What a night at the Marriott Marquis. Aretha Franklin, now dubbed “Cleopatra Franklin” for her stunning black and gold sheath and blunt cut shiny black wig, helped the Salvation Army celebrate its 65th annual holiday dinner. She also came to toast 14-Grammy award winning record producer Phil Ramone (Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Tony Bennett, etc) who was honored for the amazing work he’s done with the Salvation Army over the last two years bringing music education to school kids. Franklin performed boffo versions of “Chain of Fools” and “Respect” bracketing a sensational version of “Try to Remember” which she played on piano, solo.

Franklin was preceded on stage by superstar songwriter Valerie Simpson, who moved the crowd with Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight” and “Reach Out and Touch,” her signature hit written with late husband Nick Ashford.  Young crooner Peter Cincotti opened the night with rendering of Billy Joel’s Ray Charles tribute “My Baby Grand” and one of his original. more pop-rocky songs. Cincotti should be a bigger star. He’s terrific and the crowd loved him.

In the crowd: many members of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, who came to support Phil, as well as singer Monica Mancini (daughter of the late great Henry) and Geraldo Rivera.

What Phil has done for the Salvation Army is remarkable. He’s produced a children’s orchestra that really plays like crazy. Some of the kids spoke about how the orchestra has changed their lives. For those of us who think the S.A. is just about the holiday and ringing bell, or dropped off old clothes, we got quite an education last night. The Salvation Army took the lead when Hurricane Sandy hit, providing swift assistance to victims and survivors. They need donations now, and deserve them because the work is not done.

Check them out at http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf

Both pictures c2012 Showbiz411

The Broadcast Critics group has its ballots, and the votes are due back by the end of the day on Sunday. One of the categories is Best Action Film and there are three slots. Sadly, one action film will simply not be included. Tom Cruise in “Jack Reacher” is not being screened by Paramount before the deadline. That’s too bad– there was some positive buzz on “Reacher” despite the criticism by fans of the books that Jack Reacher is six-foot-five and Tom Cruise simply is not.

Cruise isn’t doing very much press for “Reacher” either– no morning shows, and maybe “Letterman” or “Jimmy Fallon,” where he’ll be safe from any deep questioning about his year (which wasn’t very good–see “Katie Holmes”). Indeed, the premiere for “Reacher” is in Pittsburgh, which is very nice but not exactly the media center of the world.

Paramount needn’t worry as it has “Flight,” which should be a Best Picture nominee, and the fun musical-esque “Not Fade Away” plus “Rise of the Guardians” in animation (maybe a sleeper), and the Barbra Streisand-Seth Rogen comedy “The Guilt Trip.” Also, “Paranormal Activity 4” raked in big bucks.

But no “Reacher” for the Critics Choice Awards, airing live on January 10th on the CW Network. The best action movies of 2012? “Skyfall,” “The Avengers,” “The Dark Knight Returns.” There’s a lot of action in “Django Unchained,” but I don’t think that’s what they mean. I will vote for Jamie Foxx, though, as one of the three Best Actors in an Action Film. That’s another category that Tom Cruise will be excluded from this year.

For once, the Grammy committees have gotten it just about right. Not one single nomination for the junk that Justin Bieber has foisted on the world. Five really good choices for Album of the Year from Mumford and Sons (my choice to win), Black Keys (excellent), Frank Ocean (cutting edge), Fun (stupid pop), and Jack White (real rock). Plus “Call Me Maybe” is the Song of the Year- Ken Ehrlich should make the entire audience become a flash mob at the Staples Center. And Record of the Year is “Somebody That I Used to Know.”

It’s interesting that the Best Pop Solo category– now gender free–is all women. I’m a little disappointed that One Direction’s “You Know You’re Beautiful” didn’t make Best Group Performance.  That may be taking the bubblegum backlash too far.

Best New Artists are actually five good acts. There’s no junk, Bruce Springsteen got a couple of important nods. They certainly had to nominate Bruce since he’s the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights earlier. But these nominees, plus near likely appearances by Justin Timberlake, maybe the Rolling Stones, and a few others could make this Grammy show next February one of the best in history. And no Bieber means a triumph of substance over inanity. He can stay home and work on his haircut or drive his borrowed $100,000 sports car around Beverly Hills.

Big snubs: Paul McCartney’s “Kisses on the Bottom,” John Mayer’s “Born and Raised,” Lionel Richie’s “Tuskegee,” albums by matchbox twenty, Green Day, and No Doubt. I have never heard “Adorn,” by Miguel’ but I’ll check it out right away.

Record Of The Year:
“Lonely Boy” — The Black Keys
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — Kelly Clarkson
“We Are Young” — Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used To Know” — Gotye featuring Kimbra
“Thinkin Bout You” — Frank Ocean
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — Taylor Swift

Album Of The Year:
El Camino — The Black Keys
Some Nights — Fun.
Babel — Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange — Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss — Jack White

Song Of The Year:
“The A Team” — Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)
“Adorn” — Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)
“Call Me Maybe” — Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” — Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)
“We Are Young” — Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)

Best New Artist:
Alabama Shakes
Fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean

Following is a sampling of nominations in the GRAMMY Awards’ other 29 Fields:

For Best Pop Solo Performance, the nominees are “Set Fire To The Rain (Live)” by Adele; “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” by Kelly Clarkson; “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen; “Wide Awake” by Katy Perry; and “Where Have You Been” by Rihanna.

The nominees for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance are “Shake It Out” by Florence & The Machine; “We Are Young” by Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe; “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye featuring Kimbra; “Sexy And I Know It” by LMFAO; and “Payphone” by Maroon 5 & Wiz Khalifa.

For Best Dance/Electronica Album, the nominees are Wonderland by Steve Aoki; Don’t Think by the Chemical Brothers; > Album Title Goes Here < by Deadmau5; Fire & Ice by Kaskade; and Bangarang by Skrillex.

The nominees for Best Rock Performance are “Hold On” by Alabama Shakes; “Lonely Boy” by the Black Keys; “Charlie Brown” by Coldplay; “I Will Wait” by Mumford & Sons; and “We Take Care Of Our Own” by Bruce Springsteen.

For Best Alternative Music Album, the nominees are The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do by Fiona Apple; Biophilia by Björk; Making Mirrors by Gotye; Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. by M83; and Bad As Me by Tom Waits. 

The nominees for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration are “Wild Ones” by Flo Rida featuring Sia; “No Church In The Wild” by Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream; “Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” by John Legend featuring Ludacris; “Cherry Wine” by Nas featuring Amy Winehouse; and “Talk That Talk” by Rihanna featuring Jay-Z.

For Best Country Album, the nominees are Uncaged by Zac Brown Band; Hunter Hayes by Hunter Hayes; Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran by Jamey Johnson; Four The Record by Miranda Lambert; and The Time Jumpers by the Time Jumpers.

The nominees for Best Americana Album are The Carpenter by the Avett Brothers; From The Ground Up by John Fullbright; The Lumineers by the Lumineers; Babel by Mumford & Sons; and Slipstream by Bonnie Raitt.

This year’s Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical nominations go to Dan Auerbach, Jeff Bhasker, Diplo, Markus Dravs, and Salaam Remi.

The National Board of Review, er, fans, named Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” Best Picture just now. They follow the New York Film Critics Circle even though the NBR are not reviewers but fans who pay $700 a year membership to watch movies. It took hundreds of thousands of dollars for the NBR to reach the same conclusion as the NYFF– and they did it for nothing.

Today I spoke to several older members who told me they’d recently been forced out of the NBR based on age and perceived disabilities by the group’s leader, Annie Schulhof. One member told me Schulhof said she couldn’t come to screenings on a walker because of “liability from the studios.” I am awaiting comment from Schulhof.

The group made some strange choices, as usual. “Compliance” is a movie only the NBR has seen. To give Ann Dowd Best Supporting Actress, the NBR had to skip over Sally Field, Anne Hathaway, Amy Adams, Jacki Weaver, Jennifer Ehle, at least, to find someone obscure and who will not be nominated for an Oscar.

“Looper” was Best Original Screenplay? What? But everyone gets something because the NBR charges the studios $13,000 per table to attend their gala in January. Plus members pay around $600 a ticket to attend. Hilarious. Everyone gets their picture taken with a star. The big surprise is so many wins for The Weinstein Company. Schulhof, according to my sources, had been keeping them out the last few years. But the prospect of Leonardo DiCaprio and Bradley Cooper at the dinner must have made Schulhof delirious.

Cut out this year: the Warner Bros. crowd, where Schulhof has always had a soft spot, no Clooney or Eastwood as I predicted back in October. Maybe the column I wrote scared them away. But a couple of wins for “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” directed by Benh Zeitlin, a graduate of Wesleyan. NBR board member Janine Basinger, who runs the film department at Wesleyan, is said to have been one of his instructors. She must be very proud.

PS Ann Dowd, who won Best Supporting Actress for “Compliance,” had her Wikipedia updated 18 minutes after the announcement was sent out. Wow.

Best Film: ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, ZERO DARK THIRTY

Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, DJANGO UNCHAINED

Best Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd, COMPLIANCE

Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson, LOOPER

Best Adapted Screenplay: David O. Russell, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Best Animated Feature: WRECK-IT RALPH

Special Achievement in Filmmaking: Ben Affleck, ARGO

Breakthrough Actor: Tom Holland, THE IMPOSSIBLE
Breakthrough Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Best Directorial Debut: Benh Zeitlin, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Best Foreign Language Film: AMOUR

Best Documentary: SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN

William K. Everson Film History Award: 50 YEARS OF BOND FILMS

Best Ensemble: LES MISÉRABLES

Spotlight Award: John Goodman (ARGO, FLIGHT, PARANORMAN, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE)

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: CENTRAL PARK FIVE

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: PROMISED LAND

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)

ARGO

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

DJANGO UNCHAINED

LES MISÉRABLES

LINCOLN

LOOPER

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

PROMISED LAND

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Top 5 Foreign Language Films

(In Alphabetical Order)

BARBARA

THE INTOUCHABLES

THE KID WITH A BIKE

NO

WAR WITCH

Top 5 Documentaries

(In Alphabetical Order)

AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY

DETROPIA

THE GATEKEEPERS

THE INVISIBLE WAR

ONLY THE YOUNG

Top 10 Independent Films

(In Alphabetical Order)

ARBITRAGE

BERNIE

COMPLIANCE

END OF WATCH

HELLO I MUST BE GOING

LITTLE BIRDS

MOONRISE KINGDOM

ON THE ROAD

QUARTET

SLEEPWALK WITH ME

Dave Brubeck passed away today. He was 91. The great jazz legend, a regular at Elaine’s whom I got to meet a few times, was most famous for his recording of “Take Five,” written by Paul Desmond. But he had hundreds of his own compositions, and was probably as influential as Miles Davis, John Coltrane or a half dozen other jazz pioneers. A lovely guy, a great life, and an amazing legacy. RIP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faJE92phKzI

Well, now, we’ve seen Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” Technically, there’s a reviewing embargo until something like December 15th. So I can’t review it or tell you much about it except that it’s a kind of soul food spaghetti Western with a mad dash of Mel Brooks. Without getting into too much detail, though, it’s time to fit “Django” into the big Academy Award jigsaw puzzle. Today we’re going to have voting from the mostly irrelevant National Board of Review followed by the Los Angeles Film Critics. Other cities’ critics groups are going to start announcing their awards, followed by the Golden Globe nominations on the 13th. The Oscar nominations won’t be announced until January 10th. But everyone wants to know what to do, who goes into what category, etc.

So far the Best Picture category–10 choices– would be — in no particular order– Argo, Silver Linings Playbook. Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The Master, and then choices among Amour, Rust & Bone, The Sessions, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Skyfall, and now Django. There’s no question that Django could be among the top 10. And Tarantino must be considered as Best Director. Whether you like his oeuvre or not, there’s a masterful and mature quality now to what he’s doing. Plus, his Q&A last night before several groups really demonstrated his overall brilliant comprehension of filmmaking. He’s somehow become more fascinating than ever. With Spielberg, Affleck Russell, Hooper and Bigelow, Paul Thomas Anderson ahead of him, Tarantino is not going to be out of the discussion.

The actors: I know there’s a push for Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Supporting Actor. This is not out of the question. DiCaprio is also full of surprises, and underrated too often. Go back and watch Blood Diamonds or J. Edgar or The Aviator. He is the rare combination of a movie star and an actor. As he gets older, he’s going to function more and more as a character actor, a la Jack Nicholson.

Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz are superb in “Django.” They function as a team as much as Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman in “The Master.” They have a special magic. I don’t know what to do with them. The lead actor category is very full already– Phoenix, Daniel Day Lewis, Denzel Washington, John Hawkes, Hugh Jackman. Who do you take out? Who do you put in? It’s a killer. Foxx’s character, as you’ll see in the film, has the biggest arc and grows the most. Waltz, however, is sparkling. When Tarantino found him, he must have thanked his lucky stars.

One thing’s for sure: there is great music in “Django.” I think their song nominee is “Who Did That to You?” by John Legend, written with Paul Epworth. That, plus “Suddenly” from “Les Miz” and the five songs listed on our front page poll, gives us at least seven terrific songs this season. A bumper crop, to be sure.

It was one of the most moving and heartfelt salutes I’ve been to ever: a memorial for the greatest press agent/publicist of them all, Lois Smith. After the event that was held last month in L.A. I didn’t think we could do better. But Leslee Dart put it together, and Rosie O’Donnell hosted it at the 92nd St. Y in a bright red jacket to toast our pal Lois, famous for the red coat and the red lipstick.

Meryl Streep spoke, Mandy Patinkin spoke, and sang from “Sunday in the Park with George”; Lois’s actress daughter Brooke and her publicist granddaughter Brianna (both chips off the old block) reminisced, fighting back tears; Peter Travers or Rolling Stone represented the press and did a great job, making me recall our good old days at the original Russian Tea Room. Robert Redford’s name was invoked a lot was Robert Altman’s.

Some of the stars who showed up included Bill Murray, Joel Coen and Frances McDormand, John Slattery and Talia Balsam, author Hannah Pakula (her late great husband Alan was Lois’s friend and client), and Terry McDonell. Everyone had a good laugh and a good cry. Rosie O’Donnell kept it moving and was very funny to distract the crowd with a running riff on Clare Danes in “Homeland” thanks to Mandy– who by the way wouldn’t tell anyone anything about the show. And Slattery refused to tell us anything about “Mad Men.”

What did we learn? That Lois called anyone “ducks” whose name she couldn’t remember. She was everyone’s Earth mother, she loved her family and she brought civility to a raucous world. And when the internet introduced chaos into the world of celebrity, she left.

“She had this idea that we could have personal lives,” Streep observed. And by the way, Meryl looked really stunning, very slim, and fashionable, just like a movie star. Then she stayed and gabbed with everyone, and had a nice long chat with McDormand during the small reception.

Lois, you were loved. I am so proud that I knew you and learned from you. Now you and Marilyn Monroe and Altman and Sidney Lumet and our old friend John Springer are having a great time, I know it.

Keep refreshing for more details….

Earl Shuman called me yesterday. Who is Earl Shuman? He wrote the lyrics to “Hey There Lonely Girl,” the classic hit from 1970 sung by Eddie Holman and still heard daily on oldies stations all over the world. Earl is 89 years old and very much alive and with it. He lives right here in Manhattan. And he’s unamused that Alicia Keys is singing two lines from the chorus of his song in the middle of “Girl on Fire,” her new hit. Don’t get him wrong: he likes “Girl on Fire.” He just wants to be paid for use of his song, along with the estate of his late collaborator Leon Carr.

Shuman is still writing music and very active. He’s working on a song right now with Michael Feinstein, in fact. But he’s best known for “Hey There Lonely Girl” plus, he said, many movie themes, and hit songs by the legendary Patti Page from the 1950s. He has 317 credits on the ASCAP data base. He liked the word ‘lonely.’ In 1953, one of his first big big hits was “Seven Lonely Days” by Georgia Gibbs, the Taylor Swift of her day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcNU2Dr5c5M

Shuman and Carr also wrote the 1964 off Broadway musical of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” a little gem that should be revived.

Earl told me that this has happened before with “Hey There Lonely Girl.” Both Anita Baker and the Beastie Boys helped themselves to a portion of the song. In the end, they paid. “We worked it out, got credit,” he said. Why Alicia Keys, who helps herself to samples from the buffet of the musical canon often, didn’t just clear the rights to “Hey There Lonely Girl” instead of, uh, appropriating it, is anyone’s guess. But rest assured, Earl Shuman has a good lawyer, and he’s on the case.

Earlier story:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/11/25/alicia-keys-girl-on-fire-also-a-lonely-girl-from-1970