I did tell you that the Monty Python reunion would add up to around 100 shows before it was all done. A few people told me I was crazy, that the Pythons would never pull it off. But here we are: they’ve got 10 shows booked the O2 Arena outside of London after adding five more dates tonight. The shows now run July 1st-5th, and 15th-20th. Will there be more? Absolutely. Then look for dates in New York and Los Angeles for early September. AEG Live is supposedly handling the tour, which will spread out in the U.S. before heading to Europe, Australia, and so on. Python-mania is upon us!
Paris Jackson Not Coming Home for Thanksgiving, Going on Field Trip
You may be wondering what happened to Paris Jackson, Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe’s daughter? She was sent to a school for troubled teens last June after a suicide attempt, and that’s where she’s been all this time.
Now I’m told that Paris, who’s had a hard time adjusting to the rules and regulations of the school, has earned enough good behavior points to join her classmates on a field trip. They’re on their way now, and that’s where Paris will be for Thanksgiving. Remember, Katherine Jackson is a Jehovah’s Witness and doesn’t celebrate holidays. So Paris might as well be with her pals.
TMZ ran a story today from a “source” claiming Debbie Rowe and Mrs. Jackson had a meeting at the school today to get an update on Paris. “Debbie is calling these stories in to TMZ,” says an insider. If that’s true, she didn’t tell them about the field trip. I know where the kids are going. I’ll tell you where it was when they return.
According to my source, Paris has missed a few trips in the past because she wasn’t so cooperative. But things are changing. Her behavior, they say, will be watched closely now to determine if she can go home for the Christmas break. We’re rooting for her!
Marvin Gaye’s Son Tells Robin Thicke: “Got to Give it Up” in New Lawsuit
Marvin Gaye’s son, Marvin Gaye III, has filed his own lawsuit against Robin Thicke over copyright violation. MGIII is suing not only over the similarities between his dad’s song “Got to Give it Up” and Thicke’s hit “Blurred Lines.” He’s added another Gaye song, “After the Dance,” which he says Thicke copied in “Love After War.”
MGIII may have gotten idea from an article I wrote in August. I told you then that there were at least four instances in which Thicke obviously copied or sample Gaye classics. The other two are his “Trouble Man” finding its way into Thicke’s “Million Dolla Baby” and Gaye’s “I Want You” copied into Thicke’s “Make U Love Me.”
There is already a suit against Thicke from two other Gaye children. That suit not only names Thicke but his music publisher, formerly EMI, now Sony ATV, for breaching fiduciary rights in not dealing with this situation. This one leaves Sony ATV out of the mix. He’s also suing over just the “Got to Give it Up” and “After the Dance.” I don’t know why he don’t sue over “Trouble Man.” It’s blatant.
Frankly, I’ve known other similar situations where the music publisher declined to intervene because the culprit was a contemporary hit maker. Witness John Mayer’s “Waiting for the World to Change” which borrows heavily from Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready” and “We’re a Winner.”
This new lawsuit is reported today by Eriq Gardner in The Hollywood Reporter.
Here’s some advice to the Gaye children: combine your cases. That’s a big Thanksgiving pie your dad left behind. Everyone can have a nice slice if you’re smart.
Here’s an interesting 2009 video I found on YouTube. Thicke seems to say “Million Dolla Baby” is based on Marvin Gaye’s music.
Broadway: “Spider Man” — Closing Soon– Celebrates 3rd Anniversary Tonight
Not every show on Broadway will be remembered for something. But tonight “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” marks three years since its auspicious debut at the Foxwoods Theater. This was the night– November 28, 2010– that became legend. (Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, the show will celebrate a night early this evening.) It was a freezing cold night, in fact. The scene in front of the Foxwoods on West 42nd St. was out of control. Big crowds, long lines, and so much curiosity about what was going to happen on stage.
Of course, what happened starting that night was legendary. Things fell apart. There were a lot of stops. Poor Arachne, who was supposed to fly around, got stuck in mid air. One of the flying Spider men came in zooming in toward the stage and kept going until a stage hand caught him. There were no actual accidents, but there were many to come.
In the second act, during a five minute break to fix things, a woman in the audience yelled out, “I feel like a guinea pig!” She was booed. Oh, the memories.
It wasn’t all bad. Rick Miramontez, the super hero press agent for the show, points out in a press release today: “The production has employed a total of 1,100 people and pumped an estimated $870 million into the local economy. Audience members representing 45 countries from around the globe have seen the production, including approximately 750,000 first time theatergoers. The show, arguably the most famous in Broadway history, has generated an estimated 200,000 headlines around the world. It has been enjoyed by everyone from the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, to Joan Rivers, and has been seen multiple times by its most fervent fans, including one fan who has attended 219 times to date.”
(It’s also lost $60 million.)
Happy Birthday , Spider Man. And if you haven’t seen Julie Taymor’s sets and costumes, her incredible vision, it’s worth taking a peek before the show shuts down on January 4th and heads to Las Vegas, its natural home.
Justin Bieber Releases Pale Version of “Rollercoaster,” the Ohio Players Hit
Justin Bieber is really a wanker, isn’t he? This week’s single release is called “Rollercoaster.” It’s at number 8 on iTunes. It’s also a pale version of the real “Rollercoaster” by the Ohio Players. How can he listen to these side by side and think he’s making music? It’s an abomination.
Bieber:
Ohio Players:
Lady Gaga ARTPOP Poops Out: Second Week Drop of 81%
Lady Gaga‘s ARTPOP dropped 81% in sales for its second week and fell to number 7 from first place. The album sold 50,154 copies, down from first week of almost 260K. ARTPOP will be written about one day as a huge marketing failure, unique in every way. After a long, much ballyhooed build up the finished product simply fizzled.
Lady Gaga– Stefani Germanotta– will learn a lesson about hubris from this experience. Maybe. She directed the entire campaign, went against the advice of others, and wound up losing a ton of money ($25 million seems severe, but lots) for herself and for Universal Music.
This means ARTPOP has sold just 300,000 copies in two weeks. Where are all her fans and ‘monsters’? They certainly didn’t like what they heard. But as I said before, ARTPOP was a gigantic misfire. Gaga tried to shove the art world down the throats of the fans. They didn’t want it, and they were confused by it. What had they related to was Gaga as champion of the underdog, the gay kid, the bullied kid, etc. Jeff Koons was not in their realm.
The flop album may yet affect more things, like a tour. It will be interesting to see if she can sell tickets to concerts with music no one bought. The best solution is get back with producer RedOne, add some songs to an ARTPOP 2.0, and try and revive the CD. It’s been done. But Gaga will have to listen to someone other than herself.
PS Eminem retook the number 1 spot with his Marshall Mathers LP 2. He sold 127.000 copies, about two and a half times as many as Gaga.
MORE MUSIC! DOWNLOAD JULIA FORDHAM ‘S WHITE CHRISTMAS— All Proceeds from iTunes to aid for the Phillipines. Julia writes: Here’s our lovely and funny video starring the scene stealing, stunning and hilarious actress Jennifer Coolidge. Currently starring in the CBS sitcom “2 Broke Girls” (and much loved for her superb turn as Stifler’s Mom in the movie American Pie & and for her characters in the Christopher Guest movies), Judith and I were thrilled and delighted when Jennifer showed up at our video shoot for “White Christmas” and worked her Voluptuous Goddess Charm on our Producer / Arranger / Pianist Grant Mitchell.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/white-christmas-single/id763801738
Meryl Streep (Video) On Her Tour de Force in “August Osage County”
Last night Meryl Streep and the cast of “August: Osage County” did two Q & As back to back for the film. You can see the public one here. It’s very amusing. Streep admits that playing Violet Westin in the Pulitzer Prize winning drama “was not an easy thing to say yes to.”
Streep is a heavy candidate for Best Actress. Her performance is a tour de force. She is mesmerizing. There are other terrific Oscar possible performances from Margo Martindale, Chris Cooper and Julia Roberts. John Wells has done a masterful job with Tracy Letts’s play and screenplay. And yes, the ending has been tweaked since the version I saw in Toronto. It ends on a clearer note. At last night’s screening I was able to watch things from different angles, that’s the benefit of multiple viewings. Julia Roberts was even better than I thought last time. And Margo Martindale is deep, deep, deep.
Interesting: Meryl had never met Sam Shepard before, which seems hard to believe considering Shepard’s long playwright history off Broadway in New York, his marriage to Streep’s peer Jessica Lange, and so on. “I was so thrilled [he] was cast in this part. And when I met him I was hairless, toothless. And he looked at me just the way he was supposed to, with complete revulsion. It sort of broke my heart and really made me mad. It was fuel for the rest of the thing.
Streep concedes of Violet: “This is a very theatrical person. A person who has no lid on her instinct. There was a great liberation in that character.”
She added: “I have tended toward some bossy characters lately. Maybe that comes with age. I’m noticing a trend…”
“60 Minutes” Scandal Apes HBO’s “The Newsroom” With Different Results
Bad times at “60 Minutes” as Laura Logan and her producer are suspended over their Benghazi episode. The pair was conned and put a source on to reveal secrets of what happened at Benghazi. The source turned out be a liar; he had told the FBI a completely different story of his experience at Benghazi.
This is quite different from the similar story that ran all summer on HBO’s “The Newsroom.” The fictitious network ran what turned out to be the fictitious “Genoa” story thanks to a crazy in house producer. All the top people offered their resignations; they were declined.
But in real life, you don’t get Jane Fonda in a gown high as a kite coming back from a movie premiere and saving your skin. Interesting though that CBS News and “60 Minutes” actually imitated “The Newsroom” in many ways. Here are the reports from CBS and from “60 Minutes”:
November 26, 2013
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
My review found that the Benghazi story aired by 60 Minutes on October 27 was deficient in several respects:
–From the start, Lara Logan and her producing team were looking for a different angle to the story of the Benghazi attack. They believed they found it in the story of Dylan Davies, written under the pseudonym, “Morgan Jones”. It purported to be the first western eyewitness account of the attack. But Logan’s report went to air without 60 Minutes knowing what Davies had told the FBI and the State Department about his own activities and location on the night of the attack.
–The fact that the FBI and the State Department had information that differed from the account Davies gave to 60 Minutes was knowable before the piece aired. But the wider reporting resources of CBS News were not employed in an effort to confirm his account. It’s possible that reporters and producers with better access to inside FBI sources could have found out that Davies had given varying and conflicting accounts of his story.
–Members of the 60 Minutes reporting team conducted interviews with Davies and other individuals in his book, including the doctor who received and treated Ambassador Stevens at the Benghazi hospital. They went to Davies’ employer Blue Mountain, the State Department, the FBI (which had interviewed Davies), and other government agencies to ask about their investigations into the attack. Logan and producer Max McClellan told me they found no reason to doubt Davies’ account and found no holes in his story. But the team did not sufficiently vet Davies’ account of his own actions and whereabouts that night.
–Davies told 60 Minutes that he had lied to his own employer that night about his location, telling Blue Mountain that he was staying at his villa, as his superior ordered him to do, but telling 60 Minutes that he then defied that order and went to the compound. This crucial point – his admission that he had not told his employer the truth about his own actions – should have been a red flag in the editorial vetting process.
–After the story aired, the Washington Post reported the existence of a so-called “incident report” that had been prepared by Davies for Blue Mountain in which he reportedly said he spent most of the night at his villa, and had not gone to the hospital or the mission compound. Reached by phone, Davies told the 60 Minutes team that he had not written the incident report, disavowed any knowledge of it, and insisted that the account he gave 60 Minutes was word for word what he had told the FBI. Based on that information and the strong conviction expressed by the team about their story, Jeff Fager defended the story and the reporting to the press.
–On November 7, the New York Times informed Fager that the FBI’s version of Davies’ story differed from what he had told 60 Minutes. Within hours, CBS News was able to confirm that in the FBI’s account of their interview, Davies was not at the hospital or the mission compound the night of the attack. 60 Minutes announced that a correction would be made, that the broadcast had been misled, and that it was a mistake to include Davies in the story. Later a State Department source also told CBS News that Davies had stayed at his villa that night and had not witnessed the attack.
–Questions have been raised about the recent pictures from the compound which were displayed at the end of the report, including a picture of Ambassador Stevens’ schedule for the day after the attack. Video taken by the producer-cameraman whom the 60 Minutes team sent to the Benghazi compound last month clearly shows that the pictures of the Technical Operations Center were authentic, including the picture of the schedule in the debris.
–Questions have also been raised about the role of Al Qaeda in the attack since Logan declared in the report that Al Qaeda fighters had carried it out. Al Qaeda’s role is the subject of much disagreement and debate. While Logan had multiple sources and good reasons to have confidence in them, her assertions that Al Qaeda carried out the attack and controlled the hospital were not adequately attributed in her report.
–In October of 2012, one month before starting work on the Benghazi story, Logan made a speech in which she took a strong public position arguing that the US Government was misrepresenting the threat from Al Qaeda, and urging actions that the US should take in response to the Benghazi attack. From a CBS News Standards perspective, there is a conflict in taking a public position on the government’s handling of Benghazi and Al Qaeda, while continuing to report on the story.
–The book, written by Davies and a co-author, was published by Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, part of the CBS Corporation. 60 Minutes erred in not disclosing that connection in the segment.
Al Ortiz
Executive Director of Standards and Practices
CBS News
——–
By now most of you have received the report from Al Ortiz about the problems with the 60 Minutes story on Benghazi.
There is a lot to learn from this mistake for the entire organization. We have rebuilt CBS News in a way that has dramatically improved our reporting abilities. Ironically 60 Minutes, which has been a model for those changes, fell short by broadcasting a now discredited account of an important story, and did not take full advantage of the reporting abilities of CBS News that might have prevented it from happening.
As a result, I have asked Lara Logan, who has distinguished herself and has put herself in harm’s way many times in the course of covering stories for us, to take a leave of absence, which she has agreed to do. I have asked the same of producer Max McClellan, who also has a distinguished career at CBS News.
As Executive Producer, I am responsible for what gets on the air. I pride myself in catching almost everything, but this deception got through and it shouldn’t have.
When faced with a such an error, we must use it as an opportunity to make our broadcast even stronger. We are making adjustments at 60 Minutes to reduce the chances of it happening again.
There is a lot of pride at CBS News. Every broadcast is working hard to live up to the high standard set at CBS News for excellence in reporting. This was a regrettable mistake. But there are many fine professionals at 60 Minutes who produce some of the very best of broadcast journalism, covering the important and interesting stories of our times, and they will continue to do so each and every Sunday.
Jeff Fager
Chairman, CBS News
Executive Producer, 60 Minutes
Has Indie Spirit Nomination Hurt Oscar Chances for “12 Years a Slave”?
The 2014 Indie Spirit Award nominees have been announced. They will overlap once again with the Oscars, with many of the same names turning up in both places. Three of the Best Feature nominees– 12 Years a Slave, Nebraska and Inside Llewyn Davis– could very well be Oscar nominees.
Certainly the five Best Actor nominees could be the five for the Academy Awards.
Many of the nominations are scattershot. For example, Woody Allen has nominations for Best Director and Screenplay and Cate Blanchett for Best Actress. But “Blue Jasmine” isn’t nominated for Best Feature.
“Fruitvale Station” was the best indie feature of the year, but it’s only up for Best First Feature. Somehow “Frances Ha” was nominated for Best Feature, but not its actresses, director, writer, etc. They should call it Frances Huh?
Does this minimize “12 Years a Slave”? You bet. Only once in the last dozen years has a movie– “The Artist”– gotten Best Indie and Best Picture the next night at the Oscars. Not so sure FoxSearchlight should have included it in this rodeo.
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the producer) * Executive Producers are not listed.
12 YEARS A SLAVE
PRODUCERS: Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad
ALL IS LOST
PRODUCERS: Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb
FRANCES HA
PRODUCERS: Noah Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Rodrigo Teixeira, Lila Yacoub
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
PRODUCERS: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
NEBRASKA
PRODUCERS: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa
BEST FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)
BLUE CAPRICE
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Alexandre Moors
PRODUCERS: Kim Jackson, Brian O’Carroll, Isen Robbins, Will Rowbotham, Ron Simons, Aimee Schoof, Stephen Tedeschi
CONCUSSION
DIRECTOR: Stacie Passon
PRODUCER: Rose Troche
FRUITVALE STATION
DIRECTOR: Ryan Coogler
PRODUCERS: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker
UNA NOCHE
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Lucy Mulloy
PRODUCERS: Sandy Pérez Aguila, Maite Artieda, Daniel Mulloy, Yunior Santiago
WADJDA
DIRECTOR: Haifaa Al Mansour
PRODUCERS: Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
* Executive Producers are not listed.
COMPUTER CHESS
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Andrew Bujalski
PRODUCERS: Houston King, Alex Lipschultz
CRYSTAL FAIRY
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sebastián Silva
PRODUCERS: Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín
MUSEUM HOURS
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Jem Cohen
PRODUCERS: Paolo Calamita, Gabriele Kranzelbinder
PIT STOP
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Yen Tan
WRITER: David Lowery
PRODUCERS: Jonathan Duffy, James M. Johnston, Eric Steele, Kelly Williams
THIS IS MARTIN BONNER
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Chad Hartigan
PRODUCER: Cherie Saulter
BEST DIRECTOR
SHANE CARRUTH – Upstream Color
J.C. CHANDOR – All Is Lost
STEVE McQUEEN -12 Years A Slave
JEFF NICHOLS – Mud
ALEXANDER PAYNE – Nebraska
BEST SCREENPLAY
WOODY ALLEN – Blue Jasmine
JULIE DELPY, ETHAN HAWKE, RICHARD LINKLATER – Before Midnight
NICOLE HOLOFCENER –Enough Said
SCOTT NEUSTADTER & MICHAEL H. WEBER – The Spectacular Now
JOHN RIDLEY – 12 Years A Slave
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
LAKE BELL – In A World
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT – Don Jon
BOB NELSON – Nebraska
JILL SOLOWAY – Afternoon Delight
MICHAEL STARRBURY – The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
SEAN BOBBITT – 12 Years A Slave
BENOIT DEBIE – Spring Breakers
BRUNO DELBONNEL – Inside Llewyn Davis
FRANK G. DEMARCO – All Is Lost
MATTHIAS GRUNSKY – Computer Chess
BEST EDITING
SHANE CARRUTH, DAVID LOWERY -Upstream Color
JEM COHEN, MARC VIVES – Museum Hours
JENNIFER LAME – Frances Ha
CINDY LEE – Una Noche
NAT SANDERS – Short Term 12
BEST MALE LEAD
BRUCE DERN -Nebraska
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR – 12 Years A Slave
OSCAR ISAAC – Inside Llewyn Davis
MICHAEL B. JORDAN –Fruitvale Station
MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY – Dallas Buyers Club
ROBERT REDFORD – All Is Lost
BEST FEMALE LEAD
CATE BLANCHETT – Blue Jasmine
JULIE DELPY – Before Midnight
GABY HOFFMANN –Crystal Fairy
BRIE LARSON – Short Term 12
SHAILENE WOODLEY – The Spectacular Now
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – 12 Years A Slave
WILL FORTE –Nebraska
JAMES GANDOLFINI – Enough Said
JARED LETO – Dallas Buyers Club
KEITH STANFIELD – Short Term 12
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
MELONIE DIAZ – Fruitvale Station
SALLY HAWKINS – Blue Jasmine
LUPITA NYONG’O –12 Years A Slave
YOLONDA ROSS – Go For Sisters
JUNE SQUIBB – Nebraska
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
A TOUCH OF SIN (China)
DIRECTOR: Jia Zhang-Ke
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (France)
DIRECTOR: Abdellatif Kechiche
GLORIA (Chile)
DIRECTOR: Sebastián Lelio
THE GREAT BEAUTY (Italy)
DIRECTOR: Paola Sorrentino
THE HUNT (Denmark)
DIRECTOR: Thomas Vinterberg
BEST DOCUMENTARY
(Award given to the director and producer)
20 FEET FROM STARDOM
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Morgan Neville
PRODUCERS: Gil Friesen, Caitrin Rogers
AFTER TILLER
DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: Martha Shane and Lana Wilson
GIDEON’S ARMY
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Dawn Porter
PRODUCER: Julie Goldman
THE ACT OF KILLING
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Joshua Oppenheimer
PRODUCERS: Joram Ten Brink, Christine Cynn, Anne Köhncke, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Michael Uwemedimo
THE SQUARE
DIRECTOR: Jehane Noujaim
PRODUCER: Karim Amer
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Award given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
MUD
DIRECTOR: Jeff Nichols
CASTING DIRECTOR: Francine Maisler
ENSEMBLE CAST: Joe Don Baker, Jacob Lofland, Matthew McConaughey, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, Sam Shepard, Tye Sheridan, Paul Sparks, Bonnie Sturdivant, Reese Witherspoon
17th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The 17th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
TOBY HALBROOKS & JAMES M. JOHNSTON
JACOB JAFFKE
ANDREA ROA
FREDERICK THORNTON
20th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The 20th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.
AARON DOUGLAS JOHNSTON, director of MY SISTER’S QUINCEAÑERA
SHAKA KING, director of NEWLYWEEDS
MADELINE OLNEK, director of THE FOXY MERKINS
19th ANNUAL STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The 19th annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by Stella Artois, is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
KALYANEE MAM, director of A RIVER CHANGES COURSE
JASON OSDER, director of LET THE FIRE BURN
STEPHANIE SPRAY & PACHO VALEZ, directors of MANAKAMANA
News from “Mandela” Premiere: New U2 Album Coming in March 2014 (See Bono Video Here)
The new U2 album is on its way. I told you a few weeks ago that the album would make the first quarter of 2014, that the video work had commenced as well as the marketing materials. Now comes “Ordinary Love,” the first single, written for the soundtrack of “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom” which premiered last night at the Ziegfeld.
I hung out on the red carpet with U2’s two managers, the famed and brilliant Paul McGuinness who’s been with U2 since Day 1, and Guy Oseary, who’s coming in to work with Paul after his tireless guidance of Madonna over the years.
No, Guy told me, there will be no Madonna-U2 duet on the new album.
Paul did tell me that the album will come in March, maybe right after the group wins an Oscar for their “Mandela” song. They should.
Milling about with us on the red carpet: Oscar buzzed “Mandela” stars Idris Elba and Noamie Harris, plus Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who co-hosted the screening. No sunglasses, no aides or assistants running about. No Devil Wears Prada. Anna and McGuinness have been friends for literally eons. She was very comfortable.
Also on hand: the great beauty Iman, without David Bowie, very low key also.
Harvey Weinstein is passionate about “Mandela,” Justin Chadwick’s comphrensive and absorbing take on the life of a historic, great leader. Harvey introduced the film and the filmmakers and Bono, who himself was introduced by Nelson Mandela’s daughter, Zenani. She sang his praises.
Keep an eye on “Mandela,” especially Idris Elba and Noamie Harris. They are very much in the Oscar game. Elba is kind of a rock star because of his TV work in the UK. He is a towering presence as Nelson Mandela. SAG voters in particular are loving his performance.