her through the last year. In addition, Fonda’s office supplied a list of charitable donations the speaker/activist/actress/author has made from 2004 through 2013. They include:

Emory University – The Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health

Thomasville Community Resource Center  

Upaya Zen Center

Pecos Valley Cowboy Church

V-Day

PATH Foundation

Rosie’s Theatre Kids

Chattahoochee Riverkeeper

Women’s Media Center

Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (name change in 2013 to Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential)

Equality Now

Teen Services Program – Grady Health System

Also of note is this description of regulations covering private foundations per Wikipedia. Apparently the rules are different than they are for large public fundraising organizations. I didn’t know that myself. Live and learn:

The Tax Reform Act of 1969 defined the fundamental social contract offered to private foundations. In exchange for exemption from paying most taxes and for limited tax benefits being offered to donors, a private foundation must (a) pay out at least 5% of the value of its endowment each year, none of which may be to the private benefit of any individual; (b) not own or operate significant for-profit businesses; (c) file detailed public annual reports and conduct annual audits in the same manner as a for-profit corporation; (d) meet a suite of additional accounting requirements unique to nonprofits.

Administrative and operating expenses count towards the 5% requirement; they range from trivial at small unstaffed foundations, to more than half a percent of the endowment value at larger staffed ones. Congressional proposals to exclude those costs from the payout requirement typically receive much attention during boom periods when foundation endowments are earning investment returns much greater than 5% (such as the late 1990s); the idea typically fades when foundation endowments are shrinking in a down market (such as 2001-2003).

The Beatles Want Us to Buy All of Their CD’s Again in Yet Another Box Set

Roger Friedman
-
1
The Beatles Want Us to Buy All of Their CD’s Again in Yet Another Box Set

Ok, even I have to say this is nuts. The Beatles are going to issue a new box set on January 21st. Of all the albums. Except this time it’s the US releases. Sort of. What? You already bought the box set in 2009? And the mono box? Well guess what? This box has all the American releases in stereo and mono. Feel ripped off? A little bit.

Back in 1987, the Beatles put out all their CDs in just the British versions. More or less they remained that way until 2009, with the two new super duper box sets. Those sets also issued just the British versions, because that’s “the way the albums were supposed to come out.” Really, all that was missing was the American CD called “Hey Jude.” And the “Rarities” album.

So now, “Hey Jude” will appear and you can buy it individually. But the rest of it is unnecessary unless you have lots of disposable income. And plenty of room to store more CDs.

I have all the original American LP albums, the first cycle of 1987 CDs, the few updates in between (there was a nicer “Sgt, Pepper,” an upgraded “White Album,” and the 2nd edition “Yellow Submarine”), and the two 2009 box sets. Plus singles from the 60s. Now we’re supposed to buy the American albums on CD. But if you have the 2009 box sets you’ve got everything. And for 26 years, the British versions have sufficed.

Yes, “Beatles 65” disappeared. But I just made my own.  With home digital libraries, you can re-sequence, make your own albums. The announcement today says the box will include “all the original artwork.” The 2009 boxes had all that art work.

“Hey Jude” will be nice to see again. But where is the “Let it Be” movie? Where is “Rarities”?

Jane Fonda Runs an Amazing $5mil Charity in Atlanta For Teens and Young Mothers

Roger Friedman
-
1
Jane Fonda Runs an Amazing $5mil Charity in Atlanta For Teens and Young Mothers

I hate to argue with one of my favorite websites, the Smoking Gun. But today they’re making it seem like Jane Fonda is using a personal foundation to store money. Their headline reads: “Jane Fonda Foundation Not So Charitable.” Fonda’s personal foundation, they say, and they are correct from the IRS papers filed, has not disbursed funds in several years. I’ve queried Fonda’s spokesperson about that and we’ll have an answer soon.

However: Fonda herself is incredibly charitable. The two time Oscar winner runs an amazing 4 million dollar charity in Atlanta called GCAPP– Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential.

Last year GCAPP gave almost as much as it took in. Over $4.2 million went to running their Second Chance Homes for young mothers and their children, providing education and assistance to teenagers about pregnancy and helping young women throughout Georgia. Ironically, I was including them on my list this week of charities worthy of donations now at the end of the year.

You can read all about it at www.gcapp.org

 

The Beatles Get Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on 50th Anniversary

Roger Friedman
-
0
The Beatles Get Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award on 50th Anniversary

John, Paul, George and Ringo will receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award this year on the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ arrival in the United States. Others getting the award on January 25th right before Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy dinner and concert include Kris Kristofferson, the Isley Brothers, and Clifton Chenier. Ennio Morricone is among the winners of the Trustee’s Award. And Rick Hall, the man behind Muscle Shoals studios, is also getting a special award.

The Beatles will also get a special concert two days later at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with various artists playing Beatles songs.

It’s unclear if Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr will participate in all this, but my guess is they will. Why not? They’re the whole reason for this hoopla. Olivia Harrison and Yoko Ono are sure to be there, too.

In between, MusiCares will honor Carole King on Friday night January 24th as Person of the Year.

Meanwhile, in New York, there are lots of plans coming together for a 50th Beatles weekend. Stay tuned for more details.

Press release:

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Dec. 12, 2013) —The Recording Academy® announced its Special Merit Awards recipients today, and this year’s honorees are: the Beatles, Armando Manzanero, Clifton Chenier, the Isley Brothers, Kraftwerk, Kris Kristofferson, and Maud Powell as Lifetime Achievement Award recipients; Rick Hall, Jim Marshall and Ennio Morricone as Trustees Award honorees; and Emile Berliner and Lexicon as Technical GRAMMY® Award recipients. A special invitation-only ceremony will be held during GRAMMY Week on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014, and a formal acknowledgment will be made during the 56th Annual GRAMMYAwards® telecast, which will be held at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2014 and broadcast live at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the CBS Television Network. For GRAMMY® coverage, updates and breaking news, please visit The Recording Academy’s social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

 

“It is a great privilege to recognize such an exceptional group of honorees and celebrate their accomplishments and contributions to the recording industry,” said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. “This astoundingly unique and gifted group have created some of the most distinguished and influential work in our musical history. Their legacies are timeless and legendary, and their creativity will continue to influence and inspire future generations.” 

 

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording while the Trustees Award recognizes such contributions in areas other than performance. Both awards are determined by vote of The Recording Academy’s National Board of Trustees. Technical GRAMMY Award recipients are determined by vote of The Academy’s Producers & Engineers Wing® Advisory Council and Chapter Committees, as well as The Academy’s Trustees. The award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.


Golden Globes Pick One Comedy-Musical and 4 Dramas for That Category

Roger Friedman
-
2
Golden Globes Pick One Comedy-Musical and 4 Dramas for That Category

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey should have a good time explaining this on the Golden Globes. In the category of comedy-musical, the Hollywood Foreign Press has chosen exactly 1 comedy-musical and 4 dramas.

The actual comedy-musical is the Coen brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.” It’s a comedy, with songs. Fair enough. Oscar Isaac was also nominated.

But the four other nominees are dramas with humor. And no songs, although “American Hustle” has an outstanding soundtrack of 70s hits. “Wolf of Wall Street” is a tragedy of epic proportions, with laughs. “Her” is a sci-fi fantasy with few laughs. It’s sardonic. “American Hustle” is a satire, and a drama. Again with humor to punctuate it. “Nebraska” is a melancholic, wry family drama. If that’s a comedy, Buster Keaton is running around in heaven, screaming.

The Globes missed “Enough Said,” Nicole Holofcener’s gem of an actual comedy. They also bypassed James Gandolfini’s fine work in that film. At least they also ignored “We’re the Millers,” the atrocious wanna be comedy.

Woody Allen: Punished by Golden Globes for Not Coming to Show

Roger Friedman
-
0
Woody Allen: Punished by Golden Globes for Not Coming to Show

I was wrong. I said a few months ago that Woody Allen’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the Golden Globes guaranteed him a Best Picture nomination for “Blue Jasmine.”

Boy, was I wrong!

Once Woody announced the obvious–that he was sending Diane Keaton in his place to the Globes show on January 12th– that was it. The group gave him nothing. No Best Picture, Director, or Screenplay for “Blue Jasmine.”

The actresses Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins were nominated, however. But nothing for Woody himself. Retribution for his no show decision? It seems pretty odd that you’d give someone a Lifetime Achievement award but ignore his current much applauded work. Yikes.

PS Somehow the HFPA got Woody to come down and see them recently at a New York hotel. On their website, the HFPA has pictures (naturally) and a quote from Woody that thinks of them as family! Not anymore, I guess.

 

Golden Globes 2014 Nominees: Oprah Snubbed for “Butler” Performance

Roger Friedman
-
31
Golden Globes 2014 Nominees: Oprah Snubbed for “Butler” Performance

The Golden Globes just snubbed Oprah Winfrey for her outstanding performance in”The Butler.” In fact, they snubbed the entire movie, as well as “Fruitvale Station.” They did acknowledge “12 Years a Slave,” “Captain Phillips,” “Gravity,” “Philomena and “Rush” in drama, and “American Hustle,” “Wolf of Wall street,” “Her,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” and “Nebraska” as the best comedies. None of them are comedies.

Even more bizarre: they snubbed Woody Allen, to whom they are giving a Lifetime Achievement Award. I told you this would happen months ago. If Woody wasn’t coming to get his award, he’d get very little for “Blue Jasmine.” So no Best Director, Picture, or Screenplay. Just actress (Blanchett) and supporting actress (Sally Hawkins).

One nomination that is spot on: Oscar Isaac in “Inside Llewyn Davis.” But they missed James Gandolfini in “Enough Said.” And the movie itself, which IS a COMEDY.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
12 Years A Slave
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Rush

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Cate Blanchett
Sandra Bullock
Judi Dench
Emma Thompson
Kate Winslet

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Idris Elba
Tom Hanks
Matthew McConaughey
Robert Redford

BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
American Hustle
Her
Lleywn
Nebraska
The Wolf Of Wall Street

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Amy Adams
Julie Delpy
Greta Gerwig
Julia Dreyfus
Meryl Streep

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Christian Bale
Bruce Dern
Leonardo DiCaprio
Oscar Isaac
Joaquin Phoenix

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
The Croods
Despicable Me 2
Frozen

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Blue is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
The Hunt
The Past
The Wind Rises

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Sally Hawkins
Jennifer Lawrence
Lupita Nyong’o
Julia Roberts
June Squibb

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
Barkhad Abdi
Daniel Bruhl
Bradley Cooper
Michael Fassbender
Jared Leto

BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
Alfonso Cuaron
Paul Greengrass
Steve McQueen
Alexander Payne
David O. Russell

BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
Her
Nebraska
Philomena
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
Alex Ebert, All Is Lost
Alex Heffes, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
John Williams, The Book Thief
Hans Zimmer, 12 Years A Slave

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
Atlas, Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Let It Go, Frozen
Ordinary Love, Mandela
Please Mr Kennedy, Inside Llewyn Davis
Sweeter Than Fiction, One Chance

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
The Good Wife
House Of Cards
Masters Of Sex

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Taylor Schilling, Orange Is The New Black
Kerry Washington, Scandal
Robin Wright, House Of Cards

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
Bryan Cranston
Liev Schreiber
Michael Sheen
Kevin Spacey
James Spader

BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
The Big Bang Theory
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Girls
Modern Family
Parks & Recreation

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Amy Poehler, Parks & Recreation

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
Jason Bateman, Arrested Development
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Michael J. Fox, The Michael J. Fox Show
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Andy Samberg, Brooklyn Nine-Nine

BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
American Horror Story: Coven
Behind The Candelabra
Dancing on the Edge
Top of the Lake
White Queen

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Helena Bonham Carter
Rebecca Ferguson
Helen Mirren, Spector
Elizabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Josh Charles, The Good Wife
Rob Lowe, Behind the Candelabra
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Corey Stoll, House of Cards
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Jacqueline Bisset, Dancing on the Edge
Janet McTeer, The White Queen
Hayden Pannetiere , Nashville
Monica Potter, Parenthood
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

The 2014 Golden Globe nominees are being announced in Hollywood. Taylor Swift and U2 picked up Best Song nods for “One Chance” and “Mandela,” respectively. “Please Mr. Kennedy” from “Inside Llewyn Davis,” the cleverest song and performance of the year, was also nominated. Screenplay nominees are “Her,” “Philomena,” “12 Years a Slave,” “American Hustle,” and “Nebraska.”

 

BEST SONG:

ATLAS- HUNGER GAMES, LET IT GO- FROZEN, ORDINARY LOVE-U2 FROM MANDELA, PLEASE MR KENNEDY-FROM INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, SWEETER THAN FICTION- FROM ONE CHANCE (TAYLOR SWIFT)

BEST SCORE:

MANDELA, ALL IS LOST, GRAVITY, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, BOOK THIEF

BEST PICTURE-DRAMA

 

 

 

BEST PICTURE- COMEDY/MUSICAL

 

BEST ACTOR DRAMA

 

BEST ACTRESS DRAMA

 

BEST ACTOR COMEDY

 

BEST ACTRESS COMEDY

 

SUPPORTING ACTOR

BARKHAD ABDI

DANIEL BRUHL

BRADLEY COOPER

 

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

BEST SCREENPLAY:

HER

NEBRASKA

PHILOMENA

12 YEARS A SLAVE

AMERICAN HUSTLE

FOREIGN FILM:

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR

THE GREAT BEAUTY

THE HUNT

THE PAST

THE WIND RISES

1...1,7991,8001,801...2,324Page 1,800 of 2,324

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com