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The Next Super Bowl, in New York: Who Should Perform the Half Time Show?

Roger Friedman
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The Next Super Bowl, in New York: Who Should Perform the Half Time Show?

Super Bowl 47 is over, and the entertainment was excellent overall– Beyonce, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson with the Sandy Hook school chorus were so good they blew out the electricity. (Not really!) So now, the next Super Bowl comes to New York, er, New Jersey, the Meadowlands, in 2014. And who do we want in the half time show? For New Jersey, everyone wants Bruce Springsteen, but he just did it in 2009.

A natural choice: Bon Jovi as at least one of the acts. And Billy Joel would be a likely other candidate. Those two would be big nods to local heroes. And you could Wyclef Jean to that mix for a great, great halftime. Who would sing “The Star Spangled Banner”? A Broadway voice, perhaps? Anne Hathaway, who’s from New Jersey?

Here’s who still hasn’t performed the halftime show: Elton John. Or Tina Turner, if she’d come home for the weekend. How about those acts together? Sting or a reunited Police? Led Zeppelin?

Or it is time for a bunch of newer acts: Maroon 5, matchbox twenty, Bruno Mars, Rihanna? But please, no Justin Bieber-Carly Rae Jepsen. Not in New York, or ever.

Write in — and tell us who you’d like to see on that stage….

Bits: “Wild Thing” Singer Passes, Sting Brings “Fields of Gold,” Campion is Champion

Roger Friedman
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Bits: “Wild Thing” Singer Passes, Sting Brings “Fields of Gold,” Campion is Champion

Reg Presley, 71, the man who made “Wild Thing”–you make my heart sing–famous–has died in the U.K. Presley was leader of the Troggs. Their hit “Wild Thing” is one of the great treasures of international pop music. The group had a couple of other hits including “Love is All Around,” which was covered more recently by Wet Wet Wet. But “Wild Thing” remains their one off monster, sort of like “96 Tears,” “Louie Louie,” or “Build Me Up Buttercup.” In the UK, the Troggs were huge, and even played at Sting and Trudie Styler‘s wedding, where everyone joined in on “Wild Thing.” Reg Presley will be missed…

…Sting performed a moving rendition of “Fields of Gold” last week in Los Angeles at the memorial service for A&M Records’ beloved Gil Friesen. Gil worked with Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss to make A&M Records an independent power house in the 1970s and 80s, launching The Police, Sting, as well as Carole King, Cat Stevens, Billy Preston, the Carpenters, and my favorite A&M Single of all time, “Do You Know What I Mean” by Lee Michaels. A&M star Bryan Adams sang “Heaven,” Suzanne Vega performed a song she wrote for Gil, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall did a duet on “I’ll Remember You.” Other guests included Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers of The Police, Sting’s manager and Gil’s friend Kathy Schenker, manager Derek Power, artist Ed Ruscha, Tom Freston, Peter Morton, and Jann Wenner…Speakers included Friesen’s two sons, aged 7 and 57. (That isn’t a typo.)

…Jane Campion is a champion filmmaker. She’ll also head up the Cinefondation and Short Films jury at Cannes this year, it was announced this morning. The award winning director of “The Piano” and “Portrait of a Lady” is a terrific choice, and just the beginning of the announcements from Cannes…

 

 

Robert DeNiro Wants to Make Two– Or Seven– More Films with Martin Scorsese

Roger Friedman
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Robert DeNiro Wants to Make Two– Or Seven– More Films with Martin Scorsese

Robert DeNiro had a day in Hollywood today. He got a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, went to the Oscar Nominee luncheon and then an American Cinematheque tribute at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. LEAH SYDNEY did yeoman duty tracing DeNiro yesterday–he’s not often in Los Angeles– from the Chinese Theater in Hollywood to the Aero Theater in faraway Santa Monica.

At the Aero, Harvey Weinstein waxed poetic about De Niro to moderator Pete Hammond of Deadline.com: “What made me 20 plus years ago that Bob and Jane Rosenthal his partner from Tribeca came and recruited us to 375 Greenwich and thus it became in a way the independent film capital of the world.   Besides them organizing the Tribeca Film Festival after 9/11 to bring people downtown, he went to every restaurant and encouraged all of us to be better citizens.  From 9/11 to Hurricane Sandy and anything in between, he’s been there.  Unfortunately it’s been 31 years since he won an Oscar.  David, Bradley and Jennifer know that without Bob, the movie wouldn’t be half as good as it is.  He’s the soul of the movie.  So it’s about time he wins again.  He’s the best actor in the world.  And one of the best guys.”

DeNiro is infamous for short answers given with a smile. It’s just his way. When asked about putting his hand-and- footprints into the cement at the Chinese Theater, the Oscar nominee said: “It was fun.  I was with friends, Billy Crystal, Irwin Winkler.  It was fine and fun.” (Somewhere in heaven, Lucy Ricardo was smiling.)

On having  his 7th Oscar nomination for “Silver Linings Playbook”: “I wanted to work with David [O. Russell] for awhile.  “The Fighter” was terrific.  We were circling each other. “

Hammond asked if he was a Philadelphia Eagles fan–they’re the obsession of his “SLP” character. DeNiro took a beat, which produced laughter… “Personally, I’m not into football.”

DeNiro then went on to talk about SLP.  “It was complicated.  There was a lot of business to do in the scenes, a lot of characters.   There’s always the pressure.  David’s style is conducive in that he moves fast, always a sense of immediacy.  Controlled chaos really.  ”

What about DeNiro’s legendary dedication to his performances?  That he learned to drive a taxi for “Taxi Driver.”

“I did drive a cab for a couple of weeks and no one recognized me.” He added it wasn’t a problem for the passengers and wouldn’t be now: “As I get older, I don’t get recognized as much as you think.” As for prepping for roles, other than gaining weight for “Raging Bull”:  “I learned to play the sax phonetically for New York, New York.”

There was a reel of clips from his films at the start of the event. Did DeNiro watch it?

“Part of me wanted to watch it.  Part of me, no.  I saw about half of it, a sliver.  It was ok.”

Hammond asked about what he did to prepare for playing Rupert Pupkin in  Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy.”

“Marty and I saw a store as we were walking along Broadway.  There was a mannequin with an outfit that I liked.  We bought the whole thing, including the hair, I used that hairstyle. “

Does he like making comedies? He’s made so many in the last 20 years.

DeNiro: “I enjoy doing comedy, whatever kind it is.  I can’t do everything.  I can do certain things.  “Silver Linings” combined drama and comedy.”

DeNiro talked about his first role at the age of 10– The Cowardly Lion in sa school production of The Wizard of Oz. And then at 18 or so he got more serious and started to study acting.  He talked about various acting styles.

His best tip for actors?  “Whatever works for you.  What ticks you off is what you go with.”

Would he like to direct more?

DeNiro: “I’d like to direct more, only for things I feel strongly about, it takes a lot of time.”

He talked about his long friendship and relationship with Marty Scorsese.

DeNiro: “I’ve made 8 films with him.  Marty has a genuine great love and respect for actors and the crew.  We’ve had a long creative relationship, I want another one with him .  Actually I want to make it to 10.  Fifteen really, but realistically I want to get to 10.  I’m making “The Irishman” with him next.”

Pete asked about “Mean Streets.”

DeNiro: “I didn’t know if I wanted to play Johnny Boy or the other ones.  I wasn’t sure.  I settled on him.”

And was the famous line from “Taxi Driver”– “Are you talkin’ to me?”– was it in the script?

DeNiro: “I don’t remember.  I might have improvised it, I forget.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Stand” May Be His Last: Box Office Bust All Over the World

Roger Friedman
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Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Stand” May Be His Last: Box Office Bust All Over the World

The end of days may have come for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie career. “The Last Stand,” his big return to movies after serving as Governator of California, is a bust all over the world. “The Last Stand” has made just $11.7 million in the US and $13.2 million abroad. Producers say it cost $45 million, but we can add a good fifteen-to-twenty million for promotion, expenses, and prints. Arnold is getting at least $10 million, and probably off the top–from gross income.

All this means that “The Last Stand” may be Arnold’s last stand unless he wants to fund his own movies or hope for foreign money and a revival of “Terminator” movies. Otherwise, his age, his absence from films, and his terrible personal behavior and family scandal may have done him in.

On top of that, Schwarzenegger’s autobiography, “Total Recall,” was a dud for publishers who hoped to cash in on Arnold’s old popularity.

This hasn’t been an easy year for former box office draws. Sylvester Stallone had a disappointing first weekend for his stupidly titled “Bullet in the Head.” The movie managed to attract $4.5 million worth of an audience this past weekend. But expectations are not high for the future. Who in their right mind would give a movie that kind of title based on recent events? Dare we say out loud what we’re thinking?

And Tom Cruise‘s “Reacher” is leaving theaters just shy of $80 million. “Reacher” will break even and maybe make a dollar or two. But without hitting $100 million, it doesn’t seem like anyone will make more “Reacher” movies. The public isn’t clamoring for a sequel. Cruise will return to the “Mission: Impossible” series. He’ll also hope for better things with his next non-franchise outing called “Oblivion.”

R&B Singer Cecil Womack Dies Abroad in Africa at age 65

Roger Friedman
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R&B Singer Cecil Womack Dies Abroad in Africa at age 65

Cecil Womack has died at age 65. He was the brother of Bobby Womack and an R&B star in his own right. Early on, Cecil, Bobby and their two brothers sang back up for Sam Cooke as The Valentinos. Cecil’s first wife was Motown legend Mary Wells, with whom he had three children. Wells, whose hits included “My Guy” and “Two Lovers,” died in 1992. But he and Wells were divorced, and she also a child with Cecil’s older brother, Curtis. Cecil went on to marry Linda Cooke, daughter of the late Sam Cooke, while brother Bobby married Sam’s widow. Cecil Womack made six albums with his third wife Linda as Womack and Womack. Their big hit was “Love TKO,” covered by everyone from Teddy Pendergrass to Boz Scaggs. It’s one of those soul classics that you can’t get out of your head, and will last a lifetime.  A lot of history and a lot of soul. Cecil Womack will be missed.

Hold on, He’s Angry: Legendary Singer Sam Moore ‘Sound-aliked” in Super Bowl Milk Commercial

Roger Friedman
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Hold on, He’s Angry: Legendary Singer Sam Moore ‘Sound-aliked” in Super Bowl Milk Commercial

You would think in 2013, after the use of ‘soundalikes’ in commercials has already been through the Supreme Court, we wouldn’t be hearing about it again. Imagine the surprise Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sam Moore got last night while watching the Super Bowl:  hit 1966 hit record “Hold On I’m Coming” appeared in a commercial featuring Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, for the Milk Processor Education Program. Only it wasn’t Sam’s voice, or the original master recording of him and Dave Prater as Sam & Dave. It was a soundalike– and it sounded bad.

“Hold on,” Sam said, “it’s happening again.” Moore has had to fight off innumerable imitators over the years. But this is pretty flagrant.

The commercial was produced by Deutsch Advertising. They used a firm called Beta Patrol, which found a soundalike group in San Diego called The Styletones. That group gave an interview recently to a San Diego newspaper that pretty much confirms the whole scenario. The Styletones admit to trying sound just like Sam Moore and David Porter– they get it wrong since Porter co-wrote the song, but Dave Prater sang it with Sam. It’s kind of unbelievable. Moore’s phone lit up last night with fans, friends and family wondering if that was him on the commercial.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/jan/31/styletones-super-bowl-milk-tv-commercial/?page=1#article-copy

Soundalike cases go on all the time now. The Black Keys recently filed one, and Eminem was involved in one a couple of years ago. The precedent was created when Bette Midler sued Ford Motor Company and Young & Rubicam in 1988. They’d hired one of her backup singers to re-record her hit, “Do You Wanna Dance?” She lost the first round, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld her. The case was affirmed by the Supreme Court.

The appeals court wrote: “A voice is as distinctive and personal as a face. The human voice is one of the most palpable ways identity is manifested. We are all aware that a friend is at once known by a few words on the phone… these observations hold true of singing, especially singing by a singer of renown. The singer manifests herself in the song. To impersonate her voice is to pirate her identity…We need not and do not go so far as to hold that every imitation of a voice to advertise merchandise is actionable. We hold only that when a distinctive voice of a professional singer is widely known and is deliberately imitated in order to sell a product, the sellers have appropriated what is not theirs and have committed a tort…”

The Styletones were paid a “five figure fee,” one of their members told the San Diego Paper. Jake Naylor said: “Obviously, it’s a lot less expensive to do it this way than to pay the licensing fee to the original performers.” It’s obvious to him, maybe, but not to Moore or the Black Keys or Eminem, or the artists who’ve had to deal with this outrageous behavior some 25 years after Midler won her case.

If Deutsch, the Milk people, or the Styletones weren’t sure of what they were doing, or Moore’s renown, then maybe a quick search on YouTube would have found them Bruce Springsteen introducing Moore at the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show– to the strains of “Hold On I’m Coming.” Moore says he’s talking to his lawyers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not singing “Hold On I’m Suing” very soon. Or another one from 2003 with Bruce in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Robert DeNiro Opens Up to CBS Sunday Morning About “Silver Linings” in Rare Interview

Roger Friedman
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Robert DeNiro Opens Up to CBS Sunday Morning About “Silver Linings” in Rare Interview

Lee Cowan did such a great job on Robert DeNiro yesterday morning, I’m putting it up here. A great interview, and rare. DeNiro is working on a documentary with New York journalist Perri Peltz on his father, the late artist Robert DeNiro Sr. Perri says DeNiro has really opened up for her in interviews. Looking forward to that as well. DeNiro gives a wonderful Oscar caliber performance in “Silver Linings.”

 

 

 

Al Pacino To Get the Jack Valenti L.A.-Italia Award During Oscar Week

Roger Friedman
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Al Pacino may not be up for an Oscar this week, but he is getting a nice award. Pacino will receive the Jack Valenti-L.A. Italia Award on February 17th in Los Angeles. Al deserves all the awards he can get, frankly. Here’s the release:

Academy Award®-winning actor Al Pacino will be the recipient of the inaugural JACK VALENTI – L.A., ITALIA LEGEND AWARD, it was announced today by noted Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmuller, honorary chairman of the Istituto Capri nel Mondo, the governing body of the Los Angeles, Italia – Film, Fashion and Art Fest. Named in memory of long-time MPAA president Jack Valenti, it is the festival’s highest honor and it will be given annually to an outstanding Italian-American who has made major contributions to the global motion picture industry.

Valenti’s daughter Courtenay, executive vice president of production for Warner Bros. Pictures, will present the award to Pacino on February 17th during the festival’s opening night ceremonies at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where the 8th edition of L.A., Italia will take place from February 17th through the 23rd, the week preceding the Oscars®.  The festival is produced by founder Pascal Vicedomini and chaired by Italian-American talent manager and film executive Rick Nicita, with producer Martha De Laurentiis serving as president and producer Mark Canton serving as honorary chair.  Madalina Ghenea, the Italian-Romanian supermodel and actress will be Mistress of Ceremonies.

Known for his forceful dramatic presentation, Al Pacino is most closely associated with the roles of Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, as well as Tony Montana of the legendary gangster film Scarface. However, it was his performance as Frank Slade, a blind, retired Lt. Colonel, in Scent of a Woman that won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1993 and a supporting actor nomination in the same year for Glengarry Glen Ross. This came after seven previous Oscar nominations for The Godfather (1973), Serpico (1974), The Godfather: Part II (1975), Dog Day Afternoon (1976), And Justice For All (1980) and Dick Tracy (1990). Amongst his other awards are five Golden Globes, including the HFPA’s Cecil B. DeMille Award (2001), the American Cinematheque Award (2005) and the American Film Institute’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

“One of the greatest actors in all of film history, Al Pacino established himself during one of film’s greatest decades, the 1970s, and has become an enduring and iconic figure in the world of American movies,” said Lina Wertmuller in making the announcement. “His commitment to acting as a profession and his constant screen dominance has established him as one of the movies’ true legends.

There is no one in the world more suitable and deserving to receive the first Jack Valenti – L.A., Italia Legend Award.”

No Bounce for Beyonce, But She Does Announce World Tour

Roger Friedman
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No Bounce for Beyonce, But She Does Announce World Tour

If you were wondering why Beyonce sang at the Inauguration. performed at the Super Bowl, put together a Destiny’s Child reunion there, and issued a Destiny’s Child greatest hits album with a new track for no apparent good reason– now we have a reason. Beyonce has just announced a world tour beginning in April in Serbia.

The tour comes to the US in June, and lands at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where husband Jay Z has an interest. It’s called “The Mrs. Carter Tour” because Jay Z’s real name is Shawn Carter. So that explains it: the end game of all this marketing was a big tour with high priced tickets. At least there is an endgame because frankly, why else put yourself through all this?

Meanwhile, there’s no apparent sales bounce in CD or download sales for Beyonce or Alicia Keys after last night. Amazon.com is selling Beyonce download albums for five bucks, but it hasn’t pushed them into the stratosphere. Keys’s “Girl on Fire” has shown no appreciable change in sales either.

 

Alicia Keys “Star Spangled” Ka-Ching: Her Super Bowl National Anthem Could Make Her Some Money

Roger Friedman
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Alicia Keys “Star Spangled” Ka-Ching: Her Super Bowl National Anthem Could Make Her Some Money

UPDATE: The NFL is blocking the video of Alicia singing “The Star Spangled Banner” on copyright grounds! Hilarious. They confirmed the following story.

Alicia Keys elegantly performed “The Star Spangled Banner” last night at the Super Bowl. And now she can apply for a copyright on it. Keys’ uniquely slow version, accompanying herself on the piano, also featured her own arrangement. Her little “tail” at the end — “livin’ in the home of the brave” –is her personal addition to the 200 year old song. “The Star Spangled Banner” is in the public domain. And you can get a copyright on a public domain song if you record it with your own arrangement. That means Keys could make money from its future use in that form, and get her a shared songwriting credit with composers Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith, who died in the 1800s.

Keys isn’t alone in her “Star Spangled Banner” copyright. BMI lists the song 307 times; ASCAP, 410. Jimi Hendrix played his own scorching guitar version at Woodstock in 1969 and got his own copyright. His estate makes money from that famous recording every time it’s used in a movie or played somewhere. Jose Feliciano has a copyright on the song, too, for his unique version. He plays it in public every chance he gets. Ka ching! (See below.)

The arguably best version of our national anthem ever sung at a sporting event was Whitney Houston‘s, at the 1991 Super Bowl. Houston is not listed as the copyright holder on that version. And she gave away the proceeds of sales of her single and recording to charity, as George H.W. Bush had just launched us into the Gulf War.

By the way, not everyone who sings “The Star Spangled Banner” — or otherwise records a song in the public domain– seeks a copyright, obviously. But those 700 or so instances that are registered with BMI and ASCAP are from times when the performer did something unusual enough to the original song to claim it. For Alicia, her version was no doubt an artistic choice. But it’s also one that will kick a few pennies into her coffers over time– unless she also donates it to charity.

PS I told you some time ago that Keys may have infringed on the copyright for the hit song “Hey There Lonely Girl” in her current hit, “Girl on Fire.” A lawsuit was filed against her subsequently by Earl Shuman, co-writer of “Hey There” with the late Leon Carr. I’m told a settlement may be in the works. In the meantime, ASCAP has removed Keys’s name from the song credits on its website until a final understanding is reached.

Alicia Keys:


Whitney Houston:

Jimi Hendrix:

Jose Feliciano:

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