Justin Bieber may be getting tired of being a sock puppet. His 19th birthday would be a wake up call if he could see past the trees in his forest made up of bodyguards and publicists. Bieber is on the road, touring in the UK, and he’s alone. He was alone on his 19th birthday. He sent out a sad little Tweet just before, reminding people– especially manager Scooter Braun– that it was his birthday was coming up–tweeting ittle reminders in case anyone in his camp back home had forgotten. Early in the day he wrote “Big night ahead…Gonna be fun tonight.” But this was the result after all that:

Worst birthday

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) March 2, 2013

 

 

How can you not feel bad for this kid? No family, no education, a teen life that’s been spent making money for other people. Now he turns 19, and his posse–lots of security–gets thrown out of a London club. By all accounts they wind up at McDonalds. Where’s the party? Where’s the mother? (She Tweeted a hello.) Where’s the manager, who’s made millions and millions? Braun is in LA. He Tweets:

Spoke to the kid and wished him happy bday. He is gonna go hard tonight and well deserved. @justinbieber enjoy your day! Happy 19th Bday!!

— Scooter Braun (@scooterbraun) March 1, 2013

When I saw that, I thought of Colonel Parker, who never left Elvis’s side. Brian Epstein, who went everywhere with the Beatles. Frank DiLeo with Michael Jackson. All the managers I’ve ever met on the road with their superstar clients. Troy Carter with Lady Gaga. Michael Lippman with Rob Thomas, matchbox twenty, etc. Kathy Schenker with Sting.  These managers stick like glue to their artists.

And Bieber is generating bundles of cash at a very young age. Leaving him alone, especially on a birthday, seems odd.  Bieber and Braun rarely seem to be in the same city together. Followers of Braun’s Twitter account go with him all over the world- skiing, at world seminars, raising money for his charity. The one Tweet he never seems to send out is: “Backstage with Justin Bieber.”

Braun is obviously successful– and busy now that he’s taken on a bunch of other pop acts including Tori Kelly. He also has a huge interest in his Pencils of Promise charity– which is to be applauded. Bieber travels with a childhood friend, Ryan Butler, and lots of people to protect him. But pictures from his birthday that came out in British papers were, again, sad. This scrawny little kid, trying to put on muscles, adding tattoos, wearing Ann Murray’s hair cut from 1978.  Is this a life? Something tells me that in five years we’re going to hear that he was alone, had no childhood, etc. It’s an old song, but Bieber’s going to singing it by 2019.

I liked the “Boob Song” on the Oscars last Sunday, but, I’m a guy, and it seemed okay to me. Then my friend Jane Fonda, who is smarter than me especially on these subjects, explained why it was wrong on her blog.  Fonda, who stole the Oscar show in a yellow Versace gown, didn’t look too happy by the time she and Michael Douglas– who costarred in the classic film “The China Syndrome”–  presented Best Director to Ang Lee. I could see she had other things on her mind. She wrote later about the Oscars:

“What I really didn’t like was the song and dance number about seeing actresses boobs. I agree with someone who said, if they want to stoop to that, why not list all the penises we’ve seen? Better yet, remember that this is a telecast seen around the world watched by families with their children and to many this is neither appropriate or funny. I also didn’t like the remark made about Quvenzhane and Clooney, or the stuff out of Ted’s mouth and all the comments about what women do to get thin for their dresses. Waaaay too much stuff about women and bodies, as though that’s what defines us.”

And it’s not like Jane isn’t fun or into subversive humor. But she’s right, and we–Seth MacFarlane and I–are wrong. Jane was recently on Piers Morgan explaining to a substitute host why it was important to protest Violence Against Women on Valentine’s Day. The host–a woman–wanted to know what Jane thought women should buy men for Valentine’s Day gifts. I couldn’t help thinking that Jane–who again, didn’t look so pleased–must have been wondering if any progress had been made since her character in “The China Syndrome”–some 30 or so years ago–wanted to do serious news instead of cover bake offs.

Our LEAH SYDNEY covered the Women in Film gathering over Oscar weekend. Women In Film is important because they’re always trying to raise awareness of the message Hollywood sends around the world about women. Last Sunday the message was– it’s’ funny to sing about boobs. In private, maybe, or at a comedy club. In front of a billion people, no.

Leah writes:

Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and producer Cathy Schulman co-hosted Women In Film 6th Annual Cocktail Party, sponsored by Perrier-Jouet, M.A.C. Cosmetics and MaxMara at Fig & Olive.  Spencer’s “The Help” co-stars Viola Davis and later Jessica Chastain came out in support. Octavia waxed poetic about Cathy and how hard she works for women’s betterment in Hollywood.  Spencer then told the VIP crowd that, “if it wasn’t for so many women paving the way for a funny looking black girl with crooked teeth from Montgomery Alabama, I wouldn’t be here. These visionaries made it possible for me.  Hey, I’m not Halle Berry.  I like the silver linings in life.  I’m a forward thinking person, I kind of have to be.”

WIF always attracts the A list in Hollywood and this year was no exception.  Jessica Chastain, along with her beau Gian Luca Passe de Preposulo, came towards the end of the event because she encountered a traffic snafu on Sunset Blvd.  Longtime supporter David O. Russell also stopped in and caught up with Daniel Radcliffe.  Nine- year old nominee Quvenzhane Wallis, Molly Sims, Jenna Elfman, Jared Harris, Gia Mantegna, Jackie Weaver, Kate Walsh, Lucy Alibar, Stacey Sher, Ilene Kahn Power, Molly Sims, Jenna Elfman and more A listers also attended.

Cathy told us: “According to as study commissioned by the organization, in the last 11 years, only 41 of 1,100 films have been directed by women. It’s actually a horrendously terrible statistic. ”

She later told the crowd “Kathryn Bigelow’s success should be the norm, not the exception.”

Valerie Bertinelli on the passing of Bonnie Franklin, who played her mother for nine seasons on “One Day at a Time”: “My heart is breaking. Bonnie has always been one of the most important women in my life and was a second mother to me. The years on “One Day At A Time” were some of the happiest of my life, and along with Pat and Mackenzie we were a family in every way. She taught me how to navigate this business and life itself with grace and humor, and to always be true to yourself. I will miss her terribly.”

Franklin passed away today at age 69 from pancreatic cancer. Franklin and Bertinelli bonded as mother and daughter because of Valerie’s age, and also because the show was full of turmoil backstage. MacKenzie Phillips had her drug addiction, and she came and went as the show went on.

Franklin was a favorite at CBS, says former network honcho Fred Rappoport. Norman Lear, as the story goes, saw Franklin on Broadway in the musical  “Applause” with Lauren Bacall. He literally plucked her out of the show made her the star of “One Day at a Time.”

“She was a wonderful person, talented, always classy and candid, great at CBS as part of the network family,” recalls Rappoport. “The show show was always creatively stronger when the stories were from Bonnie’s character’s perspective – not the kids and not Pat Harrington as Schneider the handyman.”

Franklin — who had a great voice — frequently appeared in CBS specials and on the Tony Awards. Her husband of 29 years, Marvin Minoff, died in 2009. He’d been a partner of actor Mike Farrell’s (from MASH), and of David Frost.

David Bowie‘s first album in ten years, “The Next Day,” is streaming right now on iTunes. You can’t buy it yet. But you can hear it, and it’s great. Sony will leave up the stream for a few days just to whet appetites. The release is significant because audiences have resisted new music by older artists. But everything on “The Next Day” is new new new, no covers or remakes. On the iTunes stream you have to listen to the whole album– there’s no coding and no track list. There are 14 songs on “Next Day.” PS No one has said this yet, but will Bowie’s son Duncan Jones (formerly Zowie Bowie)–who’s made “Moon” and other films– direct a video for his dad?

Here’s the list:

1. “The Next Day” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
   • David Torn – Guitar
   • Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums
   • Antoine Silverman, Maxim Moston, Hiroko Taguchi, Anja Wood – Strings
   • David Bowie and Tony Visconti – String arrangement
2. “Dirty Boys” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
   • Earl Slick – Guitar
   • Tony Visconti – Guitar
   • Tony Levin – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums
   • Steve Elson – Baritone Sax
3. “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
   • David Torn – Guitar
   • Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums
   • Steve Elson – Baritone Sax and Contrabass Clarinet
   • Tony Visconti – Recorder
   • Antoine Silverman, Maxim Moston, Hiroko Taguchi, Anja Wood – Strings
   • David Bowie and Tony Visconti – String arrangement
   • Gail Ann Dorsey and Janice Pendarvis – Backing Vocals
4. “Love Is Lost” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals and Keyboards
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitars
   • Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums
5. “Where Are We Now?” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals and Keyboards
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
   • Tony Levin – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums
   • Henry Hey – Piano
   • Tony Visconti – Strings
6. “Valentine’s Day” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals
   • Earl Slick – Guitars
   • Tony Visconti – Bass
   • Sterling Campbell – Drums
7. “If You Can See Me” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals and Keyboards
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
   • David Torn – Guitar
   • Tony Levin – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums & Percussion
   • Gail Ann Dorsey – Backing Vocals
8. “I’d Rather Be High” – (Bowie)
   • David Bowie – Vocals
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitars
   • Tony Levin – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums
9. “Boss of Me” – (Bowie/Leonard)
   • David Bowie – Vocals
   • Gerry Leonard – Guitars
   • Tony Levin – Bass
   • Zachary Alford – Drums
   • Steve Elson – Baritone Sax
   • Tony Visconti – Recorder
   • Gail Ann Dorsey and Janice Pendarvis – Backing Vocals
10. “Dancing Out In Space” – (Bowie)
    • David Bowie – Vocals and Keyboards
    • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
    • David Torn – Guitar
    • Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass
    • Zachary Alford – Drums
11. “How Does The Grass Grow?” – (Bowie/Jerry Lordan)
    • David Bowie – Vocals and Keyboards
    • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
    • David Torn – Guitar
    • Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass
    • Zachary Alford – Drums
    • Gail Ann Dorsey – Backing Vocals
    • Contains an interpolation of “Apache” written by Jerry Lordan and published by Regent Music Corp. and Francis, Day and Hunter.
12. “(You Will) Set The World On Fire” – (Bowie)
    • David Bowie – Vocals
    • Earl Slick – Guitar
    • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
    • Tony Visconti – Bass
    • Sterling Campbell – Drums & Tambourine
    • Gail Ann Dorsey and Janice Pendarvis – Backing Vocals
13. “You Feel So Lonely You Could Die” – (Bowie)
    • David Bowie – Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
    • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
    • David Torn – Guitar
    • Tony Visconti – Guitar
    • Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass
    • Zachary Alford – Drums
    • Henry Hey – Piano
    • Antoine Silverman, Maxim Moston, Hiroko Taguchi, Anja Wood – Strings
    • Tony Visconti – String Arrangement
    • Gail Ann Dorsey and Janice Pendarvis – Backing Vocals
14. “Heat” – (Bowie)
    • David Bowie – Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
    • Gerry Leonard – Guitar
    • David Torn – Guitar
    • Gail Ann Dorsey – Bass
    • Zachary Alford – Drums
    • Antoine Silverman, Maxim Moston, Hiroko Taguchi, Anja Wood – Strings
    • Tony Visconti – String arrangement