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2010 Oscars: Best Actress Race Tightens Up With Bening, Kidman, Williams

Roger Friedman
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2010 Oscars: Best Actress Race Tightens Up With Bening, Kidman, Williams

The Best Actress race for the Oscar is getting tighter, and more competitive.

So far, the best bets are on Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, each for “The Kids Are All Right.” Right along with these formidable women is Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole.” Even though “Rabbit Hole” doesn’t premiere until later this week, Kidman is getting raves from every advance screening. And Natalie Portman is certainly in the fourth position. While “Black Swan” is kind of wild and terrifying, Portman is what keeps it together.

Bening is said to be a foregone conclusion, not only because her work is so good but because she missed shots at Best Actress for “American Beauty” and “Being Julia.” Oscars are often a cumulative prize. So this argument does hold some water.

Julianne Moore was really screwed last year out of a Best Supporting Actress nomination for “A Single Man.” She’s done quality work for years and is a popular player in the field of indie movies. She missed on “Far From Heaven,” too.

So that takes four slots filled up. Only one spot, I think, is realistically open. Who will it go to?

In the running: Michelle Williams, with “Blue Valentine,” Tilda Swinton from “I Am Love,” Lesley Manville from “Another Year,” Hilary Swank from “Conviction,” Sally Hawkins from “Made in Dagenham” are all getting pushes of various sorts. As well, many of my readers know how much I liked Patricia Clarkson in “Cairo Time.”

Of course there’s one other question mark out there: former winner Halle Berry, for “Frankie and Alice.” The problem is that that movie has a small distributor and a low profile. And Berry, who is just making a return to serious filmmaking, has a lot of good material still to play and many more awards to win.

My guess at this point: Michelle Williams. “Blue Valentine” is an extraordinarily well crafted original drama; both Williams and Ryan Gosling are the upset nominees of 2010. I said it when I saw Derek Cianfrance’s first screening at Sundance last January. One Academy members sit with the “Blue Valentine” DVD, they will never forget those performances.

Of course, it’s all a toss up in the end. But as we come out of the starting gate on Monday, this is how the candidates are lining up. And isn’t it cool that there are so many choices?

“The King’s Speech”: Best Clip Can’t Be Shown On TV

Roger Friedman
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“The King’s Speech”: Best Clip Can’t Be Shown On TV

Friday — tomorrow–is opening day for Tom Hooper‘s “The King’s Speech.” It’s a Christmas present come early, but we’ll take it.

You’ve heard a lot about it, so I don’t want to overhype what is just a really good movie. But at a time when movies are not what they used to be, “The King’s Speech” recalls all the great things that used to make us love a Hollywood film.

And it’s been a good year, too. We’ve had “127 Hours,” “The Social Network,” “Let Me In,” “Toy Story 3,” “Inception,” “The Town,” “Tamara Drewe” (which I adored), “Get Low,” “The Kids Are All Right,” “Please Give” (another sleeper), “Shutter Island,” “The Ghost Writer,” “Made in Dagenham,” and so on. I even loved the less-seen “Greenberg,” from Noah Baumbach. (Original screenplay nominee?) Still to come: “Black Swan” and “The Fighter,” each sensational, and two question marks–“True Grit” from the Coen Brothers and “How Do You Know?” from James L. Brooks.

And still, with all of that said, “The King’s Speech” is the standout. I remember when Colin Firth was screening “A Single Man” in Toronto, September 2009. He and Geoffrey Rush were talking about making a movie about King George VI, who stuttered, and his speech therapist. Tom Hooper was going to direct. “Sounds good,” I thought, not really thinking about it all.

A year later, it’s quite amazing to see what work went into this drama. On top of that, Helena Bonham Carter–currently looking witchy and acting happily insane in “Harry Potter 7.1”–does maybe the best turn of her career non Tim Burton as the Queen Mum. She gives this woman we only knew as an old, old lady life as a young–middle aged?–person who was quite forthright and purposeful. Queen Elizabeth didn’t just raise herself. HBC just shimmers.

Of course, it’s the guys’ movie. The best Oscar clip for Firth is one that can’t be shown on TV. It’s toward the end, when Bertie (nickname of the King), is practicing the speech that will plunge Britain into World War II. It’s a serious of “f bombs,” delivered with hilarity and sweetness. Just brilliant.

Rush– who has an Oscar (Firth doesn’t) makes everything seem easy. He is so accomplished that it’s all become sleight of hand. It’s really a wonder that “Shine” plucked him from the crowd in 1996. As Lionel Logue, the failed actor turned speech teacher, Rush pulls the movie forward, careful never to get in Firth’s way. He just guides him in for a landing as Bertie proceeds from insecure prince to King. Their scene together–in which Bertie tells his family story while gluing together model planes–is for the ages.

David Edelstein complained in New York magazine this week about some of director Hooper’s camera work. But I think Hooper’s done a terribly original job of staging this piece. After the multi part “John Adams” and “Elizabeth I” for HBO, Hooper knows how to give edginess to historical information. In a year when Danny Boyle is swooping in and around a canyon over a fixed subject, and David Fincher has reinvented the saga of moguls-in-the-making, Hooper surprises us all by making edge of the seat drama from what could have seemed stuffy and dusty.

Michael Jackson Breaking News: Oprah Interviews Singer’s Surrogate Family

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson Breaking News: Oprah Interviews Singer’s Surrogate Family

What to do when so many people question the truth? Go on “Oprah.”

I am told that the whole Cascio family appears on “Oprah” on December 6th to showcase Eddie Cascio’s tracks from Michael Jackson‘s new album.

Eddie is joined by his parents, Dominic and Connie, as well as brother Frank and sister Nicole.

The family talks with Oprah about their long relationship as Michael’s surrogate family, and the evolution of the music Michael made at their house in New Jersey in 2007.

Originally, the family didn’t want to go to the show, but Sony Music thought it best just to put the whole story out in the open. “Michael” the album is released on December 14th. The single, “Hold My Hand,” is already on the radio and on ITunes, featuring Akon.

Eddie Cascio has three tracks on the new “Michael” album–“Breaking News,” “Monster,” and “Keep Your Head Up.” There are nine more in the vault.

Also on the show is Michael’s long time producer Teddy Riley, who worked on the tracks and vouches for their veracity.

Fran Lebowitz Is Right…Most of the Time

Roger Friedman
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Fran Lebowitz Is Right…Most of the Time

I just caught up with Martin Scorsese‘s HBO film, “Public Speaking,” about humorist Fran Lebowitz.

Lebowitz came to fame in 1978 with her collection of essays called “Metropolitan Life.” The essays were drawn from columns she published in Andy Warhol’s Interview called “I Cover the Waterfront.” They caught the eye of my late friend, Laurie Colwin, herself a New Yorker short story writer and novelist (“Happy all the Time”) who worked for the late editorial legend, Henry Robbins, at E.P. Dutton. (He was John Irving‘s editor on his key books like “Garp.”)

I remember Laurie telling me a few years later how Fran came to them broke. “She had nothing. I said, ‘We have to publish her.’ And they did. Dutton also published the sequel, “Social Studies.” Fran stopped writing for Interview. And that was that, other than a children’s book.

I’m not clear how she became court jester to people like Calvin Klein, Barry Diller, Toni Morrison and Graydon Carter other than the fact she’s amusing and fun. I knew her in the mid 80s because she was friendly with Paloma Picasso and her first husband, who were very close to her for a time. She’s also been bff’s with Lisa Robinson, who was the New York Post’s talented rock journalist (and for years since with Vanity Fair). The two women look very cute in their Studio 54 clip in “Public Speaking.”

My only real intersection with Lebowitz was in 1994. I’d interviewed her for New York Magazine about being a summer houseguest in the Hamptons. The snarky editors over me described her in the piece as a “freeloader.” She subsequently had me thrown out, physically, of a party at the Royalton Hotel courtesy of Brian McNally. Frank DiGiacomo, then with Page Six, walked out in solidarity with me. I’ve never spoken to her again.

Mostly I remember her circa 1979, standing in the drizzle at the corner of 11th St. and 6th Avenue, scowling, wearing a man’s raincoat, smoking a cigarette.

Scorsese obviously finds her funny. He captures that well. I can’t remember a time when I’ve seen Lebowitz smile in public. In “Public Speaking,” she smiles a lot, and laughs broadly. It’s a relief. Much of the charm from those two early books comes back here with a flash. It’s been missed. She says she’s right most of the time. She is right a lot of the time in “Public Speaking” about a lot of things– New York tourists, walking in the city, the decline of the sophisticated audience, large children in strollers. She’s also right that all we’ve done for thirty years is recycle the culture, waiting for something new. She really isn’t Dorothy Parker. She’s Mel Brooks. Which is just fine. When she hits a riff, Lebowitz is a hoot.

I also really liked her cufflinks.

Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson Forgotten by Hollywood Trade Mag

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson Forgotten by Hollywood Trade Mag

I know it’s hard converting from a trade magazine to a hybrid whatever.

But maybe The Hollywood Reporter could try and get its music coverage together a little.

In this week’s ‘big think piece’ about “American Idol” they managed to forget entirely Jennifer Hudson. Remember Jennifer, boys? She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in “Dreamgirls.” It was only a couple of years ago. She’s also had a hit album and two hit singles. She’s also starred in “The Secret Life of Bees” and just finished starring in “Winnie Mandela” with Terrence Howard. Hudson has a new album scheduled for early next year with songs by Alicia Keys included.

Hudson finished seventh in “American Idol” during season 3, 2004. Fantasia Barrino won the competition. But Hudson is now arguably the biggest star to come out of “AI,” eclipsing even Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.

If only The Hollywood Reporter had remembered her!

PS THR: Sony moved on to Simon Cowell’s “X Factor,” which makes sense: it’s the next big thing. Universal will have to do a lot to revive “American Idol,” although it’s quite likely that their very own L.A. Reid will head there as a judge or mentor.

Susan Boyle Makes Sony An Offer it Can’t Refuse

Roger Friedman
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Susan Boyle Makes Sony An Offer it Can’t Refuse

You know, I love to harpoon the record companies when they do something weird. Warner Music is a favorite subject because they can’t get anything right, don’t do much to market their new releases, and recently got rid of a slew of marketing people.

But sometimes, people get it together. Sony Music’s Columbia Records has the #1 and #2 albums this week: Susan Boyle‘s “The Gift’ sold over 330,000 copies, and Jackie Evancho‘s Christmas album did around 240,000.

Not only that: the “Glee” Christmas album came in around 160,000 copies. Wow.

This means that Rob Stringer has three big hits in the top 10. None of them are likely to go away, either. And then on December 14th, Stringer launches Michael Jackson’s “Michael.”

Columbia also has both Bruce Springsteen releases on the charts this week–his box set and the individual album, “The Promise”; plus Susan Boyle’s original album came back. Not bad!

And: stand back, because Columbia Records will be the home of “X Factor” next year.

Wait: did I mention Train, which had the most ubiquitous record of the year with “Hey Soul Sister”? (I bark when I hear it at this point.)

Even so, Stringer got strung up today when the NY Daily News, otherwise on the money, picked up some wacko story from a blog saying that Stringer was like the “Fredo Corleone” of Sony because he’s the brother of Sony chairman Sir Howard.

While not everything Stringer does is perfect–he didn’t get the new Paul Simon, for example–the numbers don’t lie. And contrary to a recent, misguided report, Sony’s Epic label was in trouble long before any of these people came along. The last time there was a sign of life at Epic was when Charlie Walk buzzed through there like Sammy Glick, making records like Shakira and Wyclef’s “Hips Don’t Lie” and Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls” sizzle on radio.

Fredo Corleone? Wrong brother. I’d say Michael Corleone. Pay attention, kids.

Spider Man On Broadway: First Videos from Inside the show

Roger Friedman
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Spider Man On Broadway: First Videos from Inside the show

Two new videos have gone up from “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark.” Here are the links. While they are promotional, they’re still pretty interesting. Previews begin this Sunday, November 28th at 6:30pm. It’s not opening night, but expect everyone who’s anyone to be there.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=121115394618089

http://tinyurl.com/268uvf7

Paul Simon: Download New Free Christmas Single Here

Roger Friedman
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1
Paul Simon: Download New Free Christmas Single Here

Paul Simon– I told you last May that he was ready with a new album that would be great, that he was so excited about.

Now you can download for free, for the next four days, a new single called “Getting Ready for Christmas Day.” Just go to www.paulsimon.com and fill in your email address. You will receive a link instantly–and the song is terrific.

“Getting Ready for Christmas Day” is Paul Simon multimedia–he mixes his own music with a sampled 1941 track from Rev. J.M. Gates, preacher and gospel artist.

Paul Simon, archivist, is never less than fascinating: think of “Graceland” or “Loves Me Like a Rock.” No one is better at mashing up bits and pieces of older music, like found art, with his own new material.

Thanks for the gift, Paul. Look forward to the new album in the spring.

PS The Hear Music/Concord Records logo is now on Simon’s site. I guess that’s his way of saying the new album will be coming from them, and not Sony. It’s all good.

Leo vs. Leo: Two Studios in Oscar Dogfight for DiCaprio

Roger Friedman
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2
Leo vs. Leo: Two Studios in Oscar Dogfight for DiCaprio

Was Leonardo DiCaprio a Best Actor nominee in Martin Scorsese‘s “Shutter Island”?

Or was he a Best Actor nominee in Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”?

It’s an enviable position, and one in which DiCaprio has been before. He was nominated for “Blood Diamond” the same year he was great in Scorsese’s “The Departed.” But the former film won the campaign and the nomination.

Four years later, it looks like Scorsese will get the upper hand. There’s a big promo blitz for Leo in “Shutter Island.” Paramount has just bulked mailed a huge color brochure delineating DiCaprio’s movie career, culminating in “Shutter.” It’s war.

Which is a better film? Well, it depends on whom you ask. If anyone knew what actually happened in “Inception,” it would help. “Shutter Island”–while still a twisty mystery–does actually have a more solid premise.

Also interesting is the way the studios play it. Last time, with both “The Departed” and “Blood Diamond,” Leo was with Warner Bros. “Inception” is Warner’s. “Shutter” belongs to Paramount. But it does seem that Scorsese will be the trump card here. And “Shutter” screeners are already out. I just watched mine, and it plays great on big flat screen TV. It’s a terrific film. Of course, the “Inception” DVD should be pretty popular, as everyone tries to figure out the film.

DiCaprio is oft-nominated, but has never won an Oscar. He came close with “The Aviator.” Even with two films, he’s still running fourth or fifth back in a pack that includes Colin Firth, James Franco, Robert Duvall, and Mark Wahlberg.

David Duchovny Opens Off Broadway, Gets Surprise Visit from “X Files” Co-Star

Roger Friedman
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David Duchovny Opens Off Broadway, Gets Surprise Visit from “X Files” Co-Star

David Duchovny got a big surprise tonight. For his opening off Broadway in Neil LaBute‘s “The Break of Noon,” former “X Files” costar Gillian Anderson flew in from England. She’d told him she’d come, but Duchovny looked shocked when he actually saw her. Talk about support!

Major points to Duchovny, famous for his TV and film work. He made his stage debut at the Lucille Lortel Theater– battling a cold. When the lights went up on Duchovny as a man who’s survived a deadly shoot out in his office, he is totally alone. He’s never done a play before anywhere, he told me later. Maybe in grade school.

The theater is small; you could tell had a bad cold. But in front of his wife, Tea Leoni, her parents, aunt and uncle, plus Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor, Jessica Hecht, Eric Bogosian and an array of New York’s theaterati, Duchovny acquitted himself nicely. Even if he had to wipe his nose a few times during La Bute’s opening monologue.

Duchovny co-stars with Amanda Peet, and New York theater vets Tracee Chimo, and John Earl Jelks— all of whom make an excellent ensemble as the story of John Smith’s survival–a coworker has killed 37 people but spared him–unravels. In the process, Smith has a religious conversion, and LaBute walks carefully as he sends up but doesn’t mock John’s new found Christianity.

At one point, Amanda Peet’s character–playing John’s ex wife–demands from him, “I want the truth.” It sounded like a line from the “X Files.” Anderson told me she got a good laugh when she heard it.

Duchovny told me later he’s no longer terrified when he steps on the stage. Still, it takes a lot of courage to do what he’s challenged himself with. Luckily, it goes very well. The short run ends December 22nd, when the rest of the cast heads to L.A. What about Duchovny? “I’m staying here,” he said. “I have a family.”

Tea Leoni, standing just to his side, nodded happily in agreement.

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