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Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Robert DeNiro Rock New York Film Critics Dinner

Roger Friedman
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Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Meryl Streep, Robert DeNiro Rock New York Film Critics Dinner

Brad Pitt was hilarious and touching last night accepting his Best Actor award from the New York Film Critics Circle. Joining other honorees Meryl Streep, Albert Brooks, Jessica Chastain and the folks from “The Artist,” Pitt was a little nervous and actually spoke softly from the podium at restaurant. Angelina Jolie was with him, looking more gorgeous than ever, accepting kudos for her underrated film “In the Land of Blood and Honey.” Viola Davis, herself a nominee for “The Help” from many different groups, presented Best Actress to Streep. Davis joked: “I popped a lot of Stress Tabs when we made ‘Doubt’.” Streep was philosophical, having won the same award two years ago: “We do this for love, and for as long as we can.”

Surprise presenters were Robert DeNiro –who had trouble with “Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius‘s name–and Francis Ford Coppola, who came for “Artist” producer Thomas Langmann. The Coppolas, it turns out, have been long time friends of the Langmann family. Famed late French film director Claude Berri (“Jean de Florette”) was Langmann’s father–his real name was Claude Berel Langmann. And Thomas told me something stunning: when Claude Berri won an Oscar in 1966 for a short film, “Le Poulet” but he didn’t have the money to go to Hollywood and claim it. The Academy mailed it to him instead! Sacre bleu!

Anyway, back to Brad Pitt, who’s on track to win the Oscar for his work in “Moneyball.” He said the award was a big deal considering “I’d never been on ap plane til I was 25.” He talked about coming to New York to audition for a soap opera in 1989. “I had to put myself up in an apartment on Christopher Street,” Brad recalled. “My first impression of the city was There are a lot of guys around here. But they’re so nice!” That got big laughs.

He continued: “On set the clock’s ricking, the camera’ rolling. A lot of what we do comes out of instinct and intuition. I am continually surprised about how much I learn about storytelling and filmmaking from your reviews. We are complex, we are industries to ourselves, we are difficult to each other…we live in continual flux, Christians and Muslims, Democrat and Republican, Denby and Rudin…” — a reference to a recent feud between producer Scott Rudin and film critic David Denby. Again more laughs.

He said: “It never crossed my mind that I’d be here.” And then, almost as an afterthought as he was leaving the stage, Pitt said: “I love films, I absolutely  love them. I consider it a great privilege,  I thank you for this, it means so much to me, and I’m glad this wasn’t televised.”

 

Oscar Smear? Someone Tries to Attack “The Artist”

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Smear? Someone Tries to Attack “The Artist”

It sure is the silly season in Oscarland. Today, actress Kim Novak– a noted recluse so out of the Hollywood loop that I doubt most people under 50 know her name–took a full page ad in Variety. Her gripe was that the music for “The Artist,” the much loved silent film by Michel Hazanavicius, was taken from a movie she’d starred in over 50 years ago. Indeed, Hazanavicius credits Alfred Hitchcock’s composer, Bernard Herrmann. He’s discussed the fact that 20% of Ludovic Bource’s score comes from great movies of the past. The Academy knew it, and said that the 80% that was original was eligible for the Oscar.

Novak’s ad, so preposterous, makes it seem like she made the movie and wrote the music! (Well, it’s her one big claim to fame.) But this is a woman who shuns the spotlight. She might have written a letter or called someone. But take an ad out? Risk her Academy membership for maligning a film in public? What also concerns me is that her manager or pr or spokesperson is the dreadful Sue Cameron, a woman I tangled with last year when she hijacked singer Phoebe Snow’s funeral here in New York by giving a eulogy about herself. It was a travesty. Now Cameron is saying how “shocked” Novak was when she heard the music. Really? The woman hasn’t made a movie since 1991. Maybe she should listen to some others that quote Herrmann. How does she feel about all the films that riff on Hitchcock? Brian DePalma anyone?

Novak actually wrote: “I want to report a rape. I feel as if my body — or, at least my body of work — has been violated by the movie, The Artist.”

It’s hard to believe that Novak was so motivated by “The Artist” soundtrack–so full of original melodies and inventive work–that she called up Variety and read them a credit card number. Something smells fishy here. As for ‘body of work’–she acted in one movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Weird.

Directors Guild Picks Nominees, Greatest Oscar Indicator

Roger Friedman
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Directors Guild Picks Nominees, Greatest Oscar Indicator

The Directors Guild of America has chosen its nominees. And listen, this is the greatest indicator for the top 5 Best Picture nominees and the Best Director nominees. The five are Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris,” Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist,” David Fincher for “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” Martin Scorsese for “Hugo,” and Alexander Payne for “The Descendants.” Except for the omissions of Steven Spielberg for “War Horse” and Bennett Miller for “Moneyball,” I think the list is exactly right. If you add those two films, plus maybe “The Ides of March,” you’ll have the Best Picture nominees for 2011. It’s a solid list. There is simply no way that Terrence Malick’s incoherent yet daring “Tree of Life” is going to make it into the big final awards selections. Ditto Lars von Trier. And “Bridesmaids” is fun, but not a competitor. So that’s it. The DGA did a good job.

Sean Penn to Get Humanitarian Award from Critics Choice on Thursday

Roger Friedman
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Sean Penn to Get Humanitarian Award from Critics Choice on Thursday

Are you getting ready for the Critics Choice Awards? That’s Thursday on VH-1 at 8pm Eastern. The group just announced it’s giving Sean Penn their Joel Siegel Humanitarian Award for his work in Haiti. As I reported earlier, George Clooney is presenting the award. Clooney is also nominated for a slew of awards that night, for “Ides of March” and “The Descendants.” Every big movie star of this season is coming to the Critics Choice, the first broadcast awards show of the season. Critics Choice is composed of actual working writers, reporters, and correspondents who cover the film industry, as opposed to this Wednesday’s National Board of Review–a self congratulatory group of fans who pay membership fees to see the movies and to put on a fancy dinner. As for Penn, he has worked hard in Haiti and made a difference with his organization.

Paul McCartney Set for Grammy Performance, TV Special

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney Set for Grammy Performance, TV Special

Exclusive: Paul McCartney‘s upcoming album of standards, “Kisses on the Bottom,” is getting a big push for its February 7th release. “Kisses,” which I got to hear recently, will get a TV special taped in Hollywood during Grammy week. And McCartney, I can tell you exclusively, is set to sing his brilliant new song, “My Valentine,” on the Grammy Awards February 12th–two days before Valentine’s Day. Even better: I can also tell you that “Kisses”–a reference to the x’s at the bottom of love letters and not anything untoward–is an exquisite recording made by award winning, legendary producer Tommy LiPuma.

LiPuma–who McCartney has tapped as music director of his MusiCares tribute on February 10th–has used only the finest musicians in this effort–Diana Krall and her two bands (studio and touring), father and son guitarists Bucky and John Pizzarelli, and Andy Stein, virtuoso violinist from Commander Cody. Stevie Wonder plays a trademark harmonica solo on a McCartney original, “Only Our Hearts,” and Eric Clapton adds his bluesy guitar to a couple of tracks including a sensational  cover of “Get Yourself Another Fool.”

Also exclusive: taking a page maybe from Sting, who sang it memorably in “Leaving Las Vegas,” McCartney will include a bonus track recording for download of the Frank Sinatra hit,  “My One and Only Love.” It’s not on the album simply because Paul and LiPuma couldn’t physically fit another song on the CD. My guess is fans will buy the CD and then download the extra song.

What a treat this album is, simply because the recording is outstanding. McCartney sang a lot of it live with Krall; the spontaneity is evident throughout. Many of the musicians’ great moments were ad libbed, too. Krall, who doesn’t sing on the album. helps LiPuma give the project the feeling of a George Shearing recital at the Cafe Carlyle. Listened to on real speakers (forget those damned earbud things), “Kisses” has a warm, intimate glow. And listen, it is far from boring. McCartney is so energized, he sounds as if he’s had a “voice lift.” But there’s absolutely no trickery–it’s all him.

Everyone’s going to have favorites when “Kisses” is revealed (which should be soon). You should know that even though McCartney the businessman owns a lot of music catalogs, the songs he and LiPuma chose were from the heart, not the wallet. He only has the copyright on Frank Loesser’s “More I Cannot Wish You,” a little gem from “Guys and Dolls” — and “Inchworm,” from “Hans Christian Anderson.”  But reviving Loesser’s overlooked classics for a mainstream audience is like missionary work. You only get rewarded for it. It’s not like he’s singing “Luck Be a Lady Tonight.”

I loved his inspired vocal on “We Three,” also an old Sinatra hit, which LiPuma could release as a focus track. (We used to call them singles.) As with all the songs, McCartney invests a lot of humor and personality in his reading. I think it’s going to surprise everyone how well he took to this genre.

At the same time, the McCartney originals–“My Valentine” and “Only Our Hearts”–are two of his best songs in years and years. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a lot of singers like Tony Bennett cover them quickly. And all this from a man who turns 70 this June.

LiPuma–by the way–has produced everything from Barbra Streisand‘s famous “The Way We Were” album to Natalie Cole‘s “Unforgettable” and dozens of artists from Michael Buble to George Benson to Gladys Knight and Dave Mason.

tracklist:

1. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter (Alhert/Young) 2:36
2. Home (When Shadows Fall) (Van Steeden/Clarkson/Clarkson) 4:04
3. Paper Moon (Arlen/Harburg/Rose) 2:35
4. More I Cannot Wish You (Loesser) 3:03
5. The Glory of Love (Hill) 3:45
6. We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me) (Dorsey/Robertson/Mysels) 3:22
7. Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive (Arlen/Mercer) 2:31
8. My Valentine (McCartney) 3:14
9. Always (Irving Berlin) 3:49
10. My Very Good Friend the Milkman (Burke/Spina) 3:04
11. Bye Bye Blackbird (Henderson/Dixon) 4:26
12. Get Yourself Another Fool (Forrest/Heywood) 4:42
13. The Inch Worm (Loesser) 3:42
14. Only Our Hearts (McCartney) 4:21

Fail! NY Post Attack on Woody Allen Unfair, Motivated by Oscar Season

Roger Friedman
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Fail! NY Post Attack on Woody Allen Unfair, Motivated by Oscar Season

Wow–the New York Post went all out on Sunday to attack Woody Allen. They rehashed twenty year old stories, and used past quotes from Woody and Mia Farrow‘s biological son as if they were spoken to the Post. They weren’t. What they did do was make Ronan Farrow, who was born Satchel Allen, seem brainwashed by his mother. And the 24 year old’s supposedly a genius. Where does he think he got it from? His father is one of the great moviemakers and writers of all time.

We may all have disagreed with his decisions in 1991–that’s 1991–to leave Farrow for her adopted daughter, Soon Yi. But the couple is still together after two decades. And they have two children who seem happy and well adjusted. There’s no explanation for such an attack on Allen except that he’s getting Oscar mentions everywhere for his terrific film, “Midnight in Paris.” He’s also been the subject of a great documentary on PBS. The New York Post piece, by Maureen Callahan, didn’t come out of nowhere. But wow–the Post should have just called it “Assassinating Woody.”

I say, bull—-. Woody Allen is an artist. He may have questionable judgment, but he did nothing to that kid. Or any other kid. At the time of the Woody-Mia scandal, Farrow alleged all sorts of improprieties. None of them was true. But she punished him by cutting him off from Ronan/Satchel/Seamys, and from the two kids he’d adopted with Mia–Moses and Eliza/Dylan/Malone. She even changed their names, as if they were pets. No one can underestimate the amount of hurt Farrow suffered. But Sunday’s story was uncalled for, no matter what happened.

Let’s not forget a couple of things. Mia Farrow was 21 when she married Frank Sinatra, who was 50. So she can’t complain about the age difference between Woody (75) and Soon Yi (40). Then, sorry, she “stole” Andre Previn from his wife, Dory Previn, who’s written about it. Soon Yi, who was adopted by Farrow (not Allen) at age 13, said she considered Andre Previn her adopted father. Woody was her mother’s boyfriend.

It worries me, too, when Farrow is trotted out as the perfect mother, particularly for adopted so many kids. After the break up with Allen, Farrow adopted six more children in addition to the ones she had and her biological children. Two of her adopted daughters have died. And one of them, a boy, she named Elliot for the judge–Elliot Wilk–who presided over her child custody case with Allen. (By the way, Wikipedia needs a citation for that–it came from me, in New York magazine, 1995, Intelligencer column. I broke that story.)

Her total number of kids was 15. Yes, Fifteen.

PS here are the lyrics to Dory Previn’s famous song about Mia Farrow, called “Beware of Young Girls:”

“Beware of young girls who come to your door,
Wistful and pale, twenty and four,
Delivering daisies with delicate hands.
Beware of young girls, too often they crave,
To cry at a wedding…and dance on a grave.”

“She was my friend, my friend, my friend.
She was invited to my house, oh yes she was,
And although she knew my love was true, and no ordinary thing,
She admired my wedding ring, she admired my wedding ring.”

“We were friends, oh yes we were,
And she just took him from my life, oh yes she did.
So young and vain, she brought me pain, but I’m wise enough to say,
She will leave him one thoughtless day, she’ll just leave him and go away, oh yes.”

“Spider Man” Musical Actually Be in Lead for Tony Awards

Roger Friedman
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“Spider Man” Musical Actually Be in Lead for Tony Awards

Is it possible? Yes, it is. “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark”–expensive, controversial, litigious, accidental, dangerous–is the lead candidate for Best New Musical at the 2012 Tony Awards. If someone had said this a year ago, there would have been peels of laughter and tomatoes thrown at the stage. But times have changed. Because “Spider Man” didn’t open until June 14th last year, it missed the Tony eligibility–and it had already played 100 shows by April 30th. But they were previews. Now “Spider Man” is breaking box office records at the Foxwoods Theater. Last week it took in $3 million. Three million dollars. So it’s here to stay. Audiences obviously love it.

Meantime, new musicals are scarce. The atrocious “Lysistrata Jones” closes soon. Coming this winter are “Newsies” and “Ghost,” each based on movies. There’s not a lot of hope there. There’s some talk that “Leap of Faith,” also based on a failed movie, may come in. But it got terrible reviews in Los Angeles. “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” a “new” Gershwin musical, is a possibility.

If “Spider Man” winds up being the Tony favorite, then look for some real scandalous trouble. The producers ousted creator Julie Taymor and haven’t paid her a red cent. She’s suing them. Meanwhile, the Tony committee ruled that she’s the only eligible Best Director nominee from the show–not her so called replacement, Philip McKinley.

This could be the first Tony show in which pepper spray is deployed in the green room and onstage. And what else: the two original female leads have left the show. They would be the nominees, not the women currently playing their roles. Good stuff. This is what they call drama!

Kooky “Melancholia” Gets Nod from National Film Critics

Roger Friedman
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Kooky “Melancholia” Gets Nod from National Film Critics

This has NOTHING to do with the Oscars or reality, but the National Society of Film Critics picked their winners for 2011 today. The two films they liked best were the weirdest and most frustrating of the year– Lars von Trier‘s “Melancholia” and Terrence Malick‘s “The Tree of Life.” It’s a kooky list that includes the hilarious not always remembered Jeannie Berlin, actress daughter of Elaine May and one time star of my favorite films, “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972), a runner up as Best Supporting Actress in Ken Lonergan’s unwieldy, five years-on-the-shelf “Margaret.” http://www.imdb.com/video/demo_reel/vi50699801/

Was the punch spiked, were the brownies remixed, or just the air very thin? Who knows? But everyone gets something this year. It’s all good! And unlike with “Melancholia,” it’s not the end of the world. Think of this as the anti-National Board of Review.

BEST PICTURE

*1. Melancholia  – 29 (Lars von Trier)

2. The Tree of Life – 28 (Terrence Malick)

3.  A Separation  – 20 (Asghar Farhadi)

BEST ACTOR

*1. Brad Pitt – 35  (Moneyball, The Tree of Life)

2. Gary Oldman – 22 (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

3. Jean Dujardin – 19 (The Artist)

BEST ACTRESS

*1. Kirsten Dunst – 39 (Melancholia)

2. Yun Jung-hee – 25 (Poetry)

3. Meryl Streep – 20 (The Iron Lady)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

*1.  Albert Brooks – 38 (Drive)

2. Christopher Plummer – 24 (Beginners)

3. Patton Oswalt – 19 (Young Adult)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

*1. Jessica Chastain – 30 (The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Help)

2. Jeannie Berlin – 19 (Margaret)

3. Shailene Woodley – 17 (The Descendants)

BEST DIRECTOR

*1. Terrence Malick – 31 (The Tree of Life)

2. Martin Scorsese – 29 (Hugo)

3. Lars von Trier – 23 (Melancholia)

BEST NONFICTION

*1. Cave of Forgotten Dreams – 35 (Werner Herzog)

2. The Interrupters – 26 (Steve James)

3. Into the Abyss – 18 (Werner Herzog)

BEST SCREENPLAY

*1. A Separation – 39  (Asghar Farhadi)

2. Moneyball – 22 (Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin)

3. Midnight in Paris – 16 (Woody Allen)

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

*1. A Separation – 67 (Asghar Farhadi)

2. Mysteries of Lisbon – 28 (Raoul Ruiz)

3. Le Havre – 22 (Aki Kaurismäki)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

*1. The Tree of Life – 76 (Emmanuel Lubezki)

2. Melancholia – 41 (Manuel Alberto Claro)

3.  Hugo – 33 (Robert Richardson)

EXPERIMENTAL
Ken Jacobs, for “Seeking the Monkey King.”

Larry King Sets New Dates for Previously Cancelled Stand Up Shows

Roger Friedman
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Larry King Sets New Dates for Previously Cancelled Stand Up Shows

For about a year Larry King has been promising to bring his stand up show to theaters. From what I can tell, announcements from February 2010 resulted mostly in cancellations. (One one bill it looks like he was paired, oddly, with Todd Rundgren. Cancellation may have been due to lack of psychedelic drugs.)

I’m not sure if this was from low ticket sales or Larry’s inability to perform. However, I was told he’s booked two new shows in the New york Area:February 2nd  at the Palace Theater in Stamford and February 4th at Whitman Hall in the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts. I sure hope he makes it. According to various online ticket brokers, he’s got some dates in Florida this winter, too–I’m sorry I’ll miss him on January 22nd in Naples, Florida, but maybe my mom and dad will go and report back.

If Larry really wanted some good material, he could talk about how his show is bring produced. His father in law, Karl Engemann, who has a long history in the music business (original A&R man for the Beach Boys at Capitol Records) and former manager of Marie Osmond, is producing Larry’s show. You may recall Larry’s wife, Shawn, nearly divorcing him a couple of years ago because she said Larry was having an affair with her sister. So, Larry, please, no more cancellations. And Larry can also tell audiences about his upcoming movie starring Shawn, himself, and 11 year old Paris Jackson.

 

 

Van Halen Plays Famous Greenwich Village Club Once Owned by David Lee Roth’s Uncle

Roger Friedman
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Van Halen Plays Famous Greenwich Village Club Once Owned by David Lee Roth’s Uncle

Jimmy Fallon, John McEnroe and Patty Smythe, and about 200 other lucky rock fans got a chance to see Van Halen, the 1980s rockers, perform for the first time in eons, last night. The place was Cafe Wha?, the famed tiny Greenwich Village club on MacDougal Street once owned by singer David Lee Roth’s uncle, Manny Roth. And so, 92 year old Manny Roth made the trip from his home in Ojai, California for the promotional show, with his daughter. David Lee Roth’s two sisters came as well, making the table where I managed to find a sliver of a seat the official Roth family table.

“I’m 92 and I’m still in the game,” Manny Roth yelled to the audience after his nephew introduced him. But the singer could not hear his uncle over the crowd. Roth said, “He’s 92 and he says he’s having the best time of his life.”

Manny Roth opened Cafe Wha? in 1960. It’s much the same as it was then: a narrow bunker under the Players’ Theater, with low ceilings and a marble floor Manny hand-laid 52 years ago. (He sold it a a while ago.) “David woke me up the other day and said Uncle Manny, I’m finally playing Cafe Wha?!” From the stage, nephew David admitted: “I carved my name on one of the bannisters down here when I was seven years old.”

Roth and another family, the Van Halens, took the stage after a bodyguard walked them in from the front door and parted the sea of old rockers who’d come to see them, pushing aside waitresses who carried trays above their heads. By the time Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen and David Lee Roth took the small stage, and played the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” the temperature in the bunker had risen considerably. There wasn’t much available air for breathing either.

“Welcome to Occupy Van Halen,” announced Roth, who sported a tweedy newsboy cap. After the Kinks song, the group–which hasn’t played together with this lineup really ever–ran through mostly hits like “Hot for Teacher,” “Panama,” “Dance the Night Away,” “Running withe Devil,” and “Jump.” Bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced by Wolfgang, Eddie’s son with Valerie Bertinelli. Roth has not sung with Eddie and Alex in more than 20 years. There have been plenty of failed attempts to put Van Halen back together, all ending in acrimony. A 2007 tour ended in rehab and reproach. But time and finances will always produce detente in a classic rock band.

As I reported last week, Van Halen has recorrded a new album that will be released on February 7th. It’s called “A Different Kind of Truth.” Trhe first single is “Tattoo,” but they didn’t play it last night. Instead they played “She’s the Woman,” which will be on the album. An ardent fan said it’s an unreleased track circa 1978.

Roth, opening the show, spoke for the group. He talked about all the media in the room. “Which one of you guys from the press knows Lady Gaga. I gotta meet her.”Roth said he’d been living on the Lower East Side a few years ago in the building above the club where Lady Gaga got her start. Small world.

He also talked about being an EMS ambulance. “It was an eye into New York City that most people don’t have,” he said.

 

All photos c2012 Ann Lawlor

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