Exclusive: Jon Hamm has proved himself so adept at comedy on “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live” that it’s about to pay off in movies. I’m told that Hamm is about to sign on to play Larry David’s nemesis in the still being worked out improv film David is set to shoot this fall. The film, without a title, will star David as a Larry David like character–but with a different name. He’ll get into the same kind of situations as Larry David on “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Greg Mottola is directing, and the “script-ment”–a script-slash-treatment–is being worked up by David and his “Curb” and “Seinfeld” writers. Fox Searchlight will distribute. All of this is still in the planning stages, which means it will be some time before we see another season of “Curb” on HBO. But Don Draper as Larry’s sparring partner could be very funny. Hamm’s recent turn on the live version of “30 Rock” showed that he’s capable of a lot more than smoking and brooding.
HBO Debuts Aaron Sorkin’s “Newsroom” With No Nudity or Four Letter Words
There was a time when HBO could be counted on for two things: gratuitous nudity and foul language. Think of Samantha in “Sex and the City” or the girls at the Bada Bing in “The Sopranos.” On Sunday, the cable network which can do whatever it wants–it’s cable–will debut Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom.” Someone may say ‘shit’ but I don’t recall it. And Sorkin himself says there is no nudity, no sex. The show follows “True Blood” on Sundays, a show which has plenty of sex for everyone. But the main thing about “The Newsroom,” which we saw tonight with a media-heavy audience, is that it’s the kind of well written, acted, directed, produced show NBC used to put on at 10pm on Thursdays.
Indeed, “The Newsroom” is the updated version of “Lou Grant” meets “Broadcast News.” Jeff Daniels stars as the host of an 8pm cable news show; both he and the show have become tired. Sam Waterston — awakened from 50 years on “Law & Order”–is his boss, head of the news division. There’s a great younger cast — Emily Mortimer, Tom Sadoski, Alison Pill, John Gallagher Jr., Dev Patel–to mix things up with. Mortimer, in fact, is the yin to Daniels’ yang, and may wind up being the central nervous system of the show thanks to her role as producer of the fictional “NewsNight.”
Every episode of “The Newsroom” will revolve around stories that have recently been in the news, and how the “NewsNight” folks deal with them. Whether a liberal bias will creep into the storytelling is unknown yet from the pilot–we shall see. So far, everyone’s on equal footing, but I am told that in coming weeks the Tea Party becomes part of the story. And Jane Fonda joins the cast for two episodes as the conservative billionaire owner of the network.
But in the end “The Newsroom” is going to be like catnip for HBO subscribers. And it’s ready made for awards — Golden Globes, Emmys, all of it. Watching “Newsroom” take off will be a pleasure, and a relief to HBO, which has had had trouble launching dramas lately.
Last night’s audience will have been the harshest critics–people from CBS, ABC, and NBC, CNN, MSNBC were all there–from George Stephanopolous to Bryant Gumbel to Regis Philbin to Charlie Rose and even New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. Quite the star studded group poured from the screening room into the Porter House restaurant in the Time Warner Center to congratulate Sorkin and his cast. And yes, they loved it.
Box Office Shock: Tom Cruise “Rock of Ages” Number Was Only $14.4 Mil
This is a shock: boxofficemojo.com is reporting that Tom Cruise’s “Rock of Ages” took in much less than thought. The original number was set at $15,060,000. But the real number is $14,437,269 million, considerably less than the already embarrassing total. On the contrary, Adam Sandler’s awful “That’s My Boy” did slightly better than thought. Instead of $13 million, Sandler came in at $13.5 million–a little better at least. Both of these movies are flops, however. But just the idea that Cruise couldn’t cross that $15 million line is a little frightening. It means audiences really rejected the whole idea of him prancing around like Axl Rose or Brett Michaels. Cruise spends $14 million like it was pocket change. “Rock of Ages” certainly cost $100 million all-in. Warner Bros. is going to have put this some accounting ledger where no one notices what happened.
Happy Birthday Paul McCartney — Top Lists and Winners
Paul McCartney turns 70 day. Happy Birthday, Paul! We got a lot of top 10 lists. They weren’t easy, were they? So many songs! And everyone had great choices. I had to pick three winners: Michael Kearny, Shelley Goldstein, and Tony Wright. Please send your snail mail addresses to roger@showbiz411.com. Thanks to everyone, and happy birthday, Paul! Thanks to Concord Records’ Joel Amsterdam for providing the “Ram” CDs.
Michael Kearney
Hi Roger…I don’t know what form your McCartney birthday celebration will take but I couldn’t leave my list of oddities without some comment so this is quite a read but hopefully an interesting one for you and/or your readers.
I guess I really want that ‘RAM’ ;-)
Hope you enjoy.
Mike
SOILY (1976, Wings Over America)
B-side to the live version of ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ and the standard encore during Wings’ world tour of the mid-70’s, this track never actually made it onto a studio album before appearing on the chart-topping triple live album ‘Wings Over America. It’s probably best not to bother with the lyric which is pure nonsense but ‘Soily’ was purposefully designed as a live barnstormer as early as 1974 when it was featured during rehearsals shown in the unreleased but widely-bootlegged ‘One Hand Clapping’ Wings documentary. Noted widely noted is that its big soul-band horns-riff would make it uncredited into The Detroit Spinners’ ‘Rubber Band Man’ later in the same year.
MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT (Ram, 1971)
While Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ later the same year contains notorious responses to tracks on ‘Ram’, few have noted that the latter is actually McCartney’s response to Lennon’s ‘primal scream’ album of the previous year, ‘Plastic Ono Band’. Except that, being Paul, when he lets it all hang out, it comes in an Alfred Jarry confection of voices and characters, as is the wont of McCartney’s essentially surrealist soul. But there’s no doubt that he’s screaming in pain here all the same and I’ve always heard this track with its ‘Catch up Super-Fury’, amongst other sneaky ‘mis-heard lyrics’ as the one that properly put a firework up Lennon’s ass. A truly unique and idiosyncratic mess of a masterpiece.
FOOTPRINTS (Press to Play, 1986)
Another quirky backwater gem that can properly be defined as an 80’s form psychedelia, this is another of McCartney’s ‘novels-in-song’, albeit one that can readily be read as a self-reflection, perhaps even a paean to a certain old fiancee (female). Notable in this respect is that the published lyric does not reflect the record which rather than ‘All that used to be’ actually, several times, bears the line ‘Paul that used to be’. Elsewhere there’s lament over ‘paths he didn’t take’ and ‘moves he didn’t make’. Sublimely beautiful and from an album that’s criminally underrated even by the man himself.
THIS ONE (Flowers in the Dirt, 1989)
The second single from McCartney’s last-minute return to the 80’s summons a 60’s spirit much more effectively than its first single ‘My Brave Face’ had contrived to. An irresistible McCartney melody wrapped up in a pun characteristic of The Beatles, it’s easy to imagine this as a record George, Ringo and John would happily have signed off as a group effort. Another occasion where words, music and spirit gel in the way only Paul can cause them to, this is a very underrated masterpiece that’s also a bittersweet paean to Lennon.
CALL ME BACK AGAIN (Wings Over America, 1977)
Among other things, Wings Over America is the live document of McCartney’s horns-augmented late-70’s ‘soul’ period, reflected in contemporary interest shown to his catalogue by artists like Earth Wind and Fire and Billy Paul. On this live cut of a track from 1975’s New Orleans-recorded ‘Venus and Mars’, Paul fully realises the soulful capacity hinted at on tracks like ‘Got to Get You Into My Life’, ‘Hey Jude’ and ‘Oh Darling’. A killer blues vocal, amid deep horns, mad crescendos and the full gospel works that one critic described as “a wild-eyed wail of a vocal that is a perfect blend of soulful grit and rock energy.” A shame that he didn’t continue to mine this vein but then again he fairly kills it in one here.
DON’T LET IT BRING YOU DOWN (London Town, 1978)
Having hit a commercial peak he wasn’t expecting with ‘Mull of Kintyre’, Wings’ next album ‘London Town’, suffered the backlash in the UK, despite spinning off another US Number One in ‘With A Little Luck’. Missed amongst its grooves by the detractors is this Celtic gem, downbeat but hopeful and featuring flageolets and rare and delicious extended lead guitar work by the man himself.
JENNY WREN (Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, 2005)
A Dickens-inspired sequel to The White Album’s ‘Blackbird’, this grabs most of the latter’s thematic power and adds an Armenian wood-instrument, the Dubuk, for a solo. Added to the deliberate difficulties McCartney sets up for his otherwise sweet melody is an odd guitar tuning that requires an altogether new style of high vocal from McCartney. The the result is another innovation that rightly earned him a Grammy nomination. One of his latter-day best and later sampled by Amanda Diva on her track ‘Brown Girl’.
AND I LOVE HER (Unplugged, 1991)
When McCartney and his 90’s band decided to revive the acoustic set which had featured in mid-70’s Wings’ tours, they looked to an MTV invitation as the venue. The resulting’ show and album in 1991, inadvertently ushered in a whole new spate of ‘MTV Unplugged’ performances from practically everybody. This fresh arrangement of the Beatles’ standard is an exemplary demonstration of the ‘Unplugged’ idea and stands up alongside the original, complete with a beautiful harmony between McCartney and former Average White Band vocalist, Hamish Stuart.
ARROW THROUGH ME (Back to the Egg, 1979)
The third single in America off the final, underrated Wings album ‘Back to the Egg’ sees one of McCartney’s quirkiest and original constructions, an avant-garde jazz-pop confection with the unusual pairing of one of his upbeat voices with an uncharacteristically bitter and downbeat lyric.
Recently celebrated by a number of R&B artists including Eryka Badu who, via Twitter and at the last minute, famously managed to clear a sample of it with McCartney for her ‘Return of the Ankh’ album.
ALL YOU HORSE RIDERS (McCartney II, Archive Edition, 2011)
A backwater reject from the original McCartney II album which enjoyed, as a bootleg, an impressive ride of Myspace attention late last decade, this is whimsy at its most career-lacerating. Going full-tilt in the direction of ‘terrible’, McCartney utterly wigs out and scores a (s)hit that can take a seat amongst the extremes of indie post-punk art-house. The track that absolutely nobody, McCartney fan included, can identify as being him on first hearing, this is is so knowingly bad it’s utterly brilliant.
Robert boaby
Happy Birthday to the greatest of them all.
at this moment in time my fav 10 are.
1. Monkberry Moon Delight
2. listen to what the man Said
3. Oh Darling
4. 1985
5. Beautiful Night
6. The Long and Winding Road
7. Juniors Farm
8. No More Lonely Nights
9. Hey Jude
10. C’Mon People
M Rosin
Here is my list of Paul’s 10 best solo songs:
1. Maybe I’m Amazed
2. Every Night
3. Junk
4. Friends to Go
5. This Never Happened Before
6. My Valentine
7. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
8. Monkberry Moon Delight
9. This One
10. Temporary Secretary.
Jessica Veljanovski
Birthday Greetings:
Happy Birthday Paul! Wishing you happiness:) Thank you for always being an inspiration! I am a young fan and I would just like to thank you for making an impact in the world from the time of 60’s to today, in my life. Your music never gets old. Much love:)
My top ten favourite Paul McCartney songs: (Sorry, I have only become a fan recently over the past few months, so my knowledge of his songs is a bit limited, so far I have managed to buy 3 albums, which I love!):
1) Blackbird
2) Eleanor Rigby
3) Please Please Me
4) It won’t be long
5) Misery
6) Let it Be
7) Can’t Buy Me Love
8) Yesterday
9) Hey Jude
10) I Saw Her Standing There
Thank you:)
Jerry Lembo
Dear Roger,
Happy 70th Birthday to Sir James Paul McCartney!
Ten of my favorites (in alphabetical order):
1. Blackbird
2. Can’t Buy Me Love
3. Eleanor Rigby
4. Here, There, and Everywhere
5. Hey Jude
6. Lady Madonna
7. Let It Be
8. Penny Lane
9. The Long and Winding Road
10. Yesterday
All the best,
Jerry Lembo
Tony Wright
Hey Roger, here’s my entry:
1. Eleanor Rigby
2. Yesterday
3. Maybe I’m Amazed
4. Let It Be
5. Penny Lane
6. Back In the USSR
7. Helter Skelter
8. Here Today
9. Fine Line
10. Vintage Clothes
Do you know if he’s working on anything to follow Kisses On The Bottom yet?
Thanks,
Tony.
DM
1.Fixing a Hole
2.Too Many People
3.Medicine Jar
4.I’m Looking Through You
5.Get Back
6.Birthday
7.Vanilla Sky
8.You Never Give Me Your Money
9.Blackbird
10.Monkberry Moon Delight
ineimanis
Happy Birthday Paul! You’re still FAB at 70! Thanks for all the great tunes!
My top ten Paul songs (how can I only pick 10??)
1. Hey Jude
2. Here, There and Everywhere
3. Maybe I’m Amazed
4. Get Back
5. Eleanor Rigby
6. Band on the Run
7. Golden Slumbers
8. And I Love Her
9. Things We Said Today
10. For No One
Honorable mentions: Mother Nature’s Son, Jet, My Love
-Ingrid Neimanis
Shelly Goldstein
Love your column, Roger. Always have.
Best,
Shelly Goldstein
1) Penny Lane
2) Another Day
3) Here There & Everywhere (I lost it to that one!)
4) Got to Get You Into My Life
5) Fixing a Hole
6) I’m Looking Through You
7) Its Getting Better
8) Good Day Sunshine
9) Things We Said Today
10) Blackbird
(runners-up)
I Will,
Can’t Buy Me Love
& Calico Skies
Tom Hebbeln
My Fav top 10 Paul songs:
Let It Be
Yesterday
My Valentine
Eleanor Rigby
The Long And Winding Road
Another Day
Pipes Of Peace
Footprints
I Saw Her Standing There
Only Love Remains
Love ya Paul!
Tom Roylee McPeely Hebbeln
Davenport, Ia
Nathan Gedge
Happy Birthday Sir Paul. Best wishes on your 70th. You’ve been a major influence in my life, so much that three of my children are named for you: Taylor James; Abbey Kay and Stockton Paul
Any my Top 10:
1. Band on the Run
2. Let It Be
3. Venus and Mars/Rock Show
4. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
5. Beautiful Night
6. A Love for You
7. Live and Let Die
8. Maybe I’m Amazed
9. Yesterday
10. Abbey Road medley: She Came in Through the Bathroom Window/Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End
Mike Conner
Happy Bday to greatest songwriters of their generation (on my list anyway) Paul (18th) & Brian Wilson (20th).
My top 10 McCartney list
1. Eleanor Rigby
2. Hey Jude
3. Let It Be
4. Maybe I’m Amazed
5. My Love
6. Blackbird
7. Arrow Through Me
8. Come On People
9. Fool on the Hill
10. Let ‘Em In
Nick
njhunter@hotmail.com
125.239.116.36
Submitted on 2012/06/16 at 12:36 am
Happy birthday Paul, the world is a better place thanks to inspirational people such as yourself.
Although very difficult to knock down from a top 30, my top 10 in no particular order outside of age:
P.S. I Love You
And I Love Her
Things We Said Today
Hey Jude
Let It Be
Another Day
Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey
Silly Love Songs
Waterfalls
This One
Natasha Polak
Paul has been and always will be my musical inspiration! Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!! You still can rock!
My favorite 10 songs are:
1. My Love
2. Band on the Run
3. My Brave Face
4. Figure of Eight
5. Jet
6. Picasso’s Last Words
7. Maybe I’m Amazed
8. Hope of Deliverance
9. Come and Get It
10. Sing the Changes
StMike
in no particular order, ’cause my brain doesn’t work in order…
1. My Valentine, which is wonderful.
2. Let Me Roll It
3. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4. Really Love You
5. Helter Skelter
6. Back in the USSR
7. Penny Lane
8. Rocky Raccoon
9. Hello Goodbye
10. The Long and Winding Road
angela
1.Hey Jude
2.Elenor Rigby
3.Let it be
4. Yesterday
5. Penny Lane
6. Dear boy
7.Mull of Kyntre
8. Mr Bellamy
9. I´m looking through you
10. For no one
Woody Allen’s Kid Is Not the Genius We Thought He Was
Woody Allen’s only biological child, known as Ronan Farrow, is supposed to be a genius. At 24, he’s already graduated from law school and works for the government in a high capacity. But his mother, Mia Farrow, has so successfully brainwashed him against his father that the kid’s smarts are in question. Yesterday he tweeted “Happy Father’s Day– or as they call it in my family, brother-in-law’s day.” Mia Farrow then re-tweeted the word “Boom.” I don’t know how Farrow can be proud of herself. She was hurt when Woody left with her adopted daughter, Soon Yi, in 1992.
But Soon Yi was not Woody’s adopted daughter. And no matter how wrong it was, or how much pain Farrow felt, she can’t deny the obvious: Allen and Soon Yi have been together for 20 years. They have two of their own children. Before the 1992 scandal and since, there’s never been any indication of anything untoward in Allen’s life. He’s lived quietly, made his movies, and had quite a bit of success. This must drive Farrow crazy. The fact that in the last year Woody had his most successful movie ever, “Midnight in Paris,” must have sent her around the bend. Now, a few days before Allen opens “To Rome with Love,” Farrow has forced her genius son to gain notoriety by sending out this Tweet.
If Ronan Farrow is such a genius, he’d better wake up and realize what his mother his doing to him. Or has done to him. Same for the children Woody adopted with Farrow. This kind of ugliness can only backfire on her. Ronan Farrow is supposed to be a Rhodes scholar. But he’s lacking common sense. At 24, he should be reaching out to Woody to get the real story. And not letting this embittered woman manipulate him. It’s tragic.
Cruise, Sandler Bomb: The Eighties May Be Over At Last
Tom Cruise and Adam Sandler had the worst opening weekends ever for any of their stand alone movies. It’s 2012. The 1980s may finally be over. For years Sandler has cruised on the same formula movie of a manchild who can’t or won’t grow up. Usually he’s oversized baby who speaks in funny voices and does stuff that’s borderline mentally handicapped. If there was any thought to any of it, it’s long gone. And into every one of these films was stuffed some sort of lesson or moral tale that proved Sandler’s character knew more than he was letting on. But with “That’s My Boy” he even tried to destroy Andy Samberg before his own career could get out of the gate. Samberg is 100 times hipper and smarter. He will escape Sandler’s clutches. But with $13 million for the entire first weekend, Sandler would be smart now to just play some golf and make occasional appearances. He’s landed right in Eddie Murphy country.
For Cruise, the stakes are higher. His “Rock of Ages” disaster comes at the end of a succession of oddities. While “Mission Impossible” only serves him well, “regular’ movies are a problem. Now the marketing geniuses will have to start planning his Christmas release, “Reacher,” a thriller that’s supposed to be the first of many in a new series. There are already complaints that the Jack Reacher from the book it’s based on is six foot five, and unlike Cruise in every way physically. “Rock of Ages” is going to have a long lasting effect as a bomb, so Paramount has a job on its hands to separate Cruise’s improbable 80s rock star from their holiday tentpole. But with lack of interest in Cruise, and the 80s music from “Rock of Ages,” it’s possible that finally the 1980s are over. Maybe a “Top Gun 2” isn’t such a good idea after all.
Rielle Hunter Hated Elizabeth Edwards Even Though She was Dying
Rielle Hunter’s hatred of Elizabeth Edwards is going to come out now, according to reports about Hunter’s book, “What Really Happened.” I told you about this a few weeks ago. Despite the fact that Elizabeth was dying of cancer, Hunter was out to “kill” her faster. She had no respect for the woman the rest of the country idolized. Every time Elizabeth reacted badly to Hunter’s movements, Hunter–not exactly full of grace– was ready for a put down.
Back in 2008-2009, I was in regular contact with Hunter’s close associate. These people did not care one iota that Elizabeth Edwards was sick and dying. Or that she was married. Here are just two emails I received:
May 5, 2009
Stand down, my friend. Now is not the time for ri to speak. There are some other things at play right now. But it will give EE some time to spread some more lies, making it all the more interesting when [Rielle] finally talks. Looking forward to watching her hang herself…
September 18, 2009
Rielle told me she [Elizabeth] was out speaking again. What the hell for? What is she speaking about and who the hell cares??
Did you ever follow up with those people she fired? I bet andrew young would talk off the record about what a freak job she is…
During my many conversations with Hunter’s friends, one thing stood out: she didn’t care about Elizabeth Edwards. The fact that she was dying was an inconvenience. Elizabeth Edwards, to her credit, defended herself by turning out a book called “Resilience” in her dying days. This only infuriated Hunter more. What’s loony and sad is, that no matter how old Bunny Mellon was, it shows what her character was that apparently she didn’t care what happened to Elizabeth Edwards either. I don’t care if you’re 20, 30, 90, or 100. That’s just cruel.
Who will finish off John Edwards first? The mistress who says she was lied to, or the network that was lied to. It’s a race this week as ABC News prepares a 20/20 interview for Friday with Rielle Hunter. No traditional book publisher would take her memoir/expose, but a regular news org is happy to let her say what she wants. ABC News is going to let Hunter hang herself on her own petard, and destroy what’s left of John Edwards. And why not? Edwards baldly lied to Bob Woodruff in 2008 about his affair with Hunter and fathering her baby. ABC News has a realistic grudge. Chris Cuomo can have a ball with this one.
Annette Bening Breaks Foot, Misses Hubby Warren Beatty Host Beverly Hills Hotel 100th Anniversary
LEAH SYDNEY reports from last night’s 100th anniversary of The Beverly Hills Hotel party, held to raise money for the Motion Picture Fund. Leave it to Leah: she asked host Warren Beatty why his beautiful and talented wife Annette Bening was AWOL. Warren said: “Annette broke her foot, so she couldn’t come here tonight.”
How did she do it? Beatty replied: “She doesn’t quite know, but she has a cast on it. She’s had it for a few days, She’s fine, but she can’t stand for a long time.” Warren is a sport for putting up with our questions. He hates interviews! Warren then told the crowd: “It’s almost impossible to imagine a history of Hollywood without imagining the things that may or may not have occurred in this hotel. If only these wall could talk. I want to personally thank these walls for not saying anything.” Warren then went on to thank, “my friend the Polo Lounge and the indefatigable general manager Ed Mady.”
Beatty did not want to discuss his long in the planning movie about Howard Hughes. “I don’t talk about movies,” he said. “Ask me something else. “
How does he feel about the current political situation?
Warren: “Asking me that question would be like asking a hemophiliac for a pint of blood.”
What he does he love about the hotel and the MPTF?
“I love this hotel. And I love the MPTF. It’s been around for a long time, and the significance of it is important to Hollywood.”
Why is philanthropy so important to him?
“It’s fun, and I enjoy it. As long as I don’t have to do a red carpet.
Beatty’s co-hosts were Jeffrey Katzenberg and Brett Ratner. Katzenberg quipped to the crowd as he was introducing his pal Warren, “There are few people who are more important, more successful and contributed more to Hollywood than Warren. For many, many, many decades he has exhibited greatness, talent, class and charm to which women and men can’t resist. I assure you that no one, no one, no one knows more about this hotel than Warren.” To which Warren chimed in, “Jeffrey, you couldn’t just say a few decades?”
Guests then went downstairs to see a Chuck Workman film about the Hotel’s history, with a cameo by Clive Davis who said, “This hotel is like my second home. They know I like my coleslaw with raisins.”
Brett Ratner then introduced Mary J. Blige who rocked the A list crowd that included Cat Deeley, writer/biographer A. Scott Berg, producer Kevin McCormick, vivacious actress Brenda Vaccaro, songwriter Diane Warren, new re-elected PGA head Hawk Koch, producer/director Irwin Winkler, actresses Joely Fisher and Donna Mills.
Robert S. Anderson, the bon vivant author of “The Beverly Hills Hotel-The First 100 Years,” which was on display at this glittering event summed up the evening: “I’m fourth generation of Beverly Hills. My great grandmother used to own this hotel, my grandfather was the manager. The reason why this hotel is so famous worldwide is the beauty of it, the hotel, how it sits on a knoll above the city and the gardens that surround it. It’s a luxurious hotel, the service is impeccable and the food is fabulous. It took me ten years to get this book together. I’m a little bit of everything; I was the Beverly Hills Commissioner, a real estate developer and now an author. Everybody who has done a major deal, actors,talent, executives has done some part of it here. This hotel is a focal point for show business.”
“Speed” Almost Starred Billy Baldwin and Halle Berry
Imagine a now classic movie with a different cast. That’s what producer Mark Gordon revealed recently at the recent Producers Guild of America Conference. LEAH SYDNEY reports that Johnson’s first choices for “Speed” weren’t Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. “We offered it to everybody but Keanu Reeves. We desperately wanted Billy Baldwin and Halle Berry. Dennis Hopper was our 97th choice. I didn’t think it would work. Before Speed I couldn’t get anyone on the phone, then everyone was calling me.”
The Producers Guild conferences always produce a lot of funny stories about the making of films. At the “Today’s Hit Business” panel, Mark Gordon, (Criminal Minds, Source Code, Saving Private Ryan,) and who is the co-president of the Producers Guild along with Hawk Koch spoke with legendary Producer David Picker. David recounted the story of how on a film with Peter Sellers, he had to move Peter and his entourage from the Regency Hotel at 2am to the Plaza Hotel because Peter was convinced there were poltergeists in his room.
At the “Game Changers, Where Movies Should Be Going” panel, Mark Johnson (The Notebook, Rain Man, Diner) commented on the economic realities of producing. “This is a really exciting time because we have to be more inventive and resourceful than we had been in the past. ” Michael De Luca ( Moneyball, The Social Network, 21,) quipped: “Moneyball was my dream project. It took me eight years and I’ve sworn off dream projects since then. Amy Pascal’s passion for it kept it alive until Brad Pitt found it.” On the 3D question that is still not totally embraced in filmmaking, Doug Wick (The Great Gatsby, Lawless, Gladiator,) said, “3D is an extraordinary tool in the hands of a talented director, it adds a new dimension to storytelling.”
At the ‘Passion Projects: Making Films Everyone Says Will Never Get Made,’ Brian Grazer (Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, American Gangster,) and Peter Berg, (Battleship, Hancock, Friday Night Lights) Brian reiterated that in order to be a Producer one has to be, “kind of crazy and very resourceful. Playing too rough or too nice is both a problem. Unless I’m making someone angry at least once during a movie I’m not getting anything done.”
Berg agreed and said that an “insatiable curiosity about everything is a must.” He also commented on the disappointing performance of his latest film, Battleship. “Battleship did under perform here in the US, but has done well worldwide. Sometimes films work or don’t. The concept, the money, it was all so intense. Despite everybody’s best intentions, sometimes movies run away from themselves. At the end of day, that’s what it was.”
Mark Gordon added, “Everybody’s afraid and with fear comes dishonestly. It’s important to be nice and keep your word. When it comes down to it though, I’m really a plumber; I know how to make the pipes come together.”
Aretha Franklin: Loved Sarah Jessica Parker’s Pantry
EXCLUSIVE Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, and all around sport, wanted me to clear up for everyone what happened on Thursday night. Reports had her coming and going from Sarah Jessica Parker’s house and the Obama fundraiser as if she’d stayed five minutes. Quite the contrary. Franklin says to me exclusively: “I arrived at 5pm and left at 7:30pm. “I socialized with Meryl Streep, Michael Kors, Anna Wintour, Courtney Ross of the Ross School in the Hamptons. And, after they arrived, the President and First Lady. We took lots of pictures and had a beautiful chat! I explained to them I had to leave for the Songwriters Hall of Fame and to meet Clive Davis, with I am collaborating on a late summer CD.”
Franklin, who loves beautiful homes, gave a shout out to Sarah Jessica Parker: “Loved the old world charm of her home, and the pantry of her kitchen. I got to watch the executive chefs preparing delightful delicacies for the evening!”
Franklin has a busy summer coming, including the Essence Jazz Festival in New Orleans over July 4th, and two July dates on the west coast. She’s even making a rare appearance at the Hollywood Bowl next month.