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“Spider Man” Review: “Amazing” Yes, 3D, Effects, and Strong Acting

Roger Friedman
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0
“Spider Man” Review: “Amazing” Yes, 3D, Effects, and Strong Acting

If you don’t know the basic story of “Spider Man” by now, I can’t help you. Besides the comic and TV shows, there were three Tobey Maguire movies. And a $75 million musical on Broadway. Peter Parker’s saga is better known to school kids than any serious literature. It’s right up there with Superman coming to Earth from Krypton and Bruce Wayne’s parents being killed in front of him.

“The Amazing Spider Man” is intended to reboot Sony and Marvel’s “Spider Man” franchise. They made three movies with Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire, and Kirsten Dunst. Then when a fourth one seemed too expensive, they pulled the plug and decided to start over. And quickly. It’s not so long that the Raimi trilogy was lauded. But you figure, a new generation wants its own actors and sensibilities. For example, Spider Man now uses a cell phone as a matter of course.

This time, with Marc Webb directing and Andrew Garfield starring, there’s no Mary Jane. She’s been replaced by another Spidey girlfriend, Gwen, played by Garfield’s now girlfriend, Emma Stone. Some say they are on the verge of marriage. But in pretend life, they are at odds. Her father is the police captain of New York, hunting Spider Man. They make a great couple on screen with lots of chemistry. There’s also a new villian: Rhys Ifans sort of becomes Patrick Page’s Green Goblin from Broadway. (There are a few unconscious nods to Julie Taymor in this movie.)

However:  “The Amazing Spider Man” will do a lot to help Sony’s bottom line. While the script is nowhere near as jivey or hip as the second Sam Raimi episode, the new movie relies heavily on Amazing special effects, excellent 3D, and the charisma of the cast. Sequences involving moving cranes, and an underwater tunnel, are really spectacular. “The Amazing Spider Man” works as an epic super hero movie. And there’s even a long cameo from 80s teen actor C Thomas Howell as a tossed in Easter egg. Sony may not have a hit phone or tablet, but it’s got a hit summer movie. And get this: sit through the credits and you’ll see the sequel being set up. Every Marvel movie has this now–a glimpse into the near-economic future.

Bruce Springsteen Named MusiCares Person of the Year

Roger Friedman
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1
Bruce Springsteen Named MusiCares Person of the Year

Bruce Springsteen is the new Person of the Year from MusiCares. Springsteen will be honored on February 8, 2013, two nights before the Grammy Awards. A bunch of artists he selects will perform his songs, and then Bruce and the E Street Band will put on a nine hour show to demonstrate their appreciation. (Just kidding! Only seven hours!) Springsteen follows Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Neil Diamond, Aretha Franklin, Sting, Don Henley and many other big names in this endeavor. Hopefully, he’ll choose Patti Smith, the Pointer Sisters, Manfred Mann, and others who’ve had hits with his songs. That would be a riot. And of course that country singer who has a hit called “Springsteen” would be funny, too. Some other Bruce faves may turn up as well, like Sam Moore, Darlene Love, and Garland Jeffries. It will be quite a night. MusiCares raises money to help indigent musicians and those who need health and regular bills paid. With Obamacare, things should be a little better, but the vast majority of musicians don’t have health insurance and aren’t prepared for a crisis. MusiCares is ready to help them.

Trailer: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in a Potential Oscar Film

Roger Friedman
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0

I had some misgivings, but David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” looks great in this trailer. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence co-star with Robert DeNiro and Jackie Weaver. It’s from The Weinstein Company, one of probably four films they’ll try to navigate into awards season. Originally Mark Wahlberg was going to play the lead. But he and Russell had some some kind of falling out after “The Fighter.” And so it goes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hZuoRniCdtE

Cyndi Lauper’s Broadway Musical Gets “American Idiot” Star

Roger Friedman
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0
Cyndi Lauper’s Broadway Musical Gets “American Idiot” Star

Cyndi Lauper’s Broadway musical–the movie “Kinky Boots” on stage–has gotten a cast. Stark Sands, of “American Idiot,” will co-star with Billy Porter. The whole release follows. Performances begin in Chicago this October.This show has a lot of promise. And Cyndi’s score sounds terrific.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7jcuI_0-v0

New York, NY (6/28/2012) – Producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig have announced the full cast and creative team for the World Premiere of Kinky Boots, the new musical that brings together four-time Tony® Award-winner Harvey Fierstein (Book) and Grammy® Award-winning rock icon Cyndi Lauper (Music & Lyrics).   Directed and choreographed by Tony® Award-winner Jerry Mitchell, Kinky Boots will play the Bank of America Theatre (18 West Monroe Street, Chicago, IL) beginning October 2 through November 4, 2012, in advance of a Broadway opening.

Tony® Award nominee Stark Sands (Journey’s End; American Idiot) and Billy Porter (Angels in America; Smokey Joe’s Café) lead a cast of thirty-two that also includes Annaleigh Ashford (Rent; Legally Blonde), Celina Carvajal (Spiegelworld’s Empire), Daniel Sherman (Desire Under the Elms), Marcus Neville (The Full Monty), Paul Canaan (Legally Blonde), Kevin Smith Kirkwood (How to Save the World…), Kyle Taylor Parker (In the Heights National Tour), Kyle Post (Rent), Charlie Sutton (How To Succeed…), Joey Taranto (Rock of Ages), Andy Kelso (Mamma Mia), Tory Ross (Cry-Baby), Jen Perry (Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark), Josh Caggiano (Les Miserables at the Ahmanson Theatre), Aaron Bantum (Finian’s Rainbow), Adinah Alexander (The Wedding Singer), Eric Anderson (South Pacific), Eugene Barry-Hill (The Lion King), Stephen Berger (The Pajama Game), Caroline Bowman (Wicked), Sandra DeNise (Shrek the Musical National Tour), Eric Leviton (Seussical National Tour), Ellyn Marie Marsh (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), John Jeffrey Martin (Hairspray), Nathan Peck (La Cage aux Folles), Robert Pendilla (Wicked), Lucia Spina (South Pacific), Sebastian Hedges Thomas (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Marquise Neal and Clifton Oliver (In the Heights).

The design team for Kinky Boots will include Tony Award nominee David Rockwell (Scenic Design), Tony Award-winner Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Tony Award-winner Kenneth Posner (Lighting Design), Drama Desk Award nominee John Shivers (Sound Design), Josh Marquette (Hair Design), Randy Houston Mercer (Make-up Design), Telsey + Company (Casting), with Musical Supervision, Arrangements and Orchestrations by Tony Award-winner Stephen Oremus (The Book of Mormon; Wicked).

In Kinky Boots, Charlie Price (Sands) is forced to step in and save his family’s shoe factory in Northern England following the sudden death of his father. Help comes from the unlikeliest angel, a fabulous drag performer named Lola (Porter). Together, this improbable duo revitalizes the failing business, while stepping out from their fathers’ shadows and transforming an entire community through the power of acceptance.

Inspired by a true story and based on the film, Kinky Boots features a warm and witty book by Mr. Fierstein (La Cage, Torch Song Trilogy, Newsies) and a richly diverse musical score from Ms. Lauper, in her stunning theatrical debut.   Mr. Mitchell (Hairspray, La Cage, Broadway Bares) has crafted a production bound to move, inspire and set audience’s feet dancing.

Exclusive: Sigourney Weaver Doing Durang Play This Fall Before “Avatar” Sequels

Roger Friedman
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0
Exclusive: Sigourney Weaver Doing Durang Play This Fall Before “Avatar” Sequels

Exclusive: Add Sigourney Weaver’s name to the list of movie stars heading to off or or on Broadway shortly (Alec Baldwin and Jake Gyllenhaal have been in recent announcements). I sort of reported this last week, but here it is: Weaver will star in a new play by Christopher Durang, her old collaborator. It’s called “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” It’s obviously a comedy riff on “Uncle Vanya.” and will play first at the McCarter Theater in New Jersey and then at Lincoln Center. One other actor, Billy Magnussen, from “As the World Turns” and the Whit Stillman movie “Damsels in Distress,” has been hired to play Sigourney’s much younger boyfriend.

Weaver, meanwhile, as I reported, has her USA Networks show, “Political Animals,” starting July 15th. And after “Vanya”‘s limited run, she goes off to make three “Avatar” sequels.”

Here’s the description from Durang’s website: “The play is set in the present day in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in a farm house Vanya and his step-sister Sonia have lived in all their lives.  They jointly took care of their ailing, doddering parents for many years while their movie star sister Masha was gallivanting around the world, having a life.  The play takes place on a weekend when Masha shows up with a new twenty something boy toy named Spike.

“Vanya, Masha and Sonia were named after Chekhov characters by their college professor parents.  And the play, which is a mix of comedy and drama, takes Chekhovian characters and themes, mixes them up and puts them in a blender.

“The play will be directed by Nicholas Martin, who also directed two other Durang plays, Betty’s Summer Vacation  at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, winning him a directing Obie award, and the critically acclaimed Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them  at the Public Theatre.”

Ann Curry Ousted from Today Show, In Tears

Roger Friedman
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28
Ann Curry Ousted from Today Show, In Tears

Maybe the worst moment in 50 years of the Today show: Ann Curry, in tears, explaining to the audience this morning that she’s been ousted from her role as co-anchor. Curry, who’s been scapegoated for the show’s poor ratings the last few months, explained–barely holding back tears–that she was leaving her job and getting a new role on Today and NBC as a roving reporter. She sat on the couch surrounded by Al Roker, Matt Lauer, and Natalie Morales, and apologized for being a “sob sister.”

It was just about the worst thing I’ve ever seen on Today. And that’s hard to explain considering the two crazy segments preceding–one with two very frumpy women and Al Roker picking their favorite books of the year, and another with some crazy sounding guy from “Consumer Reports” shouting at Lauer his choices of best and worst chain restaurants. Those two segments, which had nothing to do with Ann Curry, were more indicative of what’s happened to Today than anything with the departing–and extremely talented–anchor.

“This is not as I expected to leave this couch,” Curry said, in an understatement. “They’re giving me some fancy new titles.” She pointed out that the network likes to call the Today show hosts a “family.” Curry corrected that. “It’s you, the viewers, who are the Today show family. I’m sorry I couldn’t carry the ball to the finish line.” Frankly, she has nothing to apologize for. This was really an egregious way to handle Today’s ratings slide.

Now PS: Who will replace Curry? It looks like it will be Savannah Guthrie, who appeared moments later on the couch in her role as a co-host of the 9am hour. But stories that her co-host, Natalie Morales, is angry and will leave can only be partially true. Even if she’s angry, I’m told Morales has two more years on her contract and is resigned to her fate. There’s still a chance that Hoda Kodb will wind up with the job.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/47993676#47993676

John Travolta Skips New York Premiere Party for “Savages”

Roger Friedman
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0
John Travolta Skips New York Premiere Party for “Savages”

John Travolta came to the theater and took pictures, but he was a conspicuous no-show for the after party in New York for “Savages.” So was co-star Blake Lively, who came to the theater looking stunning in a dressy peach colored gown. Oh well. They missed a good party at Bagatelle, where director Oliver Stone and star Taylor Kitsch mixed with Chris Meloni. rocker Rob Thomas, actress Dana Delany, “Precious” screenwriter Geoff Fletcher, and a ton of good looking people. Stone’s first wife, Najwa Sarkis, came to the screening and the party; Stone graciously gave her a shout out during introductions.

Some other “Savages” stars couldn’t make it. Salma Hayek is filming “Grown Ups 2.” Aaron Johnson, 22, has just married his 45 year old girlfriend, British director Sam Taylor-Wood. (They have a child together.) Benicio del Toro–who knows?

But none of that matters, really. “Savages” is pretty great if you like very violent movies about the drug trade with a good dollop of sex. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the script is solid. You do care about these characters, even if they are outlaws for whom bloody encounters are a common occurrence. Stone is a smart filmmaker, so there’s no pandering. And the funny thing about “Savages” is that it grows on you. Kitsch, who’s had a tough year already with “John Carter” and “Battleship” does excellent work here. Rob and Marisol Thomas, fans of his from “Friday Night Lights,” were full of praise for him.

And what about John Travolta? In person now he looks like a grown up Eddie Munster. He’s got this dark-dyed sort of turf on his head. We all know about his other tabloidy problems. But I’ll say this for him. On screen, even in a secondary role, he’s very good. And he looks better–no hairpiece, no dye. He looks…dare I say? Normal. And he’s got a star quality. Stone told me he was terrific to work with, and did not come with his usual 40 page “perk package.”

So this is how “Savages” will go audience wise–couples can split up at the theater. The ladies can see “Magic Mike” and the guys can take in “Savages.” Something for everyone!

 

Nora Ephron’s Books Shoot into the Amazon Top 20, iBooks Charts

Roger Friedman
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1
Nora Ephron’s Books Shoot into the Amazon Top 20, iBooks Charts

At least her family will know she’s appreciated: in the last few hours, most of Nora Ephron’s books have shot into the Amazon.com top 20 after being completely off the best seller lists. “Heartburn,” “I Remember Nothing,” “I Feel Bad About My Neck,” are all in top 20 paperbacks. “Wallflower at the Orgy” is number 100. The only one lagging behind is “Crazy Salad.” Otherwise, readers are literally scooping up the entire Ephron canon like crazy. Ephron was eulogized today at the AOL/PBS lunch for their new “Makers” series honoring Gloria Steinem, Tina Brown, Katie Couric, Arianna Stassinopolous, artist Faith Ringgold and other movers and shakers among women in media, the arts, and advertising. Barbara Walters spoke eloquently about Ephron and their monthly “Harpies” lunch that also included Liz Smith and Peggy Siegal. (She also joked that J. Fred Muggs, the chimp on the Today show in the 50s, was “gay but no one could discuss it.”) A clip was shown of Ephron being interviewed for the series. “When I first started directing, there were like three female directors,” she said, proudly. “Now there are maybe 40.” PS The books are also doing very well on Barnesandnoble.com. And on iTunes/iBooks, “Heartburn” is number 32, and “I Remember Nothing” is number 35, which is sort of amazing.

Exclusive: Carly Simon On Nora Ephron: “She Would Get Inside the Head of the Character”

Roger Friedman
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1
Exclusive: Carly Simon On Nora Ephron: “She Would Get Inside the Head of the Character”

Carly Simon wrote the soundtrack to Nora Ephron’s 1989 movie, “This Is Your Life,” based on the novel by Meg Wolitzer and starring Julie Kavner. Carly had previously written the music for “Heartburn,” including the best selling, award winning “Coming Around Again.” Here’s what Carly sent me this morning after learning of Nora’s untimely death:

“Oh, it is a shock to the system. I hope I can find some of her e mails dating back to the early nineties about “This is My Life” a movie that is not given the credit it should have. She gave me lines for my song (“you’re the love of my life”) the way she had for ” coming around again”. She would get inside of the head of the character and do some channeling and I would add some rhythm and this and that. She had a gift for the specific, and could hone in on a character by giving me ( in this case the songwriter) a word like ‘souffle’ and I added the verb ‘burn’ as in ‘burn the souffle’ and it says a whole lot more than what I could have cooked up alone for Meryl’s character to be feeling through song.”

“Love of My Life”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3UNmsjoFxE

“Coming Around Again”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aopjOF0nuq4

Nora Ephron Left Clues About Dying In Her Final Book

Roger Friedman
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5
Nora Ephron Left Clues About Dying In Her Final Book

Nora Ephron left clues that she was sick or that something was wrong. No one was smart enough to notice them. In her most recent book, “I Remember Nothing,” she ends the collection of essays with two lists: What I Won’t Miss, and What I Will Miss. After the lists come the acknowledgments, which ends with “and course, my doctors.” And so this says it all, and no one thought it was peculiar. And now it means so much more. There were two reviews of this book in the New York Times in November 2010, and in neither one did the reviewer wonder why someone would leave these lists, or thank her doctors. I guess we know why now. It starts on page 132:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/06/27/exclusive-carly-simon-on-nora-ephron-she-would-get-inside-the-head-of-the-character

http://www.showbiz411.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=21609&action=edit

What I Won’t Miss

Dry skin

Bad dinners like the one we went to last night

E-mail

Technology in general

My closet

Washing my hair

Bras

Funerals

Illness everywhere

Polls that show that 32 percent of the American people believe in creationism

Polls

Fox

The collapse of the dollar

Joe Lieberman

Clarence Thomas

Bar mitzvahs

Mammograms

Dead flowers

The sound of the vacuum cleaner

Bills

E-mail. I know I already said it, but I want to emphasize it.

Small print

Panels on Women in Film

Taking off makeup every night

What I Will Miss

My kids

Nick

Spring

Fall

Waffles

The concept of waffles

Bacon

A walk in the park

The idea of a walk in the park

The park

Shakespeare in the Park

The bed

Reading in bed

Fireworks

Laughs

The view out the window

Twinkle lights

Butter

Dinner at home just the two of us

Dinner with friends

Dinner with friends in cities where none of us lives

Paris

Next year in Istanbul

Pride and Prejudice

The Christmas tree

Thanksgiving dinner

One for the table

The dogwood

Taking a bath

Coming over the bridge to Manhattan

Pie

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