Cissy Houston has made a deal with Harper Collins for her book about Whitney. They say it’s going to no-holds barred. That should be interesting since all three of Cissy’s kids have had heavy involvement with drugs. Will she be explaining that? There so many things I doubt Cissy will address in the book, starting with Whitney’s devastating reaction to her parents’ separation and divorce. Then there are friendships and romances that Cissy will to have acknowledge: from Jermaine Jackson to Robyn Crawford to Bobby Brown and Ray J. Further, Cissy is going to have to explain why Bobbi Kristina didn’t live with Whitney for a couple of years, her participation in “Being Bobby Brown” on TV, the rehabs, all of it. For a mother to get into detail–especially Cissy, who is extremely private–seems unlikely. But as sources in the record business have indicated, Cissy needs the money from a book advance now that Whitney is gone. However she handles it all, Cissy will produce a fascinating book.
Jane Fonda’s Movie Renaissance Is Thriving at 74
Jane Fonda is 74, looks fantastic, and has jumped back into movie roles with a vengeance. Last night her newest film, Bruce Beresford’s “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding” premiered to a wildly enthusiastic audience for the Womens Media Center– and included costars Catherine Keener, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Nat Wolff (and parents Polly Draper and Michael Wolff), Chase Crawford, plus Gloria Steinem, Robert Wuhl, Tovah Feldshuh, Carol Alt, Ashleigh Banfield, Joshua Bell, Heather Matarazzo, Ingrid Sischy and Sandy Brandt, Roberta Myers, Jennifer Missoni. Gina Gershon among others.
In “Peace Love”–which opens Friday–Jane plays a sexy, feisty grandmother who takes in her daughter (Keener) and her kids (Elizabeth Olsen and Nat Wolff). She also has a much younger boyfriend in Jeffrey Dean Morgan. It’s a funny set up, and Fonda will probably get a Golden Globe nominations and some other awards activity next fall if IFC Films mounts a campaign. She’s that good of course (she already has two Oscars, you know).
But this is also a Fonda Renaissance period. On June 24, she debuts in HBO’s “The Newsroom” created by Aaron Sorkin. In the preview clips, you can’t take your eyes off of her. Sorkin is said to be writing her an even bigger role for the second season. And Fonda is also starring in “Better Living Through Chemistry,” with an all star cast. And she narrates the movie. Of course, let’s not forget she’ll be playing Nancy Reagan in Lee Daniels’ “The Butler.”
And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as they say: Jane’s son, Troy Garity, starts his second season of “Boss” on the Starz channel in August.
And yes, in case you were wondering, Fonda is happy, happy and in love with famed record producer Richard Perry, who’s writing his own memoir right now of Hollywood and rock and roll with Carly Simon, Ringo Starr, the Pointer Sisters, and friends like Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson.
Meantime, don’t miss “Peace Love” when it opens this Friday. It’s for adults. No flying, or special effects. It’s NOT in 3D. But, like “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” it’s human and fun. Just like a real movie
Lionel Richie Lampooned by Sinbad, Serenaded by Gladys Knight, Valerie Simpson, and Stars at Apollo Theater Benefit
Lionel Richie got the legend treatment last night at the Apollo Theatre’s 7th annual gala. Richie, on top of the charts with his “Tuskegee” album, sat in a box above the stage and watched several performers sing his songs before accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from Apollo board member Ronald Perelman (who couldn’t help but throw in a couple of F bombs).
It was a great night at the Apollo, with tributes kicking off the show–Valerie Simpson played “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” on the piano in memory of her husband, Nick Ashford. Simpson — now a solo performer–is a revelation as a singer. She should make another album. Gladys Knight did a ferocious medley of Etta James songs. And Chaka Khan kicked off the evening with “I’m Every Woman,” in honor of Whitney Houston. The O’Jays’ Eddie Levert paid tribute to Don Cornelius. And there were mentions of both Donna Summer and Hal Jackson.
It hasn’t been an easy year for soul music. But the Apollo event raised $1.2 million for a theater and cultural center that’s wound up being the heart and soul of Harlem. The Apollo gave its corporate award to Citigroup’s Vikram Pandit. There were also performances from Mary Mary and Donnie McClurkin. But it was Lionel who stole his own show. He took the stage at the end and performed two songs, “Three Times a Lady” and “Easy (On A Sunday Morning).”
Neil Young Next to Do Concert Ticket-CD Bundle a la Madonna
This is the future and the future is now. Neil Young and Crazy Horse are going to tour together for the first time in 8 years. And if you buy a ticket online to one of their shows, you will receive their new CD, “Americana.” And that CD will be counted as a separate sale at SoundScan. This has been done before, but was executed with incredibly klunkiness for Madonna’s “MDNA” album. The concert ticket album redemption artificially inflated Madonna’s sales numbers for one week. Then in the second “MDNA” dropped the most of any album ever. “Americana” went on sale today. The concert tour doesn’t begin until October 3rd (with dates at Red Rocks in August). But the online bundle business starts this Friday, June 8th.
If you’re a Neil Young fan, check out the silent film he’s produced with his team at www.neilyoung.com
John Edwards’ Mistress, Rielle Hunter, and Her Kennedy Connection
You could say John Edwards was similar to a lot of the Kennedys–the charisma, the hair, the cheating. It’s all there. But now Edwards’ mistress/babymama, Rielle Hunter, has her own Kennedy connection. Who’s doing the publicity for her forthcoming tell book? Why, Hunter has hired RoseMarie Terenzio, who was John Kennedy Jr.’s secretary-assistant at George magazine from 1994 to the day John died in a July 1999 plane crash.
Terenzio has since gone on to start her own press agency. She will now be the mouthpiece for Hunter, who had an affair with a married man, knowing the man’s wife had terminal cancer, and then got pregnant by him. And hid the fact of the baby.
Terenzio emailed me to take down a picture of Hunter and her daughter Frances Quinn, shot on the baby’s first birthday. The picture was given to me by one of Hunter’s friends and was used on Foxnews.com. It may still be there. At the time, the picture was given to me for specific use, without any limitations. But Hunter is about to hit the celeb circuit promoting her book, so she probably wants more control over her image. Good luck to that. The ghost of Elizabeth Edwards hovers over these people.
Madonna “MDNA” Now for Sale for 41 Cents
The saga of Madonna’s “MDNA” just keeps getting stranger. Even as Madonna launches her world wide tour–very successful, looks like a hit–“MDNA” is suffering. The latest situation: the album is being offered on amazon.com for 41 cents. That’s right–forty one pennies. The shipping is actually more expensive–$2.98. A couple of different companies are offering “MDNA” at this price. I emailed AbundaTrade in South Carolina. Their owner advised me: “Yes, there was a flaw in our purchasing calculator. We paid $4.86 each. We have 111 left in stock and can sell them all to you for $0.41 plus $2.98 shipping each as per our Amazon listing.” That’s pretty much as low as you can go. Poor “MDNA.” The indignities don’t stop. At least these copies won’t be counted in SoundScan again.
Sarah Jessica Parker Obama Party Adds Mariah Carey Concert to Package
Click on the above link to see Sarah Jessica Parker’s ad for Barack Obama. SJP is hosting a fundraiser at her Manhattan home next week. It’s going to be star-studded. But the campaign is also offering a raffle so regular people can attend, too.
SJP says: “OK, the guy who ended the war in Iraq, the guy who says you should be able to marry anyone you want, and the guy who created 4 million new jobs, that guy, President Obama and Michelle, are coming to my house for dinner on June 14th. We need him and he needs us.”
UPDATE: Now they’ve added a Mariah Carey concert to the SJP party. The concert– at the Plaza Hotel– follows the party. It’s unclear how many songs Mariah will perform.
Charlize vs. Julia: “Show White” Movies Show Who’s the Fairest of them All
The rule of thumb in Hollywood. If you have two movies with similar themes or the same concepts, the first one to get released wins. The second one will bore audiences, and die a swift death.
Apparently, not so anymore. Julia Roberts opened in “Mirror Mirror” back in March. She played the Evil Queen. The movie made $18 million on its first weekend. Now, out of theaters, its total US take was $62 million. Audiences didn’t embrace it. Foreign sales totaled $98 million, so “Mirror Mirror” will break even. But it wasn’t an event.
Compare it to “Snow White and the Huntsman.” With Charlize Theron now wrecking havoc, “Snow White” did $56.2 million in the US on its opening weekend. Foreign sales are already at almost $40 million.
The winner? Who’s the fairest–or maybe the least fair — of all? Charlize Theron and company. And it disproves the theory of two movies with the same concept.
HBO Advertises New Sorkin Series on AMC During “Mad Men”
With all the crazy stuff going on last night on “Mad Men,” there was even a bigger shocker: a commercial for HBO’s upcoming series called “News Room.” It came at around 53 minutes into “Mad Men” right before the final segment. This is the show written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jeff Daniels. Maybe it was a local cable commercial. But it seemed like a national buy. What a strange irony. HBO famously turned down “Mad Men” years ago from Matt Weiner, who was a “Sopranos” writer.
On top of that HBO has had a lot of difficulty launching hour long dramas. “Luck” ended ignominiously with the deaths of horses. The much anticipated “The Corrections”–with an all star cast–was scrapped after the pilot was shot. Their big successes right now are “Game of Thrones”–people are obsessed with it–and “True Blood,” which is starting to show signs of age. (Although I guess techinically it never ages, right?)
“Newsroom” starts June 24th and has a lot of positive buzz. It’s also got a very liberal slant: Daniels, playing a Charlie Rose-type anchor (with a pinch of Keith Olbermann), decides to go after the Tea Party. I’m told the show uses interspersed real footage of Tea Party ranters. The irony is that Jane Fonda plays the owner of the network, and she’s a conservative media billionaire who does a lot of business with the people Daniels’ character is criticizing on his show.
So how else to alert the public that a smart drama is coming? Advertise it during “Mad Men,” the show with the most appropriate demographic. But it was a little like Macy’s telling Gimbels, or NBC advertising its new comedy line up during CBS’s “Two and a Half Men.” Networks usually don’t cross lines into enemy camps to promote their shows. Maybe it’s a new trend.
Jon Cryer: He’s Never Heard One Word from Charlie Sheen
Jon Cryer came to New York last night and did a nice favor for his mother, actress Gretchen Cryer. He was the host of the 50th annual Dramatists Guild Fund dinner. Gretchen runs the event, and needed a star host. It was one of those amazing New York night, as the Guild honored composer John Kander, co-author with the late Fred Ebb of “Chicago” and “Cabaret.”
Before the show started, I asked Cryer if he ever did hear from Charlie Sheen, his partner for 9 seasons on “Two and a Half Men.” And the answer? “Never.” Cryer said he’d heard from others that Sheen had tried to call him. “But my phone indicates otherwise,” he said. It’s a puzzlement, that’s for sure. Sheen simply left the show and the cast, went crazy nationally, and has never circled back to apologize or pick up the pieces.
Meanwhile, the Dramatists dinner, in the ballroom on the 36th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, was like an old fashioned New York night. Joel Grey performed “Wilkommen” from “Cabaret,” and other terrific performers included Karen Mason, Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, and Karen Ziemba. Christie Brinkley, who’s been in “Chicago” lately, introduced Neuwith and Ziemba.
But the star of the night was Liza Minnelli. She arrived on time, sat through the dinner, and then closed the show with three boffo numbers– “Cabaret,” “And the World Goes Round,” and finally, “New York New York.” She was sensational. Liza also sang “Anywhere You Are” from her new “Liza Minnelli Live At The Winter Garden CD.” She told me: “John Kander invented me. He didn’t want me to Judy Garland’s daughter. He wrote Liza with a Z for me. It took him two hours and I learned it in 20 minutes. It changed my life.”
As for “New York, New York”– it was written for Liza to be used in Martin Scorsese’s movie of the same name. Hers was the original recording. She told me: “One day Uncle Frank (Sinatra) called me and said he was playing New York and he needed a good opening number. Could he do my song? What could I say? He was my uncle Frank.” She paused. “The difference is, with him it sounds like he’s already in New York. With me, it’s the promise of coming to New York.” And you know what. she’s right. And despite everything that’s happened in her crazy life, Minnelli rocks. I’ve rarely been that impressed.
By the way: what does the Dramatists Guild Fund do? It’s a little like MusiCares for theater people. It takes care of actors, playwrights etc who need medical care or housing or other necessities but can’t afford them.