Monday night at the legendary Apollo Theater: dozens of singers, musicians, and actors poured into Apollo for the premiere of Kasi Lemmons’ “Black Nativity,” a big warm-hearted gospel holiday musical. Stars Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Tyrese Gibson and Jennifer Hudson were there as well as rocker Sting and wife Trudie Styler (who produced the film for Fox Searchlight with partner Celine Rattray), Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Bassett’s Tony Award winning husband Courtney B. Vance, director Lemmons and her actor-director husband Vondie Curtis-Hall.

Whew!

Then over to Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster for the most delicious fried chicken and other Southern fixings. But the best part of the night was the teen gospel choir brought by the eminent Harlem teacher and playwright Vy Higginsen. They sang in the downstairs VIP room, where Antonio Banderas– in town to get an award– jumped up from his seat and tried to join the group. “You know I sing,” said the Tony winning Broadway star of “Nine,” and the film of “Evita.” Yes, we know.

Meanwhile Sting hung out with with Griffith–they are old friends dating back to their classic film “Stormy Monday” (rent it if you can). Griffith looks like a million bucks. She told me she’s very excited about daughter Dakota Johnson’s career jump in “50 Shades of Grey.” Dakota is the third generation of actors in that family, of course. Grandma is famed Hitchcock actress Tippi Hedren.

Styler, just finished performing in “The Seagull” downtown to raves, clapped along to the gospel group between Whitaker and his rockin’ wife Keisha. Because they were trapped against the wall by a big table, stylist Philip Bloch offered waiter services so everyone could get the famous Red Rooster Mac and Cheese.

PS Look for the first ever movie performance by Grace Gibson in “Black Nativity.” She’s the daughter of the stunning actress Lynn Whitfield, who came with her daughter.

Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg have each donated $10 million to the Motion Picture Academy. The Academy has now raised half of the $300 million needed to build a new museum — much needed especially for archival purposes. Just a PS: these guys really have set new records for charitable giving in Hollywood. They, and David Geffen, gave $30 mil each last year to the Motion Picture Fund. Bravo!

Here’s the release:

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences received separate $10 million gifts from Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. In recognition of these gifts, the two main galleries on the lobby floor of the Academy Museum will be named for Katzenberg and Spielberg – The Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery and The Spielberg Family Gallery.

“Steven and Jeffrey share a passion for moviemaking and philanthropy,” said Academy Museum Campaign Chair Bob Iger. “With these incredibly generous gifts, they are combining the two, moving us closer to our goal of building a museum to preserve the history of motion pictures and inspire the next generation of filmmakers.” The Academy launched the Museum’s $300 million capital campaign in 2012 and has already secured more than half of the campaign’s goal in commitments. The campaign is co-chaired by Annette Bening and Tom Hanks.

“I am so pleased to join with Jeffrey to help build this museum to celebrate, educate, and preserve the arts and sciences of motion pictures,” said Spielberg. “Having our family name on the lobby floor is a deeply personal way to say how much motion pictures and the Academy have meant to all our lives.”

“Both Steven and I recognize that film’s global impact deserves a museum that reflects its unequaled heritage and serves as a beacon for the future of what we love,” added Katzenberg. “Marilyn and I appreciate this opportunity to be part of such a significant project.”

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs commented, “Steven and Jeffrey have elevated the art of filmmaking to new heights and have created some of the most beloved films of all time. They continue to be champions of our industry. Having them join us as we build the Academy Museum is an incredible honor. We are so grateful for their support and partnership.”
The lobby of the Academy Museum will be a lively open space that will invite the public to engage in the life of the Museum. The Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery and The Spielberg Family Gallery will be the only gallery spaces on the lobby level and will showcase exhibitions that will explore the past, present, and future of moviemaking.

“We are building the world’s premier movie museum, and I cannot imagine doing this without the support of two of our industry’s most inspiring leaders,” said Academy CEO Dawn Hudson. “Their gifts will create the first galleries our visitors experience when entering the Museum.”

Designed by architects Renzo Piano and Zoltan Pali, the Academy Museum will be located next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in the historic Wilshire May Company building. Slated to open in early 2017, the Academy Museum will contain nearly 300,000 square feet of state-of-the-art galleries, exhibition spaces, theaters, screening rooms, education centers, and special event spaces.

Pretty strange: Disney-Marvel over-estimated their weekend take for “Thor: The Dark World” by $1.8 million on Sunday. Today boxofficemojo.com got the actual numbers, and it seems that the studio gave “Thor” a whopping 4.9% more box office income than it really earned. The actual total was $36,586,016. Originally, Disney had said “Thor” made $38,454,000 from Friday to Sunday. A 4.9% mistake is actually quite a lot in the box office Sunday game. Most movies come in between 1 to 2% of the guesstimate. It didn’t affect “Thor”‘s rank at number 1. It still beat “The Best Man Holiday.” But the wrong number inflated “Thor” by nearly two million dollars in all its rankings.

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