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Oscar Campaigning Gets Strict New Regulations

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Campaigning Gets Strict New Regulations

The parties are going to get a lot duller between nomination day and Oscar day. This is just for the Academy or Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Golden Globes/Hollywood Foreign Press Association can continue to junket and live it up all over the place, spending gobs of money, taking freebies, and wasting everyone’s time. Here’s the new press release:

Beverly Hills, CA – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today issued regulations for how movies and achievements eligible for the 84th Academy Awards may be marketed to Academy members.

The most notable change affects screening events that include filmmaker participation. Additional changes address digital delivery of movies to Academy members and public references to competing films or achievements via social media platforms.

“These campaign regulations play an important role in protecting the integrity of the Academy Awards process and the distinction of the Oscar®,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “Above all, we want Academy members to see movies as they were meant to be seen, in a theatrical setting.”

Prior to the nominations announcement (January 24, 2012), there are no restrictions on screening events to which Academy members may be invited. These events may include the live participation of individuals involved with the film (Q&A panel discussions, etc.) as well as receptions with food and beverage. After the nominations have been announced, Academy members may continue be invited to screenings that have filmmaker participation elements but receptions are not permitted. While there is no restriction on the total number of screenings of a particular movie, no one individual from the film can participate in more than two panel discussions. Previously, Academy members could not be invited to any screening event that included live participation of the filmmaker(s) or a reception either before or after the nominations had been announced.

Additionally, after nominations are announced and until final polls close, members may not be invited to or attend any non-screening event that promotes or honors a nominated movie or individual nominee. Nominees themselves are also prohibited from attending such events. Academy-sanctioned events and awards ceremonies presented by the various guilds, critics groups and other organizations are exempt.

The regulations now emphasize that viewing motion pictures in a theatrical setting is highly preferred over any other viewing method. The distribution of screeners is still permitted, however, with specific restrictions on packaging and accompanying materials. The digital distribution of movies to Academy members is now acceptable, as long as the delivery method conforms to the regulations. The long-standing ban on negative campaigning about other nominated films or individuals is now extended to social media platforms, and specific penalties are spelled out. Academy members will be subject to a one-year suspension for first-time violations and expulsion for any subsequent violations. As in the past, any form of advertising that includes quotes or comments – negative or positive – by Academy members is prohibited.

To read the complete Regulations Concerning the Promotion of Films Eligible for the 84th Academy Awards, go to:http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/regulations.html. Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre.

And So We Said: Sean Penn “Place” Movie Goes to Weinstein Company

Roger Friedman
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And So We Said: Sean Penn “Place” Movie Goes to Weinstein Company

“This Must Be the Place,” an odd movie by Paolo Sorrentino, has gone to the Weinstein Company. Sean Penn has a kind of grand performance,but the movie is very weird and doesn’t quite work. I told you on May 20th that TWC was interested in it, But then nothing happened. See this link: http://www.showbiz411.com/2011/05/20/sean-penn-ryan-gosling-take-center-stage-at-cannes

Penn plays a retired 80s rocker who looks sort of like The Cure’s Robert Smith. He lives in an Irish castle with his idiosyncratic wife (Frances McDormand) and makes friends with a young woman who is played by Bono’s real life daughter. Penn talks in a high voice like Michael Jackson. Then it turns out his father, a Holocaust survivor, is dying in Brooklyn. So he goes to Brooklyn, where everyone is Orthodox and davenning (praying). He decides to go on a Nazi hunt and find the man who tortured his father in the camps–the man lives out west. Along the way, because he drives– looking like Robert Smith meets Ozzy Osbourne–he runs into David Byrne, who puts on an electrifying performance of his Talking Heads song, “This Must Be The Place.”

For some reason, TWC wants to be in business with Madonna and with Sean Penn. Is it 1992? What’s next, a remake of “Shanghai Surprise”? I don’t know what people will make of this movie, which we saw at Cannes. Maybe there’s a Holocaust-Talking Heads-Ozzy Osbourne demographic.  

REM, Influential Pop Group Circa 1980, Is Officially Done

Roger Friedman
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REM, Influential Pop Group Circa 1980, Is Officially Done

REM is over. The influential pop band, and one of my personal favorites, has called it a day. Well, 31 years. Remember the Beatles were only together officially for 8 years. Pop bands were never supposed to go on forever (Rolling Stones, U2). The cool ones (The Police) wrapped it up and became legends. Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Bill Berry (who played on the seminal hits) leave a legacy of outstanding records right up through their current, “Collapse Into Now.” And so they have.

from their website:
“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M.

In their own words: The guys share their thoughts on why now.

MIKE

“During our last tour, and while making Collapse Into Now and putting together this greatest hits retrospective, we started asking ourselves, ‘what next’? Working through our music and memories from over three decades was a hell of a journey. We realized that these songs seemed to draw a natural line under the last 31 years of our working together.

“We have always been a band in the truest sense of the word. Brothers who truly love, and respect, each other. We feel kind of like pioneers in this–there’s no disharmony here, no falling-outs, no lawyers squaring-off. We’ve made this decision together, amicably and with each other’s best interests at heart. The time just feels right.”

MICHAEL

“A wise man once said–‘the skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave.’ We built something extraordinary together. We did this thing. And now we’re going to walk away from it.

“I hope our fans realize this wasn’t an easy decision; but all things must end, and we wanted to do it right, to do it our way.

“We have to thank all the people who helped us be R.E.M. for these 31 years; our deepest gratitude to those who allowed us to do this. It’s been amazing.”

PETER

“One of the things that was always so great about being in R.E.M. was the fact that the records and the songs we wrote meant as much to our fans as they did to us. It was, and still is, important to us to do right by you. Being a part of your lives has been an unbelievable gift. Thank you.

“Mike, Michael, Bill, Bertis, and I walk away as great friends. I know I will be seeing them in the future, just as I know I will be seeing everyone who has followed us and supported us through the years. Even if it’s only in the vinyl aisle of your local record store, or standing at the back of the club: watching a group of 19 year olds trying to change the world.”

Simon Cowell Has a Brother Who’s Cashing in On “X Factor”

Roger Friedman
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Simon Cowell Has a Brother Who’s Cashing in On “X Factor”

Surprise! Simon Cowell has a brother. His name is Tony Cowell, and he’s cashing in on the “X Factor.” It’s actually amazing we haven’t heard from him before, Anyway, Tony Cowell is going to be on the ReelZ Channel as “The X Factor” correspondent according to a press release. I don’t where the ReelZ Channel is or how to find it, but Tony will be on there at 5pm on their Hollywood show. His bio says he co-authored Simon’s 2003 autobiography–which really should be part of “Celebrity Autobiography” if it isn’t already. His entire career, according to the release, has revolved around Simon, which doesn’t sound healthy. Maybe they’re the same person, like Todd on “One Life to Live.” Anyway, “X Factor” starts tonight on Fox with Cheryl Cole already saying goodbye. Mariah Carey will make her debut in the next couple of weeks. It’s all good!

Steven Spielberg to Get Producers Guild Award

Roger Friedman
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Steven Spielberg to Get Producers Guild Award

I can’t believe it’s taken this long, but Steven Spielberg is finally getting the Producers Guild Award. It’s an honorary prize named after legendary David O. Selznick. Spielberg will get the award on January 21st, right in the middle of Oscar season–in fact just days before the Academy Award nominations are announced. He may very well be up for some with his film version of “War Horse.” Past honorees include Stanley Kramer, Saul Zaentz, Clint Eastwood, Billy Wilder, Brian Grazer, Jerry Bruckheimer, Roger Corman, Laura Ziskin, Kathleen Kennedy & Frank Marshall , John Lasseter. Last year, Scott Rudin got the award in the middle of his big season with “The Social Network” and “True Grit.” This year Rudin is bringing “Moneyball”–a great movie which everyone has to see–to the Oscar dance. Congratulations to Spielberg, who’s probably the most famous movie maker in the world. But he’s also done an enormous amount of good with his Shoah project and other philanthropies.

Sting and Vince Gill Joke About Being “The Self Righteous Brothers”

Roger Friedman
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0
Sting and Vince Gill Joke About Being “The Self Righteous Brothers”

Country star Vince Gill and rock star Sting teamed up at the Hammerstein Ballroom last night to help CMT Crossroads celebrate its 10th anniversary in a big way. It was the first New York taping in five years for the cable country video network’s program, which teams country artists with those of other genres in illustrating the far-reaching roots of country music–and usually tapes in Nashville. The show airs November 25th.

This “Crossroads” was one of the toughtest tickets for those lucky enough to attend. But while previous stellar pairings like John Fogerty and Keith Urban and John Mellencamp and Kenny Chesney may have made more sense from the country music roots standpoint, that surely didn’t bother anyone present.

Any advantage Gill might have had in being the CMT property was likely offset by Sting’s being an Englishman in New York, as Hammerstein’s appeared to be as much a Sting crowd, at least, as Gill’s. “I always wanted to be rock star– but couldn’t fit into spandex,” joked Gill, alluding to his heavyweight tendancies, though he looked slimmed-down casual and kind of bookish in short hair and glasses, jeans and plaid shirt with tails sticking out.

Sting was more formal in basic black, and the color scheme gave a good graphic representation in the differences of their music and presentation: Gill is a livelier player and composer, easily alternating from his songs to Sting’s as the show’s format dictated. Prefacing the duo’s cover of The Everly Brothers’ “Let It Be Me,” he said that they were taking their act on the road as “The Self-Righteous Brothers.”

“Let It Be Me” was also the one song where the two split the vocal duties in half, each standing tall at their mic stand and singing without playing. Otherwise, one would take the lead on the other’s hit, then trade places, with Sting starting the night off with Gill’s “Liza Jane,” Gill following with Sting’s “Fields Of Gold” after reverently noting how the beloved late pop songstress Eva Cassidy recorded it before she died.

Sting singled out Gill’s “Whenever You Come Around” as a song that “speaks to me,” after pointing out the difficulty in deciding which Gill song to sing. The performance was marked by a beautiful Gill guitar solo; Sting didn’t play on this one, but on others he played harmonica and acoustic guitar in addition to bass. The nine-piece backing band, incidentally, was Gill’s, and had no trouble moving back-and-forth between its leader’s material and Sting’s.

“The great thing about a show like this is we get to sing out of our comfort zone,” said Gill, leading into Sting’s “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You,” the only song in the rapid nine-song, 40-minute taping–which was followed by only one retake–that didn’t quite jell. But it ended big with “Every Breath You Take,” which brought everyone to their feet and whistling.

“Thanks for doing this buddy!” Gill said to Sting afterwards.

Elaine’s Auction Brings in $385K with Memories of Woody, Plimpton, Marilyn

Roger Friedman
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0
Elaine’s Auction Brings in $385K with Memories of Woody, Plimpton, Marilyn

The action at Doyle’s on Tuesday afternoon was the auction of memorabilia and personal items from the late Elaine Kaufman and her 47 year old landmark upper East Side restaurant, Elaine’s. By the time the last gavel fell, about $385,000 had been collected from fans and friends, a few outsiders, and some professionals who used phones and the internet.(We underestimated originally at $307.000, because we excluded the auction house’s premium.)

Dispersed now into the wind are the papier mache carousel horse that hung in the window, the old manual cash register, photographs of the rich and famous, noteworthy art work, and Table Number 1, which went for $7,000.With the premium it came to $8,750 according to Doyle’s.

Your truly was able to pick up a baseball from the 1978 World Series which George Steinbrenner inscribed to Elaine “I love you.” Bar stools, personal jewelry, a sign from the old subway system that read “No Passengers,” all of it went in an auction that took just under four hours. The narrow room at Doyle’s opened onto the street, and was packed from start to finish. But the last ninety minutes was kind of cool, with just the regulars taking the seats and bidding for items that had personal significance. Among the pieces now in the hands of Elaine’s friends: A Woody Allen signed poster of “Play it Again, Sam”; a Bert Stern photograph of Marilyn Monroe; and a drawing of George Plimpton.

Rosie O’Donnell Arts Program Now Financially Assisting NYC Public School

Roger Friedman
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Rosie O’Donnell Arts Program Now Financially Assisting NYC Public School

Ok, this is above and beyond: Rosie O’Donnell‘s Rosie’s Theater Kids is now actively supporting a New York City public school with financial assistance and arts programs. Last night at the annual fundraiser for Rosie’s Theater Kids, part of the live auction was to raise money for Rosie’s group to help with P.S. 51. The public school is down the street from Rosie’s Maravel Arts Center. But the school was so decrepit that it’s now being rebuilt. The construction is too health hazardous for the kids and staff, so they’ve been moved from West 45th St. to East 91st St.

This is a huge distance–especially for little kids. The school didn’t have much of an arts program to start with, so they’d been using Maravel and Rosie’s programs to supplement their own. It makes you wonder what’s going on with the NYC Board of Education and why no one from the city was at Rosie’s fundraiser last night to thank her and her staff for doing their jobs. Anyway, I spoke to someone at the relocated P.S. 51 and they confirmed it–they’re having to bus their kids back to Rosie’s for arts programs. Yes, that’s 50 blocks south and then cross town.

Meanwhile, the Rosie’s benefit was a big hit–Aaron Neville performed, and so did the amazingly talented kids from the Maravel Center. The live auction raised over $300,000 and included a visit to Rosie’s new show on OWN (the Oprah network) in Chicago, and a day at Nickelodeon. Rosie looked great, too, and was funny as ever. Gayle King, Cynthia Nixon, Fran Drescher, and Natasha Lyonne were among the A list guests, and Z-100’s Elvis Duran helped auction off tickets to the very hot Jingle Ball show set for this December at Madison Square Garden.

Rosie, by the way, got a kick out of Elvis asking if she and Oprah were feuding–the subject of a recent tabloid report. “Feuding? I’m scared to death of her,” Rosie laughed. O’Donnell has inherited Oprah’s studio and staff in Chicago, and the pressure is on for “The Rosie Show” to be the centerpiece of OWN. She did admit to feuding with Elizabeth Hasselback of “The View,” however.

“30 Rock” Casts Net for Celebrity Cameo for Premiere

Roger Friedman
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You may be wondering, what’s happened to “30 Rock”? Even though Alec Baldwin is hosting the premiere of “Saturday Night Live,” the witty much loved satire doesn’t shoot its first episode of the new season until the week of October 3rd. Ostensibly because of Tina Fey’s maternity leave, the show has a late new season start date. It’s not even set yet, although November sweeps seem about right. By the time viewers see “30 Rock,” Alec Baldwin will have lost half a person in weight. So who knows how Fey will write that all in? For the premiere, “30Rock” is currently casting a New York based celebrity for some kind of visual joke. It can be an actor, singer, anything. Even a Kardashian. The only caveat is “New York based.” I guess they don’t want to pay for a lot of travel expenses. They also don’t want someone on Broadway who has an 8pm curtain. So it’s wide open, celebs. If you want to be lampooned, call NBC and toss your name in the hat.

Lady Gaga Can Sing! More About the Tony Bennett Gala

Roger Friedman
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1
Lady Gaga Can Sing! More About the Tony Bennett Gala

Surprise! If you didn’t know it already, Lady Gaga can sing. On Tony Bennett’s “Duets II” album, Stefani Germanotta leads off with Tony on “The Lady is a Tramp” and it’s a total success. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvjGe_j6yR8 For once, Gaga doesn’t sound at all like Madonna, but maybe just like herself. Indeed she evokes Natalie Cole or Ella Fitzgerald. It’s very nice.

The rest of “Duets II” is also a hit–from Willie Nelson on “On the Sunny Side of the Street” to “Who Can I Turn To” with Queen Latifah. Mariah Carey’s part on “When Do the Bells Ring for Me” should make the new mother of twins want to record her own album of standards and get away from hip hop for good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USToOUdwDwQ And the real Natalie Cole? Still the best, most underrated singer in the world. Also very cool: duets with Aretha Franklin and of course the late Amy Winehouse.

People are still talking about last night’s great Tony Bennett show at the Metropolitan Opera House. Sony Music was well represented by old and new regimes. Tommy Mottola was there with his celebrity wife Thalia at one table. At another, new Sony Music chief Doug Morris hosted Sir Howard Stringer, Rob Stringer, Steve Barnett and a few other Sony heavies. No word yet on the imminent arrival of former Motown chief Sylvia Rhone. It was thought she was coming soon to revive Portrait Records. Now, it seems uncertain.

Meantime, nothing really logical explains the phenomenon of Tony Bennett. Is someone else singing? I don’t think so. But listening to him on “Duets II’ is quite amazing. And there are no tricks. I’ve seen him in the studio, I’ve seen him ‘live.’ I think “Duets II” will wind up being his biggest hit ever. Nice guys do finish first.

 

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