January ennui has set in, and some Oscar prognosticators are talking up “Bridesmaids” as a possible Best Picture nominee for the Academy Awards. “Bridesmaids” is a lot of fun, and very smart, but really, it isn’t an Oscar nominee. Golden Globes? Yes. But “Bridesmaids,” directed by Paul Feig and co-written by its star, Kristin Wiig, is like a series of great sketches that rise and fall on their own merit. Taken together, they really don’t add up to much. And some of it, we’ve seen before. Wiig and co-star Melissa McCarthy are terrific throughout, of course. But “Bridesmaids” is like “The Hangover,” a really smart gross-out movie that’s a little too gross for the Oscars. Still, an original screenplay nomination is definitely right, since some of those isolated bits are genius. I’m thinking of the toast scene, where Wiig and Rose Byrne keep trying to top each other; the Farrelly Brothers-like food poison set up in the bathroom; all of Wiig’s work on the plane to Las Vegas–which seems inspired by the famous “Seinfeld” piece about Jerry in first class and Elaine in coach. I loved Melissa McCarthy with all her puppies and costumes, and her delivery is priceless. But she’s swimming against the tide in Best Supporting Actress with Octavia Spencer from “The Help,” Berenice Bejo from “The Artist,” Jessica Chastain from like five movies, as well as Janet McTeer from “Albert Nobbs,” and Shailene Woodley from “The Descendants.” At best, McCarthy is 7th on the list. But that’s not bad in a field of 200 movies. Wiig and McCarthy are already on to new projects, and long careers. And “Bridesmaids” reward is the pot of gold it produced at the box office.
2011 Album Sales Were Up! Beatles Had the #1 Vinyl Record! CD Still Rules!
Who had the number 1 selling vinyl album–a record, you know–for 2011? Why The Beatles, with “Abbey Road.” They sold 41,000 copies, and beat contemporary acts Adele, Bon Iver, Mumford and Sons, and the Black Keys. And oh yes, Adele: without her, there would not have been a record industry in 2011. She sold 5.8 million copies of “21,” and finished first in almost every category that Nielsen Sound Scan offers except for Holiday Album sales.
Adele was followed on the top 10 best selling albums list by Michael Buble, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Mumford and Sons, Lady Antebellum, Drake, the Glee cast, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, and Jay Z and Kanye West.(Forty years ago that list would have been Carole King, Rod Stewart, Marvin Gaye, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin, Santana, the Eagles, Elton John, the score to “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Just sayin’.)
Here’s something on the SoundScan totals: on digital sales, catalog downloads were up 11% over last year and beat downloads of current music. And for everyone who says digital downloading has knocked off the physical CD, they are wrong: Adele’s total included 1.8 million digital. She sold 4 million shiny silver discs. The CD is still very much alive and kicking, no matter what your IPod says.
Hugh Jackman, Broadway Houdini: I Told Readers Three Years Ago
Wow. Big announcement today that Hugh Jackman will play Harry Houdini on Broadway in 2013/2014. However: I broke that story THREE YEARS ago. Yes, here is the link. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,457159,00.html#3 I feel like I’m in the waaaay back machine. Now it seems that Kurt Andersen has been replaced by Aaron Sorkin for the book, and Danny Elfman has been scuttled for Stephen Schwartz. That’s entertainment! Jackman, coming off a record shattering Broadway run, has been working on “Houdini” for over three years. He’s planning on doing Houdini’s famous tricks himself, so it’s taken some time to get it all right. When I broke the story, it got picked up, too: http://itricks.com/news/2008/11/hugh-jackman-is-the-singing-houdini-in-new-broadway-musical/ So three years have passed. Some shows take long to come to fruition, frankly.
James Franco Sells First Novel, Compared to Work of W.E. Sebald
Multi-tasking, multi-hyphenate actor- director-writer-artist-curator-producer-hypnotist James Franco has sold his first novel, to Amazon. The New York Observer got the scoop of the sale, but I’ll tell you a little bit more. “Actors Anonymous” is said to be in the style of late German novelist, W.E. Sebald, who mixed memoir with fiction and punctuated with black and white photographs. Ed Park, who’s a happening novelist, is editing the book at Amazon. (His novel, “Personal Days,” was a cult favorite last year from Random House.)
If you haven’t followed this story so far, Amazon’s actual physical books are distributed by Houghton Mifflin. But there’s a hitch: Barnes & Noble has threatened not to stock Amazon books or include them for Kindle. (This is so ridiculous, it’s hard to discuss. This is the same Barnes & Noble that killed off small bookstores 30 years ago in favor of their “supermarkets.” )
Anyway, Franco’s collection of short stories, called “Palo Alto,” was published a year and a half ago by Nan Graham at Scribner’s. (Note to Gawker: “Palo Alto” was pretty damn good.) But Franco made friends with Park while doing some of his graduate work at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. “Ed is really into making the book a big deal,” agent Richard Abate, who made the deal at Franco’s behest. Franco, studying at Warren Wilson, Yale, and the Rhode Island School of Design, has no publication date in mind yet.
While You Were Away: Madonna, Lady Gaga, Star-less Star Trek and More
Just getting back from the endless vacation? Even today it seemed like the Christmas-New Years truce was still in effect. Well, you missed a few things you could have learned here first and exclusively.
For example: we reported that Madonna is still giving buckets of money to Kabbalah.
http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/21/madonna-gives-another-830k-to-cultish-kabbalah-center-causes.
and that the new “Star Trek” movie will not have any of the actors from the original “Star Trek.”
http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/20/next-star-trek-adventure-no-original-cast-members
Lady Gaga released a nice new Xmas song to her fans with the F word in the title and the word whore in the verses:
http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/26/lady-gagas-f-word-christmas-song-present-to-fans
and Paul McCartney has chosen legendary producer Tommy LiPuma to oversee his MusiCares Person of the Year show in February. LiPuma also produced Paul’s new album, due in February
http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/12/20/paul-mccartney-new-album-some-song-titles-musicians-info-etc
Producers Guild Goes For Artist, Moneyball, Descendants, War Horse, Etc.
Here is the press release following from the Producers Guild of America. They chose The Artist, War Horse, The Descendants, Moneyball, Hugo, The Ides of March, Midnight in Paris, The Help, Bridesmaids, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--ten live features as Best Picture nominees.That ten is likely the Oscar group. Just wait and see. Among their documentary nominees, “The Union,” Cameron Crowe’s pic about Elton John and Leon Russell. Ironically, the Grammy Awards ignored this album–it’s a shonda–but nice to see the PGA liked it.
LOS ANGELES, CA (January 3, 2012) – The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today the motion picture and long-form television nominations for the 23rd Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories include: The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures; The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures; and The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television. The documentary film category and other television category nominations were already announced by the Guild in December 2011.
All 2012 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on January 21, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the Producers Guild will also award special honors to Leslie Moonves (Milestone Award), Steven Spielberg (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), Don Mischer (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Stan Lee (Vanguard Award), and IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (The Stanley Kramer Award). The 2012 Producers Guild Awards co-chairs are Paula Wagner and Michael Manheim.
The 2012 Producers Guild nominated films and television programs are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with producers. The producers’ names listed for each nominated production are listed in alphabetical order and are not necessarily the proper order of credits.
The theatrical motion picture nominees are:
Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ARTIST
Producer: Thomas Langmann
BRIDESMAIDS
Producers: Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, Clayton Townsend
THE DESCENDANTS
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
Producers: Ceán Chaffin, Scott Rudin
THE HELP
Producers: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green
HUGO
Producers: Graham King, Martin Scorsese
THE IDES OF MARCH
Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Brian Oliver
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
Producers: Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum
MONEYBALL
Producers: Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz, Brad Pitt
WAR HORSE
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures:
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN
Producers: Peter Jackson, Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
CARS 2
Producer: Denise Ream
KUNG FU PANDA 2
Producer: Melissa Cobb
PUSS IN BOOTS
Producers: Joe M. Aguilar, Latifa Ouaou
RANGO
Producers: John B. Carls, Gore Verbinski
The television nominees are:
The David L. Wolper Producer of the Year Award in Long-Form Television:
“Cinema Verite” (HBO)
Producers: Zanne Devine, Karyn McCarthy
“Downton Abbey” (Masterpiece) (PBS)
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Nigel Marchant, Gareth Neame
“The Kennedys” (ReelzChannel)
Producers: Jon Cassar, Jonathan Koch, Stephen Kronish, Steve Michaels, Michael Prupas, Jamie Paul Rock, Joel Surnow
“Mildred Pierce” (HBO)
Producers: Todd Haynes, Pamela Koffler, Ilene S. Landress, Christine Vachon
“Too Big To Fail” (HBO)
Producers: Carol Fenelon, Jeffrey Levine, Paula Weinstein
*The Long-Form Television category encompasses both movies of the week and mini-series.
In December 2011, the Producers Guild of America announced the Documentary Theatrical Motion Picture, Television Series and Non-Fiction Television Nominations; the following list includes complete producer credits.
The Producers Guild of America Producer of the Year Award in Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures:
BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Producers: Michael Rapaport, Edward Parks (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)
BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
Producer: Philip Gefter
PROJECT NIM
Producer: Simon Chinn
SENNA
Producer: James Gay-Rees
THE UNION
Producers: Cameron Crowe, Michelle Panek
The Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy:
“30 Rock” (NBC)
Producers: Robert Carlock, Tina Fey, Marci Klein, Jerry Kupfer, Lorne Michaels, David Miner, Jeff Richmond, John Riggi, Don Scardino
“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Producers: Chuck Lorre, Steve Molaro, Faye Oshima, Bill Prady
“Glee” (FOX)
Producers: Ian Brennan, Dante Di Loreto, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Kenneth Silverstein
“Modern Family” (ABC)
Producers: Paul Corrigan, Abraham Higginbotham, Steven Levitan, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Morton, Jeffrey Richman, Dan O’Shannon, Brad Walsh, Bill Wrubel, Danny Zuker
“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)
Producers: Greg Daniels, Dan Goor, Howard Klein, Amy Poehler, Morgan Sackett, Michael Schur
The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama:
“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
Producers: Eugene Kelly, Howard Korder, Stephen Levinson, Martin Scorsese, Rudd Simmons, Tim Van Patten, Terence Winter
“Dexter” (Showtime)
Producers: Sara Colleton, John Goldwyn, Chip Johannessen, Robert Lloyd Lewis
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Producers: David Benioff, Frank Doelger, Mark Huffam, Carolyn Strauss, D.B. Weiss
“The Good Wife” (CBS)
Producers: Brooke Kennedy, Michelle King, Robert King, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David W. Zucker
“Mad Men” (AMC)
Producers: Jonathan Abrahams, Scott Hornbacher, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Blake McCormick, Dwayne Shattuck, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television:
“The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
Producers: Meredith Bennett, Stephen T. Colbert, Richard Dahm, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Tom Purcell, Jon Stewart (*additional producers eligibility pending arbitration completion)
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (Syndicated)
Producers: Mary Connelly, Ellen DeGeneres, Melissa Geiger Schrift, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner, Kevin A. Leman II, Jonathan Norman, Derek Westervelt
“Real Time with Bill Maher” (HBO)
Producers: Scott Carter, Sheila Griffiths, Marc Gurvitz, Dean Johnsen, Bill Maher, Billy Martin
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Producers: Ken Aymong, Steve Higgins, Erik Kenward, Lorne Michaels, John Mulaney
“The 64th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Producers: Ricky Kirshner, Glenn Weiss
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Competition Television:
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Elise Doganieri, Jonathan Littman, Bertram van Munster, Mark Vertullo
“American Idol” (FOX)
Producers: Charles Boyd, Cecile Frot-Coutaz, Simon Fuller, Patrick Lynn, Nigel Lythgoe, Megan Michaels, Ken Warwick
“Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)
Producers: Ashley Edens Shaffer, Conrad Green, Joe Sungkur, Rob Wade
“Project Runway” (Lifetime)
Producers: Jane Cha Cutler, Desiree Gruber, Tim Gunn, Heidi Klum, Jonathan Murray, Sara Rea, Colleen Sands
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
Producers: Daniel Cutforth, Casey Kriley, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Murphy, Nan Strait
The Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television:
“30 for 30” (ESPN)
Producers: John Dahl, Connor Schell, Bill Simmons
“American Masters” (PBS)
Producers: Susan Lacy, Julie Sacks
“Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” (Travel Channel)
Producers: Christopher Collins, Julie Lei, Lydia Tenaglia, Tom Vitale
“Deadliest Catch” (Discovery Channel)
Producers: Thom Beers, Jeff Conroy, John Gray, Sheila McCormack, Ethan Prochnik, Bill Pruitt, Matt Renner
“Undercover Boss” (CBS)
Producers: Chris Carlson, Susan Hoenig, Eli Holzman, Sandi Johnson, Stephen Lambert, Allison Schermerhorn
**Below are new categories for the 2012 Producers Guild Awards; three television categories and one web category. As such, these programs were not vetted for producer eligibility this year but winners in these categories will be announced at the official ceremony on January 21st:
News Programs:
“Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
“BBC World News America” (BBC)
“NBC News with Brian Williams” (NBC)
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)
“60 Minutes” (CBS)
Sports Programs: (*There was a tie, which is why there are six nominees.)
“Monday Night Football” (ESPN)
“Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (HBO)
“Sports Center” (ESPN)
“30 for 30” (ESPN)
“2010 FIFA World Cup” (ABC / ESPN / ESPN2)
“U.S. Open Tennis Championship” (CBS / ESPN2 / Tennis Channel)
Children’s Programs:
“Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon)
“iCarly” (Nickelodeon)
“Phineas and Ferb” (Disney Channel)
“Sesame Street” (PBS)
“SpongeBob Squarepants” (Nickelodeon)
Web Series:
“Ask a Ninja” (blip.tv)
“The Guild” (WatchTheGuild.com)
“Parks and Recreation Presents: ‘April & Andy’s Road Trip’” (NBC.com)
“30 Rock Presents Jack Donaghy, Executive Superhero” (NBC.com)
“Web Therapy” (LStudio.com)
About the Producers Guild of America
The Producers Guild of America is the non-profit trade group that represents, protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media. The PGA has over 4,750 members who work together to protect and improve their careers, the industry and community by providing members with health benefits, employment opportunities, the creation of fair and impartial standards for the awarding of producing credits, as well as other education and advocacy efforts such as promoting sustainable production practices. Visit www.producersguild.org and www.pgagreen.org for more information.
“One Life to Live” Has But 9 Episodes Left Starting Today
Starting today, “One Life to Live” winds down its 43 years with nine final episodes. It all comes to a big conclusion next Friday, January 13th. By then Victoria Lord Riley Buchanan Carpenter Davidson Banks (and maybe Buchanan again by Friday) will have seen it all. And Erika Slezak, her multiple Emmy winner portrayer for 41 years, will have played it all–literally. Her character, Victoria Lord, was conceived by Agnes Nixon as a riff on Tracy Lord from “The Philadelphia Story”– a bright young ingenue from a wealthy Philadelphia Main Line family. But that’s where things stopped since things happened to Victoria that would give Tracy nightmares: her father was murdered by his second wife.
Then Victoria was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder brought on by memories of her father’s sexual abuse in a secret lair underneath their mansion. He also fathered two children with one of Victoria’s school chums. Along the way, Victoria time traveled, visited heaven, an underground city, worked as a waitress in a Texas coffee shop, had twins by two different men (one of them was a cult leader). She survived breast cancer and had a heart transplant. Three husbands died. A daughter whom she’d forgotten she had also died. (The actress left for Hollywood.) Her two original siblings died and were replaced by two new younger ones. Her son had an affair with her father’s killer. Many people she knew died, but then turned out to be alive well after their funerals. (Contract disputes.)
Erika Slezak never batted an eye. Over the weekend there was a “One Life to Live” marathon on TV that showed her in all her glory. And this is what I’ll say after intermittent viewings between football games: Slezak was too good for soaps. But this is what kept the show going all those years. (That, and the dependably straightfaced Robert S. Woods, her longest running male co-star. He has to be cited, too.) No matter how preposterous it got, Slezak never gave into the silliness. She knew Victoria had one life to live, and she wasn’t going to squander it. She’s the Meryl Streep of daytime, and that says a lot.
Now a still beautiful mid 60s, Slezak should be hired immediately by HBO or Showtime for one of their dramas. She’s too good to just retire. She stole s recent “One Life” episode designed as a parody of soaps–playing a German maid the way Mel Brooks would have directed her. She’s been consistently brilliant. And she’s no scene chewer. She’s never given in to what has to have been an impulse. Her famous living room set remains intact. Only two other soap actresses who I can recall played it with same elegance: Constance Ford on “Another World” and Maeve Kinkead on “Guiding Light.”
“One Life” goes off the air, and 50 plus years of New York soaps ends too. It’s truly the end of an era, thanks to greedy networks and megalomaniacal executive producers. The latter made the whole thing get wilder and wilder, choosing implausible stories and young, squeaky bimbos and himbos over real drama. Soaps resonated with viewers through the mid 80s because they were serious. But when camp and kitsch spread like cancer, the shows were over. After next Friday, only four shows will remain–all shot in Los Angeles, and all pretty bad. A cancellation notice for “General Hospital” is imminent, so its time slot can be taken by Katie Couric next fall.
But I will set my DVR to see Victoria Lord’s final shows, and hope to god she gets a happy ending after enduring so much sturm and drung. And look forward to seeing Erika Slezak, Robert Woods, Jerry ver Dorn, Robin Strasser and a handful of their talented actors continue to work once the door is closed on “One Life to Live.”
PS “One Life” now joins “As the World Turns,” “Guiding Light,” “All My Children,” “Another World,” “Search for Tomorrow.” and “Edge of Night” in New York soap heaven. Fans miss them all. This is a shout out to Don Hastings from “ATWT.” You’re not forgotten, Dr. Bob!
Van Halen Announces January 5th Event at Greenwich Village Club
Van Halen–getting ready for its February 7th album launch and January 10th concert tour ticket debut for their first tour since 1821–has just announced an event in New York on January 5th. They’ve chosen Greenwich Village’s Cafe Wha? for their announcement. The group includes Eddie van Halen, brother Alex, son Wolfgang, and the legendary (for many reasons) David Lee Roth. Roth doesn’t get along with Wolfgang, the whole lot of them are at odds, but that’s the story of most rock bands. They’ve recorded their first new album with Roth since Reagan was president. And it comes out on February 7th on Interscope Records. The band will likely appear on the Grammys on Sunday, February 12th.
Gayle King, Oprah’s BFF, Ready to take on the Morning
In this week’s issue of Parade–and at www.parade.com–yours truly has written the cover story about Gayle King, broadcaster, journalist, mother,and Oprah’s BFF. King and Charlie Rose take over the newly reconstituted “CBS This Morning” beginning a week from today, January 9th. Producer Chris Licht, who came from “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, is taking the reins. It was his idea to couple King and Rose. For Gayle it was not an easy decision. Even though she’s staying with Oprah’s O Magazine, she’s leaving her OWN network at a troubled time. Still, King says Oprah pushed her to go for the opportunity. There was no tension, just support. Gayle tells me Oprah will not be her first guest. “That’s a little cheesy, isn’t it?” she asks. She wants an independent identity. I think she has one already. I know Gayle quite separately from Oprah. I knew her as a broadcaster from Connecticut. In New York, where we both live, Gayle is a welcome presence at nighttime events. She loves music as much as I, and has eclectic taster that runs from Jay Z to Carrie Underwood to Sting. I can’t wait for her to put her imprint on the CBS show, and give Charlie Rose a daily alarm.
Justin Bieber’s Beatle Chords, Lady Gaga’s Ping Pong Paddle Mask
Dick Clark‘s kinda sad Rockin’ New Years Eve with Ryan Seacrest was an Interscope special on Saturday night. From Times Square: Lady Gaga was interviewed by Seacrest while wearing some kind of silky white Versace gown and a Ping Pong paddle mask. When she returned to sing her medley, she was in a whole different get up: all black with a hood and black party mask. The hood lifted up. It looked like Gaga, who can sing, actually sang, since she did not do much dancing. (It’s nearly impossible to sing and simultaneously perform the calisthenics known as dancing these days.) Good for her.
Justin Bieber was not so lucky. His rendition of “Let it Be” certainly seemed performed to a track, even though there was a band on stage. IParticularly unconvincing was Bieber supposedly playing a piano while he warbled. The cameras made sure not to show much of his fingers on the keys, and when they did, he was barely touching them. He also slouches at the piano in a way that would make pounding out that song very hard. Ask Paul McCartney, who wrote it, and leans in, spine straight, as he guides the other musicians.
If you notice from the video (see video player) there’s an actual keyboard player doing the real work in the upper left hand corner at 3:54. He’s in silhouette, wearing a hat and glasses. The man is really moving in time to the music as he plays “Let it Be.” Bieber is inert. The pop stars who do play piano in their live shows (Billy Joel, Elton John, Carole King, Alicia Keys, McCartney, even Jamie Foxx) are a little more emphatic about not just playing occasional chords.
I do not get the Bieber attraction. His voice is average, if not actually whiny. He does nothing original. He seems to be getting smaller. And he is clearly not a musician. Most of Bieber’s YouTube videos show him playing the same little instrumental ditty over and over–dedicated to his Grandma.
The saving grace was a surprise cameo by Carlos Santana, actually playing live guitar for all of one minute. I hope he was paid a lot of money for that.