Thursday, December 18, 2025
Donate
Home Blog Page 1809

Review: “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” Is an “Empire Strikes Back” for 2013

Roger Friedman
-
6
Review: “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” Is an “Empire Strikes Back” for 2013

Here comes “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” It clocks in at two and a half hours, covers everything you could imagine, and is so well liked it has a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s ten notches higher than the original “Hunger Games.” Amazing. What’s it like? It’s like “The Empire Strikes Back” for 2013. For the middle chapter of a trilogy, “Catching Fire” has tons of actions, lots of narrative, and ends with a… question mark.

As the three 13 year old girls who were in our party said last night at the screening: “That’s where it stopped???” They loved it.

Truth be told, “Catching Fire” is very entertaining. It’s a great big B movie in the B for Best sense way. It’s got breathless action and rarely stops. But it also has a lot of heart, character, and development.

It’s also incredibly well cast. There’s the main trio: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth. (Not Chris, the one from “Rush” and “Thor”– just FYI.) They’ve met new pals in the form of Sam Claflin and Jena Malone. Then there’s the holdovers from the first movie, all of whom are a delight to see: Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz.

But then there’s a bunch of new faces: Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Plummer, Lynn Cohen, Toby Jones and the amazing Philip Seymour Hoffman. That’s right–the two actors who’ve recently played Truman Capote are in this movie. And these five I’ve just mentioned are like a murder’s row of actors’ actors. The deck is stacked.

There’s a story since Katniss (Lawrence) and Peta (Hutcherson) won the Hunger Games. They are a miserable homecoming queen and king. Katniss can’t stand the hypocrisy of parading around like Miss America. She’s really in love with Gale (Hemsworth), who’s not in this movie a lot but used wisely in quality doses.

Is the movie all about Katniss? Kinda. Even though the script is great and really fleshes out something for everyone, this is Katniss’s story. And Jennifer Lawrence continues to be a luminous, intelligent presence. She literally glows, and seems able to do anything. I sure hope she gets to play Wonder Woman one day. She is really the movie actress of her generation. Even with all this talent around her, Lawrence carries the movie. The two and a half hours go by quickly mainly because of her.

One warning: get into the movie theater early. “Catching Fire” simply starts, with no opening title roll or any credits of any kind. It also starts in mid-conversation from the first film. There’s no pretense that this is a standalone feature. It just picks up and moves forward quickly from chapter one, which you should go back and watch right now if you need a catch up. But if you’re a certain age, you already know the story.

PS There’s a special effect toward the end of the film at which I — the great cynic– actually said out loud, “That was pretty cool.” You’ll see. Worth the whole deal.

 

Broadway “Spider Man” Closing in January After Box Office Collapses (As Tipped Here)

Roger Friedman
-
0
Broadway “Spider Man” Closing in January After Box Office Collapses (As Tipped Here)

“Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” is closing in January. I told you twice. On August 22nd http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/08/22/broadway-spider-man-has-big-drop-from-last-week-while-producers-plan-marvel-spectacle and on October 21st, http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/10/21/broadway-spider-man-most-expensive-musical-ever-is-now-officially-struggling that the show was in trouble.

The most expensive musical leaves Broadway with a river of red ink. It also closes just three years and two months after it “opened” in November 2010 for previews, played like a runaway train until the spring of 2011 when it shut down briefly. “Spider Man” re-started three weeks later in June 2011 and finally opened officially after producers ousted Julie Taymor, the show’s creator.

Taymor, no longer being traumatized by interfering “collaborators,” has just opened a raved about production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Brooklyn.

“Spider Man,” of course, was plagued by accidents, hospitalizations, and “scandals” galore when the complex machinery designed for flying through the theater by the actors malfunctioned frequently.

But what really malfunctioned was the box office. In August, as I wrote, the box office suddenly started to fall off precipitously. Producers stopped selling about 400 of the 1,900 seats in the Foxwoods Theater but that didn’t help. The show needed a $1 million per week take to function without trouble. But it’s averaging around $740K in receipts. Last week it was down nearly 4% from the prior week. The trend was down and not coming back.

It’s likely that another blockbuster show “King Kong” – fresh with scandals to be had, high ticket prices, and questionable arithmetic– will arrive from Australia in the spring at the Foxwoods. And the name of the theater will likely change too as a new sponsor will put its name on on the building. As they say in computer speak, “Clear history.”

 

Disney Over Estimates “Thor 2” Weekend Take by Whopping $1.8 Million

Roger Friedman
-
0
Disney Over Estimates “Thor 2” Weekend Take by Whopping $1.8 Million

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.

‘

Mariah Releases New Single, Title Track of New Album — And It Flops

Roger Friedman
-
1
Mariah Releases New Single, Title Track of New Album — And It Flops

Mariah Carey’s had a weird year. She had a bad time on “American Idol” last winter and spring, fighting with Nikki Minaj and just looking unhappy. She released a single called “#Beautiful” with Miguel that wasn’t really a hit per se but was interesting: it had no bridge, and ended abruptly. She sounded like a guest star on her own record because Miguel sang the opening verses. Very strange.

Then: her album, “The Art of Letting Go,” set for an early July release, was postponed. It wasn’t ready. A new date was set, and then yanked. And that was it. Then while shooting a video, Mariah fell, and really injured herself. She still came and sang at the Major League Baseball event in Central Park. But she was in pain, and wearing sling covers made out of goose feathers and cashmere. I’m paraphrasing.

Last week, Mariah released another enigmatic single. It’s the title track from an album that’s never been released. Frankly, she sings the hell out of “The Art of Letting Go.” She sounds great. The single is a throwback R&B mid tempo number. But it has no chorus. No chorus or hook. It’s a single. In an era of very catchy singles. It’s like “#Beautiful.” Sort of great but half baked.

But “The Art of Letting Go” is at number 116 this morning on iTunes. It’s a dud. No one’s bought it, no one’s playing it. And that’s a bad sign for a new album that still has no release date and is over six months late. Mariah has also had three different managers this year– Randy Jackson, Red Light Management (Dave Matthews firm) and now Jermaine Dupri.

Concerned? Just a little…

 

 

Alec Baldwin Irony: Judge Who Ruled for Him in Stalker Case Is Gay

Roger Friedman
-
0
Alec Baldwin Irony: Judge Who Ruled for Him in Stalker Case Is Gay

Alec Baldwin is in hot water for allegedly shouting a gay slur at a photographer last week. The anger management incident– number 4 million for Alec– came in the wake of Baldwin’s crazy court case against a woman he claimed was stalking him. The woman is now in jail for seven months, and that’s a whole other story. In court, Alec testified that the woman was really the mistress of “Scarface” producer Marty Bregman.

Bregman and his wife Cornelia were probably surprised to hear this. The popular producer is 82 years old, has walked with a walker for many years, and is now confined to a wheelchair. But okay, whatever. Maybe Alec should have done a little fact checking first.

But the big irony in the gay-slur part of the story: the judge who ruled for Baldwin and jailed the woman is gay. Robert M. Mandelbaum is not only openly gay, but last year he was involved in his own legal squabble. His late father, Frank Mandelbaum, left $180,000 to his grandchildren–those alive or still not born. He dictated that Robert would have to be married to the mother of his children for them to get a cut.

Judge Mandelbaum and his partner have a baby son born through surrogacy. The probate court ruled that Frank Mandelbaum’s crazy rules for inheritance would probably stand. So Baby Mandelbaum was not going to get his inheritance because Robert Mandelbaum’s partner could not be considered the baby’s mother. It’s unclear if they ever settled. Calls to the baby’s court appointed lawyer were not returned.

It’s also unclear what Judge Mandelbaum thinks of his decision considering what happened when everyone left the courtroom last week.

Lady Gaga Album Sales: Down 40%, But Interscope Didn’t Lose $25Million

Roger Friedman
-
3
Lady Gaga Album Sales: Down 40%, But Interscope Didn’t Lose $25Million

ADDENDUM 9:22am MONDAY: I just noticed in that stupid Examiner.com piece the claim that Lady Gaga’s “Born this Way Ball” tour was pulled off the road because of poor ticket sales. Utterly insane. The 2012 “Born this Way Ball Tour” was the fifth highest grossing tour of that year. Part 2, in 2013, was cut short by the hip surgery. Still it grossed almost $20 million on 18 dates and beat acts like Eric Clapton and The Who. If the tour had continued, Gaga would have finished again at least in the top 10. The article also says that “ARTPOP” was supposed to be released by Christmas 2012. That was never true.

EARLIER: Lady Gaga’s “ARTPop” will debut this week at number 1, with around 250,000 copies sold. This is a big drop from “Born this Way.” That album sold either 660K or 1.2 million depending on how you look at it. Remember: Amazon sold 440,000 copies of “Born this Way” at 99 cents apiece. This caused SoundScan, Billboard, and Hits to decree that albums had to sell for a minimum price of $3.49 or not be tallied on the charts.

But let’s say “Born this Way” sold 660,000 copies. That was a great number. “ArtPOP” will do about 40 percent of that number. Not good. But just about in line with Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus this fall. Far less than Eminem–yes. But that’s because Eminem has what I’d call a breakout or breakthrough single. “The Monster” is HUGE. It’s much bigger than singles by any of those female popsters. It’s that rare kind of number 1 that hits at all levels.

Yesterday the idiotic Examiner.com posted a story claiming “Artpop” was going to lose $25 million and cause massive layoffs at Interscope Records. Hilarious, totally untrue, fabricated. But The Vulture at New York magazine and The Wrap each picked it up. The story has now been removed from Examiner.com. But pretty much all the stories at that crazy website should be removed.

In fact, Lady Gaga’s costs are protected by endorsements and underwriters. There’s no exposure to Interscope. And worldwide, Gaga will do just fine with “ArtPoP” even with a 225-250K opening week.

But why didn’t it do better? Lack of focus. “Born this Way” had a purpose that spoke to the fans–especially disenfranchised teens, bullying victims, LGBT community. What is ARTPop about? It’s about Gaga moaning about her hip surgery, a supposed drug addiction, and the rarefied world of art auctions. How can her audience connect with this?

Telling: Her “Saturday Night Live” performances and hosting doesn’t look it drove sales at iTunes. Lady Gaga has gone way off point. I think that’s what manager Troy Carter was trying to tell her. And now he’s gone.

7 Name Black Actors Give Mighty “Thor” a Run for His Money at the Box Office

Roger Friedman
-
0
7 Name Black Actors Give Mighty “Thor” a Run for His Money at the Box Office

“Thor” may have been defeated this weekend. On Friday night it was beaten by “The  Best Man Holiday,” a warmhearted romantic comedy. Even if the sequel Marvel movie finishes at number 1 this weekend, it won’t be the box office winner. “Best Man Holiday,” a Universal comedy and sequel to “The Best Man” is giving “Thor” a run for its money that no one expected. “Holiday” is on track for $31 million total for its opening weekend. It will finish a whisker above or below “Thor 2.”

Of course “Thor 2” already has $360 million worldwide after two weeks, so no one is sobbing. But $31 million for “Holiday” should be a wake up call to the studios. It’s on a par with the April 2012’s opening weekend of “Think Like a Man” with $33 million. Sophisticated black centric comedies are holding their own with Tyler Perry’s laugh fests. And that’s great.

“Best Man Holiday” has seven– count ’em, seven- major actors: Taye Diggs, Regina Hall, Morris Chestnut, Terrence Howard, Nia Long, Harold Perrineau, and Sanaa Lathan. It also boasts appearances by two major singers– Anthony Hamilton and Marsha Ambrosious. When you have that level of talent, the audiences will come. And they have.

Best Supporting Actor: Clooney, Hanks Could Be Superstar Nominees

Roger Friedman
-
0
Best Supporting Actor: Clooney, Hanks Could Be Superstar Nominees

Now that we’re into the heat of Oscar nominee speculation, let’s posit this: George Clooney and Tom Hanks could each be superstar nominees in Best Supporting Actor. In fact, Hanks could be a double nominee as he’s a cinch for Best Actor in “Captain Phillips.”

After seeing “Saving Mr. Banks,” it’s pretty clear that Hanks will be a contender for playing Walt Disney in the Supporting Actor category from that film. (Emma Thompson should be a Best Actress nominee from that film, too, although I’m not sure about the film itself).

Clooney of course will be a favorite from “Gravity.” Had his “Monuments Men” made the deadline, he might have had as slew of other nominations as well.

Then: who else? I’m very keen on David Oyelowo from “The Butler.” Also Bobby Cannavale from “Blue Jasmine.” Chris Cooper is very good in “August Osage County.” Michael Fassbender is excellent in “12 Years a Slave.” Barkhad Abdi is a find in “Captain Phillips.” Steve Coogan is solid but not flashy in “Philomena.” Daniel Bruhl is outstanding as Niki Lauda in “Rush.”

If you’re just seeing Will Forte in “Nebraska” this weekend, you’re probably thinking Wow.

There’s a whole question about Matthew McConnaughey, so good in “Mud” and “Dallas Buyers Club.” But those are leads. He’s supporting in “Wolf of Wall Street,” which still no one’s seen. Ditto for all the folks in “American Hustle.” There’s also talk of Jared Leto’s scary-thin performance in “Dallas,” too. But is it actually thin? We’ll wait and see.

I do wish there were a way to put Michael B. Jordan into supporting for “Fruitvale Station.” He does support the two women, and he doesn’t make it to the end of the  movie. If he were in that category, he’d win hands down.

 

 

Justin Bieber Mystery Success: Scant Radio Play Anywhere, All Year, Not Even in Canada

Roger Friedman
-
0
Justin Bieber Mystery Success: Scant Radio Play Anywhere, All Year, Not Even in Canada

I must say, I am mystified. I assumed Justin Bieber’s records were being played somewhere in the world on the radio. It turns out they’re not being played anywhere in the U.S. and barely have been all year. In fact, Bieber’s records aren’t even played in Canada, his own country. His success and the amount of attention he gets every day is even more of a mystery than ever. He’s the Kardashian of pop music– famous for no reason.

The stats come from Nielsen’s All Access Mediabase website. They monitor radio play in the U.S. and Canada. They know every time a record has been spun on a major radio station in every genre– pop, country, R&B, hip hop etc.

Unless someone is playing Bieber and not reporting it — which is impossible–the Anne Murray lookalike has no presence on any airwaves.

In the U.S. to date this year, he has one record in the top 50 spins. His Nikki Minaj record “Beauty and the Beat” is at number 32 in US. In Canada, “B&B” is at number 50 for the year. Bieber has no records in the current top 40 list of 50 most played records despite releasing a slew of singles in the last month.

So the question is: what’s up with all this? Is Bieber a freak of the music biz? His appeal is live only, to pre-teens. He may be playing lounges in Las Vegas before he turns 21 unless he gets serious in some way about the records. So far they’re like loss leader souvenirs. And obviously there’s no massive outcry by his fans to hear him on the radio.

You can see the list below. Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, whose singles “Applause” and “Roar,” are a little further down the list because they were released just in the last six weeks.

The top 10 hits by radio play on top 40 stations for 2013 to date are:

1 MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS Can’t Hold Us f/Ray Dalton 304,749
2 TAYLOR SWIFT I Knew You Were Trouble 290,030
3 ROBIN THICKE Blurred Lines f/Pharrell/T.I. 289,244
4 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Mirrors 286,653
5 SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA Don’t You Worry Child 284,595
6 MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS Thrift Shop f/Wanz 283,633
7 RIHANNA Stay f/Mikky Ekko 277,453
8 ZEDD Clarity f/Foxes 264,072
9 BRUNO MARS When I Was Your Man 258,405
10 PINK Just Give Me a Reason 257,850

Oprah Winfrey: “I Held a Grudge for a Long Time” About the Failure of “Beloved”

Roger Friedman
-
0
Oprah Winfrey: “I Held a Grudge for a Long Time” About the Failure of “Beloved”

Oprah Winfrey says she “held a grudge” about the failure of her 1998 film “Beloved” directed by Jonathan Demme and based on Toni Morrison’s bestselling novel. Oprah is in London to promote the release of “The Butler.”

“I was so disappointed by the box office reception of Beloved,” Oprah tells Baz Bamigboye of the Daily Mail. “I took it personally that people didn’t go to see it. Literally.” Winfrey says that when audiences for her talk show told her how much they loved her in The Color Purple (1986), she’d respond “But you didn’t go see Beloved. I held a grudge about it for a long time.”

Oprah also says “Butler” director Lee Daniels had wanted her character, Gloria, to have a bed scene with Terrence Howard. Winfrey nixed that plan.

It’s a great interview, from beginning to end:

1...1,8081,8091,810...2,323Page 1,809 of 2,323

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com