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Justin Bieber Sells 200K Copies of Version of Same Album as Before, Goes to Number 1

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber Sells 200K Copies of Version of Same Album as Before, Goes to Number 1

I can only guess that Scooter Braun–last seen via Twitter in Paris–has a huge garage somewhere stuffed with “Believe (Acoustic).” His client, Justin Bieber, incredibly sold 211,000 copies of this new album, an “acoustic” version of the same album he released last year called “Believe.” The result is a number 1, and actually a bigger sale than the original (and to an adult’s ear, unlistenable) “Believe.”

But I can’t fight these kids, or the marketing know-how of these people at Universal Music who see what buttons this kid is pushing. I really thought by now tween girls would be done with him. But Bieber–despite drug scandals, car problems, PR stunts with girlfriends, his mother backing anti-abortion videos–hangs in there.

He has no education, no sleeves, and Anne Murray’s look from 1974. And still the girls want him. He’s not remotely dangerous. But he does have the androgynous qualities that Michael Jackson exuded during the post-Thriller part of his career. Maybe that’s what these young girls are seeing–the non-threat. But he’s a sales threat, that’s for sure. Will “Believe (Acoustic)” have legs? Remains to be seen. But if you can get 200,000 people to buy the same thing, essentially, twice, hey–not bad. And Bieber will sell more this weekend when he appears on “Saturday Night Live,” no doubt.

R&B Singer Chris Brown: 4 Years After Rihanna Assault, LA DA Says He’s Never Done His Community Service

Roger Friedman
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R&B Singer Chris Brown: 4 Years After Rihanna Assault, LA DA Says He’s Never Done His Community Service

Has Chris Brown created an elaborate hoax to convince the Los Angeles District Attorney he’s done his community service?

The Los Angeles District Attorney says that Brown, Rihanna‘s sometime and abusive boyfriend, may have faked the whole thing.  District Attorney Jackie Lacey says Brown failed “to provide credible, competent or verifiable evidence” that he completed his court-ordered community labor dating back to his 2009 assault on Rihanna. Keep refreshing…

Of course, a reading of the 19 page motion indicates that Brown has done only half of the time in community service that was mandated. The motion is actually sort of amusing. It’s a math problem. Brown’s lawyer keeps sending the judge updates, and keeps changing the amount of time done. The court says Brown claims 701 hours of community service. He’s required to do 1440 hours.

The problem is that Brown wants to do his service in Richmond, Virginia. The court wants it in Los Angeles. That’s because, according to the motion, Brown has never shown up to do the reported service in Virginia. There are huge discrepancies about what has actually taken place. The LA DA is skeptical about any proper service having been completed.

The 19 page report is a pretty comprehensive account of a defendant who’s allegedly lied and done nothing, and on top of that got caught smoking while he was doing whatever service he did.

Brown assaulted girlfriend Rihanna almost exactly four years ago on the night before the Grammy Awards. Since then, he’s been involved in various scrapes and scandals. And Rihanna has continued to date him.

Here’s the press release:

LOS ANGELES – District Attorney Jackie Lacey said today that
entertainer Chris Brown failed to provide “credible, competent or verifiable
evidence” that he completed his court-ordered community labor. She asked the
court to order Brown to fulfill his obligation in Los Angeles County.
On August 25, 2009, Brown was ordered to complete 180 days of
community labor and was allowed by the court to do so in his home state of
Virginia as part of a five-year probationary sentence for assault.
In a motion filed by Deputy District Attorney Mary Murray, the
court was asked to decline to accept Brown’s community labor in Virginia due to
what appears to be “significant discrepancies indicating at best sloppy
documentation and at worst fraudulent reporting.”

Grammy Goodies: Kelly Clarkson, Sting, Bruno Mars, Rihanna

Roger Friedman
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It’s Grammy week! Neil Portnow and Ken Ehrlich are putting together what I suspected would be a hot show. They announced that Sting, Rihanna and Bruno Mars are performing together. Hmmmm…..Bruno’s song, “Locked in Heaven,” sounds very Sting-ish– in fact people wonder whether it’s a cover. I’m told their segment may feature that song turning into a Sting song. There may be some Bob Marley thrown in to give it a reggae theme. That could be the highlight of the night.

Meantime, Kelly Clarkson is said to be performing the lifetime tribute to the late Patti Page and to Carole King. A medley of “How Much Is that Doggie in the Window?” and “I Feel the Earth Move.” Maybe. Ehrlich was mentored by the late great Pierre Cossette, and loves putting together interesting combinations of artists in one segment. So look out for more fascinating updates…

And Justin Timberlake is doing a show after the Grammys at the Hollywood Palladium. This follows a similar marketing scheme to Timberlake’s 2006 release, “FutureSexySongs.” He played a show at the Roseland Ballroom in New York right before the album was released. A Timberlake tour is planned for late June onward. I am told, by the way, that there’s a version of “Suit and Tie” somewhere on the net without Jay Z. If anyone can find it, please send a link.

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.”

 

 

 

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