Thursday, December 18, 2025
Donate
Home Blog Page 1949

Confirmed: Paul Thomas Anderson Making Thomas Pynchon Novel into a Film–with Robert Downey Jr.

Roger Friedman
-
3
Confirmed: Paul Thomas Anderson Making Thomas Pynchon Novel into a Film–with Robert Downey Jr.

There were a lot of internet rumors and some clues over the last week. Now I can confirm that Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film will be an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Inherent Vice.” And also, it does like Robert Downey, Jr. and perhaps Charlize Theron will be the stars, with more names coming. After disappointing box office on “The Master,” PTA is said to be interested in having a moneymaker.

I can tell you that the brilliant and relatively young Megan Ellison is going to produce via her Annapurna Productions. Ellison is also busy prepping David O. Russell’s next one, “American Bullshit,” with Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale and, obviously, a new title.

Pynchon is notoriously reclusive. The legendary author of “Gravity’s Rainbow” and “V” has lived for years right here in New York, married to literary agent Melanie Jackson. He’s our J.D. Salinger, meaning no one ever sees him. (Other writers like this include Thomas Harris, the creator of Hannibal Lecter, who lives in Sag Harbor, and Harper Lee, who used to be in New York and is now down south in what I’m told may be assisted living.)

Pynchon did narrate a video for “Inherent Vice” which can be –and has been–found on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjWKPdDk0_U&feature=player_embedded#!. I’m told he thinks very highly of Anderson, who’s met with him a lot. “Pynchon only wants Paul to make this movie,” says a source. And we do too. More: “It’s closer to Boogie Nights than any of his other films.”

PS The original rumor of a PTA-Pynchon collaboration can be credited to Vulture, Collider, CinemaBlend, the New York Daily News, and the New York Times.

“Downton Abbey” Season 3 Debut Scores Like Crazy for PBS–Second only to NFL Game on Fox

Roger Friedman
-
1
“Downton Abbey” Season 3 Debut Scores Like Crazy for PBS–Second only to NFL Game on Fox

“Downton Abbey” scored 7.9 million viewers last night, and quadrupled PBS’s regular evening rating. Wow. According to PBS just now: Between 9:00-11:00 p.m., PBS was the second-most watched broadcast network on Sunday. Highest local-market ratings were at member stations KCTS-Seattle (9.6 rating, 17 share), WGBH-Boston (8.8/14), KLRU-Austin (8.1/13) and WNET-New York (8.0/12).

Seattle? Who knew? That city didn’t even exist in the minds of the Granthams et al back in 1920. But at least New York and Boston pulled their weight. “Downton” ratings should calm down a little now as the season settles in. But the final show of this season, aka the Christmas Special, will probably be even bigger since Dan Stevens –ignoring advice from David Caruso and Patrick Duffy– leaves the series in a blaze of ignominy.

The only show that did better last night was the Seahawks vs. Redskins on Fox. Otherwise, “Downton” ruled.

And Mitt Romney wanted to get rid of PBS. I’ll bet Ann and several Romneys were actually watching Mary and Matthew’s wedding!

Bette Midler Coming to Broadway in April with New Play

Roger Friedman
-
1
Bette Midler Coming to Broadway in April with New Play

Bette Midler’s going to play legendary super agent Sue Mengers in a new play coming to Broadway this April. “I’ll Eat You Last” is written by John Logan, directed by Joe Mantello, and produced by a group including Vanity Fair editor in chief Graydon Carter. Broadway is going to be full of stars this Tony season.

But Barry Levinson’s musical of “Diner” with music by Sheryl Crow has been postponed til fall. In a very unusual move, both James Nederlander Jr and his rival, the Shubert Organization, are listed as producers of the Midler show. It takes a village!

Anyway: this is Bette Midler’s year. Her movie “Parental Guidance” with Billy Crystal and Marisa Tomei is a big hit at the box office. All she needs is a new album and she’s on fire!

“ER” Star Maura Tierney, Courtney B. Vance Joining Tom Hanks in Broadway Debut

Roger Friedman
-
1
“ER” Star Maura Tierney, Courtney B. Vance Joining Tom Hanks in Broadway Debut

“Lucky Guy,” the play by Nora Ephron starring Tom Hanks, has gotten two big cast members– Maura Tierney from “ER” and the great Courtney B. Vance. Hanks plays the late New York reporter Mike McAlary. Tierney will be his wife, Alice, and Vance will be his New York Post editor Hap Hairston. Vance has long Broadway, movie and TV credits, lots of accolades, and he’s married to Angela Bassett.

The rest of the cast includes Hanks’s “bosom buddy” Peter Scolari, plus Peter Gerety and Richard Masur are featured. Hanks is rehearsing now with director George C. Wolfe, and previews start on March 1st. This was Ephron’s last project before her tragic death last summer. Everyone’s fingers are crossed for a success.

Exclusive: Robert DeNiro’s Video Comedy Send Up of Monty Python

Roger Friedman
-
1
Exclusive: Robert DeNiro’s Video Comedy Send Up of Monty Python

Did you know that Robert DeNiro was a big Monty Python fan? You can see a rare video that a Monty Python fan posted on YouTube in our home page video player. The video seems to be taken from the DVD of last year’s “Secret Policeman’s Ball” — a show that was performed at Radio City with a variety of all star musicians and comedians including Jon Stewart, Russell Brand, Ben Stiller, and Coldplay.

The DeNiro video was added later. It was conceived by Python expert and Amnesty producer Martin Lewis, who apparently convinced DeNiro, Whoopi Goldberg, Kyra Sedgwick and Annette O’Toole to participate in the video. It shows DeNiro as an infomercial barker hawking Python “legs.” It’s a reference to the original Secret Policeman’s Ball, which is on DVD already in the US and is quite amazing.

You don’t often see DeNiro like this–he’s a sport. The whole thing is for Amnesty International, which DeNiro supports. Also, some details that I’ve culled from the DVD release: the Pythons helped write the material, and Michael Palin and Terry Jones were involved.

More info coming. But for DeNiro fans, a little tidbit…and hope that it’s released soon in the US so we can see the whole thing…

http://www.showbiz411.com/2009/12/08/20091208sting-amnesty-bruce-springsteen

 

Seth MacFarlane First Oscar Host Since ’72 to Announce Nominees

Roger Friedman
-
3
Seth MacFarlane First Oscar Host Since ’72 to Announce Nominees

In another smart move, the Motion Picture Academy has decided that this year’s show host Seth MacFarlane will announce the nominees. MacFarlane will be joined at 8:30am Eastern, 5:30am Pacific this Thursday morning by Emma Stone, who was so good in “The Help” and “Amazing Spider Man,” among others. MacFarlane is the first host since 1972 to be awakened this early in the morning to perform these duties. That year their were four hosts– Helen Hayes, Sammy Davis, Jr., Alan King, and Jack Lemmon. (Talk about eclectic.) What’s cool is that that show, 40 years ago, was produced by Howard W. Koch, the late father of current Academy chief Hawk Koch. Nice symmetry. With any luck, MacFarlane will have stayed up all night and be ready for some fun.

Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Merchant Will Lead Fracking Protest in Albany on Wednesday

Roger Friedman
-
4
Mark Ruffalo, Natalie Merchant Will Lead Fracking Protest in Albany on Wednesday

The Incredible Hulk and the leader of 10,000 Maniacs are getting together to protest fracking. Actor Mark Ruffalo and singer Natalie Merchant are leading a group to Albany this Wednesday to register their anti-fracking feelings with Governor Andrew Cuomo.They’re planning an all out campaign to appear at Cuomo’s State of the State Address. You can read about it at www.nyagainstfracking.org.”Fracking” has become a hot button issue, especially in New York and Pennsylvania, along what’s known as the Marcellus Shale. Actors Matt Damon and John Krasinski have been drawn into the war because of their new movie, “Promised Land.” The documentary, “Gasland,” was the first to address the dangers of fracking in farm lands. My own thought, is you don’t fish in your own pond. It’s as simple as that. Both Ruffalo and Merchant live in the area, so it’s important to them.

Here’s what they say:

The New Yorkers Against Fracking coalition is calling on all New Yorkers to come to Albany for a rally to keep fracking out of our beloved state. We will take our message right to the Governor as we gather outside the annual State of the State Address, delivered by Andrew Cuomo.

We’ve never needed your voices more than now. On November 29th, the Department of Environmental Conservation took the reckless step of releasing draft rules and regulations that would sanction the process of fracking in New York State, thus setting the clock ticking on a decision-making process that, absent our intervention, could lead to permits in early 2013. Never mind that the environmental impact statement (sGEIS) that is supposed to serve as a scientific foundation of those regulations has not been released to the public. Never mind that the unfinished health “review” that is supposed to sit at the heart of the sGEIS is shrouded in secrecy. Never mind that the work of the health study is being carried out by three outside experts who are contracted for a mere 25 hours–three days–of their time. Never mind that Governor Cuomo said NO to New York’s own physicians and scientists who have demanded a transparent, comprehensive health impact assessment.

Let’s tell the Governor that everything about this process is wrong: it is backward, undemocratic, hasty, and irrational. A secret, 25-hour health review? Shockingly inadequate. An industry-influenced sGEIS? Fatally flawed. And cart-before-the-horse rulemaking? Un-fracking-believable.

Celeste Bartos, Longtime New York Philanthropist, Dies at Age 95 (Or Thereabouts)

Roger Friedman
-
0
Celeste Bartos, Longtime New York Philanthropist, Dies at Age 95 (Or Thereabouts)

I always thought Celeste Bartos was already dead. But apparently the woman whose name adorns a magnificent room at the New York Public Library, and a theater at the Museum of Modern Art, passed away on Saturday. No one mentions her age but this sort of amazing philanthropist and heiress to a huge pulp paper empire had to have been around 95. As yet there’s no official obit in the Times.

In the little biography readily available, it’s stated that she married her first husband, John Altman, in 1935. Some time later she married her second husband, Armand Bartos. He was born in 1910 and died at the end of 2005; he himself was 95.  Even though Bartos had money and was influential in the art world, it was Celeste’s fortune from her father, D. Samuel Gottesman, that propelled her. (Gottesman’s brother and his family made millions with Warren Buffet.)

But in all the years that we heard about people like philanthropist Brooke Astor or social X-ray Nan Kempner, there was nary a word about Celeste Bartos in the press. Indeed, a quick search of the New York Times archives reveals not one mention of her between her father’s death in 1956 and the naming of the Library room in 1987. Even then, there’s no mention of the person. There’s no picture of her either.

The Museum of Modern Art’s NY Times paid obit: “Celeste and her husband Armand were not only generous philanthropists, but active and passionate collectors of art. Celeste helped build MoMA’s renowned collection by giving important works of art to the Museum and by assisting with the acquisition of other pieces.” According to reports, her sons carry on her legacy.

We should all say thank you, and rest in peace, Celeste Bartos.

 

Downton Abbey Returns, Lady Grantham Mistakes Her Son for A Waiter

Roger Friedman
-
1
Downton Abbey Returns, Lady Grantham Mistakes Her Son for A Waiter

Well, if the last two hours on PBS weren’t its highest rated ever, I’d be surprised. The return of “Downton Abbey” with a two hour premiere (actually two one hour episodes back to back) was a total enjoyment. Just when the show was teetering on becoming a Monty Python sketch, in comes Shirley MacLaine to save the day.

As Martha Levinson, the mother of Cora, Lady Grantham (the great Elizabeth McGovern ), MacLaine was just right as an American on the verge of the roaring Twenties with no pretenses and lots of fun to cut through the rubbish. And MacLaine doesn’t ham it up as much as you might have expected, there’s no big duel between her and Maggie Smith. MacLaine is a smart, smart cookie. She knows she’s not going to win that fight. And this isn’t “Dynasty,” by god. MacLaine was a welcome breath of fresh air in a dusty house. And when Martha observes the age of houses like Downton is over, she’s right. Which makes what will happen in Season Three (and we kind of know where we’re going) mean that Season Four probably will be the end. That’s okay.

Anyway, Maggie Smith, the Michael Jordan of “Downton,” scored more points than any other player. I’m sorry, I’m the willing victim to all of her one liners. The best by far was saying she mistook her son, Robert (the ever patient Hugh Bonneville) for a waiter because he was wearing a regular black tie tuxedo to dinner. (They call it white tie.) Smith’s timing is so impeccable she could slice diamonds with it. And Bonneville — who may be the heart and soul of “Downton”— takes it like a man every time. One day we’ll see the outtake reels and wonder how they all soldiered on.

Mary and Matthew’s wedding was too romantic for words. Creator Julian Fellowes really struck lightning with Michelle Dockery and Dan Stevens. Dockery has literally become a professional yearner. She may be the first since the 1930s. Stevens is fine, and plays the Cary Grant role for all it’s worth. How he’ll fare post-Downton is anyone’s guess. (David Caruso, anyone?) But Mary will be okay, I really believe it. There’s something bigger for her in the world before “Downton” ends.

 

 

Golden Globes: It’s About the Food, You Know–Menu Announced

Roger Friedman
-
0
Golden Globes: It’s About the Food, You Know–Menu Announced

Just posted on the Hollywood Foreign Press Association website, the menu for next Sunday. The Golden Globes are about the food, you know. At the Oscars, there’s no food. Last year, they even stopped selling the turkey sandwich at the bar. You don’t get fed until the Governor’s Ball or, barring that, leaving the building after four or five hours. We always take Power Bars in our pockets just in case, and smelling salts.

Here’s the story right from the website:

Guests at the 70th Golden Globe Awards will dine on a menu  of Grilled Artichoke on Frisee served with Fennel Tomato Lemon Mousse, Kabocha pumpkin smoked dried tomato tart and pepper honey Goat Cheese as appetizers; a main course of Smoked Flat Iron Steak and Pacific Sea Bass; and Cappucino Mousse Cake for dessert. Beverly Hilton Executive Chef Suki Sugiura and Executive Pastry Chef Thomas Henzi have created this feast, to be enjoyed with a 2004 Grand Vintage Moet et Chandon champagne on tables adorned by red rose arrangements designed by celebrity florist Mark Held.

Feel inspired to prepare your own version of the dishes for your Golden Globe party? Check out the recipes…http://www.beverlyhilton.com/_files/pdf/Recipes-for-Press.pdf#zoom=100

The 70th Golden Globe Awards will be held on January 13 at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton, in Beverly Hills, CA.

 

1...1,9481,9491,950...2,323Page 1,949 of 2,323

Hollywood to the Hudson

Company

Trending

Categories

© Showbiz411.com