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Google Europe Zeitgest Schedule for May: Clinton, Annie Lennox, No Murdochs

Roger Friedman
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Google Europe Zeitgest Schedule for May: Clinton, Annie Lennox, No Murdochs

EXCLUSIVE: There are so many confabs with important people that I’ve lost track of them. There’s Davos, Clinton Global Initiative, TED, the United Nations, the big meeting in Sun Valley–these are the conventions where the top top people who are making our lives better (or worse, depending on your view) get together, share ideas, and get a nice dinner.  

Next month outside of London, at the Grove Hotel, Google has their annual Zeitgest meetings. It’s two days of talks, music, golf, dinner and, apparently Annie Lennox. She’s the featured performer this year, and I wish I could be there to see world leaders and techie innovators wipe away tears during “Why.” The 2012 Zeitgeist is Brit oriented, so speaking on one panel are English musician Imogene Heap and red haired actress/model and very tall beauty Lily Cole.

The end of the two-day conference is supposed to be a conversation between Eric Schmidt and Bill Clinton (they have a lot in common, apparently). In between, there will be tons of VIPS. But in the press section, no Murdochs. James Murdoch spoke at Zeitgeist 2007, but things have, uh, changed. The press area will include reps from the Guardian, the Independent, and Al Jazeera. But no one from News Corp or its affiliates is scheduled. Shame about that. I’ve attached the schedule below.

A Google spokesman had this to say: “This is a leaked, early stage document that’s subject to change between now and the event itself. As such we can’t comment on the content, but we look forward to welcoming lots of great speakers to Zeitgeist in May.”

If you want to attend, the Grove Hotel is in Hertfordshire, set on 300 acres. Here’s the schedule:

“Neighborhood Watch” Still on Fox Schedule As Trayvon Martin Case Moves Ahead

Roger Friedman
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“Neighborhood Watch” Still on Fox Schedule As Trayvon Martin Case Moves Ahead

The trailers are still running on YouTube. They’re also on the imdb.com. And they’re playing in theaters somewhere. Ninety days before the release of “Neighborhood Watch,” there’s no new marketing campaign. And that may be a problem. Since I first wrote about “Neighborhood Watch” and its close association with the George Zimmerman-Trayon Martin case, Zimmerman has been arrested and charged with second degree murder. A trial will happen. Today’s New York Times notes that Florida is a state with lax rules about cameras in the courtroom. In Orlando, the Sentinel newspaper is gearing up for the next Trial of the Century. There are predictions of blanket coverage. Meantime, even though aliens have something to do with it, “Neighborhood Watch” is coming on July 27th from 20th Century Fox. And so far, the aliens are not being advertised. What is being flacked are four white guys who seem to be terrorizing a suburban neighborhood as they guard it from unruly teens. Somewhere beyond the current campaign, the foursome discovers space aliens. But right now, that’s still lost on the audience. And on the imdb.com message board for the movie, film fans are already writing in, asking if the film will really come out this summer, and suggesting that it shouldn’t. Fox doesn’t have much time left to change the movie’s title, pull the trailers, and re-position it so there’s no hint of the Martin case. The clock is running out.

Mad Men: Dark Shadows Soon to Be Cast Over Sterling Cooper

Roger Friedman
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Mad Men: Dark Shadows Soon to Be Cast Over Sterling Cooper

Here’s a “Mad Men” head scratcher: two days after Johnny Depp opens in the movie version of “Dark Shadows” comes the 9th episode of season 5 of “Mad Men.” And it’s called, according to a fresh posting on the imdb, “Dark Shadows.” Are vampires coming to Sterling Cooper? Episode 9 seems to fall chronologically around November 1966. So I’ve found a summary of the “Dark Shadows” episodes that ran on ABC that month at http://www.nicholasmooneyhan.com/darkshadows/111966.html. Will Pete Campbell suddenly reveal himself as Barnabas Collins? Will the “Mad Men” characters have a Halloween party dressed as their favorite “Dark Shadows” characters? (Jon Hamm does sort of resemble David Selby.) Or is Betty just home watching her soaps? Anyway, other episodes now have names, too: After “Signal 30″, the next batch are called, in order: “Far Away Places,” “At the Codfish Ball,” “Lady Lazarus,” “Dark Shadows,” “Christmas Waltz,” and “The Other Woman.” No other info yet. although that last one doesn’t sound good. Two more episodes follow, still untitled, with the season ending on June 10th, the same night as the Tony Awards. Just as someone is receiving Best Musical, something big will be happening in the last few minutes of “Mad Men.”

Flashback: Michael Douglas in “Last Vegas”

Roger Friedman
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Flashback: Michael Douglas in “Last Vegas”

Our very own Leah Sydney reported on March 14th that Michael Douglas was going to make “Last Vegas” his next movie. Other publications either have short memories or don’t know how to search the web to see if a story’s already been written. Anyway:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/03/14/michael-douglas-may-be-heading-to-last-vegas

Rock Hall Show a Bust As Group Recycles Itself

Roger Friedman
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Rock Hall Show a Bust As Group Recycles Itself

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame annual induction show used to be a big deal. Remember the Waldorf Hotel big jam sessions with names like Springsteen, McCartney, Jagger, Richards, etc? Am I showing my age? Yes. because that’s when it was a Hall of Fame. Now reduced to rubble, the Hall of Fame show–held in Cleveland this year–was a shadow of its former self. No-shows due to illness were Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys and Rod Stewart of the Faces/Small Faces, although Rod’s already in as a solo act. Axl Rose protested the event, so Guns n Roses played without him.

Bette Midler, who last year inducted Darlene Love, this year inducted Laura Nyro. This is awfully nice of Bette since the RRHOF will never induct her. (She should talk to Peter Wolf of J Geils, who used to hang around and do Jann Wenner favors thinking he was going to get in.) Thanks to this column, Nyro’s son was allowed to accept her award, so that’s a plus. Smokey Robinson, whom I love, came to get the award for the Miracles, even though it was for the other singers, not him. He was inducted solo in 1988, even though all his biggest hits were with the Miracles. Steve van Zandt, of the E Street Band, also not inducted even though Bruce Springsteen has been in for eons, should take note of all that.

Carole King was scheduled to induct music publishing great Donnie Kirshner two years after his death and 25 years after he was eligible. Basically, the Cleveland fans got a Red Hot Chili Peppers show with a couple of songs by Donovan, who was also made to wait 25 years. John Mellencamp brought girlfriend Meg Ryan. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Slash gave the press the finger when asked to take questions about Axl Rose. Sounds like a fun night in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jann Wenner must be looking around, thinking, What happened to all the cool people? Now that he’s skipped over or snubbed more than two dozen actual stars for induction he can look forward in 2013 to newly eligible acts like Debbie Gibson, George Michael, Jane’s Addiction, Sinead O’Connor, Milli Vanilli, and the Pixies.

Still not in: Bon Jovi, Sting, Chicago, Linda Ronstadt, Hall and Oates, Carly Simon, Billy Preston, Chubby Checker, Carole King (as a solo artist–but she’s really volunteering a lot, like Bette–read Peter Wolf note), Peter Wolf with or without J Geils, The Moody Blues, Todd Rundgren, Nile Rodgers and Chic, producers like Phil Ramone, Richard Perry, and Richard Gottehrer, Ringo Starr (the only Beatle not in solo), Three Dog Night or the Fifth Dimension or Blood Sweat and Tears, Joe Tex, Mary Wells, Cyndi Lauper, and so on.

Exclusive: Ellen Burstyn Joins Sigourney Weaver TV Series, “Political Animals”

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Ellen Burstyn Joins Sigourney Weaver TV Series, “Political Animals”

Exclusive: Ellen Burstyn, Oscar winner for Martin Scorsese’s classic, “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” and a favorite of everyone’s, is coming to TV. She’s just signed to play Sigourney Weaver’s mother in the USA Network’s new series, “Political Animals.” Sigourney is playing a character very similar to Hillary Clinton–former first lady now secretary of state. Ellen is playing her mom. The series has a guaranteed order, so USA seems to be pretty high on it. Political shows with female leads are in vogue right now. Julia Louis Dreyfus’s HBO show, “Veep,” is getting great advance reviews. “Political Animals” also features Carla Gugino, Sebastian Stan, and Ciaran Hinds as Sigourney’s husband, the former president. The show is from Greg Berlanti, who’s best known for “Brothers & Sisters.” Burstyn had a great run recently on “Big  Love” for HBO. She goes back and forth between the big and small screen with ease. Her last Oscar nomination (she’s had five all together, plus the win) was for “Requiem for a Dream.” She won an Emmy Award in 2009 for “Law & Order SVU” as a guest star. USA continues to be an unexpected powerhouse and source of pretty good series.

Now–here’s a little background. Last week I ran into Ellen. She told me that she was about to sign the deal for “Political Animals.” She asked if I’d hold off writing about it until the deal was done, and she would call me. Good for her word, a real mensch, she called when the papers were ready. I ran the item on Forbes.com immediately. A few hours later, the story, without my credit, started running on The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, and a few other places. They didn’t care that their time stamp was well after mine. They hadn’t talk to Ellen Burstyn. They didn’t care that the whole thing had run on Forbes.com. They just took it, and pretended like it was new. This is what we deal with now. It’s just a circus. Deadline is suing THR for taking their material. They each “appropriate” re-position material from other places all day long. THR reads a story somewhere else, then calls the principals in the story, and writes: “We’ve confirmed– that such and such has happened.” This not journalism. It’s just petty theft. In the new journalism, you don’t have to have sources or contacts. You just have to know where to read to get your stories. It’s wild. I don’t know some of these people can pretend to be proud of their work.

Read us also at www.forbes.com.

Gawker’s Fox “Mole” Found, and Flushed Out

Roger Friedman
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Gawker’s Fox “Mole” Found, and Flushed Out

I do have to laugh at this story. After a year of phone hacking, pie throwing in Parliament, more hacking, dozens of arrests, the resignation of James Murdoch, you wouldn’t think there’d be much left to embarrass News Corp. And then Gawker.com, that sly purveyor of gossip and snark, announced they’d hired a current Fox employee to be their mole in the conservative network. The “Mole” has already started reports on Gawker.com. They’re not so earth-shaking yet, but they’re brazen. Now Fox News has released a statement saying they knew who he is and they’re considering their legal options. The Mole says they’re wrong, he’s still at work, and still undercover. If Fox had him, believe me, the Mole would be gone. They don’t know who this guy is, no one does, and it’s hilarious. Believe me, they will turn over the building looking for him. Years ago, when Judith Regan was having an affair with then police commish Bernie Kerik, Fox let the NYPD rip up the green room when Judy lost her wallet. They thought everyone including the make up ladies was a suspect. Everyone was questioned. Paranoia rules at Fox News. This should be quite an adventure. Good luck, Mole!

UPDATE: Hi. My name is Joe Muto. I was the Fox Mole. FROM WWW.GAWKER.COM

Two hours ago I was called into a meeting with Dianne Brandi, the Fox News Executive Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs and suspended indefinitely… with pay, oddly enough.

They nailed me.

In the end, it was the digital trail that gave me away. They knew that someone, using my computer login, had accessed the sources for two videos that ended up on Gawker over the past few weeks. They couldn’t prove it entirely, but I was pretty much the only suspect.

I denied it, which is why they didn’t fire me outright. But two nice gentlemen from security escorted me to my desk to pack up my stuff, and it was pretty obvious at that point that I would not be setting foot back into 1211 Avenue of the Americas again.

So here I am. That’s me in the photo, sitting in the Gawker offices, with a portrait of a rather mischievous looking Roger Ailes behind me. He was my ultimate boss for the past 8 years.

I joined Fox News Channel in July 2004 as a production assistant. I bounced around for a few years working for some now defunct shows. (Remember “The Lineup with Kimberly Guilfoyle”? No?)

In January 2007, I joined the O’Reilly Factor as an associate producer, and there I have remained ever since. That’s me in this YouTube video pitching O’Reilly a story at the 4:00 mark.

I am a weasel, a traitor, a sell-out and every bad word you can throw at me… but as of today, I am free, and I am ready to tell my story, which I wasn’t able to fully do for the previous 36 hours.

Sharon Stone Back with amfAR? At Least in Brazil

Roger Friedman
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Sharon Stone Back with amfAR? At Least in Brazil

Is Sharon Stone back in good graces with celebrity AIDS organization amfAR? It was twoyears ago that this column caused a commotion when I reported that AmFAR had bounced Stone as emcee and celebrity auctioneer at their annual Cannes Film Festival gala. Stone told me at a dinner for Michael Douglas at the ’21’ Club that she hadn’t been asked back for the 2010 dinner after years of service and much fundraising of millions. (amfAR didn’t like that story, and banned me from the event, too.)Here’s that original story: http://www.showbiz411.com/2010/04/20/shock-sharon-stone-out-as-cannes-amfar-auction-star

Stone wasn’t back last year either, and has remained off the amfAR radar since then except for an appearance at an LA fundraiser in October 2010. But a recent press release suggests that maybe relations (at least between Stone and the group) have improved. They’re sending her to Sao Paolo for their 2nd annual Inspiration gala on April 26th. The dinner is honoring photographer Mario Testino, and Grace Jones is going to perform her cutting edge disco hits from the 70s.

There’s no word yet on whether Stone will be invited this year to Cannes. Brazil may be a testing of the waters. Stone was criticized for being “over the top” during the Cinema Against AIDS event in 2009, but frankly, she’s the main draw.

With the Cannes event a little over a month away, there’s also been no indication of who the big musical act will be–although the word is AmFar has reached out to Mariah Carey. With one year old twins and a recuperating husband, however, it’s unclear if Carey can make the trip.

Related: http://www.showbiz411.com/2010/05/19/how-madonna-got-one-million-bucks-out-of-amfar

NY Times Follows Up on Our “Neighborhood Watch” Story

Roger Friedman
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NY Times Follows Up on Our “Neighborhood Watch” Story

I wrote on Forbes.com back on March 26th that Fox might have trouble releasing “Neighborhood Watch.” That’s the film in which Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill, wearing motorcycle jackets with the movie’s logo, are suburban vigilantes. In the trailer, they terrorize a local teen. Children and the black postal worker on the beat are clearly afraid of them. Menacing rap music plays on the soundtrack. The next day, Fox said it was pulling its ads and marketing, but keeping the July 27th release date. I wrote that none of this seemed feasible given the Trayvon Martin-George Zimmerman shooting in Florida. On the imdb.com message boards, fans are voicing the same opinion. The Drudge Report featured our story prominently. Today, the New York Times picked up our story without bothering to credit where it all came from. But imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, or whatever. Anyway, my guess is that Fox will have to postpone the release.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerfriedman/2012/03/27/fox-pulls-ben-stiller-movie-neighborhood-watch-per-our-expose/

Theater in Los Angeles? It Exists, After All

Roger Friedman
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When you think of Los Angeles, you think of movies and television.  Theater, Opera, and spectacular performance art thrive in LA, and our Leah Sydney catches us up on what is being buzzed about.

“I recently saw ‘Rock Of Ages’ at the Pantages in Hollywood, what fun and a huge crowd pleaser.  Cloris Leachman was dancing in her seat! The Pantages is a gorgeous art deco theater that puts on Broadway shows and events, Jerry Seinfeld just played there.  Christie Brinkley is coming up in ‘Chicago,’ along with ‘The Addams Family,’  ‘Million Dollar Quartet,’ ‘Billy Elliott,’ ‘La Cage Aux Folles,’ and ‘Memphis.’  The always entertaining ‘Mamma Mia is’ opening there tonight.  The prestigious Ahmanson Theater, a part of the Center Theater Group in downtown Los Angeles, has the largest theatrical season ticket base on the West Coast. This stunning theater currently has ‘American Idiot,’ with ‘Follies,’  ‘War Horse’ and ‘Mary Poppins’ coming up.  Next-door is The Mark Taper Forum, which currently has ‘Waiting For Godot’ with ‘The Artist’s’ James Cromwell, and ‘Los Otros’ coming up. The much lauded Los Angeles Opera is located in the same complex, with no less then Placido Domingo as their Eli and Edythe Broad General Director.  LA Opera has ‘La Boheme,’ coming up.

The third theater in the group, The Kirk Douglas Theater in Culver City, has ‘American Night’ and ‘The Convert’ waiting in the wings.  At the famed Kodak Theater in Hollywood, ‘Iris,’ the new production from Cirque du Soleil, brings dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation which takes the audience on a thrilling voyage throughout the history of cinema and into the heart of the movie-making process. The Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, where the late wonderful Gil Cates was the longtime Producing Director, always mounts noted productions. ‘Good People’ is there now with Jane Kaczmarek and Jon Tenney, with ‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane’ and ‘The Exorcist’ coming up. There is the Celebration Theater in Hollywood, which now has a talked about production of ‘The Color Purple.’

Going towards the Valley, The Colony Theater in Burbank has the stalwart ‘Dames At Sea.’  The Thousand Oaks Civic Center always has interesting shows, from the upcoming Cabrillo’s ‘Once Upon A Mattress’ to Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham. The terrific Rubicon Theater in Ventura currently has ‘Hello! My Baby,’ with Cheers star George Wendt. Upcoming for the Rubicon is August Wilson’s ‘Gem of the Ocean’ and Noel Coward’s ‘Private Lives.’  Farther out, past Santa Barbara in Santa Ynez, the Chumash Casino Resort Hotel attracts a-listers such as the upcoming Doobie Brothers, The GoGo’s, Wanda Sykes and more.  Yes indeed, there is truly great theater, opera, performance art, entertainment acts and more in LA.  Los Angeles’s artistic scene is more alive and well than it’s ever been!

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