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Schnabel Says No to Cannes, Yes to Venice and Toronto

Roger Friedman
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Award winning director and famed artist Julian Schnabel will not be taking his new film, “Miral,” to the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

The festival announces its lineup this morning. Schnabel had previously debuted his “Diving Bell and the Butterfly” there, and “Before Night Falls.”

But he says the festival wanted him to screen “Miral” out of competition but in the main festival. He said thanks, but no. The result is that “Miral” will debut in Venice, and then go to Toronto back to back next September. In Toronto, Schnabel, sources say, may also have a huge exhibition of his art simultaneously.

The Cannes fest is never without controversy, so some media outlets say they are boycotting this morning’s announcements because they’re being denied red carpet spots during the upcoming festival. And I’m also told opening night film “Robin Hood” may only have director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe at its press conference on the morning of May 12th. For some reason Cate Blanchett and the rest of the cast may not attend. Why? I have no idea. Usually the entire cast of a film sits for its press conference. Quel fromage!

Check back at www.hollywoodnews.com later this morning for the complete list of 2010 Cannes films.

Girls School: “Tanner Hall,” Toronto Film Fest Hit, Set for Fall Release

Roger Friedman
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“Tanner Hall” the movie everyone loved last fall in Toronto. It was directed by Tatiana von Furstenberg and Francesca Gregorini. Yes, their moms are DVF and Barbara Bach (aka Mrs. Ringo Starr.)

Now the fate of “Tanner Hall” has finally been resolved. It’s been bought by Moving Pictures Film & TV. The indie group will release it this fall, which makes sense since it’s a girl’s school movie along the lines of “Mona Lisa Smile” but better.

Last night, star Rooney Mara picked up the Stargazer award at the GenArt Festival for Best Performance by an Emerging Actor. And the movie won the Fest’s jury prize. Acura gave the filmmakers $10.000.

This movie also has a terrific turn by Tom Everett Scott, who needs a break already.

I do like the fact that these filmmakers have not used their family connections to get a major studio involved. They’ve gone the indie route and deserve kudos.

Whitney Houston Struggles For a Comeback in the UK

Roger Friedman
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Whitney Houston is not having an easy time of it.

She opened her tour last night in Birmingham, England after a brief hospitalization in Paris derailed her first dates. This is after a disastrous bunch of dates in Australia a few weeks ago.

The British reviewers were not kind. Even though Whitney tried with all her might to resurrect herself, the voice simply is not there. It’s almost heartbreaking to hear her just not be able to find even the voice she had two years ago at Clive Davis’s Grammy party. Clearly, her instrument is injured.

There are a number of examples on YouTube. Here’s one, a short clip of “Saving All My Love for You”: http://tinyurl.com/y2la98s

What is going on? It’s hard to say. Houston denies drugs have been involved, and we can only hope she’s telling the truth. Whatever is going on, this is not the Whitney even of more recent days. And it can only be frustrating as hell for her. She knows that somewhere in there still lies what used to be the greatest voice of all.

Have Mercy: Sonny Corleone’s Kid Makes Good

Roger Friedman
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Sonny Corleone’s kid has finally done it: Scott Caan, son of “Godfather” actor James Caan, has made his own movie. And it’s pretty good.

Caan wrote and produced “Mercy,” which closed the GenArt Film Festival last night. IFC will release the film on April 28th, directed by Patrick Hoelke.Troy Garity, Erika Christensen and Wendy Glenn co-star.

What’s interesting about “Mercy” is that it’s a romantic comedy (with a little melodrama) told from the male perspective. Maybe this is a trend. Josh Radnor’s film “happythankyoumoreplease,” which was at Sundance this year, is similar.

“Mercy” is very romantic, and Caan–who couldn’t get released from shooting “Entourage” in L.A. to be at last night’s premiere–makes for a sympathetic hero. It doesn’t hurt that halfway through he adds his dad to the mix. When James Caan appears on the screen, the movie ticks upward immediately. You want to see what he’s going to do about all this mushy love stuff.

Hoelke is an odd duck who dresses a little like Fidel Castro. But he’s smart in keeping the film intimate (not shaky camera, don’t worry). And he gets a great performance out of Garity, who has goofy leading man looks and a great unexpected sense of humor that lightens Caan’s character’s moroseness. (Garity is ready for a breakout lead role in an indie comedy.) There’s also some welcome relief when the going gets tough from John Boyd. And Wendy Glenn is a real find.

Why wasn’t “Mercy” in Sundance or Tribeca? I have no idea. It’s certainly good enough. I haven’t liked an IFC film this much since “Lonesome Jim” or “Me and You and Everyone I Know.”

Oprah Book: Ex-Employees Could Make Good Unnamed Sources

Roger Friedman
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Who woulda thunk it?

The mainstream media has accepted the word of Kitty Kelley, a trash biographer who depends of unnamed sources, over Oprah Winfrey, a woman who’s obviously made too much money and been too successful as a broadcaster and philanthropist.

As of now, and thanks to the internet, Kelley’s assertions about Winfrey in her new book have been presented as a fait accompli. No one’s bothered to check them out. They’re just reprinted millions of times, from the New York Post to the Washington Post.

This column was the only one to call Oprah’s aunt in Mississippi, Mrs. Katherine Esters, to see what Kelley had wrought. And Mrs. Esters, as I wrote here yesterday, disputed Kelley’s claims. She says that Kelley manipulated and hounded her, that she never told Kelley family secrets.

It seems to fall on deaf ears.

The New York Post just laid it out, happily enough: “Lesbian fling, prostitution, and abuse lies.” That’s it, case closed. Unbelievable. Even worse: the lofty Howard Kurtz deigns to roll in the mud, writing about Kelley and using her interview with the slimy Michael Jackson hunter Diane Dimond, formerly of “Hard Copy,” to bolster his argument. Has Kurtz ever been able to book himself on Oprah? Probably not.

Kelley must be pleased. Her attempted assassination has no doubt caused the pain she sought to inflict on Winfrey. She’s endeavored to ruin a career far more substantial than her own by miles. Good work!

Kelley had a lot of help in this project. Unnamed sources are usually disgruntled ex-employees. In this case, Kelley has said she used people who’d signed confidentiality agreements. They’d have to give back their monetary settlements if they were caught.

It’s not hard to find the culprits. Oprah’s show has not had a lot of turnover, and the staff has always been treated well. But back in 1994 there was a huge amount of turmoil. Lots of people left or were fired. This could be an Agatha Christie mystery. (It was covered in Entertainment Weekly at http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,304426,00.html.)

Also, Kelley’s book is published by Crown, a division of Random House. Maybe they’re getting even. Back in 1994, Oprah abruptly canceled publication of her scheduled autobiography by Knopf, another Random House division. She returned the advance. But the decision left Random House holding the bag without its anticipated best seller.

And let’s not forget: there was some kind of manuscript or treatment from that book. It’s no doubt out there, somewhere.

Of course, the current Random House is not the company started by Bennett Cerf and run so beautifully for many years by Bob Bernstein. Kelley’s book is the kind of thing only hacks like Lyle Stuart would publish in the old days. How times have changed.

Anderson Cooper Gets First Interview with Dr. Kevorkian

Roger Friedman
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Wasn’t Anderson Cooper just swimming with sharks last week on “60 Minutes”?

Now he’s doing something even more courageous: he’s interviewing Dr. Jack Kevorkian.

Dr. Death is giving Cooper his first post-prison interview this Friday. It’s not actually on CNN, but set for a lunch time live get together at CNN headquarters in New York.

The interview will be preceded by sandwiches and snacks, according to the invite, and a welcome from CNN’s prez, Jon Klein.

You have to give Cooper credit for doing this. His own brother, Carter, committed suicide at age 23 in July 1988. Anderson wrote about it in his blog back in 2005: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/16/brother/

Talk about a charged meeting. Kevorkian has said he helped at least 130 people die of physician assisted suicide. He served 8 years of a 10 to 25 year prison sentence for second degree murder. He’ll turn 81 in May.

This lunch time interlude suddenly is the hottest ticket in town, as Dr. Kevorkian has agreed to answer questions from the audience. The last time he was in public, by the way, was right before he went to jail. It was Time Magazine’s 75th anniversary at Radio City Music Hall. The crowd included Henry Kissinger, Joe DiMaggio, and Muhammad Ali, but Kevorkian was who everyone wanted to, if not meet, look at.

EXCLUSIVE: Oprah’s Aunt on Kitty Kelley: “I found out she wrote ugly things. She didn’t get anything ugly from me.”

Roger Friedman
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Oprah Winfrey’s cousin, Katherine Esters, who is known as “Aunt Katherine,” disputes some of the claims made by trash biographer Kitty Kelley in her new book about the talk show host. She does feel manipulated by the tabloid sensationalist.

Mrs. Esters is 82, still lives in the Mississippi town where Oprah was born, but hasn’t seen or heard from her cousin in a while. She told me this morning that she’s considered the town historian in Kosciusko, and that when people want to know something genealogical they come to her.

That’s what Kelley did, says Mrs. Esters, who has short term memory problems, is on dialysis and has a respiratory condition. She told me that when Kelley arrived at her home, she had no idea what kind of books she wrote or who she was. “I asked her if Oprah sent her and she said she did not. She said she was writing an unauthorized biography.” Mrs. Esters says Kelley’s visit was close to the time that New Yorker writer Henry Louis Gates came to get pictures so he could trace Oprah’s ancestry. There may have been some confusion.

“I asked my friend to find out who she was,” Mrs. Esters says of Kelley. “She went on line and found out what kind of books she wrote. When Kitty came back the next day, I didn’t give her much of an interview.” The intrepid Kelley did follow Mrs. Esters to her dialysis appointment. “She tried very hard to get me to make derogatory statements about Oprah. I would not.”

Two key issues: Mrs. Esters says she is sure she did not tell Kelley who Oprah’s father was. “I told her to ask Oprah’s mother who her father was. I wish she’d quoted me properly. I’m sorry if Kitty made me something that I’m not. I really am sorry.“

She added: “For all practical purposes, Vernon is her father.” Mrs. Esters says of Kelley: “She’s just a smart person who can cross you up on stuff.”

“But one place where Kelley may have it right: Mrs. Esters is adamant that Oprah had whatever she needed as a child. She concedes they were poor, but says: “Oprah’s mother worked for a well to do family. Oprah got their hand me downs. She had dolls.” Winfrey’s famous cockroach story, she says, is invented. “I asked her once why she told that story, and Oprah said people were not interested in the truth. They want something sensational.”

Mrs. Esters says she has not heard from Winfrey in some time. “She’s out of reach to us,” she says. She says that she’s also not much in touch with Winfrey’s mother, Vernita Lee, who lives in Milwaukee.

“I’m not close to Vernita now. Because Vernita is rich, and I’m poor. And she doesn’t relate to me the way she did when she was poor. Rich people don’t care for poor people. She’s just as out of reach to me [as Oprah].”

As for Kelley: “I found out she wrote ugly things. She didn’t get anything ugly from me. She’ll say what she decides to say. It doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Aretha Franklin: New Album, Movie, and (Successful) Diet

Roger Friedman
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Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul, is on a roll.

She’s lost 23 pounds on a new, healthy diet and she looks fantastic. “I’m working on the next 23,” she declared backstage last night at City Center where the Queen sang her signature hit, “Respect,” for Good Housekeeping magazine’s 125th anniversary show.

Not only was Aretha a vision in a white gown specially designed for her new slimmed down figure, but she had lots of other news. Her new album, the first in seven years, is coming to us in May via WalMart. “A Woman Falling Out of Love” was produced by Franklin with Bebe Winans and Gordon Chambers. Aretha told me she wrote two of the songs–she is always her best composer–and the album features a duet with the amazing Karen Clark, of the Clark Sisters.

Isn’t that enough?

Yesterday, the Queen of Soul huddled with two different Oscar caliber directors about turning her autobiography into a movie. It’s really going to happen. And the big names are being mentioned, like maybe Denzel Washington to play the famous Reverend C.L. Franklin, Aretha’s dad, and any number of actresses–from Halle Berry to Jennifer Hudson– to play Miss Aretha. Of course, Aretha’s incredible sisters, Carolyn and Erma, will be represented as well. (I did suggest that Miss Franklin check out Viola Davis for her movie, too.)

Franklin was in fine voice last night,too, although she said she could hear “cracks.” Her back up singers included two of my pals, the great Vaneese Thomas (sister of Carla, daughter of Rufus) whose parents were married by Reverend Franklin, and Fonzie Thornton, of the original Chic (with Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards and yes, Luther Vandross).

‘Aretha was the biggest star maybe but not the only one at GH’s star-studded event. She was actually introduced by no less than Candice Bergen. The other performer of the night, Meryl Streep, got her introduction from Nora Ephron, who in turn was brought to the stage by Liz Smith. (Meryl gave a recitation from a speech by Susan B. Anthony.) Brooke Shields was a very charming emcee, while Broadway’s Laura Benanti and Kelly O’Hara opened the night with a fully produced song and dance number. No, those Hearst types didn’t hold back a penny!

Other notables included Marlo Thomas (who appeared with a rejuvenated Miss Piggy), Martha Stewart, Jessica Simpson, Hillary Duff, Gayle King, Kristen Bell, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Ann Hampton Calloway (who sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) and the effortlessly funny Sarah Jones. And our very own Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney was there, too–she’s helping make a National Women’s History Museum a reality in Washington, DC on the Mall (http://www.nwhm.org/).

PS Kudos to my pal Liz Smith — she gave hilarious speech and was in top form. She said that she loved getting scoops and had been on plenty of “hit” lists–Frank Sinatra and Donald Trump’s each–but that she had always endeavored to write gossip in a flattering way. She did, she has, she does, and I sure wish the glut of what passes for gossip today took a page from her book. That’s how you achieve longevity in this biz.

Conan Going to TBS, Full of Surprises in Meantime

Roger Friedman
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Conan O’Brien is heading to TBS in September for his late night talk show. It’s a surprise, since the trades kept predicting a Fox show in no time.

But I told you months ago, when the Conan-Jay scuffle was underway, that Fox had problems clearing stations. Their network goes off the air at 10pm. After that, it’s syndication. Their stations make too much money showing comedy reruns. And Fox might not have such a sense of humor about O’Brien’s politics.

Tonight Conan starts his live tour, so the announcement is well timed. The live shows are full of surprise guests in every city. The Conan people are going to work hard to keep the guests a secret, but I am sure some of it will leak out. By the time Conan gets to New York on June 1st, there should be Coco hysteria.

Also, I wouldn’t bet the farm, but maybe the barns: the New York shows are sure to have some involvement with Bruce Springsteen. We’ll wait and see.

Justin Bieber Private Show: Girl Faints, Singer Is So So

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber put on a private show last night at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

The 16 year old passing fad — or Leif Garret 2010 — is an inexplicable teen sensation. Consequently, one girl–exactly one–fainted before the show started. She is okay, however.

As for Bieber, fresh from his performance on “Saturday Night Live,” he worked the crowd of youngsters into a screaming frenzy. When you’re screaming, you can’t hear anything. It’s just as well. Bieber is no Sinatra, let alone a Timberlake.

My eyewitness reports: “He covers other people’s songs, and he can’t really sing.”

The latter more or less confirms my own impression of the Beeb from the taping of “We Are the World 2″ last February. When it was his turn to do his solo in the booth, the voice cracked. Those of us watching on the closed circuit were more than surprised. He is also height challenged for a 16 year old.

Anyway, after the show Justin twittered to his fans, all 1.8 million of them. (Yes, this is the new teen phenom, the male Britney.) He wrote, with exclamation: “Oprah is looking for my Biggest fans!” (The capital B is his.)

Indeed, over on Oprah.com, the website says that “Justin Bieber is the hottest teen star of our time!” She is absolutely looking for his biggest fans, including those who’ve built shrines to him.

Also, after his private show, he alerted fans: “taking a moment 2 listen to MY WORLD 2.0 – I really am proud of this album. 1st time this week I’ve been able to chill and just listen 2 it.”

That’s so great. And he still had time to do homework, I’m sure.

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