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“Tower Heist” Failure: Is that the End of Eddie Murphy?

Roger Friedman
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“Tower Heist” Failure: Is that the End of Eddie Murphy?

The tragedy of “Tower Heist”: a star packed action flick that’s made a disappointing $125 million worldwide. It should have made twice that number. And it had to, with big paydays for Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, director Brett Ratner, decent checks to Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, et al. The production budget came  to around $125 million. After all, they re-staged the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade here in New York.

And what does it mean for Eddie Murphy? He was/is one of the most effective comedians ever. His one man stand up shows in the 1980s were amazing. Even his smallish role in  “Tower Heist” showed glimmers of his genius. But as a movie star, it does seem like he is done as leading man. His presence in the “Tower Heist” promotions didn’t do much to help the film. Its $75 million US take (and its $50 million international) suggests that for Eddie, his name means less than it ever did to audiences as incentive for spending money at the box office.

Murphy has not had a real hit of his own since 2003 with “Daddy Day Care.” Prior to that. two sequels– to “The Nutty Professor” and “Dr. Dolittle”–in 2001 and 2000, were just over $100 million hits respectively. Hard to believe but those years were a decade ago.

But look at the rest of his resume–“Imagine That,” “Meet Dave,” “Pluto Nash,” “I Spy,” “Showtime”– it’s a list that isn’t even wanted in bins of $2 DVDs. “Pluto Nash” made under $5 million–isn’t that what Eddie spends on vacations? If it weren’t for the animated, ensemble “Shrek” films, his name would have disappeared a long time ago. Granted, “Dreamgirls” was a hit and garnered him an Oscar nomination. But Murphy didn’t seem to get it, or to like it very much. When he lost the Oscar, he got up and exited the Kodak Theater in a huff.

And Murphy made no effort to follow up “Dreamgirls” with a project that signaled his interest in extending his career or capitalizing on the momentum. The dreadful “Norbit” came out during his Oscar campaign and made $95 million by piggybacking on the Oscar press. But it was also considered the reason he lost the Oscar to Alan Arkin in “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Long long ago no are the days of “Beverly Hills Cop,” “48 Hrs,” their sequels, and “Trading Places.” Murphy is probably very, very rich so none of this matters financially to him. His next film, called “A Thousand Words,” doesn’t seem like it will do much to help the situation. The plot sounds like it’s a reworked “Liar Liar” (the old Jim Carrey comedy). And it’s leftover from Dreamworks’ Paramount deal.

Lady Gaga’s F Word Christmas Song Present to Fans

Roger Friedman
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Lady Gaga’s F Word Christmas Song Present to Fans

Lady Gaga–who apparently is also being sued by her former assistant–gave her fans a present on Saturday night. It was a new song she put up on YouTube. Taken from the unreleased tracks from “Born this Way,” the song–catchy and well sung, of course- features the F word in the title. “I’m Stuck On F—-in’ You” can be seen here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXje0s_bOa4.

Gaga writes on the YouTube entry: “So to give you a little background to the creation of this song. I wrote it in Minnesota after the Monster Ball on the tour bus. We recorded it in one shot. Fernando on guitar, Paul on Drum Machine. I wrote, sang it, and freestyled the last minute + a half of the song.”

Is it vulgar. crass, coarse? Yes. Yup, it is. Of course, I am over 50. When the Rolling Stones tried to released “Starf—-ker” it came out as “Star Star.” But that was a long time ago. Enrique Iglesias had the word featured in a song this year. Gaga’s song also featured the word “shit,” which I will print here. She’s so talented, but will do anything to get attention. Just anything. Maybe she’s worried because Madonna is coming out with her new single soon.

Why does she do it? Baby, she was born that way. Says a lot.

Someone wrote on YouTube that this reminded them of Janis Joplin. Uh, no, not really. Not so much, to use 2011’s most overused phrase.

2011: Remembering Our Friends

Roger Friedman
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2011: Remembering Our Friends

Well, I just watched the “Hail and Farewell” portion of the “CBS Sunday Morning” show. It was pretty good, including my friends Phoebe Snow and Nikolas Ashford, as well as Sidney Lumet. It’s hard to believe they’re gone. I can only hope that Phoebe and Nik are up in heaven, concertizing with Clarence Clemons.

But the CBS show–and certainly today’s New York Times magazine–missed a couple of people who were maybe less famous or important to them but incredibly missed. Elaine Kaufman died on December 3, 2010 and missed the Times deadline last year. I guess this year there wasn’t enough room for her. But we made sure Elaine got a great send off on November 30th when Dick Cavett hosted her memorial at Merkin Hall. Despite the imminent announcement that the buildings housing her 47 year old legendary restaurant have been sold (hello Dunkin Donuts or Bank of America!), Elaine will never be forgotten.

Last March, my friend Frank Dileo had open heart surgery at Cedars Sinai Hospital. That night he had a stroke in his asleep, and never awoke. In August he died after several months of restless sleep. Frank invented the Michael Jackson of “Thriller” and “Bad” fame. He managed Michael through the highs of his career, and no matter what happened he was the man upon whom Michael counted for counsel. Frank is often pictured with a stogie in his mouth, and tales of his wild life in the record business are notorious. But he was also a great, great friend, father, husband. There hasn’t been a day this year that I haven’t thought of him or talked to him. (And yes, he’s answered back.)

One other loss from the record exec side: Steve Popovich, who was Frank’s good pal from Cleveland and the man behind Meat Loaf. Steve sued Columbia Records several times and won each time, over his portion of the Meat Loaf money. He was a champion of the little guy in the music biz who helped create a superstar and then got trampled over and over by the labels.

A couple more friends, who came from the music biz. My neighbor and pal, Sunny Ralfini, who started out by managing Blood Sweat & Tears, and wound up running the Nordoff Robbins Foundation for auditory deficits. Boy, do I miss Sunny, whose name perfectly described her disposition. And Barbara Orbison, who died this month after a short, fierce battle with pancreatic cancer. She was a magnificent mother and widow (of Roy Orbison), making sure Roy had a postal stamp (coming in 2012) and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 There were others–Sidney Lumet, who directed “Serpico” and “Dog Day Afternoon,” is sorely missed. Also gone: Gladys Horn and Marv Tarplin of Motown fame, Dobie Gray who sang “Drift Away,” famed filmmaker Ricky Leacock, music publishing legend Donnie Kirshner; and both of the men credited with writing the Rolling Stones’ hit “Time is On My Side”–Jerry Ragavoy and Jimmy Norman. I’m sure they’re still debating it in heaven, where time is endless.

The Movies You Must See This Weekend–Artist, Tattoo, Ghost Protocol etc.

Roger Friedman
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Here is a list of the movies you must see this weekend. And why. 1. The Artist–When we saw The Artist in Cannes, I knew one thing: it would be nominated for Best Picture and maybe even win. This is all coming true. Michel Hazanavicius’s film is silent and in black and white. It might not be til halfway through that you notice either. “The Artist” is so fun, refreshing, new, exciting, unusual, unique–there aren’t enough plaudits for it. Everything about it is perfection, right down to the typeface of the opening credits to the amazing set on which George (Jean DuJardin) runs into Peppy (Berenice Bejo) at the studio. You just look at that staircase, and how the meeting is staged, and know you’re watching the most unique work of art on film this year. You just give in. And no one can say a formula was followed. “The Artist” is a work unto itself.

2. War Horse–I loved Steven Spielberg’s rendition of this book, quite separate from the theatrical experience in London and New York. The movie is sentimental, yes, and also magnificent. It’s sweeping, beautiful, full of as many film references as “The Artist.” The New York Times seems to like this film, but made no reference to the actors. So I’ll tell you that Emily Watson is just great, and Jeremy Irvine is a find. There are lots of smaller roles, but Tom Hiddleston is outstanding here as the British lieutenant who takes Joey the horse from his farm. He’s also terrific as F. Scott Fitzgerald in “Midnight in Paris.” Let’s keep an eye on him. The “War Horse” cinematography is Oscar bound. The music is sensational. The war scenes are destined to be classics. This is a big, important film by Steven Spielberg. Let’s accept it as such.

3. Midnight in Paris–Among Woody Allen’s best work ever, a real homerun. It’s also just out on DVD. More about this in the next item.

4. Moneyball–Bennett Miller’s film from Michael Lewis’s book, with Brad Pitt, is my sentimental favorite. Pitt is the best he’s ever been. There’s a lot of talk of George Clooney winning Best Actor this year, but listen: he’s got a gold statue for “Syriana” as Supporting Actor. He can wait. Brad Pitt cannot. This is his moment. This may be the best adapted screenplay,too. The kind of movie you will watch over and over again.

5. The Descendants–Alexander Payne knows better than anyone how to adapt a novel into a screenplay. He takes underperforming novels and makes them brilliant on screen. This film is sharp and wise, a trenchant exploration of families, loss, and redemption. Clooney is good as ever. Shailene Woodley is a find as his daughter. Judy Greer gets what she deserves: a moment to shine. Matthew Lillard makes a welcome return. Robert Forster, the ultimate journeyman actor, brings the whole adventure in Hawaii some sense, as does Beau Bridges. I still don’t know why Michael Ontkean sits through his scenes mute. But he seems well, and happy.

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo–David Fincher has made brutal, graphic movies. So it’s kinda funny that he pulled away back here, making a tame version of the Swedish book and film. The main reason to see this is Rooney Mara, as Lisbeth Salander. While everything else works like a well oiled machine, Mara is the monkey wrench. She’s my “fifth spot” actress after Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Michelle Williams, and Viola Davis.  Plus Daniel Craig is top notch, Christopher Plummer can do no wrong, and there’s a nice cameo by “ER” star Goran Visjnic. Joely Richardson, who should be in lots more films, is an important part of this stylish mix.

7. The Iron Lady–Phyllida Law has made a great movie. You could have fooled me: I thought “Mamma Mia” was rubbish. But she’s fashioned a sensitive, layered character study–a love story–between Margaret and Dennis Thatcher. Meryl Steep and Jim Broadbent (who shouldn’t be overlooked) are the top of their respective games. They make this acting thing look too easy. No one liked Thatcher, but you might have a different understanding of her after seeing this film. (Opens December 30 in NewYork and LA, elsewhere mid-January)

8. Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol: People look at me like I have lost my mind when I say I loved the new “Mission Impossible.” The thing just rocks, what can I tell you? Get a lot of candy, a big soda, and kick back.

9. Albert Nobbs–I have no idea where you can see this film–at an art house, on video on demand. Wherever it may be, “Albert Nobbs” features two Oscar performances–by Glenn Close and Janet McTeer. It’s not for TV. It’s a movie. And it’s incredibly engrossing. (limited release until mid-January)

10. Hugo–People either get it or don’t. The amazing 3D, lively performances by Sir Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen, the whole concept of resurrecting the George Melies film clips–go see it and make up your mind. Scorsese knows what he’s doing.

George Clooney Will Present Joel Siegel Award at Critics Choice Awards

Roger Friedman
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George Clooney Will Present Joel Siegel Award at Critics Choice Awards

George Clooney has signed up for the Critics Choice Awards a special presenter. The director-actor of “The Ides of March” and “The Descendants”  is the first big Hollywood A list name I can tell you about for the January 12th Critics Choice Awards. Clooney, I am told, will present the prestigious Joel Siegel Award at the star studded event that’s shown live on VH-1.

Siegel, the late great film critic, is remembered with an award for social consciousness.Luckily, with several nominations, Clooney will already be at the Critics Choice Awards, so it won’t require a special trip. The winner of the award has not yet been revealed. Past winners include Kevin Bacon, Matt Damon, and Richard Gere.

I am told that all of the big name nominees will be present for the VH-1 show, making the “Critics Choice” awards the first big televised star-cast of the season. The show should be on a big network like CBS, but there’s a conflict, it seems, with the People’s Choice Awards that air the prior night. (This is so strange since “People’s Choice” is not considered a legit enterprise by the entertainment press.)

Anyway: the other big name set for the Critics Choice will be a “major rock star” to present a lifetime achievement award to Martin Scorsese. This will likely be either Eric Clapton, Keith Richards or Robbie Robertson. Sadly, the subject of this year’s Scorsese doc, George Harrison, isn’t available. But he’ll be sending good vibes from the beyond for his terrific “Living in the Material World” film.

 

Woody Allen Books Fifth Film with Sony Pictures Classics

Roger Friedman
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Woody Allen Books Fifth Film with Sony Pictures Classics

Woody Allen‘s “Nero Fiddled” will be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics’ Michael Barker and Tom Bernard. This is no surprise. The SPC guys have now done five films with Woody. “Midnight in Paris,” just coming to video, is his most successful in, like, forever. The extremely wonderful comedy is headed to Oscar nominations for Best Film, Director, Original Screenplay and possibly an actor nod or two (if Sony would ramp up a little on Corey Stoll). “Nero Fiddled” was shot in Rome, and stars Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig and Ellen Page. Since “Midnight in Paris” opened Cannes last season, my guess is that Venice will get “Nero Fiddled”-also since it’s Italian. SPC has done very well for Woody, but when he’s hot he’s hot. The old Miramax had a huge success with “Bullets Over Broadway.” The Weinstein Company did gangbusters with “Vicki Cristina Barcelona.” Woody seems to have hit now with every other film. After “Match Point” was so great, “Scoop” kind of went nowhere. After “VCB” came “Whatever Works” and “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.” But SPC is loyal–look how they stuck with Pedro Almodovar through “The Skin I’m In.” That’s loyalty! So now Nero fiddles, Venice is lucky, and maybe so are we. In the meantime, “Midnight in Paris” just gets better and better with age  on DVD.

Madonna Gives Another $830K to Cultish Kabbalah Center Causes

Roger Friedman
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Madonna Gives Another $830K to Cultish Kabbalah Center Causes

Madonna cannot stop giving money to the cultish Kabbalah Center. No matter what anyone tells her, no matter what the reports say from unbiased sources, she has to keep doing it. Her Ray of Light Foundation gave the Kabbalah Center and its affiliate Success for Kids over $800,000 in 2010 according to the latest tax filing. The breakdown: $650,000 to Success for Kids, formerly Spirituality for Kids; $153,000 to the Kabbalah Centre; $30,000 to Raising Malawi, the affiliate that lost millions of her dollars (as previously reported) and did not fulfill its mission of building a “leadership academy” in Malawi. No one, you see, is going to put Madonna in a corner.

Altogether in 2010: Madonna put $5 million into Ray of Light where it sits tax free. But now Ray of Light claims a worth of over $9 million in assets. Madonna gave away about $1.1. million in total, three quarters of it to Kabbalah. The rest included $250,000 to Partners in Health, a very legit group; $25,000 to the Brazil Foundation (her 22 year old boyfriend in 2009-2010 was Brazilian); $15,000 to the T.J. Martell Foundation (cancer research, famous in the record business) and some miscellaneous smaller amounts. As usual, Ray of Light gave nothing to Elton John AIDS Foundation or amFar, nothing to music education, the Grammy Foundation or MusiCares, not even a nod to a dance program for kids in the U.S. or anything in her suffering state of Michigan.

To date, neither Raising Malawi nor SFK (as either Success for Kids or Spirituality for Kids, its former name) has filed a tax return in 2010. It was revealed earlier this year that Raising Malawi, which had raised money for a school in Malawi, was in financial disarray. No one seems to know exactly what happened to its funds, including $3.7 million raised in 2008 by Madonna with UNICEF and Gucci, from an array of celebrities.

Madonna just signed a new contract with Live Nation and Interscope Records, said to be worth $40 million. It was reported earlier this fall that her eldest brother, Tony, was homeless and living on the street.

 

Beatles for Sale (ITunes Deal Running Out?); Elvis Costello’s Secret Weapon

Roger Friedman
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Beatles for Sale (ITunes Deal Running Out?); Elvis Costello’s Secret Weapon

ITunes has put the Beatles’ studio albums on sale for $9.99 apiece. All of them. The White Album, a double, is $14.99. Why? Because it’s Christmas? Doubtful. The Beatles albums are never reduced even at retail in what used to be called “record stores.” No. The fact is, ITunes’ hold on the Beatles is coming to an end. No one wants to say when. But I’d say it’s coming up if they’re starting to discount the titles. When the Beatles and EMI announced the ITunes deal on November 15, 2010, they said it would last a year. So get ready for amazon to make a Beatles announcement soon…

…Elvis Costello lost his dad recently. Very sadly, Ross McManus, an accomplished British jazz musician, passed away at age 84. Meanwhile, Costello’s secret weapon for most his career, pianist/composer/Attraction/Imposter/musical director, Steve Nieve, is getting ready to release a new album of pop songs. Stevie Nieve is so talented it hurts. A few months ago he handed me a copy of “2Gether” and I haven’t stopped listening to it. Since then, Nieve released a CD’s worth of instrumental music to ITunes and amazon.com called “Lazy Point.”

But “2Gether” is full of beautiful vocals from very talented guest stars including Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze, French singer Vanessa Paradis, Joe Sumner of Fiction Plane, Robert Wyatt (famous for his song “Shipbuilding”), Ron Sexsmith, New York’s very own Laurie Anderson, and Harper Simon. These are the catchiest, most engaging tracks anyone could want to hear. I’m addicted to several of them– a killer called “Up” with Joe Sumner, “Life Preserver,” “I Don’t Miss You,” “Reactor,” “Save the World” and “Vertigo.” The whole thing is like a box of chocolates. I can’t wait for Nieve to release this collection. Some small American label would do themselves a lot of good to get the rights to “2Gether.” While I’m waiting, I downloaded “Lazy Point.”

By the way, Steve is married to French philosopher/writer/psychoanalyst Muriel Teodori, the estimable and marvelous co-writer of their “Welcome to the Voice” opera. Not bad.

Exclusive News About Paul McCartney New Album of Standards

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive News About Paul McCartney New Album of Standards

Exclusive: Paul McCartney wrote two new songs for his upcoming album of lost standards from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. In addition to songs written by or associated with Frank Loesser, Fats Waller, Charles Brown, and other legends, McCartney contributed a couple he wrote in the style of the great jazz classics. One of them, called “My Valentine,” is up on YouTube (see link here).

The album, whose title may be released this week, was produced by another legend, Tommy LiPuma, and features Diana Krall, John and Bucky Pizzarelli, and a collection of all star musicians. Eric Clapton plays guitar on two tracks. Stevie Wonder adds his harmonica to another. There are no guest vocals, just Sir Paul.

McCartney was so happy with the experience, I’m told he’s asked LiPuma to produce his MusiCares Person of the Year show on February 10th in Los Angeles–three days after the album is released.

Some tracks from the album–I can tell you exclusively–include “My Valentine” (the probable title), “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter,” “We Three,” “Get Yourself Another Fool,” “Only Our Hearts,” (with an arrangement by another legend, Johnny Mandel) and Loesser’s “More I Cannot Wish You” from “Guys and Dolls.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uutKQ-F8b6U

http://www.musicares.org

Next “Star Trek” Adventure: No Original Cast Members

Roger Friedman
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Next “Star Trek” Adventure: No Original Cast Members

The next “Star Trek” installment, directed by J.J. Abrams, will have no members of the original cast. No Shatner, no Nimoy. No classic recipe Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Uhura, Chekhov or Sulu. The last “Star Trek” film featured Leonard Nimoy as Spock. But sources close to the next film, many of whom worked with Abrams on the new “Mission Impossible,” confirmed for me last night that none of the originals has been invited back this time. “MI4″‘s Simon Pegg, who now plays Scotty (original Scotty, James Doohan, is in space heaven now with original Bones, DeForrest Kelly), quipped, “That would involve time travel. And if the real Scotty showed up, that would be something.”

Meantime, the “Mission Impossible–Ghost Protocol” crew convened at the Museum of Modern Art last night for a post-premiere party. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes brought their own security team in addition to the regular team assigned to the invite only party. The result was a scrum inside the party, with boundaries. The Cruises were careful to keep everyone they could out of their perimeter, even some people from Paramount Pictures. It was a pointed contrast to Cruise shaking hands and signing autographs outside the Ziegfeld Theater earlier. He’s a man of the people in public. In private, the people must be approved.

But the rest of the party was very friendly, as co-star Paula Patton took up a position outside the Cruise mews with husband singer Robin Thicke, and Robin’s dad, Alan Thicke, and all the Thickes and Pattons. The tall gorgeous couple has been together since they’re 15 years old. “Actually 14,” said Paula’s mother. “She was always putting on shows as a kid and acting. My father used to say, Well, she’s not going to be a mathematician.”

And thank goodness for that. Paula Patton is simply a stunning woman. She was a standout in “Precious.” But with “MI4,” she’s on her way. Also hovering around the protected Cruise-Holmes center: director Brad Bird, co-stars Jeremy Renner and Josh Holloway, and composer Michael Giacchino. Some of the non cast included Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader from “SNL” and actor-radio host Stephen Baldwin. Viacom chief Phillippe Daumann also arrived, with his own security team. (The MoMA lobby may have been the safest room on the northeast corridor last night!)

Largely absent from the Cruise scrum: producer J.J. Abrams. He really made himself scarce.

Meantime, “Mission Impossible 4” opens Wednesday as wide as Steven Tyler’s grin. It’s all set to be a blockbuster, and rightly so. From the minute the theme music starts, to the surprise ending, the film is a total rocking big studio pleasure.

 

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