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Paul Reiser Hits the 88s with Julia Fordham But Doesn’t Want to Stay Up Late

Roger Friedman
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Paul Reiser‘s latest TV show got caught in the crossfire at NBC. But Reiser is also rising to the occasion–last night he played a gig at the Highline Ballroom with spectacular vocalist Julia Fordham. Reiser is a long time pianist and songwriter. When he heard Fordham’s amazing voice on the radio, he knew he had to work with her. The result is this mini tour–they play the Roxy in West Hollywood on August 2nd–and a whole album recently released called “Unusual Suspects.” A song from the album called “Unsung Heroes” has been adopted by veterans groups as an anthem for soldiers returning from Afghanistan. Last night, staff sergeant Kevin Gebo — on loan from the Army– was a guest on the show and played a haunting trumpet solo on a couple of songs including “Unsung Hero.”

Gebo usually plays with an outfit called Pershing’s Own Ceremonial Band, and performs “Taps” at an average of 8 funerals a day at Arlington National Cemetery. He’s only 28, so it’s a heavy burden, but he does it with aplomb. Anyway, Fordham was sensational as always, mixing her new Reiser songs with favorites like “Happy Ever After”– rewritten to reflect support for Japanese earthquake help–and her masterworks like “Stay” and “Manhattan Skyline.” Reiser, meanwhile, told me he’s loving his new side career as a musician but is having trouble staying up late. “I can’t believe how exhausting this has been,” he said, yawning, around 1am. It’s a long time since he’s done late night comedy clubs. How about his pal, Jerry Seinfeld? “Are you kidding? He’s in bed by 8,” joked Reiser.

 

Sean Penn, Frances McDormand Flick Still Has No US Distributor

Roger Friedman
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“The less we say about it, the better” is a line from David Byrne’s Talking Heads song, “This Must Be the Place.” That’s also the title of the Paolo Sorrentino movie starring Sean Penn and Frances McDormand, two Oscar winners. But “This Must Be the Place,” which debuted in Cannes, can’t seem to find a US distributor. It’s set to open in France on August 24th, with dates also posted for other European cities. But so far no mention of a domestic deal. The film is also not turning up at other festivals. Will it become a cult classic? Penn plays a kind of Ozzy Osbourne/Marilyn Manson type rocker who was popular in the 1980s but lives like a semi recluse in Ireland. McDormand is his understanding but prickly wife. Then he gets a call from Brooklyn, of all places. His Holocaust survivor father has died. Penn jets to the Orthodox funeral, appearing in full make up etc. From there he decides to hunt down the Nazi who tortured his father during the war. Along the way he runs across Byrne, who performs the title song ebulliently. If this movie sounds weird and awful, it’s not…it’s just very odd and kind of fascinating. No word on what will happen. There was some buzz at Cannes that The Weinstein Company was interested, but nothing panned. It might be too weird to have movies with Penn and by Madonna in the same season, anyway.

Sting Gets Classy, Snazzy Box Set for 25th Solo Anniversary

Roger Friedman
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Believe it or not, Sting is celebrating 25 years as a solo artist this fall. While his original run as leader of The Police lasted just a few years, his solo career has been more than four times longer. Manager Kathy Schenker and producer Rob Mathes have assembled an amazing collection of four discs–three of his best studio work and one devoted to live performances called “Rough, Raw and Unreleased.” The DVD comes from Sting’s 2005 show at Irving Plaza in New York, and has never before been issued. The package arrives on September 27th, right before Sting’s 60th birthday on October 2nd. (Yes, he actually looks like that at 60. Grrrr.)  There’s also rumors of some kind of celebration tied to the birthday that should be quite memorable. And there’s also rumblings that work has progressed significantly on the Sting musical, loosely based on his album, “The Soul Cages” and written with “Next to Normal” Pulitzer Prize winner Brian Yorkey.

Here’s the track listing for “Sting: 25 Years.” All the tracks are beautifully remixed for state of the art sound:

Disc One:
1.    If You Love Somebody Set Them Free
2.    Love Is The Seventh Wave
3.    Consider Me Gone
4.    Moon Over Bourbon Street
5.    Fortress Around Your Heart
6.    Bring On The Night (Live)
7.    Driven To Tears (Live)
8.    I Burn For You (Live)
9.    Be Still My Beating Heart
10.    They Dance Alone
11.    Englishman In New York
12.    Fragile
13.    We’ll Be Together
14.    Sister Moon
15.    Secret Marriage

Disc Two:
1.    All This Time
2.    Mad About You
3.    Why Should I Cry For You?
4.    The Soul Cages
5.    When The Angels Fall
6.    If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
7.    Fields Of Gold
8.    Seven Days
9.    It’s Probably Me
10.    Shape Of My Heart
11.    When We Dance
12.    I Hung My Head
13.    I Was Brought To My Senses
14.    You Still Touch Me
15.    I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying

Disc Three:
1.    A Thousand Years
2.    Desert Rose
3.    Ghost Story
4.    Brand New Day
5.    Send Your Love
6.    Whenever I Say Your Name
7.    Stolen Car (Take Me Dancing)
8.    Soul Cake
9.    The Hounds Of Winter
10.    Next To You
11.    We Work The Black Seam
12.    The Pirate’s Bride
13.    Never Coming Home
14.    Russians (Live)
15.    The End Of The Game (Live)

Disc Four: Rough, Raw & Unreleased: Live at Irving Plaza
1.    Message In A Bottle
2.    Demolition Man
3.    Synchronicity II
4.    Driven To Tears
5.    Heavy Cloud, No Rain
6.    A Day In The Life
7.    Voices Inside My Head/When The World Is Running Down
8.    Roxanne
9.    Next To You
10.    Lithium Sunset

“Bangla Desh” George Harrison Film Gets Free Showings for 40th Anniversary

Roger Friedman
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Believe it or not, kids, it’s the 40th anniversary of “The Concert for Bangla Desh.” George Harrison and Ravi Shankar‘s landmark event took place in the summer of 1971. Seems like yesterday (not). Anyway, to commemorate the milestone, ITunes is showing the film for free from July 30th – August 1st. The concert film will also be shown for free on those dates at www.georgeharrison.com. Today, the soundtrack went online on ITunes for the first time for downloading. This is a big deal. “The Concert for Bangla Desh” was the first all -star charity rock concert. Harrison got the biggest names on the scene–Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Billy Preston — to be featured. Badfinger was the house band. Paul McCartney and John Lennon, however, stayed away. (It was also the summer of McCartney’s great second solo album, “Ram.” In the fall, Lennon released “Imagine.”) There’s just about nothing better than Harrison and Russell singing “Beware of Darkness.” The free showings are a lovely gesture, no doubt due to Olivia and Dhani Harrison. I still have my 1971 box set of LPs from “Bangla Desh,” by the way, a cherished souvenir. Proceeds from the downloads and the streaming, etc will go to the George Harrison Fund at UNICEF. http://www.theconcertforbangladesh.com/

“Funny Girl” Coming to Broadway, But Without Lea Michele

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: The revival of “Funny Girl” is on its way to Broadway, but without “Glee” star Lea Michele. There was talk that Lea was going to star as Fanny Brice, the part made famous by Barbra Streisand in 1964. But color Lea Michele booked: she is under contract to “Glee,” and, according to sources, she’s staying on that show or connected to it despite recent reports. “Funny Girl” is slated for a mid January run in Los Angeles before heading to New York in the spring to make Tony Awards deadlines. Bartlett Sher is directing, and Chris Gatelli is choreographer. Bob Boyett is the producer.

“Funny Girl” is now searching for its Fanny and Nicky Arnstein. But rehearsals are set for November in New York. Lea Michele will still be filming the current season of “Glee.” A source quipped: “By the time she’s out of Glee, they’ll be ready for a revival of this revival.” Funny. How the story of three “Glee” principals being axed from the show got so out of hand is another story altogether. But it seems clear that Michele, Chris Colfer and Cory Montieth will wind up in a spin off show next fall, or graduated to adult status. “They’re not going anywhere,” says a source.

So who should play Fanny and Nicky in the Broadway revival? Any ideas? Anne Hathaway, call your agents!

Clooney, Pitt, Gosling, Hamm, Jane Fonda, U2 Toronto Film Fest Picks

Roger Friedman
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Ryan Gosling, Glenn Close, Jon Hamm, Jane Fonda, and U2 are all coming to the 2011 Toronto Film Festival. And that’s not all: so are George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Hugh Laurie, and Catherine Keener. Gosling and Keener will be represented by two movies, in fact. Clooney directs “The Ides of March,” which also opens the Venice Film Festival and is said to be excellent and an Oscar contender. Pitt comes in Bennett Miller’s “Moneyball,” which also has strong buzz. Keener’s films are “Peace, Love and Understanding” — with Jane Fonda, and directed by Bruce Beresford, and “The Oranges” with Hugh Laurie, set in the Jersey suburbs. Gosling, of course, has “Drive,” which debuted in Cannes. He also stars in “Ides of March.” Jon Hamm stars in “Friends with Kids,” directed by his director girlfriend Jennifer Westfeldt (“Kissing Jessica Stein”). Glenn Close could be an Oscar contender in “Albert Nobbs.” There’s also Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, and Anthony Hopkins in “360,” Madonna’s “W.E.,” and Michael Fassbender and Carrie Mulligan in “Shame.” To put it mildly, Toronto is going to be completely crazy. You wondered where all the movies have been this year? They’re going to be here. PS Also, many from Cannes including Lars von Trier‘s “Melancholia”– hopefully he won’t bring up his Nazi comments again.

Aretha’s Debut at Jones Beach, Musicals Made Over Night

Roger Friedman
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Aretha Franklin‘s show at Jones Beach tomorrow night is her debut at the fabled outdoor music venue on Long Island. The Queen of Soul has never before performed at this great spot, and she’s looking forward to it. Over lunch yesterday at Manhattan’s Le Petit Maison she told me she’s putting on a full show, with “all the hits” from “Respect” to “Daydreaming” and “Rock Steady.” Franklin’s performance Monday morning on the 10am segment of the “Today” show with Hoda and Kathie Lee was  a killer by the way–her voice has never sounded better and Aretha’s never looked better. In between “Today” and lunch, the Queen stopped by Tiffany & Co. and checked out–but didn’t buy–several amazing baubles…

…”One Night Stand” premiered the other night in New York. It’s a lively documentary about the making of “The 24 Hour Musicals.” Elisabeth Sperling and Trish Dalton traced the one day planning and executing of four 20 minute musicals put together by New York pros. Standouts are Richard Kind, Cheyenne Jackson and Rachel Dratch, with lots of humor. Perfect for a PBS fundraising night!

Tonight: Julia Fordham and Paul Reiser at the Highline Ballroom, 8pm. Don’t miss it!

James Franco Back to General Hospital? Be “Patient”

Roger Friedman
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1

Is Oscar nominee James Franco really returning to “General Hospital” this fall for an extended stay? That was the word that went out yesterday after TV Guide reported it. But I’m told that Franco was a little surprised by the announcement. He’s in Detroit filming a $100 million movie, “Oz, the Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi and taking up most of his time for the next few months. “Oz” is billed as a prequel to the “Wizard of Oz,” with co-stars Zach Braff, Michelle Williams, and Mila Kunis.

Unless “GH” is coming to Detroit, it’s unlikely that Franco can be too involved in the soap opera beyond a cameo. And that’s not all on his plate. He’s got his Yale PhD program in New Haven, poetry classes in North Carolina, and two art shows in New York scheduled for August–one at PS1 and the other at a small gallery in Soho. Plus, his many indie directed films–like “Sal” and “The Broken Tower” (which Focus Features expressed interest in)–are in various stages of preparation.

Franco told a friend of the “General Hospital” news: “I don’t know what that is about. Maybe down the road.” Maybe he can go back and forth from Detroit to Los Angeles in a hot air balloon, just like Oz the Magnificent!

Michael Jackson Family Split On How to Exploit Him

Roger Friedman
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Yesterday, some members of Michael Jackson‘s extended family made an announcement. They say they’re going to be part of some kind of tribute concert to Michael in Cardiff, Wales on October 8th. Good luck. Michael’s mother, Katherine–with LaToya, Tito and Jackie— has been roped into this quote unquote all star show in a stadium that will accommodate 75,000 people. They say the “greatest performers in the world” will be joining them. Ok. No word on what their cut of this concert will be, although there’s mention of two charities receiving something unspecified.

But Michael’s brothers, Jermaine and Randy, were obviously not happy with the deal. They’ve announced that they’re against the concert because it takes place during Dr. Conrad Murray‘s trial for allegedly killing Michael on June 25, 2009. Jermaine and Randy rarely agree on anything and certainly don’t speak to each other much since Randy’s girlfriend (and mother of his two children) left him and had two children with Jermaine, whom she married.

There’s no word on the concert from Janet Jackson, who’s on tour and is no doubt disgusted by this whole enterprise, or from the usually voluble Joseph Jackson. who’s never seen a deal he didn’t like. And what is Global Live, the company behind this project? On their website, Eric Bute, a commercial director with few credits, is listed as the American COO. He directed a music video for LaToya in 2009.

Soap Opera About the Soaps: Not So Fast to the Internet

Roger Friedman
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Yesterday, the principals of Prospect Park Productions went on set for the first time to ABC’s “All My Children.” They talked with the cast and crew about their intentions, and explained why so far no one–with maybe the exception of Susan Lucci–knows much about the company’s plans to move this soap and “One Life to Live” to the internet. I am told by sources inside that “All My Children” will not be going directly from TV to the web on Monday, September 29th. “The goal is to be on the web in the first quarter of 2012,” says a source. So “AMC” really will have a finale on September 26th. Ditto “One Life to Live,” which will end its run on January 20, 2012 but not reappear the following Monday on the web. Also, I can tell you exclusively that Prospect Park is preparing to take “General Hospital” from ABC when that run ends, probably in a year. Will this all happen? Will Prospect Park really save the soaps? No one really knows. A big part of the move is collective bargaining with all the unions and guilds involved. Then there are questions of where the shows will be taped–ABC moved “AMC” to Los Angeles against the wishes of the actors, uprooting lots of families. My guess is the “AMC” gang wouldn’t mind going home.

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