Support independent journalism, free from the trades and other publications that are part of the tinsel town machine.
For 12 years, Showbiz411.com has been covering Hollywood, Broadway, the music business and the business of celebrity. Ads are our main source of funding, but contributions (not tax exempt) from readers who enjoy the scoops, exclusives, and fact based reports are always welcome and very appreciated. To inquire about ads, email us at showbiz411@gmail.com.
You are a devoted group but you’re not buying CDs.
According to Nielsen Soundscan, the new Hanson album, “Shout it Out,” has sold a paltry 31,000 copies.
The most recent one before that was called “Walk.” Total sales to date from 2007: 54,000 copies.
The days of “MMMBop” are long since passed. This doesn’t mean Hanson are not talented musicians. It’s just that their day in the sun has come and gone. This can be said for plenty of acts. I wish them well in all their endeavors.
Oscar Isaac, the hot star of Madonna’s highly anticipated “W.E.,” is joining the cast of “Drive.”
“Drive” stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Albert Brooks. The action thriller is based on James Sallis‘s novel.
Isaac is hot as a pistol. He’s in Zack Snyder‘s upcoming “Sucker Punch.” In the last two years he’s starred in “Agora” with Rachel Weisz, and the cult film, “Balibo.” He was Prince John to Russell Crowe‘s “Robin Hood’ earlier this year, pretty much stealing the show.
In Madonna’s movie, Isaac is one half of a modern day couple who are juxtaposed with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It’s sort of like “The Hours” told with a pocketwatch.
But Isaac is poised to be a breakout star for 2011. He also has a music career currently on the backburner. He was almost going to star in a Lincoln Center musical version of “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” Broadway is definitely in his future according to sources.
His latest film, called “Flipped,” has made just around $690,000 since its release on August 6th. It’s dead, it’s over, it’s gone. A total write off of last $25 million.
“Flipped” got mixed reviews when it debuted. The trade papers didn’t like it. Some bloggers and a few newspaper reviewers were okay with it. It registered a high 68% on Rottentomatoes.com, with a cadre of little known bloggers pulling it up.
But “Flipped” is a Warner Bros. It’s not some little indie. And it has names, albeit not box office magicians: Rebecca deMornay, Anthony Edwards, John Mahoney, and Aidan Quinn. They are all fine actors.
“Flipped” falls in the Rob Reiner CV closer to “Stand By Me” and less like “When Harry Meets Sally.” It’s a little piece of nostalgia. It had little press or publicity when it was released. Maybe Warner’s thought it would just find an audience on its own. Unfortunately that doesn’t happen anymore.
Reiner’s decline as a director has been wild. Long gone are the days of “Stand by Me,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “This is Spinal Tap.” His last hit was the godawful “Bucket List,” a sentimental bit of treacle that no one would have gone to if it hadn’t had Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman showboating around.
Reiner had an amazing run from “Spinal Tap” in 1984 to “The American President” in 1995. Also in that group were “A Few Good Men,” “Misery.” The Princess Bride,” and “The Sure Thing.”
But beginning in 1996, he lost his focus. “Ghosts of Mississippi” was a misguided movie about the civil rights movement. It was panned and did poorly at the box office. Following that came “The Story of Us,” “Alex and Emma,” and “Rumor Has It.” Three duds. They lacked Reiner’s acerbic wit, his sense of parody and satire, and his delicious humor. Remember, it was Rob’s late mom, Estelle, who uttered the famous line in “Harry…Sally”: “I’ll have what she’s having.” In these movies all of that sensibility is gone.
Oh, how I long for the days of the earlier, funnier Reiner. I’m sure he does, too. Rob, call Chris Guest. Get away from the pretentiousness. Get back to where you once belonged.
Seal— such a good singer songwriter, has a new album coming out on September 28th. It’s called “Commitment.”
Did you know about it? Of course not. It’s from Warner Music Group.
The first single is called “Secret.” It was released to YouTube and other outlets three days ago. Surprise!
I ran into Seal at the Governor’s Ball for the Emmy Awards with his delicious wife, Heidi Klum. They were celebrating losing the Emmy for “Project Runway” to “Top Chef.” Oh well. It’s better to look good than to feel good.
Seal told me he decided to stick with WMG for this album and one more, despite their shall we say indifferent attitude to promoting their CDs or selling them. Also, “Commitment” is an album of all new songs, not remakes, covers, or greatest hits. It does seem that in the modern era of music, getting out new songs is a challenge. The public, record companies and radio feel, only want to hear what they already know.
But “Secret” is a beautiful single. It has “hit” written all over it. If only Snooki were in the video. Can’t wait to hear more from the album.
And yes, PS, Heidi Klum is still magnificent. They are a lovely couple. Too bad for the tabs!
The great and legendary musician Billy Preston would have turned 64 on September 2nd. He died in June 2006, however, leaving a crazy legal entanglement.
Billy was the real “Fifth Beatle,” the only artist ever to have his name on a record with the Beatles–“Get Back.” He played on many of their hits, and with the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton. Of course, he’s not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Billy’s hits included “Will it Go Round in Circles,” “Nothing from Nothing,” and “Outta Space.” He co-wrote the classic hit song, “You Are So Beautiful to Me.”
I knew Billy, and I know his manager, Joyce Moore, who’s been a musicians’ advocate for over 30 years. When Billy died, it was after an eight month coma that may have been caused during a hospital mishap. Prior to that, Billy was on dialysis for kidney failure. Three times a week Moore drove him to treatment, and took exceptional care of him.
Since Preston‘s death, Moore has lived with a massive set of legal issues that would cripple a normal person. Four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, she’s now represented by a cool lawyer– Bruce Fein, former general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States, and a regular witness before Congress on a wide array of constitutional and international law matters.
Fein says: “I am optimistic that the courts will do justice to Billy Preston’s legacy once the true facts are exposed. His music is a national treasure which rapacious litigants are attempting to hijack under the aegis of law.”
Fein is standing up for Preston and for Moore (the wife of R&B legend Sam Moore) against a variety of people including Preston’s two half sisters whom he’d disavowed long ago. One of the sisters’ sons-in-law represented the family until he was recently disbarred.
Moore and Fein are also up against Los Angeles’s perennial celebrity bankruptcy trustee, R. Todd Neilson.
A major point: Billy Preston never filed for bankruptcy. A bankruptcy was filed in his name one month before he went into an unexpected coma— by an attorney who may not have been licensed at the time. It’s unlikely Preston’s signature on the papers is real.
Neilson is an interesting guy. He’s automatically handed every major celebrity case in Hollywood. He’s a Director (aka senior partner) with LEGC, an international sort of combination management consultancy and tax accountant. On the LEGC website he’s listed alternately and enigmatically as “R. Neilson” and “tneilson”.
R. Todd Neilson is also Chairman of thevery exclusive Private Bank of California, which describes itself as “a full-service commercial bank that focuses on high net worth and high income individuals; business professionals and their professional service firms; and business owners, particularly of family owned and closely held businesses.” Translation: it’s for the very rich. It’s unclear what if any conflicts occur between Neilson’s bankruptcy business and his bank life.
Happy birthday, Billy, and here’s hoping that your legacy gets its proper solution soon.
I wrote about Hanson today and got a lot of email from their fans. I didn’t even know they had fans. Who knew? Hanson seems very 1997. If they sell CDs or downloads, they must have a very devoted group of followers. It’s not like Hanson recordings are showing up in sales charts or on the tradio.
But plenty of groups inspire loyalty who are not that well known anymore. So I tip my hat to Hanson’s gang of believers. Never will take their name, with o or an e, in vain again! All hail Hanson!
The British comic and creator of “The Office” has a lot of plans for the Golden Globes when he hosts them again in January.
Gervais is well aware of the terrible reputation of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and doesn’t mind saying so on national television.
This past year, he took a fair number of swipes at them during the show. HFPA members are currently starting their annual swag tour, traveling from Venice to Telluride to Toronto and more on the studios’ money, all to see films they could see at home in Los Angeles. The HFPA mostly pays its own airfare from the $6 million a year NBC broadcast deal. Everything else is taken care of by the studios. They even get chauffeured around the various towns. Their feet don’t touch the ground!
Gervais took a small swipe at them at the Emmy Awards. He also won my heart with a acerbic aside about Mel Gibson. “He’s been through a lot” Gervais said, then took a beat. “Not as much as the Jews.” Then he served beer to the actors in the front of the Nokia Theater. I love him.
I ran into Ricky at the Four Seasons in West Hollywood before the Emmy Awards. He was just coming in from, believe it or not, a run. He’s getting into shape for those Globes.
Meantime, I do hear the infighting at the HFPA continues unabated. And there’s a rumor going around that the HFPA wants to leave the Beverly Hilton Hotel for somewhere closer to the Oscars’ Kodak Theater. That would be a mistake. The BHH has put up with a lot from the group, and done just about everything for them including giving the members who can still drive free parking all year.
“The HFPA always feels like it’s being ripped off by everyone,” says a source.
Yes, “Mad Men” did win the Emmy for Best Drama. It was a great night, but it means I didn’t get to watch Sunday’s episode until just now.
As usual, Harry Crane is being used to deliver some messages to the audience, and maybe the press. In this instance, Harry is busy telling the guys from Life cereal what’s going to happen on “Peyton Place.” In 1965, “Peyton Place”–starring Ryan O’Neal and Mia Farrow–inspired just as much cult loyalty as “Mad Men.” Everyone wanted to know what was going to happen. If I remember correctly, “Peyton Place” aired twice a week at night. That was fairly unusual. So much for Matt Weiner and his hated of “spoilers.” He confirmed for on Sunday night that there are no more advance DVDs for critics. He hates them–the DVDs, not the critics, I hope.
Weiner also told me he sees no reason why his cast won’t win some Emmys next year. “They’re a wonderful group, but maybe they didn’t have big enough moments. You’ll see as the season continues, some big things are going to happen.” It does seem like Don Draper is drinking more and getting into more trouble. He and Peggy are perhaps going on a collision course. And Roger Sterling is having trouble defining his purpose at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Also, Lane Pryce had an odd conversation with Pete.
By the way, Matt Weiner is very proud that “Mad Men” has only filmed in Los Angeles. They’re good at making it look like New York. I could have sworn Don and his gang was celebrating in the 21 Club.
Here’s a clip from “Peyton Place.” Ed Nelson played Dr. Rossi. He’s 82 now. I always liked him. Hope he’s doing well.
A little sleep 48 hours after the Emmy Awards and we can look back with relief.
Best Official Party goes to HBO, of course. As usual they tent and decorate the entire Pacific Design Center to a fare-thee-well. It’s a magnificent spectacle. There were go go belly dancers perched about 30 feet in the air. There was also a great deejay set up beneath them, with a crowded dance floor.
But the big story at the HBO party is that Cheryl Hines, one of our faves, is only in a couple of the new episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I don’t know whether Larry and Cheryl remarry, reconcile, or go their separate ways. But one of Hines’s pals mentioned at the party that the actress Cheryl didn’t film in New York with Larry David. Most of the new season is set in New York. That’s a head scratcher since Hines is listed on the imdb.com in all ten new episodes for 2011. We’ll have to wait and see.
Further into the PDC, you had the crowd, full of A listers. Alexander Skaarsgard from “True Blood” just had a crowd of women around him ten deep. You’d think he was giving away samples of something!
The rest of the Blood crowd was there, along with Thomas Jane–walking around barefoot–the star of “Hung.” You know what they say about a man’s feet, and I guess he was trying to prove the point.
Claire Danes was showing off her Emmy for playing Temple Grandin, and husband Hugh Dancy was there to support her. They are a lovely young couple, very polite and engaged. The Dancy’s were hosting Temple and her mom, as well as Julia Ormond. Julia and Claire had fun taking pictures with the film’s screenwriter, Merritt Johnson, kissing him on each cheek.
Some others I ran into at HBO included Mary Kay Place, who came with record producer Russ Titelman; John Slattery (RogerSterling from “Mad Men”) and wife Talia Balsam; Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, of course; Sharon Lawrence;Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson; and Al Pacino with Dr. Jack Kevorkian.
Lastly one lament from Mary Kay Place. This could be her last time nominated for “Big Love.” She’s always been a Special Guest Star. But this new season she’s been added to the permanent cast. “There are too many great supporting actresses already.” Mary Kay sighed. But she loves being a big part of “Big Love.” Congrats.
At the end of Monday’s episode of “As the World Turns,” the great actor Don Hastings had to do the unthinkable: announce the death of his on-screen mother, Nancy Hughes, played Helen Wagner since the first episode in 1956. Hastings has played her son, Dr. Bob, since 1960, the same year Eileen Fulton began playing her daughter-in-law Lisa. The three actors weathered just about 50 years together. Wagner died a few weeks ago at age 91.
Well, I’ve said before that CBS and Procter & Gamble have made a huge mistake bringing “World Turns” to an end. The last episode airs on Friday, September 17th. Tuesday’s show was full of nice touches remembering Wagner and her character’s relationships. Even when “As the World Turns” was outlandishly soapy, it never forgot its core families–the Hugheses, and the Lowells, who became the Stewarts, in little Oakdale, Illinois.
(No one’s ever known the population of Oakdale, or its size, even though it has an international airport, docks, a lake, a pond, a luxury hotel, a world class hospital, global thieves and fugitives, a billion dollar management consultancy business, and a working farm.)
Nancy Hughes was never as conservative as you might have thought, and her attitudes did change over the years. In the 1990s she taught a young woman played by Lauryn Hill–not yet a Fugee or a star–how to read by sounding out rap lyrics. Nancy had come a long way from trading recipes and gossip with her retired father in the law in the Hughes kitchen.
I watched Hastings and Fulton today as they said goodbye to Wagner. (The show can be seen at CBS.com.) Imagine that they had worked together for five decades in this intimate setting. They’re actors, of course; they are playing these people. But it’s an extraordinary testament to their skill and professionalism. It won’t ever be repeated. And they’ll be replaced by CBS’s drab and likely unsuccessful attempt to copy “The View.” The march toward September 17th gets a little sadder each day.
Today also marked the return of another great actor, Larry Bryggman, who left the show a few years ago as Dr. Dixon. The company wanted to demote him after 30 years. He said no, and went on to many Broadway successes. It was terrific to see him again, even though Dr. Dixon was really evil, as I recall.
PS Don’t believe a word about the death of soaps. CBS and P&G did nothing to promote their shows. They strangled them financially, and routinely wrote off popular characters to alienate the audience. P&G wanted out, and on September 17th they end 54 years in television production. Congrats!
