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Rolling Stones’ Long-Banned Film Is Coming (Kinda)

Roger Friedman
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Rolling Stones’ Long-Banned Film Is Coming (Kinda)

Fans of the Rolling Stones know all about a little known underground film that could not be released in the early 1970s. It was called “Cocksucker Blues.” It was made around the time of he recording of “Exile on Main Street” in 1971 and it contained some racy, racy stuff. (Considering what we see on YouTube and from Paris Hilton, however, it may seem tame now!)

Well now: Ten minutes of “CB” are being included officially in a 30-minute documentary that the Stones will release in May. The other 20 minutes comprise 10 minutes of a film that was released but few saw called “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Rolling Stones” (out of print and unavailable since 1974) and 10 more minutes of a new full-length doc called “Stones in Exile,” made by director Stephen Kijack. That latter title will also be released as a full-length doc at the same time in a format still to be determined.

And all of this comes along with a new full-length version of the album “Exile on Main Street,” which will now have 10 extra tracks in addition to “Tumbling Dice,” “Happy,” “Sister Morphine” and all the classic songs we already know from the original.

“Exile” comes from the Stones’ most fertile period, right after “Sticky Fingers” a year before. The Stones had just signed with Ahmet Ertegun and Atlantic Records, escaping from their old contract with Allen Klein and Decca and London Records. Mick had just married Bianca, and their world was on fire. Oh to have been a fly on the wall from that period! It’s hoped that “Stones in Exile” will provide that feeling. And maybe there will be new unexpurgated full-length versions of “CB” on the black market (do they still call it that? or is it eBay?). Anyway, I saw it way back in 1981, on something called a Betamax, and it proved the Stones were the Greatest rock ‘n’ roll Band in the world — for many reasons!

Jack Nicholson Helps Send N.Y.’s Most Famous Flack South

Roger Friedman
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Jack Nicholson Helps Send N.Y.’s Most Famous Flack South

Bobby Zarem is heading south. He’s leaving on Sunday to go live in his beloved Savannah, Ga., where he’s been the mastermind for the city’s film festival for many years.

New York without Bobby Zarem? It’s unimaginable. Like New York without bagels. Or taxis. He’s the only publicist about whom a movie was made — “People I Know,” starring Al Pacino, Bobby’s pal, as the garrulous flack.

His sort of farewell party was at Elaine’s, where Bobby’s thrown a million parties for a million authors, actors, and raconteurs. The place filled up fast with a variety of well-known faces, from actor Josh Lucas to the inimitably elegant Maria Cooper Janis, daughter of the legend Gary Cooper, from Patti D’Arbanville to Art Garfunkel and his beautiful singing wife, Kim.

There were plenty of Elaine’s regulars. The spirit of Neil Travis hovered. Page Six’s Richard Johnson was chatting amicably with his former competitor Lloyd Grove, who used to be at the Daily News. Joanna Molloy, still of the News, was happy to see Broadway producer Judy Gordon, who also saw producer David Richenthal, who was in turn gushing about Matthew Modine’s performance in his new production of “The Miracle Worker.” And so on. There were clutches of movie publicists from the different studios. Famed manager and former agent Johnnie Planco with partner Gene Parseghian, TV producer Fred Rappaport, children’s book publisher Josh Gaspero and so on made the scene. I saw Bob Wallace, who survived a term as editor of Rolling Stone when it was still a real magazine.

It was generally acknowledged that even with Bobby returning occasionally from the South, an end of an era had finally arrived. Years ago, Bobby invented Denise Rich, for example, when she wrote a song about New York. To get an inscribed invite to a Zarem party at Elaine’s meant you’d really, really made it.

Into all this came Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter to shake Zarem’s hand and wish him well. The sea of people parted. And then the phone rang.

“Jack Nicholson is calling,” said Diane Becker, who manages Elaine’s. Even Carter was impressed. Bobby swam across the room to grab the pay phone. “Jack Nicholson is calling you.” someone else said to him. No big deal, really. Bobby responded, “We talk all the time,” he said.

‘Hurt Locker’ Producer Blows Himself Up with E-mails

Roger Friedman
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‘Hurt Locker’ Producer Blows Himself Up with E-mails

“Hurt Locker” producer Nicholas Chartier has gotten himself into hot water. A novice to the Oscar process, Chartier violated Academy rules by sending out an e-mail to voters last week.

Here’s what he said:

I hope all is well with you.’ I just wanted to write you and say I hope you liked Hurt Locker and if you did and want us to win, please tell Pierce and your friends who vote for the Oscars, tell actors, directors,crew members, art directors, special effects people, if everyone tells one or two of their friends, we will win and not a $500M film, we need independent movies to win like the movies you and I do, so if you believe The Hurt Locker is the best movie of 2010, help us!

I’m sure you know plenty of people you’ve worked with who are academy members whethere a publicist, a writer, a sound engineer, please take 5 minutes and contact them. Please call one or two persons, everything will help!

Consequently, Chartier has been advised of his mistake, and sent this e-mail as a follow-up:

My email to you was out of line and not in the spirit of the celebration of cinema that this acknowledgement is. I was even more wrong, both personally and professionally, to ask for your help in encouraging others to vote for the film and to comment on another movie. As’ passionate as I am about the film’ we made, this was an extremely inappropriate email to send, and something that the Academy strongly disapproves of in the rules.

My naivete, ignorance of the rules and plain stupidity as a first time nominee’ is not an excuse for this behavior and I strongly regret it. Being nominated for an Academy Award is the ultimate honor and I should have taken the time to read the rules.

I am emailing’ each person this very same statement asking’ to retract my previous email and requesting that you please disregard it.

I truly apologize to anyone I have offended.

So now what? Chartier is obviously freaked out, as “The Hurt Locker” didn’t really need this kind of help or attention less than a week before ballots are due in. Will there be an uproar? We all know that if Scott Rudin or Harvey Weinstein had sent this kind of e-mail, there would be demonstrations in the streets and ritual sacrifices.

And the Academy does consider what happened as a serious violation of rules. Here’s the official stance: “The original email was indeed a violation of the Academy’s campaign regulations.’ Any announcement about any action the Academy might choose to take will not come until after balloting has closed on Tuesday (5 p.m. PT).”

J.R. Ewing of Radio in Texas Election Battle

Roger Friedman
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J.R. Ewing of Radio in Texas Election Battle

sjlee J.R. Ewing of Radio in Texas Election BattleIn Texas there’s a fierce battle over a Congressional primary being held this Tuesday. And pop radio seems to be the issue.

Democrat Sheila Jackson-Lee, who’s been a great and vocal member of’ Congress since 1994, has done a lot of good things during her run in Washington. One of the best things is her fight to help recording artists get paid by radio stations. She’s one of the supporters of the important Performance Rights Act (HR 848).

But Lee’s support has made her a target from a couple of special interest groups. I’m told that the National Association of Broadcasters — the lobbying group that represents the wealthy radio monopolies — as well as Radio One, a 52-station network of black radio stations — has been piling on Lee to knock her out of office. There’s a primary vote in Texas on Tuesday, March 2.

In particular, Radio One’s Cathy Hughes, sources say, has been using her Houston station to dump on Lee and support her opponent. Hughes is terrified of the Performance Rights Act because if it passed, she’d have to contribute to a pool that actually paid musicians for being paid on the radio. Hughes actually has a web page where she sings out of key and misstates facts about the Bill.

Down in Texas, Cathy Hughes – who lives in Washington, D.C., and is wealthier than most of the musicians who get played on her stations — has used J.R. Ewing-like methods against Sheila Jackson-Lee, sources say. “She’s pounding Lee,” says a Texas radio listener, on the three local Radio One Houston stations and two more in Dallas.

Since the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll in the ’50s, radio has had to pay only the writers of songs they play. But the actual singers and musicians have received nothing. This is particularly daunting for performers who didn’t write their songs. That includes everyone from Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand to Whitney Houston, Linda Ronstadt and Judy Collins.

Take the latter case: Collins sang and popularized Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” But only Mitchell gets paid when Collins’ record is played on the radio. It’s been 40 years since the record sold copies. But it’s played every day, somewhere. Collins’ only option to make money from it is to go out and do concerts.

Radio One and the NAB oppose this. They think Judy Collins should be out concertizing til she’s 90.

And the NAB is serious about trying to kill the Performance Rights Act. This month, for example, the lobbying group ran 60 commercial spots in one week — over just seven days — on WTOP in Washington, D.C. (not a Radio One station), against the Performance Rights Act. And guess what? There was no charge from WTOP even though the ads were worth over $100,000. They were free.

Freak Out! Nile Rodgers Is Writing a Book

Roger Friedman
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Freak Out! Nile Rodgers Is Writing a Book

nrodgers Freak Out! Nile Rodgers Is Writing a BookC’est Chic: Nile Rodgers, the multitasking seriously talented writer-producer-founder of R&B group Chic, has just turned in the first draft of his memoir to publisher Random House.

Rodgers is thinking of naming the book after his monster Sister Sledge hit “We Are Family.” That’s also the name of his and Nancy Hunt’s successful charitable foundation.

I told him last night at a party for “Hurt Locker” screenwriter Mark Boal that he should call the book “Upside Down.” That was Niles’ hit with Diana Ross many moons ago.

Rodgers has quite a story to tell: He became an overnight phenom with Chic along with late music partner Bernard Edwards. But along the way he fell into drugs, hard. He cleaned up his act in the mid 1980s and went on to become a huge producer for Ross, the B52s and many other stars, including Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Duran Duran and even Madonna (he produced “Like a Virgin”).

Right after the World Trade Center tragedies of Sept. 11, Nile and Nancy put out the word and recorded an all-star version of “We Are Family” to preach tolerance. That record led to the We Are Family Foundation, which has gone on to build schools in Africa and help teens in the U.S. You can read all about it here.

Rodgers’ book should be a page-turner. It’s going to cover his formative years in New York at the famed Max’s Kansas City, running with the likes of Debbie Harry and Lou Reed, and hitting it big with Chic in 1977 on hits like “Le Freak” and “Good Times.” Hey wait — that’s a good title — “Good Times.”

The book should hit stores in about a year. Hopefully in that time, Rodgers will ready the release of some unheard Chic music from the early ’80s, as well as a solo album by beloved Chic vocalist Fonzie Thornton that’s said to be amazing.

P.S. Also at the “Hurt Locker” cocktails no less than New York Times editor-in-chief Bill Keller, plus famed documentary filmmakers DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, actor Bob Balaban, and, of course, “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow. Boal and Bigelow are on their way back from London — where the film won six BAFTA awards — to possible Oscar gold in Hollywood on March 7.

Phil Collins Is Getting a Major Music Award

Roger Friedman
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Phil Collins Is Getting a Major Music Award

pcollins Phil Collins Is Getting a Major Music AwardNo one knows this yet, so shhhh … Phil Collins is going to receive the Johnny Mercer Award this June from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

The Mercer Award is the most prestigious award given out by the SHOF. To receive it, you have to have already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Collins is in pretty cool company. Previous winners include Stephen Sondheim, Paul Simon, Carole King, Billy Joel, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

A source says that Collins, who’s been on hiatus recently thanks to throat surgery, is particularly psyched because last year’s winners were Motown greats Holland-Dozier-Holland. Phil’s next album is a collection of Motown cover songs.

Collins’ award means that he will more than likely perform at the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a hot ticket on June 17 at the Marriott Marquis. Collins has pretty much been off the circuit for quite a while.

The Genesis founder’s appearance also raises the tantalizing possibility of some interesting collaborations that night since Earth Wind & Fire are also being inducted. Phil and EW&F’s Philip Bailey share a number 1 duet from the 1980s, called “Easy Lover.”

Conan O’Brien: Will He Upstage Jay’s Return?

Roger Friedman
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Conan O’Brien: Will He Upstage Jay’s Return?

120954 conan obrien 341 Conan OBrien: Will He Upstage Jays Return? Conan O’Brien seems like he’s in purgatory right now, but not exactly.

I am told that the Fox deal for a late-night show is moving forward with “everyone talking.” Among the obstacles, as I reported here first when the whole NBC debacle began: clearing Fox stations for an 11:30 p.m. show. The Fox network signs off every night at 10 p.m.

At the same time, Conan is in discussions for taking his show live to theaters across the country. And what a PR bonanza that would be! Imagine O’Brien moving his show into Radio City Music Hall, then taking it on the road. It’s a sure sellout, and the cachet involved would only make him more desirable to Fox. O’Brien could certainly sell out mid range venues in most big cities like New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C. and maybe even Atlanta. It’s certainly something to consider.

So hold on for more Conan, and don’t be surprised if an announcement comes just in time to upstage Jay Leno’s return to the Tonight Show.

Michael Jackson’s Mom Plans Fan Convention For Next August

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson’s Mom Plans Fan Convention For Next August

Michael Jackson’s family can’t wait anymore. They’re starting to plan events to cash in on Michael’s memory.

First, eldest sister Rebbie planned a tribute to Michael in Scranton, Pa., with a second-tier lead singer from the Temptations. It was too sad for me to write about.

Now Katherine Jackson has lent her name to a Michael fanfest set for just outside Gary, Ind., Aug. 26-29.

This is almost too sad to write about. If only Robert Altman were alive, he could film it as the sequel to “Nashville.” Promised for the event are Michael’s first cousin Keith Jackson, who promises in a video to exhibit his Michael memorabilia; self-published author Aphrodite Jones; and Omer Bhatti, the Michael Jackson imitator who is NOT Michael’s son but has tried his best to cash in on that rumor. Bhatti’s parents worked for Michael after offering up their 12-year-old son to him at a Tunisian hotel in 1996.

The International King of Pop Fanvention seems too good to be true. It’s being produced by a company called Fluid Prods., which is owned by St. Croix-born L.A. musician Padriac Coursey. It’s unclear whether he’s related to Gary B. “Court”’ Coursey, a controversial entrepreneur who once tried with his partner to get Michael to invest in an online ticket selling business.

And certainly, before too long, there will be issues of intellectual property since Jackson’s image is owned by his estate and not his heirs. His executors may have something to say about all this.

Madonna: Long Time PR Chief on the Move

Roger Friedman
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Madonna: Long Time PR Chief on the Move

Liz Rosenberg, Madonna’s PR person for 300 years, is leaving Warner Bros. Records.(She actually started there in 1971.)

This was inevitable since Madonna has long ago left Warner Music Group for Live Nation.

For a long time, Rosenberg handled not only Madonna but several Warner related artists who are also now gone including Prince, the Pretenders, Stevie Nicks, Cher, and Rod Stewart. According to a press release, she’ll set up a new company called Liz Rosenberg Media. She says she’ll handle some WMG clients on a consultant basis. And, of course, she’ll still be with Madonna.

In many regards, Liz has been a genius with Madonna. Many times she’s had to turn lemons into lemonade, as they say, particularly as Madonna created new and more interesting scandals over the years. Most of Madonna’s career has been based on inventing scandal to promote something, and Liz has been as much if not more of the brain trust in that regard.

Some of Madonna’s best scandals involved her marriages and divorces (Sean Penn, Guy Ritchie), affairs (Alex Rodriguez, the current boy toy Jesus Luz), her “Sex” book (which should be interesting reading for her newest kids), and her immersion in the pay for play religion Kabbalah Center in Los Angeles that turned into her conquering of the country of Malawi. Through all this, Liz has somehow managed to hold her head high!

So congrats to Liz Rosenberg. It’s the end of yet another era at the hit starved Warner Music Group.

‘GMA’s’ Robin Roberts, Chas Osgood, Sam Moore Get AFTRA Awards

Roger Friedman
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‘GMA’s’ Robin Roberts, Chas Osgood, Sam Moore Get AFTRA Awards

aftraawards GMAs Robin Roberts, Chas Osgood, Sam Moore Get AFTRA AwardsMonday night in the main ballroom at the Plaza Hotel: AFTRA, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, gave its lifetime achievement awards to an eclectic bunch. They were: “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts, CBS’ Charles Osgood, “Soul Man” Sam Moore, the cast of “Sesame Street” and Latin American artist Juanes.

(Clarification update: Leslie Simmons of AFTRA wants me to point out that only Charles and Sam received Lifetime awards. The others got awards in their respective fields.)

The winners inspired an equally eclectic group of presenters: Don Imus, for Sam Moore; Tony Bennett, for Juanes; Bill Geist for Osgood. And in the audience a sprinkliing of soap stars including Robert S. Woods from “One Life to Live” and Linda Dano. And my personal soap hero, Don Hastings, who’s played Dr. Bob Hughes for 50 years on “As the World Turns.”

Also in the audience: singing sensation Sarah Dash of Labelle fame, whose busy schedule can be followed online here. And humorist Chris Cerf, who was part of the “Sesame Street” crowd. And yes, I did get to meet Kevin Clash, who’s been the voice of Elmo for 27 years. That was a treat!

Bob Edwards, of NPR fame, emceed the evening, and Jim Kerr, of NY radio fame, kept the ball rolling in the audience. But the night belonged to the speechifiers, starting with Tony Bennett. He spoke of visiting Puerto Rico as a young man and meeting Pablo Casals. “He didn’t know who I was,” Bennett recalled, but the classical music legend welcomed him anyway. It was Bennett’s first experience with “world music” and it led him to Juanes in recent years.

Imus and Moore got the biggest laughs of the evening. And Moore spoke eloquently about the need for the passage in Congress of the Performance Rights Act. “Performing artists shouldn’t have to be considered charity cases,” he said to thunderous applause.

I loved running into Don Hastings, too. He’s going to wrap up five decades on “As the World Turns” this summer. “We still don’t have a finish date, maybe in July,” he said. Will he miss the show? “It hasn’t hit me yet because I’m still working.” He wants to keep working, too, and joked with Bob Woods about playing a serial killer on his soap, “One Life to Live.” “I wouldn’t kill you, though,” joked Hastings. “I like you!”

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