Miley Cyrus, always fun:
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Catherine Zeta Jones Makes A Splash at “Big Fish” Broadway Opening
My favorite thing about the Broadway opening of “Big Fish” on Broadway last night–besides Norbert Leo Butz’s magnificent work as the younged down Albert Finney character: chatting with Catherine Zeta Jones. She looked like a million bucks, was in a great mood, and enjoyed the show immensely. She came with Universal Pictures’ chief Ron Meyer and his good friend, producer Bill Haber– two guys once ran with Creative Artists Agency with Mike Ovitz.
CZJ is really a beauty, and it was nice to see her off duty–just as a guest, not promoting anything. I was standing in a row of seats in front of this gang at intermission. All of a sudden CZJ decided she wanted to stretch her legs. Luckily, they are long. She literally stepped over the backs of the chairs and into my row with incredible panache. She’s a dancer, after all. Coming back, she did the same thing again! No standing on ceremony!
Sitting just behind this group in the Neil Simon Theater: Regis and Joy Philbin double dating with Michael and Laurie Gelman. At the end of my row: Zach Braff with his beautiful blonde girlfriend, Taylor Bagley. At the end of the emotional show I ran into Marisa Tomei. “I cried!” she said, wiping away tears.
Around in the audience, plenty of New York icons and theatre types, from Whoopi Goldberg to Harvey Weinstein and so on. Right after the show I ran into Paul Haggis, who’s been in this column more times this week than Sting!
“Big Fish” by the way rests entirely on the magnetism of Butz, and the incredible choreography of Susan Stroman. She literally works magic on the stage. I was not a fan of Andrew Lippa’s monotonous songs. But Kate Baldwin sings one called “I Don’t Need a Roof” toward the end which should have been the template for all the others. It’s beautiful, and she’s lovely.
PS: No I did not look to see if CZJ was wearing a wedding ring, and we did not discuss anything like that. No one else did. It was just nice to see her looking happy and healthy. She’s a good egg.
Sandra Bullock on Work After Gravity: “I Will Only Do Fluff!”
Sandra Bullock should be very happy today. “Gravity” exceeded all predictions this weekend and took in around $55.5 million. It was well above the predicted $40 million. “Gravity” is headed to the Oscars for Best Picture, Director (Cuaron), Actress, maybe Best Supporting Actor for George Clooney, and all the tech nominations.
At last week’s laid back premiere at NY’s famed American Museum of Natural History, I asked Sandy what her next movie will be. “I don’t know,” she said. “I really don’t have any plans. But I think I will only do fluff from now on!” I asked if “The Heat” with Melissa McCarthy wasn’t fluff?
“That’s serious comedy!” she said. “I mean, real fluff!”
That’s because “Gravity” has little levity, just brevity. Mostly it’s heavy heavy heavy. And Bullock worked like a dog under physically exhausting conditions to make it right.
Meantime, “Runner Runner” turned out to be the dud that was indeed predicted, with $7.6 mil for the weekend. It’s too bad it didn’t work out. On to bigger and better things.
SNL Mostly Tame Miley Cyrus Show Features Outrageous John Boehner Govt Shutdown Video
Miley Cyrus’s guest hosting and performance on “Saturday Night Live” wasn’t very radical, mostly tame. Miley made fun of herself. And she really has a good voice. As for the ‘new’ “SNL,” I love Katie McKinnon. She’s just great. Anyway, the highlight of the show was a video remake of Miley’s “We Can’t Stop” featuring a twerked out John Boehner in a raunchy government shutdown. You can see it right here:
Michael Jackson: Debbie Rowe Considering Custody Bid for Daughter Paris (Exclusive)
UPDATE Sunday Morning: A conflicting report–another source says Rowe is not planning anything. At the same time, it turns out that at least two people with no standing in way, shape or form may have filed bizarre custody requests about Michael Jackson’s kids. In the end, it’s hoped that level heads will allow the kids to remain in their current situation with Rowe as a devoted, if not legal, parent. Stay tuned…
(Sat night 6:35pm)EXCLUSIVE Sources tell me that Debbie Rowie is seriously considering a bid to get legal custody of her daughter, Paris Jackson. Paris has been at a school for troubled teens since June when she tried to take her own life. Now that the wrongful death trial is over, Rowe is said to be very close to asking the family court judge to turn Paris over to her from Katherine Jackson and her grandson, T.J.
The Michael Jackson estate, meantime, probably would be in favor of that, from what I’m told. They’ve had to endure name calling by the Jackson family, and letters to the executors suggesting malfeasance and the existence of another Michael Jackson will. “They dragged Paris and Prince through that trial for no reason,” says a source close to the case. “They’d each be better off with their own mother.”
Sources also say this would give Paris, who’s been away now from the Jacksons for months, to tell the judge with whom she should live.
I had heard rumblings about this before the jury came back this week. But now the jury has acquitted AEGLive, Rowe may feel this is a good time. If one or both of Rowe’s kids with Michael Jackson, and even Blanket, who is not hers, moved houses, that would also create a huge shift in the power-money struggle between the estate and Michael’s siblings.
Of course, it won’t be so easy for Rowe unless the Jacksons concur with her. If the family mounts an opposition, Rowe will be heavily investigated and questioned as they’ve been.
Keep checking for updates…
Friday Box Office: “Gravity” Is No. 1 with $17.5Mil, Heading to $50 Mil Weekend
“Gravity” was number 1 last night, bringing in $17.5 million. The Sandra Bullock-George Clooney sci fi adventure should have a very respectable $50 million weekend. The movie wasn’t that expensive to make — just $130 million all in– so it will do very well, obviously, in the long run. Foreign ticket sales should be good because there isn’t much dialogue. But with all the hype about the 3D, and a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, you’d think it might have done a tad better. Again, it may pick up steam from word of mouth.
Otherwise, the new entry for the week is “Runner Runner” with Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake. Last night the poorly reviewed gambling movie made $2,750,000. It looks like a $7.5 mil weekend and then a short jump to DVD and Netflix. Not everything works out.
I don’t know why Ron Howard’s “Rush” isn’t doing better. People, you are missing a great movie. You should RUSH to it. It’s not just for guys, either. Give it a try this weekend. I think it will get a lot of awards action. Go, Go, Go.
Madonna’s “New” Rape Story in Magazine Has Been Told Many Times
Madonna has written what looks like a book proposal in the new issue of Harper’s Bazaar. In it she reviews her many “struggles,” white washing and rewriting plenty of history. She also describes how she was raped at knifepoint during her first year in New York City. It’s a shocking revelation except for one thing: it’s been revealed before.
Madonna talked about the rape a lot in 1995 when her “Sex” book came out. In the book, she had pictures depicting rape. The story has also been written about in several books including one published in 2001 by Randy Taraborelli. The rape is also discussed at length in another book, called “Like an Icon,” by Lucy O’Brien.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1370&dat=19951207&id=jY0mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1AoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2449,1134835
Not the rape wasn’t devastating and horrible, but Madonna knows the media better than anyone. By bringing it up again as if it were new she knows it will get attention. In the Harper’s Bazaar piece she ‘s essentially “sampling” her life.
The piece– which really does suggest she’s trying to land a book deal– Madonna also defends her involvement in the Kabbalah cult and in the way she adopted two children from the African country Malawi. She doesn’t mention her failed charity, millions of missing dollars, unrealized promises. etc. She also says she is now funding schools in Islamic countries– without giving any specifics.
Meantime, here’s my piece from this week about how Raising Malawi, Madonna’s African charity, finished 2012 in the red: http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/10/03/exclusive-madonna-malawi-charity-almost-half-a-mil-in-the-red-for-2012
“X Factor” 7th Highest Rated Show Thursday Night As CBS Runs It Over
Ah, Thursday night: “The X Factor” continues to struggle. Simon Cowell & Co. finished 7th for the night over all. During its own time period, “X Factor” was slaughtered by “The Big Bang Theory” (a whopping 17 million people saw it) and the season premiere of a new comedy called “The Millers” both on CBS.
Indeed, the show NBC ran against “The Millers,” also new, called “Welcome to the Family,” brought in 3 million viewers as opposed to “The Millers” 13.3 million.
Poor “X Factor.” The good news is about a half million more people watched the show on Wednesday and Thursday than they had so far. But 7th place for the night?
Robin Williams sitcom “The Crazy Ones” fell a little bit at 9pm from last week, but it was still pretty strong with 11.76 million viewers. The show is skewing older, though.
Didn’t do so great: the new Sean Hayes show, which was widely panned, called “Sean Saves the World” on NBC; “Glee,” “Parks and Recreation,” which is now shaping up like “Newsradio” or “Just Shoot Me.”
On the CW, a chicken, a parakeet, and a deaf woman in Illinois watched “The Originals.” The parakeet napped for 15 minutes and may not be counted by Nielsen.
NYC Round Up: Michael Strahan, Diane Kruger, David Duchovny, Say ‘No’
IN AN EMPIRE STATE OF MIND…Diane Kruger and fiancee Joshua Jackson took a break from filming a pilot for their new TV show The Affair at Italian eatery Sotto Sopra in Amagansett. The pair dined on pizza, salad and striped sea bass with a group of six friends, including actor Dominic West.…
…Bobby Van’s Steak House is Michael Strahan’s new go-to spot for an after work cocktail and steak. Strahan was spotted dining at Bobby Van’s Park Avenue for a casual lunch and dined at Bobby Van’s West 50th Street for dinner at a private event….
…Trudie Styler starts performances this weekend in “The Seagull” directed by legendary Max Stafford Clark at the Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street…
…Identity Films’ “Louder Than Words,” starring David Duchovny, Hope Davis, Timothy Hutton and new-comer Olivia Steele Falconer, will premiere at the 21st Annual Hamptons International Film Festival next Friday at the Regal East Hampton Cinema 1 in East Hampton, NY
…Steely Dan plays this weekend at the Beacon Theatre, featuring whole albums each night. There is only one Steely Dan. Dig it..http://www.beacontheatre.com/steelydan.
Author and former CNN Correspondent Jill Brooke is quickly becoming the darling of the media for business and political interviews. Her book “The Need To Say No” is already a favorite discussion topic, especially with the government shutdown. Jill had a great interview Thursday morning with Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly on “Good Day Live” on Fox 5….http://tinyurl.com/np9r4ck
…SPOTTED…Celebrity eyebrow stylist Joey Healy and reality TV personality Andy Cohen were seen at No. 8 for the launch party of FourTwoNine magazine on Thursday, September 19, 2013…
Will Miley Cyrus Sexy Pics Help “Saturday Night Live” Ratings?
The Miley Cyrus – Terry Richardson pics are getting a lot of attention. So have Miley’s videos and her VMA appearance. So now the question: will this send “Saturday Night Live” ratings through the roof? Cyrus is hosting and performing tomorrow night. Here’s the promo:
Oh yeah PS: Her album, Bangerz, is released on Tuesday.