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Paul McCartney Turns 70 on Monday; Win a Remastered Copy of “Ram”

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney Turns 70 on Monday; Win a Remastered Copy of “Ram”

Paul McCartney, the “cute” Beatle, underrated for many reasons, turns 70 on Monday, June 18th. What are his 10 best songs? WHat your ten favorites? Please send lists and birthday greetings ASAP to roger@showbiz411.com. We’ll post them all starting on Sunday night. And don’t forget to pick up the new “Ram” box set on amazon and other locations. Happy Birthhday, Paul!

Here’s a top 10 list from Showbiz411: 1. Another Day 2. All My Loving 3. Band on the Run 4. Daytime Nighttime Suffering 5. Can’t Buy Me Love 6. For No One 7. Eleanor Rigby 8. Oh Darling 9. My Brave Face 10. Hey Jude.

The best three lists–chosen subjectively–will win a remastered copy of “Ram” courtesy of Concord Records. Cut off is Monday, June 18th at 5pm Eastern.

Best Musical “Once” Launching Projects for All Its Creators

Roger Friedman
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Best Musical “Once” Launching Projects for All Its Creators

The new Best Musical on Broadway is already proving fruitful for its creators. John Carney, who directed the original film. has a new project starting imminently. Scarlett Johannson is out, but Mark Ruffalo, Kiera Knightly, and Hailee Steinfeld are in. Judd Apatow is producing Carney’s music film called “Can A Song Save Your Live?” with these two young women vying for the attention of a washed up music producer. The production just put out a casting call for supporting roles and expects to start shooting in June. It’s not clear what the original music will be like, or who’ll be writing it.

But… in a related story, Glen Hansard, who wrote the music for “Once” with Marketa Iglova, has a new album out on June 19th. I’m pleased to say that it’s top notch and quite fine, with hits aplenty especially if radio will make the connection between “Once” the Tony award winning show and Hansard. I’m crazy about “Maybe Not Tonight,” But there are lots of catchy tracks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjUXT8-3yxc. There’s more from “Rhythm and Repose” at www.glenhansardmusic.com The album is a winner. And meanwhile, Marketa is playing dates all over the place.

Now all we need is an album of new songs from star Steve Kazee. Don’t worry, it’s coming. If I were a record label (Decca?) I’d get right on it.

Keith Richards Produced New Album by Aaron Neville: Exclusive

Roger Friedman
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Keith Richards Produced New Album by Aaron Neville: Exclusive

Exclusive from April 4, 2012: Everyone’s been wondering what Rolling Stone Keith Richards would do this year–a new Rolling Stones record? Nope. He’s just finished producing a new doo wop album for Aaron Neville on Blue Note Records. Don Was, who’s running A&R at Blue Note Records. “Keith had a great time,” says a source, making the album with the sweet toned New Orleans tenor. Neville is also a master chef, but no word yet on whether he cooked for Keith and Don.

Richards is otherwise engaged in preparing for the Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary coming in 2013. A big documentary is scheduled to launch later this year directed by Brett Morgen (“The Kid Stays in the Picture”).

And the news is that Taschen Books is preparing a mega volume of Stones photographs set for a January release. You know Taschen–their books have to be read on pedestals because they’re oversized and magnificent. The Taschen editors have gone through every known archive, I’m told.

The Stones are also scheduled for some kind of greatest hits set for January, although what exactly what form it will take has yet to be determined.

In the meantime. the Stones’ bootleg series on Google is booming. Just released is the 1975 show from the LA Forum at http://tinyurl.com/cst65ph. There are three volumes of bootlegs, all downloadable for $4.99, with one free track per set and links to video interviews with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards from 1973. And yes, I am told that at least Keith is aware of the Stones’ inclusion on “Mad Men” last Sunday.

 

 

photo c2011 ann lawlor

Tom Cruise Friars Dinner “A Bust”: Katie Holmes MIA

Roger Friedman
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Tom Cruise Friars Dinner “A Bust”: Katie Holmes MIA

I don’t know what went wrong with the Friars Club dinner for Tom Cruise. But the red carpet, according to my spies and pictures from the photo agencies, show that was a non starter. One photographer simply said, “It was a bust.” The weather was bad, but that wouldn’t have stopped most celebs from being at a Tom Cruise event.  On the red carpet, Cruise would only have his picture taken with “Rock of Ages” co-star Alec Baldwin.

Otherwise, the A list stayed home and dry. Two of kids were there–little Suri, without mom Katie, and Connor, Tom’s adopted son with Nicole Kidman. The bold faced names included Bill Hader from”Saturday Night Live.” Cuba Gooding Jr., Matt Lauer, actor Kevin Pollack, and Baldwin. As a promo for “Rock of Ages,” the evening didn’t really do much. Why TV chef Bobby Flay and actress Stephanie March, or designer Betsey Johnson, were there is a mystery. No Cameron Crowe–odd. And no Jann Wenner–he and Cruise used to be thick as thieves. There are a lot of pics of a teen actor named Jake T. Schmidt, who has nothing at all to do with Cruise.

Even Philip Seymour Hoffman, the villain from “Mission Impossible 3” was absent–but he’s stlll probably sleeping off the Tony Awards. Where was the usually omnipresent Holmes? She’s shooting a movie in nearby Connecticut. It’s actually hard to think of a time when little Suri was anywhere without Katie. Anyway, I am told the Waldorf Astoria ballroom is filled with patrons whose ticket money from this evening will go to the Friars’ many charitable donations. (They are a very generous group.) Also absent: much publicized friends like Will Smith and David Beckham.

Maybe they’re all coming later, or through the back door.

Robin Thicke, Megan Hilty, and Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings were slated to perform.

More to come…maybe….

Looming “Dallas” Disaster: How Show’s Creator Was Cut Out of Reboot

Roger Friedman
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Looming “Dallas” Disaster: How Show’s Creator Was Cut Out of Reboot

read: http://www.showbiz411.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=21240&action=edit

EXCLUSIVE: Tomorrow night’s reboot of “Dallas” is getting terrible reviews. Are we surprised? The people who tried to revive it simply snubbed the creator, David Jacobs. What a shame. I loved “Dallas.” But it took the right attitude and ingredients to make it work again. Read how it happened:

David Jacobs, creator of “Dallas” and “ Knots Landing,” tells me he’s been excluded entirely from the coming reboot of the famous series on TNT. He will get to keep his “created by” credit, but nothing else, no money, and no participation. “I’ll get the $714 Writers Guild fee for a sequel,” Jacobs says.  Jacobs tells me found out that “Dallas” was being restarted second hand. When he inquired about it, he says he told everyone — including new head writer Cynthia Cidre–that he was essentially retired and didn’t want to write the show. “I didn’t want any authority,” he told her at their one lunch. But he did think a consultancy wouldn’t be out of the question since basically, “Dallas” relies on all the characters he created in the 1970s–JR Ewing, Bobby Ewing, Sue Ellen, and their family, even the same Southfork Ranch set.

“All I said was that I’d like to be a presence. I told her if you need anything on the back story, I’m there. I never heard anything from her again until I heard TNT ordered a pilot.” Jacobs was involved with the failed John Travolta movie version, because the movie and TV rights had been separated in his original contract. “In the early 2000s, we took the movie to Warner Bros. They passed, and then New Regency bought the movie rights. But they didn’t make the movie.”

When Jacobs finally read Cidre’s script, he thought it wasn’t bad. “I said it wasn’t audacious enough. I made some notes.” But Jacob says after he submitted them to the network he was told they wouldn’t show them to Cidre. Why not? “I was told there were too many cooks. I was going to make a t shirt up that said, Too many cooks, get rid of the with the recipe.”

This year, when the producers put in for credits, they asked for “Developed by Cynthia Cidre, based on “Dallas”  created by David Jacobs.” But the Writers Guild denied that, and ruled that the only credit was “Created by David Jacobs.” It was his show, still, at least at the Writers Guild.

Once the WGA ruled for him, the production extended a tiny olive branch–but with a proviso. “They offered me some money and a consultancy, but made it clear they didn’t care whether I didn’t do any consulting. But they asked me to waive all my rights.” He refused, so negotiations came to an end. “I asked to see Cynthia, and I asked her to meet me for a drink or lunch. And she said no. She refused me three times. I wrote a memo to her and said, ‘I don’t want any authority.’ Their lawyer told my lawyer I was too aggressive.”

After Jacobs created “Dallas,” he went on to run “Family,” an Emmy winning ABC drama of the 70s. But he always kept in touch with (the now deceased) Leonard Katzman, who ran “Dallas” for years. “I was around, that’s all I wanted, to be around.” For the record, he told Katzman that the famous Bobby Ewing shower scene–when Pam’s dream wiped out an entire awful season– was a “dumb idea.”

Jacobs says now the producers have cut him out completely. “I will not waive my rights. The material isn’t bad. But I read the scripts and found they were very plot driven. I thought she was going to have trouble down the road. The original “Dallas” and “Knots Landing” ran five years too long because the audience was so engaged with the characters. You didn’t need to come  up with constant plot points. The scripts are good. But they should have been Bobby’s kid the bad one, and JR’s kld the good one. Bobby has a new wife, and she’s from Houston. She should have been from main line Philadelphia, or Boston or New York. Or very rich. But I never had the opportunity to express any of this.”

The revived “Dallas” launches on TNT on June 13th with a two hour premiere

Also read http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/06/13/frances-preston-beloved-long-time-head-of-bmi-music-passes-away

Paul Simon, Paul McCartney Box Sets Are Beyond the Norm

Roger Friedman
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0

I’ve spent the last week or so going back and forth between lavish box sets from Paul Simon and Paul McCartney. These are not the box sets of yore. Simon’s is organized around the 25th anniversary of his landmark album, “Graceland.” McCartney’s concentrates on his 1971 album, “Ram.” Each comes in a real box. There’s nothing flimsy about these constructions. After Sting’s 25th anniversary solo box last fall, I didn’t think you could do much better. But these two are every bit the equal of that one, and then some.

The Simon box has the not only the remastered album but also Joe Berlinger’s insightful documentary, “Under African Skies.” Berlinger went to to South Africa with Simon last year and filmed a reunion of all the musicians who played on “Graceland” in the first place. The documentary functions well on two planes: one, it shows the development of the songs and how Simon and co gave birth to them. Second, it takes an unvarnished look at the criticism Simon got at the time for plundering African music styles. The latter seems silly in retrospect. Simon simply brought these sounds to America. The “Graceland” set also comes with a really cool USB in the shape of a small hockey puck, containing all the “Graceland” tracks and info. There’s also a vinyl set– which I don’t have, but bought for a friend who has a turntable.

“Ram” got poor reviews in 1971, but went on to become a classic. Of course, there was tremendous backlash against McCartney after the Beatles broke up. But the box set is gorgeous. First of all, you get interview material that was either lost or never published. There’s mono version of the album and an orchestral version that are just super. There’s a bonus CD with the first solo McCartney hit, “Another Day,” one of his very best compositions. There’s also handwritten lyric sheets. A lot of time was put into this package. For McCartney fans, it’s Nirvana– not to mention internet codes for downloading all this stuff for “free.”

So it’s Christmas a little early this year. I wish someone at Motown Universal would do something like this for Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. But in the meantime, for a people of a certain age, these are great gifts.

 

“Mad Men” Season 5 Finale: Don Learns, You Only Live Twice (Video)

Roger Friedman
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0
“Mad Men” Season 5 Finale: Don Learns, You Only Live Twice (Video)

Watch the extraordinary final scene of the “Mad Men” Season finale in our video player at the bottom of this page.

The season five finale of “Mad Men” was called “The Phantom.” The Phantom turned out to be what Megan what was looking for in her marriage, and what Don lives with in his subconscious: his brother, his family, the Whitmans. It’s also Lane’s ghost hovering over the firm, the romantic life that Pete longs for, and so many other things. Matt Weiner is great at choosing music, so the final scenes were set to Nancy Sinatra’s  “You Only Live Twice”– Don has lived at least twice, two different personas, two marriages (Anna doesn’t really count).

Season 5 was a subtle success. Sometimes it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere. The lack of Betty and the overemphasis on Megan was a questionable call. Still we got to the end, heads held high. “Mad Men” is still the best show on TV because the writing never fails to maintain a consistent high. There were some soft episodes in the middle, but by the time “Dark Shadows” rolled around, we had a better idea of what Weiner was up to. From then until the end, he wrote and produced with certainty.

So what’s next? The closing shot of Don’s lascivious look at those two girls in the bar said it all. A wife with a career is not what he wanted. And the Don Draper we had in Season 5 was 40 going on 60. Will we find a new, turned on Don in Season 6. And will any more of the outside world play a part in these people’s lives? Presuming that Season 6 comprises 1967-68, and that the series will end at the conclusion of 1969, there’s a lot Weiner can weave in. Also, there’s now a two part problem with Peggy and Betty, keeping them attached to the story as they’ve been moved to the corners of the canvas.

The real shame is that it’s over for now.

Tom Cruise Headed for a Friars Snooze Tonight With Strange Guest List

Roger Friedman
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0
Tom Cruise Headed for a Friars Snooze Tonight With Strange Guest List

The worst celebrity tribute I ever went to was the American Museum of the Moving Image’s salute to Tom Cruise. Generally, these “roasts” are funny–not raunchy–but full of fun and personal recollections from the speakers. That Tom Cruise event was notable for the lack of “inside” stories. It was held on February 10, 2007.

Neither of Cruise’s co-stars from “Lions for Lambs,” his movie of that moment, showed up. The people who did speak looked they’d been blackmailed into coming. No one had a good joke or anecdote about Cruise. The diminutive actor spoke right from the scripted heart about his love of making movies.

So tonight’s Friars’ dinner– a pr stunt to promote “Rock of Ages”–promises to be a lot of , er, fun. A source inside the production says that participants have been told explicitly that this is not a roast. No mention, please, of Scientology, ex wives, baby Suri’s fashion sense, or anything else that could be construed as “personal.”

As with the Museum of the Moving Image dinner, there should be a heavy presence of glassy eyed mystery people who are there to cheer on their leader. And press will mostly be on the red carpet. As little inside the Waldorf Astoria as possible.What will come out of this episode? One scripted moment–with Matt Lauer or someone else–that makes Tom look like a cool guy. Don’t stop believin’.

And “Rock of Ages”? This morning it’s got a very low 25% rating on rottentomatoes.com. Both of the Hollywood trade papers gave it a thumbs down. Cruise–who’s an excellent mimic–seems like he’s channeling Ben Stiller as “Zoolander.” The production says he’s modeled after Axl Rose, but it’s Bret Michaels, dead on down to the bandana.

Can’t wait for the transcript of Cruise’s “I grew up loving movies” speech. I doubt Gilbert Gottfried will be allowed anywhere near this Friars dinner. And the advertised guest list is really, truly weird, like an episode of the “Joe Franklin Show”: Alec Baldwin is hosting, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings will perform, which is nice. But Broadway’s Megan Hilty? “Rock of Ages” choreographer Mia Michaels? Cabaret musician Loston Harris? Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto? Former one hit wonder Corinne Bailey Rae? What? And or course, naturally, Holocaust survivor and writer Elie Wiesel.

The Yankees play the Braves tonight at 7pm.

PS Cruise is the only actor in the big Paramount 100 anniversary photo who is almost completely expressionless. He doesn’t even crack a smile. http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2012/07/paramount-pictures-100th-anniversary-photo

Mary Kennedy Killed a Second Time, In Newsweek

Roger Friedman
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Mary Kennedy Killed a Second Time, In Newsweek

It’s not bad enough that Mary Richardson Kennedy, wife of Robert Kennedy Jr.. committed suicide. Now we have Laurence Leamer in Newsweek and the Daily Beast making sure we know she was crazy, unstable, a heavy drinker who killed the family dog, resented her husband’s affairs and past relationships, and didn’t deserve to live. Leamer’s article is just beyond the pale. I met Mary Kennedy a couple of times. I didn’t know her.  She was always pleasant. She didn’t seem like someone with ‘borderline personality disorder,” which is what Leamer emphasizes. A friend of mine actually shared a train to Machu Picchu a couple of years ago with the Kennedy clan including Mary–reporting that the kids were boisterous and Mary was friendly.

Leamer concedes that Robert Kennedy Jr. had many affairs. Of public knowledge–but not reported there– was a long one he had with a TV actress, not Cheryl Hines, that went on and on in front of Mary Kennedy. Now Leamer has come up with sealed documents–you can only imagine how he got access to them–designed to destroy completely Mary Richardson Kennedy’s life and legacy. The whole thing is vaguely reminiscent of the trashing Carolyn Bessette got in the press after she died with husband John Kennedy Jr. Suddenly she was a heavy drug user. This was disputed by her friends, but the taint remains.

Today Richardson’s family issued a statement:

“Mary’s unconditional love for her children and unwavering support of so many people she held close to her heart are the lasting legacies of her life. Our hearts are breaking for what her children continue to witness. We hoped Mary could rest in peace.

“The scurrilous affidavit, which is the entire basis for the Newsweek article, was written by Bobby Kennedy as part of a contentious custody battle and was nothing more than a brutal psychological weapon in the divorce case.

“The affidavit, which Mary repudiated at the time, is full of vindictive lies. This latest piling on is proof perfect of the unbelievable emotional and psychological abuse that Mary endured during the last years of her life, and now in death.

“The false claim that Mary suffered from BPD [Borderline Personality Disorder] is also an insult to those who do struggle with this serious mental illness.

“Right now, our primary concern is for Mary’s children. There will be a time and a place for the true facts to come out.”

Tony Awards Downside: Many Winners Are Leaving Or Have Left Their Shows

Roger Friedman
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Tony Awards Downside: Many Winners Are Leaving Or Have Left Their Shows

The Tony Awards were great, and all the people who won are no doubt grateful. But many of them are leaving before the audience can see them. “Death of A Salesman” has already closed, so that wipes out the Best Revival of a Play and Best Director. “Other Desert Cities” is closing, along with it winner Judith Light. “Venus in Fur” is closing in one week, so goodbye to Nina Arianda. Christian Borle is about three weeks away from exiting “Peter and the Starcatcher.”

Over at “The Book of Mormon,” both Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad are gone. Nikki James is off for the month of July. They all won Tonys last year. On last night’s show, Rannells and Gad lookalikes appeared in the opening number. Luckily, the folks from “Once” are all locked in for the rest of the year. And James Corden is sticking around with “One Man Two Guvnors.”

For the time being, “Porgy and Bess” and all its players remain intact. However, for some reason, “Leap of Faith” was featured last night. That show is long, long gone. It closed about a week after it opened.

Meantime, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” is getting ready to wrap things up.  And some shows, like “Godspell” and “End of the Rainbow” will have to decide if they can make it through the summer.

“Book of Mormon,” by the way, is finally starting its national tour. Matt Stone and Trey Parker told me last night they’re very psyched. Wait til America gets to see this show. If they can get tickets. It’s still the hottest show on Broadway or anywhere.

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