Thursday, December 18, 2025
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Jenny from the Communist Bloc: JLO Plays Dictator’s Birthday Party

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Jennifer Lopez is performing tonight for the dictator of Turkmenistan. Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedow is celebrating his 56th birthday by having Lopez and her crew put on a set. She’s the first entertainer from the West to accept the money– which will be in excess of $1 million plus expenses– to accept such an invitation.

Here’s Jenny from the Communist Bloc:

jlo in turkmenistanTurkmenistan has been described by the Human Rights Watch as “one of the most repressive regimes in the world.” But Lopez won’t see any of that. She’s performing at a $2 billion resort on the Caspian Sea built for Gurby’s pleasure. Lopez’s manager, Benny Medina, knows how to book a good gig, that’s for sure. AFP Agence France Presse confirmed that Lopez is there, and she’s probably in mid show right now.

You can read all about Turkmenistan here: http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/04/22/turkmenistanuzbekistan-abuses-international-spotlight

It’s not like Lopez needs the money. She was paid $12 million just to appear on “American Idol.” She has lots of endorsement deals, some kind of recording contract with Capitol Records, and a new movie deal. But she does have twins, and they must be fed.

jlo stage turkmenistan

Funny Females: “The Heat” Squashes “White House Down” to 3rd Place

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“The Heat” — with its funny female cops– squashed other box office newcomer “White House Down” on Friday night. But “Monsters University” beat both of them, thanks to school finally being out. “The Heat” made $13.6 million compared to $9 million for “WHD.” The “Monsters” flick was at $14.3 million. “The Heat” stars movie vet and Oscar winner Sandra Bullock with comedienne Melissa McCarthy as FBI agents. It’s supposed to be funny, and is. “White House Down” is supposed to a be a serious film about the White House being invaded. It’s funny, unintentionally. “WHD” almost finished fourth last night. It beat “World War Z” by a mere $39,000.

White House Down and Sony, Too? Movie’s Failure Could Fuel Major Spin Off Proposal

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UPDATE SUNDAY 12:10PM: “White House” down came in at 4th place for the weekend, taking in a meager $25million. That’s about a tenth of what it cost all-in.

EARLIER: It does look like “White House Down” will be the second blockbuster failure of Sony Pictures in less than a month. The studio is already dealing with Will Smith and M. Night Shyamalan’s “After Earth” after-birth. Now “WHD” aims for 3rd or 4th place this weekend in its debut.

Many things combined for its failure but mainly the story I told the other day about the earlier movie “Olympus Has Fallen” and how Sony, failing to buy that script, went after this similar one. Then, seeing the similarities, joked it up until it became as one Twitter follower declared “hillarible” (hilariously horrible). http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/06/25/white-house-down-will-it-suffer-second-movie-syndrome-to-olympus-has-fallen

But these developments aren’t good for Sony’s beloved Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton. They are faced with increasing demands from shareholder Daniel Loeb of Third Point LLC. Loeb– the third biggest shareholder in Sony–has been sending letters to the company demanding a spin off of Sony Entertainment from the rest of the company. (Loeb is also a minority investor in Penske Media, which own industry trade magazine Variety.)

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“White House Down” won’t be the last straw, but if it’s a massive failure–and things don’t look good– Loeb will use that. Third Point is a $13 billion hedge fund owned by Loeb. In May, Loeb launched a campaign to break Sony up. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/may/14/sony-breakup-hedge-fund-daniel-loeb

In his latest letter he wrote: “While the Entertainment businesses are top performers within Sony, profit margins fall short when benchmarked versus their US-listed competitors despite superior scale and leading market positions. We believe the underperformance would be remedied by a more disciplined management approach to Sony Entertainment.”

All of this comes as Sir Howard Stringer, who supported and protected Pascal and Lynton, retires. He’s succeeded by Sony’s new CEO Hazou Kirai. At long last, the Japanese, who own Sony, are going to run it from New York.

Of course, Sony’s financial woes aren’t really tied to Sony Pictures. The film division had a monster hit with “Skyfall” last year and they have “Spider Man,” who will always save the day. “Zero Dark Thirty” was impressive, and Sony Pictures Classics, their jewel, has lots of Oscars and even a new Woody Allen film that will make for a sweet summer.

Sony’s biggest problems are in electronics. They were never able to turn the Walkman from tape to digital, so iPods rule the world. And while Sony makes a good laptop (the VAIO, which I bought this spring and love), MacAir is the dominator. The company banked on 3D TV, which failed. And the Sony Bravia TVs have been up-ended by Samsung, Sharp, and Panasonic.

Pascal and Lynton have one more shot this summer: “Elysium” starring Matt Damon, and directed by 32 year old wunderkind Neill Blomkamp of “District Nine” fame. This is the big one, and much anticipated. Everyone has high hopes for its release on August 9th. Blomkamp is young and a recent Oscar nominee. He has none of the bloat or hubris yet that comes with Smith, Shyamalan, and Emmerich. And “Elysium” may save Sony Pictures this summer.

 

 

 

New York Rock Icon Garland Jeffreys Turns 70 Tonight with a Big Party-Show

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I can’t helieve Garland Jeffreys turns 70 today. Happy Birthday Garland. You look maybe 50. And Garland, a New York rock icon, plays the Highline Ballroom tonight to celebrate by jumping on tables and rocking the rafters with his amazing story-songs that combine delicious modern R&B and cutting edge rock. Garland burst onto the scene circa 1977 with Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and Joe Jackson. His debut was “Wild in the Streets,” still an inflammatory anthem of youth sung by a man who never seems to grow old. There have been lots of great records since then, but I do love his most recent album, “The King of In Between.” (There is promise of a new album this fall.) Garland is New York’s great success story. We’re so lucky to have him. And he’s just getting started!

Motion Picture Academy Invites 276 New Members Including Prince, JLO, Lena Dunham

I love the annual invite list from the Motion Picture Academy. This year is no exception. There are real veterans like Emmanuella Riva and Charles Grodin, a smattering of cool new young people like Lena Dunham amd Jack Huston (his uncle, aunt and grandfather have all been members), and oddities like Prince and Jennifer Lopez. It’s good to mix things up. Now all these people will be campaigned, sent DVDs, invited to countless parties and screenings, slept with, drugged and chauffeured around on sedan chairs. Check out the list of writers. It’s especially good. Welcome, everyone! And don’t let your dogs or maids vote your ballots!
The 2013 invitees are:

Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,” “Chaplin”
Lucy Liu – “Kill Bill: Vol. 1,” “Chicago”
Jennifer Lopez – “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” “Selena”
Alma Martinez – “Born in East L.A.,” “Under Fire”
Emily Mortimer – “Hugo,” “Lars and the Real Girl”
Sandra Oh – “Rabbit Hole,” “Sideways”
Paula Patton – “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”
Michael Peña – “End of Watch,” “Crash”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour,” “Hiroshima, Mon Amour”
Jason Schwartzman – “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Rushmore”
Geno Silva – “Mulholland Drive,” “Amistad”
Danny Trejo – “Machete,” “Heat”
Chris Tucker – “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Rush Hour”

Cinematographers
Luca Bigazzi – “This Must Be the Place,” “Certified Copy”
Benoît Delhomme – “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” “The Proposition”
Simon Duggan – “The Great Gatsby,” “Killer Elite”
Greig Fraser – “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Snow White and the Huntsman”
Jonathan Freeman – “Remember Me,” “Fifty Dead Men Walking”
Greg Gardiner – “Race to Witch Mountain,” “Elf”
Eric Gautier – “Into the Wild,” “The Motorcycle Diaries”
Agnès Godard – “Sister,” “Beau Travail”
Eduard Grau – “Buried,” “A Single Man”
Jess Hall – “The Spectacular Now,” “Brideshead Revisited”
Fred Kelemen – “The Turin Horse,” “The Man from London”
Mark Lee Ping Bing – “Norwegian Wood,” “In the Mood for Love”
Reed Morano – “Little Birds,” “Frozen River”
Oleg Mutu – “Beyond the Hills,” “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”
Alex Nepomniaschy – “Narc,” “Safe”
Christian Sebaldt – “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” “Race to Space”
Ben Seresin – “World War Z,” “Unstoppable”
Adam Stone – “Mud,” “Take Shelter”
Checco Varese – “Girl in Progress,” “The Aura”
Ken Zunder – “Bending the Rules,” “That’s What I Am”

Costume Designers
Paco Delgado – “Les Misérables,” “Biutiful”
Sophie de Rakoff – “This Means War,” “Legally Blonde”
Carlo Poggioli – “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” “Cold Mountain”

Designers
Lori Balton – “Argo,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Judy Becker – “Silver Linings Playbook,” “The Fighter”
Simon Bright – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Avatar”
Martin T. Charles – “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “The Artist”
David M. Crank – “The Master,” “Lincoln”
Stefan Paul Dechant – “Oz The Great and Powerful,” “True Grit”
Tracey A. Doyle – “The Muppets,” “21”
Anna Lynch-Robinson – “Les Misérables,” “An Education”
Maria Nay – “Identity Thief,” “Ray”
David Smith – “Crazy, Stupid, Love.,” “The Holiday”

Directors
Nikolaj Arcel – “A Royal Affair,” “Truth about Men”
Ava DuVernay* – “Middle of Nowhere,” “I Will Follow”
Paul Feig – “The Heat,” “Bridesmaids”
Catherine Hardwicke – “Twilight,” “Thirteen”
Kirk Jones – “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” “Waking Ned Devine”
Ken Kwapis – “Big Miracle,” “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”
Pablo Larraín – “No,” “Tony Manero”
Steve McQueen – “Shame,” “Hunger”
Kim Nguyen – “War Witch (Rebelle),” “City of Shadows”
Jafar Panahi* – “This Is Not a Film,” “The Circle”
Todd Phillips – “The Hangover,” “Old School”
Joachim Rønning – “Kon-Tiki,” “Max Manus”
Espen Sandberg – “Kon-Tiki,” “Max Manus”
Tim Story – “Think Like a Man,” “Fantastic Four”
Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Glory at Sea”

Documentary
Orlando Bagwell – “Citizen King,” “Malcolm X: Make It Plain”
Rebecca Cammisa – “God Is the Bigger Elvis,” “Which Way Home”
Yung Chang – “China Heavyweight,” “Up the Yangtze”
Michael Chin – “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple,” “In the Shadow of the Stars”
Christine Choy – “In the Name of the Emperor,” “Who Killed Vincent Chin?”
Bonni Cohen – “The Island President,” “Wonders Are Many: The Making of Doctor Atomic”
Eduardo Coutinho – “As Canções,” “Cabra Marcado Para Morrer (Twenty Years Later)”
Miriam Cutler – “Kings Point,” “Ethel”
Andrea Nix Fine – “Inocente,” “War/Dance”
Sean Fine – “Inocente,” “War/Dance”
Robert Frank – “Cocksucker Blues,” “Pull My Daisy”
William Greaves – “Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey,” “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One”
Lauren Greenfield – “The Queen of Versailles,” “Thin”
Patricio Guzmán – “Nostalgia for the Light,” “The Battle of Chile”
Vivien Hillgrove – “Symphony of the Soil,” “In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee”
Heddy Honigmann – “El Olvido (Oblivion),” “Crazy”
Vikram Jayanti – “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector,” “Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine”
Peter Kinoy – “Poverty Outlaw,” “When the Mountains Tremble”
Claude Lanzmann – “Le Rapport Karski (The Karski Report),” “Shoah”
Kim Longinotto – “Rough Aunties,” “Sisters in Law”
Stanley Nelson – “Freedom Riders,” “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple”
Jehane Noujaim – “Control Room,” “Startup.com”
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy – “Transgenders: Pakistan’s Open Secret,” “Saving Face”
Marcel Ophuls – “Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie,” “The Sorrow and the Pity”
José Padilha – “Secrets of the Tribe,” “Bus 174 (Ônibus 174)”
Jafar Panahi* – “This Is Not a Film,” “The Circle”
Elise Pearlstein – “Last Call at the Oasis,” “Food, Inc.”
Raoul Peck – “Fatal Assistance (Assistance Mortelle),” “Lumumba: La Mort du Prophète”
Kevin Rafferty – “Harvard Beats Yale 29-29,” “The Atomic Cafe”
J. Ralph* – “Chasing Ice,” “Man on Wire”
Bob Richman – “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” “Waiting for ‘Superman'”
T. Woody Richman – “How to Survive a Plague,” “Fahrenheit 9/11”
Veronica Selver – “Berkeley in the Sixties,” “You Got to Move: Stories of Change in the South”
Jon Shenk – “The Island President,” “Lost Boys of Sudan”
Ricki Stern – “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” “The Devil Came on Horseback”
Robert Stone – “Earth Days,” “Radio Bikini”
Annie Sundberg – “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work,” “The Devil Came on Horseback”
Renee Tajima-Pena – “Who Killed Vincent Chin?,” “My America (Or Honk If You Love Buddha)”
Agnès Varda – “The Beaches of Agnès,” “The Gleaners and I”
Roger Ross Williams – “God Loves Uganda,” “Music by Prudence”
Pamela Yates – “Granito: How to Nail a Dictator,” “The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court”
Amy Ziering – “The Invisible War,” “Derrida”

Executives
Holly Bario
Jeb Brody
Eric d’Arbeloff
Dean C. Hallett
Lynn Harris
Jeff Ivers
Jonathan King
Robert Kirby
Dylan Leiner
Nick Meyer
Andrew Millstein
Hannah Minghella
Angela Morrison
Brian Roberts
Mark Roybal
Tucker Tooley
Kevin Tsujihara

Film Editors
Michael Berenbaum – “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” “Sex and the City”
Jeff Freeman – “Ted,” “Cruel Intentions”
James Haygood – “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Fight Club”
Stuart Levy – “Savages,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”
Mary Jo Markey – “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Super 8”

Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
Luisa Abel – “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Inception”
Anne Aulenta-Spira – “The Place beyond the Pines,” “Drive”
Terry Baliel – “The Dark Knight Rises,” “J. Edgar”
Thomas Floutz – “The Call,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”
Kay Georgiou – “Promised Land,” “Lincoln”
Bernadette Mazur – “Men in Black 3,” “The Campaign”
Kim Santantonio – “Gangster Squad,” “Frost/Nixon”
Lisa Tomblin – “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1”
Kelvin R. Trahan – “Argo,” “Memoirs of a Geisha”
Lisa Westcott – “Les Misérables,” “Shakespeare in Love”

Members-at-Large
Victoria Alonso
Fred Baron
Ben Bray
Pieter Jan Brugge
Jackie Burch
Leo Davis
Susie Figgis
Lori Furie
Glenn S. Gainor
Joe Gareri
Lance Gilbert
Andy Gill
Mindy Marin
Laray Mayfield
Jeanne McCarthy
Neil Meron
Gary Powell
Ned Price
Michelle Satter
Stefan Sonnenfeld
Cindy Tolan
Brent Woolsey

Music
Ramiro Belgardt – “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Lincoln”
Ramin Djawadi – “Safe House,” “Iron Man”
Jennifer Dunnington – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Hugo”
Siedah Garrett – “Rio,” “Dreamgirls”
Joe Hisaishi – “Ponyo,” “Spirited Away”
Henry Jackman – “This Is the End,” “Wreck-It Ralph”
Cliff Martinez – “Drive,” “Traffic”
Prince – “Purple Rain,” “Happy Feet”
J. Ralph* – “Chasing Ice,” “Man on Wire”
Aaron Lael Zigman – “Peeples,” “Sex and the City”

Producers
Stefan Arndt – “Amour,” “The White Ribbon”
Jason Blum – “The Purge,” “Paranormal Activity”
Finola Dwyer – “Quartet,” “An Education”
Jack Giarraputo – “Anger Management,” “The Wedding Singer”
Veit Heiduschka – “Amour,” “The White Ribbon”
Lloyd Levin – “Green Zone,” “Watchmen”
Julie Lynn – “Albert Nobbs,” “Nine Lives”
Margaret Menegoz – “Amour,” “The White Ribbon”
Andrea Sperling – “Smashed,” “Like Crazy”

Public Relations
Rachel Cadden
Theresa Cross
Jeff S. Elefterion
Julie Fontaine
Jackson George
Anne Globe
Michael Lawson
Dennis O’Connor
Blair Rich
John G. Sabel

Short Films and Feature Animation
Marc Bertrand – “Gloria Victoria,” “Hollow Land”
Bryan Buckley – “Asad,” “The Wake-Up Caller”
Shawn Christensen – “Curfew,” “Brink”
Eric Darnell – “Madagascar,” “Shrek”
John C. Donkin – “Ice Age Continental Drift,” “Gone Nutty”
Ken Duncan – “9,” “Shark Tale”
Danielle Feinberg – “Brave,” “WALL-E”
Sam Fell – “ParaNorman,” “The Tale of Despereaux”
Matt Groening – “Maggie Simpson in ‘The Longest Daycare,'” “The Simpsons Movie”
Vicky Jenson – “Shark Tale,” “Shrek”
Travis Knight – “ParaNorman,” “Coraline”
Steve May – “Brave,” “Up”
Rich Moore – “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”
Robert Neuman – “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Tangled”
Brandon Oldenburg – “Rise of the Guardians,” “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
PES – “Fresh Guacamole,” “Western Spaghetti”
Steve Pilcher – “Brave,” “Shrek the Third”
Normand Roger – “Hollow Land,” “The Banquet of the Concubine”
Clark Spencer – “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Bolt”

Sound
Bobbi Banks – “The Call,” “Hustle & Flow”
Jose Antonio Garcia – “Argo,” “Babel”
Simon Hayes – “Les Misérables,” “X-Men: First Class”
Edward J. Hernandez – “Real Steel,” “Basic Instinct”
Daniel S. Irwin – “Prometheus,” “Little Children”
Drew Kunin – “Life of Pi,” “Lost in Translation”
Michael W. Mitchell – “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Matrix Reloaded”
Tom Ozanich – “Project X,” “Kill Bill: Vol. 2”
Mark Paterson – “Les Misérables,” “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”
Richard Pryke – “127 Hours,” “Slumdog Millionaire”
Erin Michael Rettig – “A Good Day to Die Hard,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”
Ann Scibelli – “Prometheus,” “Inglourious Basterds”
Brian T. Slack – “Chéri,” “Crossover”
Bruce Tanis – “Gangster Squad,” “X-Men: First Class”
F. Elmo Weber – “Identity Thief,” “The Kids Are All Right”
Christopher T. Welch – “Silver Linings Playbook,” “(500) Days of Summer”
Dave Whitehead – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “District 9”
Stuart Wilson – “Skyfall,” “War Horse”

Visual Effects
Jason Bayever – “Life of Pi,” “The Wolfman”
Mark Breakspear – “The Great Gatsby,” “Tropic Thunder”
Philip Brennan – “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “Minority Report”
Tony Clark – “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”
David Clayton – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” “Avatar”
Michael Dawson – “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “The Devil’s Double”
Erik-Jan De Boer – “Life of Pi,” “Night at the Museum”
Donald R. Elliott – “Life of Pi,” “Seabiscuit”
John Goodson – “Red Tails,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”
Charley Henley – “Prometheus,” “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
John McLeod – “Django Unchained,” “The Aviator”
Mark Noel – “Oz The Great and Powerful,” “Transformers”
David Prescott – “Transformers,” “X-Men”
Guillaume Rocheron – “Life of Pi,” “Sucker Punch”
Wendy Rogers – “Puss in Boots,” “Shrek”
David Alexander Smith – “The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Matrix Reloaded”
Wayne Stables – “The Adventures of Tintin,” “Avatar”
Richard Stammers – “Prometheus,” “Angels & Demons”
Richard Stutsman – “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Independence Day”
Christopher Townsend – “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “The Day after Tomorrow”
Stephan Trojansky – “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Hereafter”
David Watkins – “Ali,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”
Jeff White – “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
Trevor Wood – “Prometheus,” “The Golden Compass”

Writers
Jessica Bendinger – “Aquamarine,” “Bring It On”
Reggie Rock Bythewood – “Notorious,” “Get on the Bus”
Tina Gordon Chism – “Peeples,” “Drumline”
Julie Delpy – “Before Midnight,” “2 Days in Paris”
Lena Dunham – “Nobody Walks,” “Tiny Furniture”
Ava DuVernay* – “Middle of Nowhere,” “I Will Follow”
John Gatins – “Flight,” “Coach Carter”
John Hamburg – “I Love You, Man,” “Meet the Parents”
John Lee Hancock – “Snow White and the Huntsman,” “The Blind Side”
Rian Johnson – “Looper,” “Brick”
Jeff Nichols – “Mud,” “Take Shelter”
Sarah Polley – “Take This Waltz,” “Away from Her”
Chris Terrio – “Argo,” “Heights”

Associates
Lorrie Bartlett
Paul Bronfman
Markham L. Goldstein
Robert Harvey
Gregory S. Laemmle
Sandra Marsh
Adam Schweitzer
Kimberly Snyder
Matthew L. Snyder
Les Zellan

Three individuals (noted above by an asterisk) have been invited to join the Academy by multiple branches. These individuals must select one branch upon accepting membership.

Each year Academy members may sponsor one candidate for membership within their branch. New member application reviews take place in the spring. Applications for the coming year must be received by March 20, 2014.

New members will be welcomed into the Academy at an invitation-only reception in September.

Alec Baldwin’s Wife Didn’t Tweet During Funeral: Reporter Confused Time Zones

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As far as I can tell, Hilaria Thomas Baldwin didn’t Tweet during James Gandolfini’s funeral. I think the reporter for the Daily Mail, who is in Los Angeles, got the time zones confused. According to the time stamps on Hilaria’s Tweets, which are clearly marked for anyone to see, she Tweeted before and after the service. She re-Tweeted Rachel Ray, but the time stamp on that Tweet was from the original Tweet which Ray had sent out.

The funeral ran from 10:05am-to about 11:30am. Hilaria has a Tweet at 11:47am about making smoothies. I know that I was out of the church by 11:55am and I left after they did. I stopped and had long talks with Vince and Maureen Curatola, and with Aida Turturro.

The time stamps for the rest of Hilaria’s Tweets are 1:17pm and 2:09pm. I think the reporter thought these were at 10:17am and 11:09am. They were– but translated into his time zone. The funeral was long over by then.

Hilaria: The poor woman is seven months pregnant. It was sweltering in the church. I spoke to the Baldwins a few minutes before the service. She already looked like she was suffering from the heat. They had no air conditioning in St. John the Divine, just big fans that didn’t help. Occasionally there was a breeze.

Of course, I can’t address Alec Baldwin’s response. He clearly has anger management issues. But this constant nitpicking on people by so-called reporters with nothing better do must stop. I don’t know Hilaria Baldwin beyond small talk. But she seems like a very nice person. She certainly doesn’t deserve this treatment.

Bert and Ernie Gay? New Yorker Magazine Cover References Banned Short Film (See Video)

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The New Yorker magazine has gone where almost no one has dared to go before. The new cover depicts Bert and Ernie from “Sesame Street” lovingly watching the Supreme Court on TV rule in favor of gay marriage. Bert and Ernie gay? When director Peter Spears went there in his 2002 short film “Ernest and Bertram,” Childrens’ Television Workshop shut him down instantly. I know because I was in the new yorker coveraudience at the Eccles Theater at Sundance the one and only time it was shown. I wrote about it a few minutes later. CTW sent a cease and desist letter over copyright violation. I’d be surprised if CTW doesn’t do the same for The New Yorker. Anyway. it turns out “Ernest and Bertram” has been on YouTube all this time. Here it is. And frankly more timely than ever:

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Alec Baldwin Twitter Account Removed After F Bomb Meltdown

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UPDATE: 9am: Well, the story has taken off, of course. The Twitter account is gone. Again, I don’t think it’s possible that anyone was Tweeting from James Gandolfini’s funeral. I do believe Alec’s story that they left early. It was extremely hot in the church, there wasn’t even a breeze. It’s more than likely they departed through the side door.

UPDATE 3am: Alec Baldwin‘s account has been removed from Twitter after his diatribe against a Daily Mail reporter dropped F bombs like he was the Enola Gay over Hiroshima. I don’t blame him for being angry, but he just over does it. Some of the Tweets remain in their non-formatted state below.

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EARLIER: In the last few minutes (10:44pm EST) Alec Baldwin has gone bat-shit crazy on Twitter against a Daily Mail reporter. Baldwin is FURIOUS with someone named George Stark who published a piece in the Mail Online about his wife, Hilaria, herself Tweeting allegedly during James Gandolfini’s funeral. I’m kind of laughing, and it’s all kind of sad. For one thing, I saw the Baldwins at the funeral. I don’t think she was doing any such thing. No one in that church was on a phone. It would have been too upsetting and obvious; we were also sitting like sardines. I just don’t believe it. Also, I ran into the Baldwins when I was walking home the other night. They were genuinely very sad about Gandolfini. In one of these Tweets, Alec writes: “How much of this shit are people supposed to take? With these fucking blatant lies EVERY DAY.” He’s right. But he’s got to learn to cool it somehow.

 

 

 

Zach Braff to Star in Musical Bullets over Broadway

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Zach Braff will make his Broadway debut in the musical version of Woody Allen’s “Bullets over Broadway,” Susan Stroman directs and choreographs. Woody Allen wrote the book based on his original screenplay with Doug McGrath. Vincent Pastore from The Sopranos costars in the Chazz. Palminteri role. Woody’s sister Letty Aronson and Elaine May’s regular producer, Julian Schlossberg, are producing. Lenny Wolpe, Betsy Wolfe, Helene Yorke and Brooks Ashmanskas are also in the cast.

More casting is imminent. William Ivey Long, god bless him, is doing the costumes. “Bullets Over Broadway” will open on April 10, 2014 at the best theater in New York, the St. James (once home to “The Producers” and “Hello, Dolly!” among others).

Some interesting notes: According to Playbill, the show had a tryout last week. I guess it worked because they’ve scheduled a four week lab this fall prior to the winter previews. And there are no new songs— all the songs are from the 20s and 30s. That should make entering “BOB” as a mew musical a little problematic. How peculiar. “BOB” will be like a Gershwin “new” musical.

Weekend Box Office Surprise: Funny Female Cops Set to Take “White House” Down

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Friday is shaping up as an interesting night in box office history. Paul Feig’s female buddy cop comedy “The Heat” looks like it’s going to take “White House Down” down. First of all, “The Heat” is far better reviewed. It has a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. “WHD” meantime has a 50%. And that’s it’s high mark. It’s been lower.

Our own LEAH SYDNEY loved it. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy are are going to give Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum a run for their money. Here’s what she reports back:

Prepare to have a grin on your face for two hours as two gifted actresses/comediennes– the always game powerhouse Melissa McCarthy and the ever quippy Sandra Bullock– are highly entertaining in the estrogen version of the buddy comedy, “The Heat.”  Melissa pays a filthy mouthed Boston cop who is fearless in her take no prisoners’ attitude, which extends to her family, including her perpetually messed up brother, played by the always-reliable Michael Rappaport. Sandra plays a prim perfectionist FBI agent who has her own difficult history. Their instant combativeness/affection set the tone for consistent laughs throughout the film.

The plot is simple; the ladies are chasing the drug dealer bad guys.  These gifted gals milk everything they can with their expert timing, pitch perfect chemistry and the truly clever and funny bone script by Katie Dippold doesn’t hurt.  Director Paul Feig, who helmed the McCarthy hit “Bridesmaids” two summers ago, again deftly handles these two ladies throughout their many adventures, from an undercover night of drinking, to being caught and tied up by the bad guys and extricating themselves from that.

McCarthy is fearless in her willingness to do whatever it takes to get to the funny and her in your face comedy works perfectly with Sandra’s appealing self-deprecation.  Where so many of these so called summer comedies just seem slapped together, ‘Heat’ stands out for just being bottom line, really funny, and smart. You know this is the first of many episodes in these ladies’ lives. Kudos to Sandra Bullock. She is literally the mother of career reinvention.