Exclusive: The New York Film Critics Circle is putting off its vote by one day. They’re moving to November 29th from November 28th. The reason is to make sure every film that’s possibly eligible has been seen by everyone. Originally the NYFCC was set to vote on Monday. Either way, they beat the less serious National Board of Review, the Golden Globes and other groups. Some films, like Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” have been stragglers this awards season. Complicating that is the Thanksgiving holiday.
VH-1 Soul Divas Ignores Legacy Artists for…Kelly Clarkson?
VH-1 has just announced all of its acts for its “Soul Divas” show– and there is perhaps one actual Soul Diva–Chaka Khan.
The show, which will air in mid December, shows VH-1’s utter ignorance of real soul, frankly. Here’s who’s not on the show: Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Mary Wilson, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle (or Nona Hendryx or Sarah Dash), Valerie Simpson, Kim Weston, Freda Payne, Martha Reeves, Carla Thomas, Ann Peebles, Brenda Holloway, Fontana Bass, Brenda Russell, Oleta Adams, the Emotions, Marilyn McCoo, Betty Wright, Cissy Houston–even Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey– or any other women from the classic era of soul.
On the male side: Sam Moore, Al Green, Eddie Floyd, Mack Rice, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, or anyone connected to original Motown or Stax.
The scheduled group includes Kelly Clarkson, who’s really a country and pop singer. Also: Erykah Badu, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Boyz II Men, Estelle, Marsha Ambrosius and Travie McCoy in addition to Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott, someone named Jessie J. and the famed soul group–ha ha– Florence and the Machine.
All the aforementioned people? I guess they’re old. Who needs ’em? (Anyway, they’d better give Sharon Jones a real segment.)
Mel Gibson’s Personal Church Now Worth $67 Million
Mel Gibson’s personal church, Holy Family, which he built for a select group of rogue Catholics, is now worth $68 million. The latest filing for Gibson’s tax free AP Reilly Foundation shows that he added another $6.8 million to the foundation’s coffers. The foundation supports Holy Family, a so-called Catholic church that is not recognized by the Arch Diocese and itself does not recognize the Pope or the Vatican. Holy Family is based on Mel and his father, Hutton Gibson’s, belief that Catholic Church reforms of 1965–called Vatican II–are irrelevant. About seventy families are said to belong to Holy Family, built on a hill top in Agoura Hills, California near Malibu.
Gibson’s ex wife, Robyn, has been removed from the list of the church’s directors.
Interestingly, no other church members besides Gibson have ever contributed a dime to AP Reilly. The church is supported entirely by Gibson. And the foundation, with those assets, makes no grants to individuals or other charitable groups. You can listen here to Hutton Gibson–noted anti-Semite and writer for neo-Nazi publications, talk about church heresy here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5dVWUKJ8b4&noredirect=1
Read also: http://www.christophernoxon.com/nyt_sub_pope.html
Who is Alan Rickman Playing? New Play Has Everyone Guessing
It was only a few minutes into “Seminar,” Theresa Rebeck’s new hit Broadway comedy, when I realized who Alan Rickman was playing: the famed book editor and writing teacher Gordon Lish. After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I said as much to Rebecca Romijn, wife of actor Jerry O’Connell, sitting next to me. I whispered it. She replied, “I heard it was David Milch,” referring to the TV writer known for “Hill Street Blues,” other dramas, and HBO’s upcoming “Luck” with Dustin Hoffman.
Rebeck herself told me after the play last night that she’d never met Lish, but “I’d had friends who took his course.” She admitted to having been a writing student once of Milch. Like all writers of roman a clef, Rebeck insisted Rickman’s Leonard–a brilliant writer/teacher/editor who sleeps with his female students and is utterly self-involved–was pure fiction.
Well, that may be. But Leonard is as much Gordon Lish as actress Lily Rabe, the real star of this show, is the daughter of playwright David Rabe and the late great actress Jill Clayburgh. Lish, wherever he is, should be happy: though the invented Leonard was once labelled a plagiarist (something Lish never was by any means–this is total fiction), he is brilliant. And while he does sleep with both female students in his $5,000 writing seminar held in a private apartment, he is also the last of the Mohicans–the real thing in literature. For Lish, who made the careers of Raymond Carver, Harold Brodkey and countless others, “Seminar” is flattering.
All that aside, the “Seminar” premiere was a fun night because Angelica Huston and Judith Light were in the audience, as well as David Rabe and producer Amy Robinson, plus Hollywood’s Paula Weinberg and Rick Nicita and New York’s ICM chief Adam Schweitzer. Designer Cynthia Rowley and husband Bill Power joined Romijn, who caught me up on her and O’Connell’s nearly three year old twin girls. They’re adjusting to New York by hitting the Natural History museum, among other places. “We’re staying in Jerry’s parents’ apartment, where Jerry grew up,” Rebecca told me. The parents have been banished to California. But O’Connell gave the entire cast and producers framed copies of a drawing his dad, Michael O’Connell, did of them. Very nice touch.
Hamish Linklater and Hettienne Park round out the cast of “Seminar.” There is nudity, kids. Park bares her breasts, and Rabe shows her bottom. “They share nudity duties,” quipped one insider. “Seminar” is 90 minutes of fun, no intermission. It joins “Private Lives,” “Venus in Fur” and “Other Desert Cities” as part of this fall’s bumper crop season of excellent plays.
And while they’re all good, this is Lily Rabe’s breakthrough moment. She’s ready, Hollywood. You wonder where the next Oscar nominees will come from. Lily Rabe will be head of the next class.
Hollywood Scandal: Lana Turner-Johnny Stompanato Murder Comes to Life
I just finished watching the 48 Hours Mystery special on CBS produced by Graydon Carter and Vanity Fair: it was the most entertaining hour I’ve seen on TV in a long time. The show covered three famous Hollywood scandals: the murder of Johnny Stompanato by Cheryl Crane, daughter of Lana Turner; the death of Natalie Wood, a story now suddenly everywhere after 30 years; and the great saga of Miranda Grovener, the woman who suckered a lot of Hollywood stars.
Of all three, though, the one that was mesmerizing was the Stompanato story. Crane actually spoke to “48 Hours” on camera, and happily exclaimed that she killed Stompanato. Then Stompanato’s son–who knew he had a son?– appeared, and took issue with the whole story of how his young father met his demise in 1958 in the home of Hollywood legend Lana Turner. Writer Patti Bosworth, always so good, did the late Dominick Dunne proud on this one. Crane got off back in 1958–she was just 14 and it was ruled justifiable homicide. Today she’s a mystery writer. Now there’s a Hollywood ending! Her exultant confession was too much to take. And she also denies that her mother really committed the crime, taking the rap for her. Bravo to 48 Hours’ Susan Zirinsky!
As for Miranda Grovener: the two guys who did go on camera I know very well–record producer Richard Perry and writer/actor Buck Henry. I remember this Vanity Fair story. It worked a little better on paper than on TV because Miranda would not appear. This was a true story, though, of a woman who purred over the phone like a kitten to VIPS and told them that she was a young, leggy blonde. As Perry found out, this was not the case. I couldn’t but think that the faux-documentary “Catfish” was somehow inspired by this saga.
And Natalie Wood? Dennis Davern and Marti Rulli have been trotting out their theories for years, and making money off of them. It’s a great story–Robert Wagner killed Natalie Wood, or somehow was responsible for it. But it’s also highly implausible that Wagner would let the woman he married twice, mother of his daughter, Courtney, die a miserable death at his hands. He would have to be a psychopath to have done it, and to have lived 30 years with the story. So while Sam Kashner does an intriguing job of assembling the puzzle pieces, they don’t really fit.
Still, a great hour!
Vampires Breaking Record: Twilight $72 Million Friday
A sucker is born every minute. Who said that? PT Barnum? Stephenie Meyer? “Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Pt.1” has taken in $72 million since midnight Thursday. That breaks some kind of record, for the most people willing to see something awful during a recession. Something like that. Well, congrats to Summit Entertainment. They’ve effectively turned film into product. The only good thing to be said for “Breaking Dawn” is that Bill Condon directed it. He’s gone from an Oscar for “Gods and Monsters” to “Chicago” to “Dreamgirls” to this and at least given Meyer’s oeuvre some respectability. Give the people what they want! In other news, Johnny Depp’s “Rum Diary” is dead and dying with $12 million, and Adam Sandler’s “Jack and Jill” is bottoming out with a total of $34 million by the end of tomorrow. Maybe they should have included vampires. Vampires! Where is George Hamilton when you need him? It’s time for “Love at First Bite, Breaking Wind, Pt. 1,” George.
Natalie Wood Sheriff’s Press Conference: Robert Wagner Is Not a Suspect
LA County Sheriff’s Department says they’re “always open” to receiving info about past cases. “Substantial information” has made them want to take a second look at the case. But the Sheriff’s department says “Robert Wagner is not a suspect.” Several sources, they say, have come forward to make them take this second look at the 30 year old case. Natalie Wood‘s death was ruled an accidental drowning on November 29, 1981. Wood died several weeks after Hollywood star William Holden. Wood’s husband, Wagner, and Holden’s long time love, Stephanie Powers, starred in a TV show at the time. This led the New York Post to publish a front page headline: “The Tragic Jinx of Hart to Hart.” It’s one of best tabloid headlines ever.
Ricky Gervais Blogs About Golden Globes: “Let Me Know Your Favourite Targets”
Here’s what Ricky Gervais
“So it looks like I’m hosting The Golden Globes for a third and definitely final time.
It was a tough decision to be honest. There were many pros and cons. I loved doing it, but I was worried that I couldn’t improve on last year. I’m in LA anyway as I’m launching Life’s Too Short on HBO. But then I didn’t want the Globes to overshadow the series. I knew some people would be uncomfortable with me being host. (This was a pro by the way.)
What actually tipped the balance and made me say yes, was the fact that it would shut up all those fucking idiots who said that I’d never be invited back. Is that the wrong reason to do something? Ha ha. I think it is.
Now here’s the thing. The outrage I caused was of course, as usual, totally out of proportion to the things I said. I don’t think anyone had any right to be offended but they were. This year I’m going to make sure their offence is completely justified. The best thing about it is writing the gags. I love writing one liners. Particularly when they can’t be used in any other context. It gives them a special weight on the night if you know what I mean.
Follow me on Twitter and let me know your favourite targets for the monologue.
I’m enjoying it already.”
Robert Wagner on Natalie Wood: She Didn’t Live a Tragic Life
The public has a short memory. Natalie Wood case re-opened? And on the Today show, the captain of the boat she died on said Robert Wagner was “responsible” for Wood’s death. Like it’s news. But the captain Dennis Davern has tried this before. He and author Marti Rulli collaborated on a Vanity Fair story in 2000 that tried to blame Wagner.
In 2003, I spoke to Wagner about all this. He ultimately wrote about Wood’s death in a 2008 autobiography. Meanwhile, every so often Davern dredges up the same material for profit.
Here’s what Wagner told me in 2003:
“The thing is, you can’t do anything about these articles. This guy’s already said these things in other articles.” He clears his throat. “The situation is really minimal, what happened. He has to go home at night. But I didn’t really [read it]. I asked my children not to read it. And the thing is, it was so unnecessary. I don’t even know why he wrote it.”
Here’s the rest of that 2003 piece. What a shame that Davern and Rulli are able to smear Wagner once again just to make money off the same old same old.
“Wagner—who went on to raise three successful, beautiful daughters after Wood’s death– doesn’t talk about her much in public. But when she comes up in conversation, Wagner is diplomatic and gentlemanly. He is to be willing to be candid rather than make Wood’s life and death more mysterious. He is in the tricky position of maintaining Wood’s legacy while trying to live his life. “I’m very happy she’s an icon. Sometimes it happens. I thought Spencer Tracy would become like that, like Humphrey Bogart. But he hasn’t.”
It’s not easy. Hollywood icons like Monroe, Elvis, Dean etc, in whose pantheon Wood now resides, are often thought of as having had tragic lives, I offered.
“I don’t think she had a tragic life,” Wagner says. “She seemed to be…she worked very hard on herself and on pulling herself together. She had a tremendous career. I mean, she really had a run that was good.” His voice is full of admiration and pride. “She loved her children, she was happy. To try and go in and turn that all upside down is just—“ He sighs and shakes his head.
“You know with Natalie, I have handled her estate since she left us. I’ve done several things that have perpetuated her legacy. The estate is handled by Global Icons, and they police the world so her picture isn’t on a t shirt or coffee cup unless we approve of it. Right now I’m trying to do a fragrance called Natalie. She’s very, very much alive for us.”
“The Artist” Gets Thumbs Up from Hollywood Vets
Michel Hazanavicius’s extraordinary–and I mean that word–silent black and white homage got the thumbs up last night from a lot of Hollywood vets. At the premiere at the Paris Theater, legendary “Singing in the Rain” director Stanley Donen and writer-director Elaine May were each wowed by the knockout film. Donen even got a shout out from Harvey Weinstein and another from Hazanavicius.
Co-star Berenice Bejo–who’s a shoo in for a Best Supporting Actress nod and is also the wife of the director–spoke when the film ended. “We apologize to Stanley Donen if our tap dancing wasn’t as good as it could be.” (It’s pretty damn good. Audiences are falling in love with Bejo.) Co-star Penelope Ann Miller nearly stole the evening, looking as glamorous as the stars in the movie.
Others who were singing the film’s praises included Broadway star Phyllis Newman, whose late great husband Adolph Green co-wrote “Singing in the Rain”; Mary Lumet, widow of Sidney Lumet, and Kathryn Altman, widow of Robert Altman. Bob and Lynn Balaban loved the movie, as did Bob Dishy and Judy Graubart. Oscar winner Geoffrey Fletcher (he wrote “Precious”) agreed. Other guests included famed journalists Brian Ross and Bo Jamiesen.
Later, at the Royalton Hotel’s 44 Restaurant, Hazanavicius, Bejo, and star Jean DuJardin looked gleeful as they posed for pictures with actress-activist Trudie Styler, famed doc filmmaker DA Pennebaker, director Whit Stillman, and actress Parker Posey, among others. Stillman had along with him young actor Hugo Becker, who stars in his upcoming “Damsels in Distress” (set for March 2012).
When Becker was introduced to Posey, she replied: “I think the first movie I ever saw at the Paris Theater was Metropolitan”–Stillman’s 1990 debut. Becker, it should be noted, was 4 that year. Parker Posey, already reminiscing? She’s the one actress who should have a hit comedy show on HBO or Showtime. Hello?