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True Grit Will Set New Box Office High for Coen Brothers

Roger Friedman
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True Grit Will Set New Box Office High for Coen Brothers

Joel and Ethan Coen are about to set a new box office high with their remake of “True Grit.”

The Coens will shatter their previous high–$74 million for “No Country for Old Men–when “True Grit” crosses that line this weekend.

And the season for “True Grit” is still fresh. By the time the Oscars have come and gone in late February, “True Grit” will be way past $100 million. Not too bad.

It’s funny to look back at the Coens’ “classic” movies to see how little they made. The early ones–my favorites– from “Blood Simple” through “The Big Lebowski”–were not exactly money makes. Only “Raising Arizona” did well, with $22 million. Ha ha. “Barton Fink” and “Miller’s Crossing”? Forget it. And the beloved “Fargo”? Just under $25 million.

Starting in the 2000s, “O Brother Where Art Thou?” did very well. With George Clooney as its star, and a terrific soundtrack, “Brother” raked in $45 million.

But then the Coens had three missteps in a row. “The Man Who Wasn’t There” — shot in gorgeous black and white, but really an enigma of a movie–took in $7 million.

Using George Clooney in “Intolerable Cruelty” and Tom Hanks in “The Ladykillers” brought in $35 and $39 million apiece, but like “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” the films had a pedestrian feeling. “Burn After Reading” with Brad Pitt did well, but it was incomplete because Pitt had to leave the shoot early. It didn’t make sense.

“No Country” brought the Coens back, winning them a Best Picture Oscar and lots of new fans. “A Serious Man” was meant to be a side project, without stars. A great film that keeps getting better, “Serious Man” returned the brothers to their original perspective even if it earned only $10 million. It’s lovely.

Now produced Scott Rudin can be very pleased. He’s already got the $100 million hit, “The Social Network.” With “True Grit,” he’s got number 2. And the Coens have finally gotten success with a movie star, Jeff Bridges. They’ve also introduced a new young actress with lots of potential–Hailee Steinfeld. It’s a nice way to start the new year!

The Best of 2010: A Look Back

Roger Friedman
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3
The Best of 2010: A Look Back

2010? It wasn’t so bad.

The worst thing was losing friends and people we admired. I am not through saying goodbye to our dear Elaine Kaufman. None of her friends will ever get over that.

On the other hand, Elaine was with us for most of 2010, and we had a ball with her. That was a gift.

Stupidest media decision of the year: replacing the beloved “As the World Turns” with more idiot-chat on “The Talk.” It’s intolerable.

Craziest story that had to happen: the big reveal about Ponzi schemer Ken Starr, celebrity business manager.

Some other good things: Last winter, during awards season, a famed talent Hollywood talent manager was nice enough to invite us for dinner. I promised not to give any of the details. But it was the best night of the year, with dozens of A list stars. My place at the dinner table was between Joan and Jackie Collins. Elton John popped in. That’s all I can say, it was terrific.

Rob Marshall’s “Nine” didn’t win any Oscars, but there were plenty of cool events to launch it. My fave: a lunch at Per Se restaurant, with Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Daniel Day Lewis and all the stars. We were high above Columbus Circle, and all was well with the world. Frankly, “Nine” deserved better awards-wise. But there’s no going back.

Some other highlights of the year:

Announcing Rosie O’Donnell’s return to daytime TV.

Announcing Quincy Jones’s 25th anniversary recording of “We Are the World” –and subsequently hanging out with Q and the artists on the big day.

Announcing that George Clooney would host the Haiti telethon. And he did. He also donated $1 million to Haiti relief.

And those were just a few of the exclusives. Also: we broke the news on Michael Jackson‘s album, his Cirque du Soleil show, and everything about his mother’s book, and her deal with the man who bought the Jackson memorabilia.

We also told you–and Sony–about the existence of the “Cascio” tracks.

Broke scoops on Keith Richards. His book, “Life,” is off the charts great.

Favorite shows: Sting at the Metropolitan Opera, Sam Moore at the Grammy after party, Aretha Franklin getting her award at the Apollo, Songwriters Hall of Fame dinner, the Clive Davis Grammy party, the English Beat at Stephen Talkhouse.

Music that got us through the year: Sharon Jones (see below), Julia Fordham, Kings of Leon, Ryan Shaw, the Beatles remasters, U2, celebrating Teddy Pendergrass, remembering Willie Mitchell, anything by Tony Bennett, Stones re-releases of “Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out” and “Exile on Main Street,” and Sting’s “Live in Berlin” CD.

Marc Anthony, JLO Have Billionaire Pal: Call Him for Your Tax Problems, Kids!

Roger Friedman
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3
Marc Anthony, JLO Have Billionaire Pal: Call Him for Your Tax Problems, Kids!

I wrote this story back on October 25th. Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez have a lovely billionaire friend who donated $250,000 to JLO’s Maribel charity.

The charity doesn’t do much, but Ray Dalio, who runs an $80 billion hedge fund, obviously likes the couple. Maybe he can help Marc get out of tax trouble.

Here’s the story from October:

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony‘s twins Max and Emme are going to work! They’re modeling for Gucci.

Gucci is so thrilled that they say they’re donating $50,000 to Lopez’s Maribel Foundation in lieu of a straight payment to the kids. They also say they’re giving $1 million to a UNICEF program for schools in Africa.

That $50,000 may not go so far. In 2008, according to its tax filing, Maribel paid a staggering and unbelievable $90,000 alone to a charity consultant called Legacy Strategies of Los Angeles. The charity only had approximately $350,000 in its bank account.

Of that total, JLo had put only $104,500 into the account– just enough to cover the Legacy bill. The rest of Maribel’s balance — $250,000– came from philanthropist Raymond Dalio. Dalio– who is married to a descendant of the Vanderbilt-Whitney family–runs Bridgewater, an $80 billion hedge fund, out of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Dalio likes celebrities and their causes: he donated $1.23 milliion to quirky film director David Lynch‘s Transcendental Meditation group through his own Raymond Dalio Foundation. He’s a heavy hitting philanthropist who gave away $12.3 million in 2008 including three million dollar bequests.

What’s Dalio’s connection to JLO? He and JLO’s sister, Lynda Lopez, an officer of the Maribel Foundation, are each graduates of Long Island University. Dalio did get his MBA at Harvard, however.

As for Gucci: In 2007, the Gucci Foundation was created so it could receive money donated to Madonna’s all star event for the Kabbalah Center for their Malawi charity. They split the funds between the Madonna cause and UNICEF.

Last year the Gucci Foundation gave UNICEF an underwhelming $11,498. So getting the Lopez-Anthony twins must have really inspired them.

But what exactly Maribel is in business for remains a mystery. On its website, Maribel lists goals of “opening telemedicine centers” and “raising healthy children.” In addition to the Legacy free, last year Maribel also spent $36,820 on legal fees, and $21,000 more on its website and a fundraising video.

So who knows what Gucci’s $50K is going for?

So far Maribel hasn’t listed any accomplishments beyond paying a lot of big fees. Of course, now that JLo is getting $12 million from “American Idol,” she’ll have lots of money to donate to her own charity.

Greenwich Village in the Bloomberg Era: “For Rent” Signs, and No More Bagel Buffet

Roger Friedman
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Greenwich Village in the Bloomberg Era: “For Rent” Signs, and No More Bagel Buffet

What’s Greenwich Village like in the era of Mike Bloomberg? Vacant.

After at least 35 years, probably more, Bagel Buffet on Sixth Avenue and 8th St. has closed. It’s empty, and so is the store next to it.

Two blocks north, the Ansonia Pharmacy was forced by another greedy landlord to move further up the block. Now the corner of Sixth Avenue and 10th St. is vacant, has been for months.

So is the corner of 12th Street and Sixth Avenue, where Joe Jr’s vacated on July 4, 2009. Empty, empty, empty.

All over Greenwich Village, there are empty stores. I’ve lived here for more than thirty years. This is the first time such things have happened.

Greedy landlords (you can’t say it enough) have squeezed out whatever they can of the area’s personality. Over in the West Village, fashion designer Marc Jacobs has booted out a bunch of businesses so he can fill a bunch of spaces with his homogenized, suburban mall goods. Yippee!

This is the New York of Mike Bloomberg. Oh yes, no one can get to those fabulous Marc Jacobs stores this week because there is snow piled up everywhere. The blizzard was five days ago.

Bagel Buffet’s demise stings a little bit more than usual. It was one of those great places, open 24 hours a day, everything was fresh. Kids and building supers slept there sitting up. Strangers chatted. Coffee cost a buck and was sold in regular cups.

The legacy of Mike Bloomberg’s mayoralty besides no snow clean up, no parking spaces, a suburbanized Times Square and concrete turning lanes: how much real New York he allowed to be supplanted by anonymous stuff. Of course this was a mayor who was born and bred in the Boston suburbs and spends his weekends in Bermuda, not walking around his city. I was taken aback the other day at 57th and Third, realizing that what had once been a block of unusual stores is now a block long Duane Reade drug store. Disgusting!

PS Thanks, also, to the mayor: for not doing a thing to stop the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital. Greenwich Village and the West Village have no hospital or ER, just a huge, hulking set of vacated buildings right in the middle of our neighborhood. Maybe before Bloomberg is gone he can license the space to Wal Mart.

Sharon Jones Rocks New Years Eve: Inspired by Aretha Franklin

Roger Friedman
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4
Sharon Jones Rocks New Years Eve: Inspired by Aretha Franklin

Sharon Jones is the biggest star you don’t know about.

On Thursday night she rocked the Best Buy Theater in Times Square. She’ll do it again tonight, for New Year’s Eve. If you’re in the area, and you love great music, don’t miss her.

Jones is no spring chicken, but she shimmies like Tina Turner and sings like Gladys Knight. She also channels James Brown. Maybe that’s because she’s also from Augusta, Georgia.

For years, Jones was a wedding singer. But about 10 years she and her group, the Dap Kings, took off. They are legends in Brooklyn, and sell around 200,000 per CD. They have four of them out so far on the tiny Daptone label. They’re all great. My favorite is “100 Days, 100 Nights.”

Last night at the Best Buy, I couldn’t believe how the place was jammed. They were standing like sardines. Jones’s crowd is youngish– mid 20s to mid 30s–and mostly white, although there were some faces of all kinds waving their arms and dancing around.

Jones herself is tiny, but is a ball of energy. She swoops across the stage, never losing a breath or missing a beat. Her voice is unassailably classic soul. But she’s a woman out of time–too young by a dozen years to have served in the legacy era of R&B. But that’s her sound, it comes naturally, it is all organic. She’s Millie Jackson. Tina Turner, and Gladys Knight when she sings, James Brown when she moves. Her voice can go from rough to sweet, with so many textures and colors. You have to think the soul gods–where Betty Everett, Mary Wells, Florence Ballard, and Barbara Acklin all reside-have sent Sharon Jones to us.

But she told me backstage that Aretha Franklin is her idol. They met earlier this year when Franklin was honored at the Apollo Theater. One day they’ll get a real chance to talk.

You’ll be interested to know that it’s Dan Aykroyd, who also loves soul music, who got her on Jay Leno last spring. She recently returned to his show. And Jones has just come back from a world tour.

But she says she’s still living with her mother in Queens, in the projects. Hello! Something is wrong with this story! Maybe in 2011 Sharon Jones will break out and make the money she deserves. Clive, LA Reid, Sylvia Rhone–do something! (Photo of Sharon and singers, c2010 Ann Lawlor/Showbiz411)

Jacqueline Courtney, RIP: Star of “Another World”

Roger Friedman
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9
Jacqueline Courtney, RIP: Star of “Another World”

I have to stop and give some condolence to the family of actress Jacqueline Courtney. The one time star of NBC’s “Another World” and a long time player on ABC’s “One Life to Live” was just 64. She died December 20th of melanoma.

Courtney was one half of the soap opera world’s most popular couple ever. She played Alice Matthews Frame on “Another World” from its first day in 1964 to the day she was unceremoniously dismissed from the show ten years later. She and George Reinholt played lovers, and Courtney was part of the show’s original family. She and Reinholt put the show on the map. But the show’s producer resented them, and the headwriter thought he was being smart to get rid of them. The pair went over to “One Life,” the competing soap, and were quite successful. “Another World” petered out after the 1970s and never regained its footing.

Alice and Steve were so much fun back in high school days.  We used to laugh because Reinholt talked into his tie a lot. Jackie Courtney was accused of reading lines off her nurses’ uniform cuffs. But they were memorizing 40 pages of dialogue a day. Now the soaps use TelePrompters. But Jackie’s Alice was a super heroine, and one you got a kick out of every day. Thanks for everything, Jacqueline Courtney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whWqSahy3Jg

Best Performances of 2010: Actor and Actress

Roger Friedman
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1
Best Performances of 2010: Actor and Actress

Here are the names of the lead actors and actresses who I think will wind up in the Oscar race.

Best Actor:

1. Colin Firth, “The King’s Speech.” 2. James Franco, “127 Hours.” 3. Mark Wahlberg, “The Fighter.” 4. Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network.” 5. Ryan Gosling, “Blue Valentine.”

Best Actress:

1. Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right.” 2. Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole.” 3. Natalie Portman, “Black Swan.” 4. Julianne Moore, “The Kids Are All Right.” 5. Michelle Williams, “Blue Valentine.” (There was a glitch from earlier. Michelle Williams was always intended for this list. Jennifer Lawrence gets very honorable mention for he work in “Winter’s Bone.” The blizzard strikes again!)

So many other great turns: Patricia Clarkson, “Cairo Time”; Lesley Manville, “Another Year”; Lucy Punch, “You Will Meet…”; Robert Duvall, “Get Low”; Leonardo diCaprio “Inception” and “Shutter Island”; Noomi Rapace, “Girl…Tattoo”..; Aaron Eckhart, “Rabbit Hole.”

In truth, Annette Bening also deserves a nomination for “Mother and Child.” It would take the Academy a big leap, but it could be done–vote Annette as Best Actress in that film, and Julianne Moore in “Kids.” This sort of thing has happened before. And that way, Moore–who’s actually on screen more in “Kids”–has a better shot at winning.

Best Performances of 2010: Supporting Actor and Actress

Roger Friedman
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0
Best Performances of 2010: Supporting Actor and Actress

Here are the names that I think deserve Oscar nominations. The ballots have been mailed and must be returned by Academy members by January 14, 2010.

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Geoffrey Rush-The King’s Speech 2. Andrew Garfield-The Social Network 3. Christian Bale-The Fighter 4. Sam Rockwell-Conviction 5. Michael Douglas– Wall Street 2

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Helena Bonham Carter-The King’s Speech 2. Melissa Leo-The Fighter 3. Amy Adams– The Fighter 4. Jacki Weaver– Animal Kingdom 5. Hailee Steinfeld– True Grit

These lists leave out a few people who did exceptional work. Mark Ruffalo in “Kids Are All Right” and “Shutter Island.”  Bill Murray in “Get Low.” Kristen Scott Thomas in “Nowhere Boy.” Juliette Lewis in “Conviction.” Dianne Wiest in “Rabbit Hole.” Frank Langella in “Wall Street 2.” Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington in “Mother and Child.”

Spider Man on Broadway Does 100% Biz Over Xmas: PR Sells

Roger Friedman
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1
Spider Man on Broadway Does 100% Biz Over Xmas: PR Sells

“Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” may be the most controversial Broadway show ever. But it’s also a hit.

The Julie Taymor-Bono & the Edge musical played at 100 % capacity from December 20th to the 26th according to Playbill magazine’s total of Broadway grosses.

Only two other shows played at 100% over the holiday week: “Wicked” and Al Pacino in “The Merchant of Venice.”

“Spider Man” took in just over $944,000. That’s with missed and stopped shows, cast replacements, injured players, and a barrage of attacks led by the New York Post to shut it down.

Are people coming to see if there’s an accident or a disaster? Maybe. but I think not. And word of mouth must better than the Post or other naysayers insist.

The $65 million show will open on February 7th, then spin off productions in places like Las Vegas and London.

Meantime, the shows that took in over $1 million last week included “Wicked” (over $2 mil), “The Lion King” ($1.8 mil), “Elf” ($1.5 mil), ” “Billy Elliot,” “Merchant of Venice,” “Mary Poppins,” “Jersey Boys,” and “The Addams Family.”

And closing news: “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” a truly terrible show, is shutting down on January 2–three weeks early. Good bye and good riddance.

“Blue Valentine”: Gosling, Williams Score Near Perfect On Release

Roger Friedman
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1
“Blue Valentine”: Gosling, Williams Score Near Perfect On Release

The critics and bloggers at rottentomatoes.com have reached an interesting consensus: Derek Cianfrance‘s “Blue Valentine” scored a 96% positive review rate. The deeply textured Ryan Gosling-Michelle Williams drama opens today and rolls out on Friday.

There are some other end of the year films opening today–Mike Leigh‘s “Another Year” is very British and meandering. Javier Bardem is great in “Biuitiful” but it’s the most depressing film of the year. And distressing.

I said last January at Sundance that “Blue Valentine” was an Oscar nominee, and that both Gosling and Williams would make the final five in their lead acting categories. I’m thrilled that so many reviewers and bloggers “got” it. Cianfrance’s film is one of the top 10 of 2010, and deserves to be in the mix for Best Picture. I think when Academy voters sit with it, it’s going to blow them away.

There are so many great moments in “Blue Valentine.” If nothing else, see it for the scene on the Manhattan Bridge. It was all improvised, and Gosling nearly went over the side. There were no stunt people or nets.

“Blue Valentine” has had a tough birth. First it was wrongly assigned an NC-17 rating, which was appealed and overturned to a proper R. Now it’s ineligible for the Writers Guild Awards. Are they kidding? The WGA has also excluded “The King’s Speech” and “Toy Story 3.” So the WGA Awards are suddenly meaningless. Talk about doing yourself in. Who can take them seriously? All of those screenplays, as well others like “Winter’s Bone,” are the best of 2010. “Toy Story 3” has a brilliant original story. “The King’s Speech” is full of gorgeous language and inventive moments. Is the WGA only interested in adapted screenplays?

As for “Blue Valentine”: Gosling and Williams are two examples of young actors who’ve come a long way in a short time. They along with James Franco, Anne Hathaway, Sam Rockwell, and a handful of others are the next generation of Hollywood star actors, not just star celebrities. Williams, by the way, is said to be phenomenal in next year’s “Marilyn and Me,” in which she plays Marilyn Monroe. I thought she would have made the perfect Daisy Buchanan in the new “Great Gatsby.” She could still play Myrtle, if Baz Luhrmann is set on Carey Mulligan.

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