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All About Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, And Anonymity

Roger Friedman
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29

In the old days, if you wrote a letter to the editor of your newspaper, your name would be printed. It would also be verified. The letter would be vetted for racist, hate, or inappr0priate language. But the internet has changed all that. The cloak of anonymity means that you can say whatever you like in an email comment to a story on the web. Some sites just allow the comments to appear and deal with problems later. On this site, we monitor and approve the comments before they are posted.

What seems hilarious to me is that some commenters think that writing really terrible things about me will help get them published. It will not. I never signed up for abuse. So think twice before you decide to attack this messenger. Your correspondence will be deleted. Racist, anti-semitic comments, and ad hominen attacks are unacceptable.

I am a little surprised by all the hate directed at Lady Gaga. My reporting of her declining album sales is in no way an indictment of her music, personal style, or opinions. The outpouring of hate doesn’t seem commensurate with the over 1 million albums she has sold in the last few weeks. So she dresses as an egg and wears crazy outfits. This is no reason to express such bitterness. I don’t get it. Maybe she’s overdone it. And certainly the closeness of her sound and gimmicks to Madonna isn’t helping her cause. But Stefani Germanotta is not going away. She has a great voice and can write songs–she really plays that piano. “Just Dance” and “Poker Face” are great records. Maybe it was too much with “Judas.” But Lady Gaga is for real. Once she’s confident enough not to attempt shock all the time, Germanotta should settle down as a serious pop star.

And then there’s Michael Jackson. The 2nd anniversary of his death has brought out all the crazy fans, the people who loved Michael so much –and so unreasonably–that they believe they knew “the truth” about his life, his death and everything in between. This is a weird phenomenon of fandom, but worse with Jackson. It’s extraordinary. Facts never seem to matter to these fans. There’s always some “conspiracy” only they understood. With books coming soon by Frank Cascio (who actually knew Jackson and what was going on) to siblings Jermaine and La Toya–who knew very little, especially in the last five years–we’re just going to see the fan-atics really agitated. Ironically, they’re the same ones who hurt the sales of the “Michael” album. I thought they’d embrace the last music from Michael as a tribute to him. But spurred on by ridiculous claims, Jackson’s fans actually undermined him. And they missed the real treats Michael Jackson left behind for them. I guess it’s true, you only hurt the ones you love.

Finally, Michael’s former manager and publicist, Raymone Bain, had a lot to say to me in emails sent in the middle of the night. Even though the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and other publications reported that Bain had pled guilty to not filing taxes, she’s upset that I reported it. Bain would not explain to me why she hadn’t filed taxes. She wrote:

Roger…I’ve just read your column and my response:
 
1) As I and my attorneys indicated a couple years back when you first
reported it… I have never spoken to, met with, or had any dealings
with a Jason Cestaro… and what you are reporting, and any
representations he has made regarding me in this regard, holding
myself out as an agent, is a damned lie…you know it, he knows
it,  and you can print this response…I’ve had enough of this…
 
2) My “being advised”  by you about the loan, etc. “for the first time” is
also a damned lie…months prior to having dinner with you,  I had to issue
a press release announcing that the loan wasn’t called due to
the interest payments not having been made.
 
In addition, every number, every report, including a blaring headline of
your’s which read, “Michael Jackson Will Lose His Catalog in 2008”
proved inaccurate…including your facts and the numbers you arbitrarily
threw out over the years.
 
Back in 2004 and 2005 I was a bit coy and on June 10th, exhausted; but,
should have said what I’m saying now…then:  Tom Mesereau nor anyone
else had the authority to fire me based on my Agreement, which was
signed by Michael Jackson…the reason I was flown to Europe a week
or two later by Michael Jackson.  You, and others keep reporting it,
knowing it’s a damned lie.
 
With regards to my taxes…I pled guilty for failure to file income tax
returns for 2008, period…a misdemeanor.  Let me also say this, also
in response to your column, whatever Michael J.Jackson made in Japan, or anywhere else, would be reflected on
his tax returns…not mine.  You want to see my returns…I want
to see yours.

I’ll say one thing about Bain’s email: if Michael Jackson hadn’t died on June 25, 2009 it’s quite possible he would have lost the Beatles catalog and a lot more. At the time of his death, Neverland was in the hands of Colony Capital, and out of his control. Jackson was deeply in debt. For years he’d refused to do anything sensible to solve his financial problems. He was capricious and disloyal, and often acted out like a spoiled child. He went behind his advisors’ backs and made crazy deals that usually ended with lawsuits and reciminations. It’s only since Jackson died, and sensible decisions could be made, that his estate has partially recovered.  
 

Michael Jackson’s Former Manager Didn’t File Taxes During Her Regime

Roger Friedman
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1

Raymone Bain didn’t file taxes, federal or state, for 2008. This week in Washington DC she pleaded guilty to those charges. Long before Bain was Michael Jackson‘s publicist and then manager, she worked for the disgraced former mayor of Washington, Marion Barry. He didn’t pay his taxes either, although that was the least of his problems. Somehow Bain forgot all that: the past repeats itself.

Bain is accused by the government of not filing or paying taxes for 2006, 2007, and 2008–the years she managed Michael after his acquittal. I think everyone would like to see those tax filings. It was during those years that Jackson was AWOL and incommunicado. He lived in Bahrain, suburban Virginia, Ireland, and Las Vegas. He went to Japan for a lucrative fan fest that Bain arranged. At least 300 fans reportedly paid $3,400 to meet Michael Jackson. In other words: the magic number of $1 million. Deals were cut, money changed hands, and  still Michael Jackson was broke.

As Michael Jackson’s publicist, Bain was hired and fired a few times. Michael’s lawyer, Tom Mesereau, fired her on the eve of Michael’s acquittal in 2005. It was a bad scene. But once the trial ended, Bain was back, this time as manager. I feel somewhat to blame. In the spring of 2005, Bain came and went from the trial in Santa Maria, California. One night when she returned, CNN’s Jim Moret and I took her and her associate to dinner. I drove. Along the way, I explained to Bain the nature of Michael Jackson’s financial problems–his massive loans, and debt to Sony/ATV Music, the Beatles catalog saga. It was the first time she’d heard it.

In 2008, after she’d been fired, Bain got into more hot water. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336991,00.html. According to investor Jason Cestaro, Bain represented herself as an agent who could sell him Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. This also happened in 2008–oh yes, the same year for which Bain now admits not having reported, paid or filed taxes.

Bain, according to reports, will be sentenced on August 31st. She faces a possible 12 month prison sentence and $105,000 in fines.

Michael Jackson: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

Roger Friedman
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14

Two years ago this afternoon, Michael Jackson died. The only person present was Dr. Conrad Murray. He administered propofol to Michael, something the singer had done before, many times. He started using the anesthesia to “sleep” on his Dangerous tour in 1996, and never stopped. Some accounts of this will surface, I am told, in a startling and revelatory new book due early this fall from Jackson’s longtime family friend and assistant, Frank Cascio.

Back in 2005, I wrote that another longtime Jackson associate, Frank DiLeo, had visited Michael at Neverland during his child molestation trial. He found a set up in Michael’s bedroom of an IV. DiLeo told me at the time it was clear that something was being administered to Jackson. He thought it was a tranquilizer. We were too naive or clueless to think that someone was allowing Michael Jackson to be given a potent drug that no other person in the world, literally, was receiving at home — and without proper supervision.

It doesn’t matter, however, how many times Michael had propofol from different doctors. In the end, if Dr. Murray was giving it to him, and didn’t do it properly, a jury will decide if he killed the most famous person in the world. Jackson obviously knew Dr. Murray’s weakness: money. He had women and children to support. He had a lifestyle. He expected a crazy salary of $150,000 a month. Luckily, he never received it. Michael Jackson was killed before the payments could be processed.

Michael knew how to administer his own injections. In 2003 he said he had a spider bite on his ankle. But that was actually an injection that had gone wrong. I was told then that he’d done it to himself. Did he try to do this again on June 25, 2009? It’s unlikely. Injections are one thing. IV needles are another. But Michael certainly knew his way around easing his own pain. He had a sustained addiction to pills, and drank a lot. He drank wine from soda cans–“Jesus juice”– to avoid being detected. During his 2005 trial for child molestation and conspiracy–which ended in acquittal on all counts–he was zonked every day.

But who could blame him? The trial was handled expertly by Thomas Mesereau, his defense attorney, despite the legal team being saddled by an incompetent (Brian Oxman) and a local lawyer (Robert Sanger) who suggested to the judge one day that Jackson’s kids weren’t his biologically. “The circumstances that relate to the birth of the children wouldn’t be admitted for the truth of the matter,” Sanger said to a mostly drowsy, sparsely attended court on May 30, 2005. “Only his love of the children.” Oxman slept in open court. Mesereau finally fired him.

Most days, Katherine Jackson came to court. Sometimes, Joseph Jackson did, too. Michael was frightened of his father, and now he was vulnerable to him. Two years ago, Joe Jackson turned up at the BET Awards–just four days after his son had died–with a Michael Jackson imitator. Jackson told press people on the red carpet that he was starting a new record label which, of course, never materialized. In 2001, on the eve of Michael’s 30th anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden, his father told the press (me included) that he was starting an online video company. It also never materialized. But every time Michael made news, his father showed up to exploit it. You wonder what kind of pain he was in that he constantly asking to be put to sleep.

Last month, in Cannes, Joe Jackson turned up at the Carlton Hotel. He walked the red carpet and entered a private dinner held for Sean Penn and his Haiti relief programs. Jackson had new associates with him, backers from Vietnam. They didn’t speak English except for one. Jackson’s latest scheme: a Neverland style resort hotel in Vietnam, as if Neverland, Michael’s fortress away from his father, was Joe Jackson’s idea.

Hamlet, haunted by his father, considers suicide. “To sleep, perchance to dream–ay, there’s the rub.” Michael Jackson is dreaming now. His nightmares are over.

 

Peter Falk, Beloved Actor, Dead at 83

Roger Friedman
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1
Peter Falk, Beloved Actor, Dead at 83

Peter Falk has finally succumbed to Alzheimer’s. He had a tough time in the last ten years, particularly with his family. But Falk was not just famous for “Columbo,” but his fine acting in John Cassavetes‘ films like “A Woman Under the Influence,” Elaine May’s “Mikey and Nicky,” and as the grandfather in “The Princess Bride.” It was impossible not to like him. Here’s a little story. Maybe 20 years ago, I emerged from Penn Station as a Knicks game was getting out. Walking to Broadway and 32nd St.–this was long before Mike Bloomberg and Janette Sadik (wrath of) Khan had wrecked Broadway–I had to fight for a cab. When I finally got one, a voice said from behind me, “Can I share with you?” It was Peter Falk. So I said, yes, of course. He was on his way to Little Italy after the Knicks game. Instead of getting out in the Village, I rode all the way downtown with him. He was just great. I wish I could remember what we talked about, but it was basketball and Italian food. I dropped him off on Mott Street at one of his favorite haunts. We exchanged numbers, but that was it. Just a random meeting in New York with a huge star who was terrific and didn’t disappoint. Peter Falk, rest in peace.

Hallelujah! The Real Story of How 1970s Music Came Together

Roger Friedman
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0

Lots of talk this week about a Jeff Buckley movie with Penn Badgley of “Gossip Girl” as its star. Only, wait a sec: the real Jeff Buckley movie that will be made is based on David Browne‘s book, ” Dream Brother.” Jeff’s mother has approved the movie, and “Dream Brother” will have Buckley’s music in it. Jeff himself has not been cast, although lots of talented actors–even Robert Pattinson--have expressed interest. The Badgley movie, by the way, is all about a 1991 memorial concert given by Jeff in memory of his late father, Tim Buckley. That film, if it’s true to the event it’s covering, wouldn’t really be about Jeff Buckley or his music.

Now David Browne has a new book out called “Fire and Rain.” This is a beautifully wrought compelling recounting of a key year in pop music: how the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, and a dozen other artists conspired to release seminal music all in 1970. I couldn’t put it down. The choice of 1970 is a perfect one–the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel broke up, CSNY put out “Deja Vu,” their big work. James Taylor and Carole King were on the verge of coining the term singer songwriter.

The book is full of great tidbits–like Paul Simon teaching a songwriting class at NYU while waiting for “Bridge over Troubled Water” to be released. Art Garfunkel went off to star in “Catch 22.” And Paul McCartney got $135,000 for producing Mary Hopkin‘s hit “Those Were the Days”–and then Allen Klein wanted it deducted from his Beatles paycheck. Browne is exceptionally strong on all the relationships among the California crowd–CSNY, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, etc. “Fire and Rain” is a must read book for anyone who’s interested in the real history of pop music.

PS I wish the New York Times had given the book to Janet Maslin to review, or someone qualified. The guy who did it in today’s paper is a young west coast blogger. He gave “Fire and Rain” a mixed review, then boasted on his own website about reviewing it. Feh on that, I say. The reviewer also thought it would be more interesting to tell the story of 1970 through minor players. Hello? Anyone who lived through that time wants to read what Browne has put together so well–about the main participants, the real culture shapers.

Seth Meyers, Jason Sudeikis Set for “SNL” Return

Roger Friedman
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6

It’s a good thing that Lorne Michaels isn’t a “horrible boss.” The key players from “Saturday Night Live” will return this fall–Seth Meyers and “Horrible Bosses” co-star Jason Sudeikis. Add Fred Armisen, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Kenan Thompson and that’s the show. There is no “SNL” without them. Last night after Peggy Siegal’s* star studded premiere of “Horrible Bosses,” Meyers and Sudeikis hung out at the Greenwich Hotel bar with “Horrible Bosses” co-star Jason Bateman and the very sexy, lovely, Eva Mendes (she’s in town promoting Thierry Mugler perfume before heading to upstate New York with Ryan Gosling to film “The Place Beyond the Pines”).

Both Meyers and Sudeikis laughed that they’ve convinced Mendes to join “SNL” even for four episodes. Bateman said it’s still possible a movie of “Arrested Development” will come to fruition before Michael Cera gets any older. We can only hope. (Isn’t “Modern Family” just “Arrested Development” 2.0?)

Someone cracked wise that since George Clooney is single again, Eva Mendes would be perfect for him. But Eva wasn’t having any of it: even though she’s “separated” from longtime boyfriend George Augusto, their relationship is not over, not by a long shot. Meantime, Meyers host the ESPY awards in mid July. Sudeikis gets to promote “Horrible Bosses” all over the world this summer before returning to “SNL” in the fall.

PS– as in Peggy Siegal, who also helped produce the big opening night at Lincoln Center for the China ballet “Shen Yun,” given by Donna Karan and her Urban Zen. Donna was there, so was Candice Bushnell, and a couple dozen more bold face names who got a nice dose of Chinese culture. “Shen Yun” performers live in the US. Their ballet–which is acrobatic, athletic, beautifully staged with ornate costumes–is banned in China, of course. See it here in NYC this weekend. The company –we met them all, they are just terrific– returns with a whole new show in January.

Woody Allen’s Year: Oscar Push for “Paris,” and Broadway Cast Set

Roger Friedman
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3

I told you weeks and weeks ago — exclusively– about the three one act plays coming by Woody Allen, Elaine May, and Ethan Coen. I also told you that Marlo Thomas has been set to star in Elaine May’s one acter, called “George Is Dead,” since the project was first initiated. Now I can tell you that Marlo will only be in the Elaine May play. The Woody Allen and Ethan Coen plays–respectively called “Honeymoon Hotel” and “Talk Therapy”–will have overlapping casts.

Actors who’ve worked with both Woody and the Coen Brothers were selected for that reason–the great Julie Kavner (a Woody staple), Fred Melamed (featured in several Allen films and in the Coens’ “A Simple Man”), and Caroline Aaron–also a Woody favorite. Add to that group Steve Guttenberg, Danny Hoch and Grant Shaud–aka Miles from “Murphy Brown.” The whole enterprise is called “Relatively Speaking,” and will be directed by John Turturro, a Coen regular. This will be a hot, hot ticket.

I also told you back on June 16th that Woody’s “Midnight in Paris” was on track to become his biggest hit ever. All the copycat trade sites ran the same story…yesterday. Oh well. Technically, it’s already happened. “Paris” had made $46 million worldwide. Its $23 mil domestic beats both “Match Point” and “Vicki Cristina Barcelona.” In 1986, “Hannah and Her Sisters” did $40 million total. “Paris” will exceed that both domestic and worldwide.

Now comes the fun part: Sony Pictures Classics will make a big Oscar push for Best Picture, and for Woody as director and screenwriter, Owen Wilson and Marion Cotillard for Best Actor and Actress. I do think their best bet in the acting categories, though, is Corey Stoll, who plays Ernest Hemingway. Stoll is a TV actor with loads of credits, but no listed publicist. Corey, call Donna Daniels or Cynthia Swartz, and get going. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

How good are the chances? “Midnight in Paris” is the only movie released between January 1st and July 1st of Oscar caliber. It will certainly get enough votes to make a top 6 through 10 next December.

Beyonce In Big Trouble If New Album Flops As Predicted

Roger Friedman
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15

This is a rare marketing and A&R disaster in the making: Beyonce‘s new album, called “4,” will be released officially on Monday in the UK and in the US on Tuesday. It’s a potential dud, big time. Already attacked on Page Six in the New York Post yesterday, “4” was “leaked” back on June 9th to blogs and on Twitter. Now it’s officially streaming on AOL. You can listen to it and judge for yourselves, but this CD is problematic to say the least.

What’s interesting is that neither Page Six nor some testy blogs have figured out how this happened.

http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds#/1

Blaming Sony’s Rob Stringer is not the answer. I think the responsibility for this debacle will rest with Teresa LaBarbera Whites, senior A&R exec for Columbia Records. Whites has been working with Beyonce since discovering her at the age of 9 in Texas two decades ago. Whites moved back to Columbia from Jive Records earlier this year just to work with Beyonce on this CD. (It was Whites who resuscitated Britney Spears on her last two albums.)

Beyonce has always been in a strange position with her solo albums. Her first hit, “Crazy in Love,” was a reworking of a Chi Lites record, with a huge sample of the horns and rhythm section. Since then she’s had really just a couple of actual hits–“Single Ladies” and “Irreplaceable.” Beyonce herself is not a writer, and she generally has poor song selections. On her last album, the song “If I Were a Boy” was appropriated from young singer songwriter B.C. Jean, who consequently got a recording deal with Clive Davis.

“4” is very misguided. I’m actually surprised that the collection is so uninspired and has no cohesive vision. The first three tracks are desultory ballads. There’s actually a song called “Rather Die Young.” Really? Beyonce would rather die young? Drop dead gorgeous, married to a hip hop mogul (Jay Z), gifted with a fabulous voice–and she’s singing about dying young? Who allowed such a thing to happen?

Better track sequencing could have really helped “4.” Tracks 8, 9, 10, and 11– the excellent “Love on Top,” the inventive “Countdown,” a very catchy “End of Time,” and “I Was Here” — are the standouts. I would have led with these tracks instead of burying them. (But didn’t Beyonce already have a song called “Until the End of Time”?) The new album has a feeling of being tired, and rushed, and not really thought through in any meaningful way. Those four songs should have been the singles and hits–and featured prominently.

Never at this age did Aretha, Gladys or Tina sound this disengaged from their own work. But — as pointed out in current stories– Beyonce isn’t just a singer. She’s an empire. Her voice is no longer an instrument. It’s a marketing tool. And not a very good one right now.

Clarence Clemons’ Funeral: Bruce, Jackson Browne, and Tributes

Roger Friedman
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2

I’m a little off kilter because of traveling back and forth to Los Angeles during the week. But I didn’t want Clarence Clemons’ funeral to go unremarked upon here. According to reports in the Palm Beach newspaper and from the AP, the funeral– held on Tuesday–featured a beautiful eulogy from Bruce Springsteen, plus a solo acoustic rendering of “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out.” Nils Lofgren also played an instrumental solo, and Jackson Browne led the E Street Band on “You’re a Friend of Mine,” the 1985 hit he had with Clarence. Everyone was there, including Little Steven van Zandt. Here’s what Bruce said, according to the Palm Beach Daily News: “Clarence was a man of unconditional love, but his love came with a lot of conditions… He was a complex guy … an ongoing project. But when you were in his presence, it was like being in a sovereign nation.” According to the reports, Clarence’s ashes will be scattered in Hawaii. Condolences to the whole E Street family.

Thanks for everything, Big Man.

Scoop Saves: Warren Beatty as Howard Hughes, Jamie Foxx to Tarantino

Roger Friedman
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0

It’s hard to know what to say at this point about Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood. Most of their copy is either press releases they’ve slapped up on the internet or stories they’ve taken from other places. Finke is a corrosive figure in Hollywood. Her worst behavior has rubbed off on her employees. Earlier this week, they reprinted a press release about Warren Beatty signing to do a comedy at Paramount. This column-Showbiz411–told you it was a Howard Hughes movie. Now Deadline has just wormed its way into that story. I love the fact that they say Beatty is talking to a lot of actors, including Annette Bening. Yes, do they know that Beatty and Bening have been married for 20 years?

What Deadline does is list a bunch of names. When one of them sticks, they declare themselves a winner! It’s hilarious. Yesterday they decided that because Jamie Foxx was listed in one of their stories about Quentin Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained,” he was “theirs.” His was a name “in the mix” with several others.

But I told you on June 13th that Jamie was joining the cast.

I don’t mind giving credit to anyone who’s written about something first. But the whole gestalt of Deadline, The Wrap and The Hollywood Reporter has become incredibly tiresome. They receive the same press releases, reprint them, declare exclusives. They fight over the minutiae of ‘breaking news’ about TV pilots–shows that won’t get made, or sold, or broadcast, featuring actors  no one’s ever heard of. Little known executives are switching jobs! Alert the media!

Anyway: Warren Beatty is making his Howard Hughes movie, Jamie Foxx is going to be in the Tarantino film. I told you that. Today Deadline is scooping the following: NALA Sets Steve Carr To Direct Rob Riggle And Thomas Lennon In ‘The Boondoggle’. It’s theirs exclusively. I don’t know what it means, but I’m sure it’s a big deal.

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