Thursday, December 18, 2025
Donate
Home Blog Page 1915

Mad Men Exclusive: Matt Weiner Says Season 6 Is About “Alleviating Anxiety”

Roger Friedman
-
0
Mad Men Exclusive: Matt Weiner Says Season 6 Is About “Alleviating Anxiety”

How to cover a screening and party where the whole cast and crew is tight lipped and the creator of the show asks 600 people to keep their mouths shut. “And they did it,” Matt Weiner, the genius behind “Mad Men” our LEAH SYDNEY last night.

The premiere of sixth season was at the DGA in West Hollywood with a party after at the Sunset Tower Hotel.  The premiere episode, two hours long, was shown.  The show is as brilliant as ever, with twists, turns and impeccable writing, acting and directing. Here are the spoilers: everyone lives through the episode, several main characters aren’t in the two hour premiere but turn up soon, and Roger Sterling’s (John Slattery) has a story line.

Charlie Collier, President and CEO of AMC introduced Weiner.  “Certain things have remained perfect. The unparalleled caliber of writing, acting and production makes this an extraordinary series.  Matt and his team have set the gold standard for TV, rich, layered, deeply rewarding.  So pour yourself a drink, marry a co-worker and smoke them if you got them!”

Weiner told the audience: ” This is such a strange experience.  I get asked about the end of the show a lot.  I don’t like to think about it.”

At the party, Weiner talked about this season’s themes.  “A character says that, ‘People will do anything to alleviate anxiety.’ That’s the theme of the season, and I feel that, that more than ever, and it’s luck too, that the vibe of the show seems very much on what is going right now as a country. I wasn’t even born in 1960-whatever, so I write about now, and that’s what I’m feeling right now.”

John Slattery did say: “I’ll probably direct one episode for the last season. I did two this season.”

Jon Hamm had laryngitis.  But he and Jennifer Westfeldt were as sweet as ever. A guest told him that it was awful he hasn’t won an Emmy yet.  Hamm replied: “Who knows?  I’m a lucky guy no matter what.”

“Mad Men” premieres on AMC on April 7th.

NY Notes: Is Scarlett Dating Spike? Plus Lynn Redgrave, Ian Somerhalder, Chelsea Clinton, Patrick Stewart

Roger Friedman
-
0

Is Scarlett Johansson dating director Spike Jonze? I have no idea, but they arrived together after “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” the other night, and joined theater director Gregory Mosher for dinner up at Bar Centrale. Mosher previously directed Scarlett in “A View from the Bridge.” Scarlett and Spike brought a friend and they were all discussing theater when “Capote” and “Moneyball” director Bennett Miller rolled in with Fisher Stevens. Lots of hugging and mugging (male hugging). Scarlett suggested they all take a table together. What fun! Just beyond them, John Rothman was celebrating his “Breakfast at Tifffany’s” gig with a bunch of nice friends. Earlier, “Lincoln” screenwriter Tony Kushner had dinner with partner Mark Harris, my old friend from “Entertainment Weekly.” That’s entertainment!

At the “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” premiere, gossip legend Cindy Adams brought Barbara Walters as her date. Also in the audience; Sir Ian McKellen. who’s an old friend of director Sean Mathias. And Sir Patrick Stewart brought his charming fiancee Sunny Ozell. She’s a great singer, and I am embarrassed I didn’t know that before I met her. The couple will marry, they said, later in the year. And yes, Sir Ian will preside.

New York is busy, busy, busy: the late, wonderful Lynn Redgrave is getting a theater named for her. The Culture Project is renaming their theater at 45 Bleecker St. It’s going to be the Lynn Redgrave Theater. Lynn’s sister Vanessa, Liam Neeson (who was married to the late great Natasha Richardson), and Lynn’s three children will at the ceremony on June 3rd when the Culture Project has its annual fundraiser.  Alan Buchman, who favors collarless silk jackets, is the mastermind behind this terrific New York gem…

None other than Chelsea Clinton spoke this past weekend at the TedX Teen 2013 talks sponsored by the We Are Family Foundation. Starting on Saturday we’ll be able to see her speech and others from the event at www.tedxteen.com
One of the speakers was Nelson Mandela‘s grandson…Chelsea said: “If you have the opportunity and the means to do something, you should do it. When there is something you want to accomplish, even if you don’t have the opportunity and means, you should make it for yourself. Engaging in the work of the world is hard but it’s the best kind of workAs we say in my family. it’s always better to get caught trying.”

“Vampire Diaries” star Ian Somerhalder is usually putting the bite on some beautiful girl. But he’s also involved with the National Resources Defense Council. Who knew? He was honored by the NRDC last week as a Game Changer along with Woody Johnson, who owns the NY Jets, Steve Tisch and John Mara, owners of the NY Giants, Peter Morton of Morton’s and Hard Rock Cafe fame, and super model Linda Evangelista, who’s also Morton’s significant other…BTW John Mara is the uncle of actresses Rooney Mara and Kate Mara...

“American Idol” Down 8 Percent from Last Week as “The Voice” Looms

Roger Friedman
-
0
“American Idol” Down 8 Percent from Last Week as “The Voice” Looms

“American Idol” was down 8 percent last night from last Wednesday in the overnight ratings. A 3.5 in the key demo was a marked departure from 3.8 last week. “Idol” still won the night. But the trend has been to win Wednesday and get steamrolled on Thursday. This is particularly vexing since “The Voice” returns on Monday–the only show on NBC that anyone watches. And now “The Voice” has planned at least one airing directly against “Idol” during sweeps on May 8th. It’s not like “Idol” doesn’t have good contestants. I am sold on Angela Miller. Her rendition of the Beatles’ “Yesterday” last night was sensational. But “Idol” has yet to light a fire with the TV audience. I still don’t know why Mariah Carey hasn’t sung “Almost Home” from “Oz the Great and Powerful.” We’ll see what happens tonight.

 

Justin Bieber’s Manager Decries “Liars and Clowns” in Twitter Rant

Roger Friedman
-
2
Justin Bieber’s Manager Decries “Liars and Clowns” in Twitter Rant

Sounds like there’s trouble in Teen Town. Are we surprised? Justin Bieber‘s globe trotting manager, Scooter Braun, had a little meltdown on Twitter last night. Around 2:45am Eastern he Tweeted: “u should never give attention to liars and clowns. The truth will always come out in the end…and their lies will be their own karma.” Braun followed that a few minutes later with this: “plus…the clowns always wanna be boys and shake your hand in public. funny how they bitch up so quick. sorry…just had to say it.”

Braun’s posts are usually full of aphorisms and chatter about his travels criss-crossing the world but rarely with Bieber. A concert promoter who knows him told me recently: “He’s busy building his brand, Scooter Braun, more than he is managing Justin Bieber.” Indeed though Bieber has been having all kinds of problems on his tour abroad, Braun has not seemed very concerned. He refers to the 19 year teen idol as “The Kid” in his Tweets and leaves his daily maintenance to associates.

Who are the liars and clowns? What’s going on in Bieberland? Time will tell.

 

 

 

 

Where’s Mike Myers? Making a Documentary About Alice Cooper’s Manager

Roger Friedman
-
0
Where’s Mike Myers? Making a Documentary About Alice Cooper’s Manager

EXCLUSIVE Where in the world is Mike Myers? The “Wayne’s World” and “Austin Powers” comic actor/writer/director hasn’t made a movie since “The Love Guru” bombed like crazy in 2008. Granted, he’s the voice of “Shrek” in all those movies, including the final one in 2010. And there’s been talk of a fourth “Austin Powers” movie. But still, Myers has been pretty much low key. He was barely visible in an acting cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds.”

So it may surprise you to learn that Myers has been busy producing and directing a documentary. Very quietly he’s been making a film about Shep Gordon. Who? The 68 year old is rock Alice Cooper’s long time manager. His days in rock go back to 1968 when he met Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin on the same night in Hollywood. (They were having sex.) Hendrix told him about Alice Cooper, and the rest is history. Gordon also at various times managed Blondie and Luther Vandross.

Gordon’s story is also a personal one. He has a long, complicated personal life that includes adopting four children. He also has a long friendship with the Dalai Lama, whom he’s helped support for years. And he’s an accomplished chef.

Sources say Myers is just finishing up the film, and is aiming to show at this fall’s Toronto Film Festival. The tentative title is “Super Mensch.”

Broadway: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in Play Form Stolen by Cat

Roger Friedman
-
1
Broadway: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” in Play Form Stolen by Cat

I can’t say Truman Capote is spinning in his grave exactly, but Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard surely are, and Tiffany’s will be disappointed. Last night’s premiere of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” on Broadway is being panned everywhere., and quite rightly. It’s a missed opportunity certainly. Something about London productions of American ideas. This producer also brought in the hideous musical version of “Ghost.” I wish they would stop right now.

What looks cool in London often comes off wrong here. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” must have look stark and foreboding in the West End. I’m sure they thought it was Capote wanted. I guess they didn’t watch the movie or think about how New Yorkers– Americans–romanticize these things. So they’ve given us a very cold Breakfast. Urrrgghhh. Emilia Clarke is obviously talented, but she is so miscast as Holly Golightly that it’s kind of shocking. Nearly everyone else is wrong, although I got a kick out of Tony Torn (he lit up the stage) and also liked John Rothman, Suzanne Bertish, Lee Wilkoff. It was a relief to see George Wendt on stage. But oy.

There’s even a scene where the two main characters get naked and take a bath together. It doesn’t help. I wish it did. (There’s a joke in here about throwing out the play with the bath water.)

However: a cat steals the show. He’s a big guy, kind of orange, and so well trained. I just hope this cat doesn’t meet Uggie the Dog or any of the recent movie star animals. He’ll be demanding all sorts of things. He also got the biggest applause last night.

In the audience: Debbie Harry of Blondie fame looked so elegant, and she even spoke at the swanky after party at the Edison Ballroom. Kudos to Peter Kaczorowski, Derek McLane, and Colleen Atwood for making the show look so good. But I have questions about director Sean Mathias that can’t be answered here.

I did keep hearing this song in my head:

 

WAR! All Eyes on Jay Leno’s Show As He Goes After NBC Again

Roger Friedman
-
113
WAR! All Eyes on Jay Leno’s Show As He Goes After NBC Again

UPDATE Real war broke out this afternoon between NBC and Jay Leno–and for the third time. Yes, it’s World War III. On the “Tonight” show Leno went after NBC for the third night in a row, calling them “extinct” and comparing them to Jurassic Park. “There’s hope for them yet,” he quipped. This was after NBC used the Hollywood media to attack Leno late in the afternoon on two fronts. Crazy stuff since NBC and Leno famously tangled at the very beginning of his run when the network wanted David Letterman to take over the Tonight show. That resulted in a book and a movie for HBO by Bill Carter of the New York Times.

Then, just a couple of years ago, there was the War Over Conan O’Brien which ended very badly and caused O’Brien to leave the network. Now NBC, instead of dealing quietly with Leno over his 2014 exit and Jimmy Fallon’s succession. The result is that NBC will attack Leno again today and he will go after them again tonight. Is it driving ratings up? Who cares? It’s once again damaging their brand.  For some reason NBC– as with Ann Curry most recently, and many times in the past– can’t handle their Human Resources Department very well. “30 Rock” parodies were not so off the mark.

It’s all quite different than what went at ABC when “Nightline” was pushed out of the way for Jimmy Kimmel. That was pretty clean in the end. Why NBC can’t do anything diplomatically could be the subject of a new Bill Carter book.

But it’s no different than that war in January 2010. In his monologues then, Leno said NBC stood for “Never Believe Your Contract.” http://www.showbiz411.com/2010/01/08/20100108the-x-factor-in-the-conanjay-soap-opera-lorne-michaels

Stay tuned…

Earlier: All eyes will be on Jay Leno’s “Tonight” show tonight. The reason? With one hour to go before Wednesday night’s taping, NBC sent Leno a clear message and used the media to do it. The Drudge Report is blaring “Fallon In, Leno Out” as GQ magazine released a special issue with heir apparent Jimmy Fallon on the cover. The Hollywood Reporter seized on a quote from Fallon producer Lorne Michaels that “Jimmy Fallon” is the closest thing he’s seen to a Johnny Carson. Wow. (I think Fallon is more like Jack Paar or Steve Allen frankly.) The New York Times’ expert on this subject, Bill Carter, followed with a story about a Fallon Tonight show moving to New York. Leno, with a quick trigger temper, will be exploding at these statements. With hints that he may be forced out by February 2014, Leno is sure to blow a gasket. When The “Tonight” show begins taping at 4pm Pacific, 7 Eastern, look for Tweets etc about his monologue. Yikes. Fallon, meantime, who’s a nice guy, is said to be reaching out to Leno to calm him down. Good luck. Conan O’Brien was a nice guy too. Leno is Patton when it comes to the Tonight Show.

Legendary Della Reese Makes Rare Appearance to Support “The Bible”

Roger Friedman
-
2

It’s not like “The Bible” needs support. But if it’s going to get some Della Reese would be the logical choice. Della, who’ll b3 82 this July, and husband Franklin flew in from LA yesterday to help friends Roma Downey and Mark Burnett with their promotion for the hit mega series “The Bible.” Right now you can see a free installation at 450 West 14th St. for “The Bible” that includes a rare Torah, artifacts from the Dead Sea Scrolls, a page from the Gutenberg bible, and rare objects from the dawn of time. Many of the 40,000 objects come from the Vatican’s Green collection and are never in the US.

It’s very a cool exhibit. Della and Roma, of course, co-starred on TV’s “Touched by an Angel,” and have remained BFFs forever. Burnett, aka Mr. Downey, only produces “Survivor,” “The Voice,” and everything else on TV. He has the Midas touch. “The Bible” is bigger than anyone would have guessed, making the History Channel into a destination. Lots of celebs showed up to take it all in including Joey Pantoliano and his wife Nancy, Carol Alt, Arianna Huffington, and the great actor and writer Malachy McCourt.

Malachy, whose late brother Frank (much missed) wrote “Angela’s Ashes,” told me he’s writing a new book as well. “It’s called “I Read Your Brother’s Book.” It will be very funny.” Malachy is a New York treasure, always working and well remembered from “Ryan’s Hope.” It was great to see him.

Meantime, “The Bible” DVDs hit stores on April 2nd. Burnett has another hit on his hands.

PS Here’s a video of Della when she was young and having her Jennifer Hudson like career:

Game of Thrones Spoiler: Some of Producer’s “Favorite People” Will Be Leaving

Roger Friedman
-
1
Game of Thrones Spoiler: Some of Producer’s “Favorite People” Will Be Leaving

HBO’s mega hit, the thrilling ‘Game Of Thrones,’ is way over the top in every way, so the premiere party at the Roosevelt in Hollywood the other night well reflected that.  After screening the first episode, the cast and guests– including the First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson and the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, (the show partly shoots there) –sauntered to the party filled with sword fighters, stilt walkers, dragons and more which filled the main room.

Most of the cast was there, happily talking and posing for photos with anyone that asked.  These smart, mostly British actors well know that they are part of a phenomenon.  And what a ‘happening’ it is, Hollywood Boulevard was filled with fans behind barricades hoping to get some time with the stars.

Our very own LEAH SYDNEY spoke with co-creator and showrunner David Benioff, who along with D. B. Weiss,  are at the helm of this beyond successful series.

Showbiz411: You had said this upcoming season is special for you.  Why is that?

DB: This is the season we’ve been waiting from the beginning. Because ‘Storm of Swords’ the third book is the one we love, we love them all, but this is a special one.  There are certain themes in it that just really resonated with us.  We called each other Dan and I, before we even pitched it to HBO, that if we ever got this show on air and it lasted three seasons and we got to those scenes, we could die happy.

Showbiz411: Is this really the first thing you produced?

DB: Yes, I never produced anything before this.  I tried to produce things, but nothing got made.  Not even an internet short. This is a first. True story.  We told HBO to take the chance on us to produce this which was obviously a big ask.  Luckily the author George Martin liked what we said.  It was kind of a wing and a prayer.

Showbiz411: You’re all tight lipped about this season.

DB: Yeah, but here’s one thing…time to say goodbye to some of my favorite people!

Barbra Streisand Prepares to Take Europe With Dates Just Announced

Roger Friedman
-
0
Barbra Streisand Prepares to Take Europe With Dates Just Announced

Barbra Streisand is about to take Europe by storm. She’s just announced four dates in Europe for June– London, Paris, Berlin, and Cologne. And more are coming. Barbra was last in Europe in June 2007. But she’s never played Berlin or Cologne. And as the dates sell out, more cities will be added. Streisand’s show should be called “All in the Family.” She’s got her son Jason Gould singing with her, as well as sister Roslyn Kind. I’m surprised James Brolin isn’t on tambourine! Anyway, Chris Botti, our favorite trumpeter, will be featured as well. Streisand appeared on the Oscars to promote this tour, another great idea from longtime manager Marty Erlichman. Ticket prices will be Barbra-high, which means La Streisand should make a nice Euro out of all this. More to come… Check her website for updates www.barbrastreisand.com

1...1,9141,9151,916...2,323Page 1,915 of 2,323

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com