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If you scare them, they will come. Or something like that.
Apparently audiences were much more frightened by Godzilla and King Kong’s new flick than by the one from the Ghostbusters.
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” stomped all over “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” with an $80 million opening weekend.
“Frozen Empire” made $15 million and finished second. Total is $73 million.
A new empire vs. a frozen one, seems logical I guess.
Not a lot of action otherwise at the box office. “Dune Two” crossed $250 million. “Kung Fu Panda 4” hit $150 million.
There are a lot of miscellaneous movies playing to near empty houses, titles you would only go to if you were already in the lobby, it was raining, and you figured, Why not? For example, something called “Arthur the King” with Mark Walhberg has made almost $20 million in 3 weeks. It’s one of Wahlberg’s lowest grossing films. They should have put the talking toy bear in it.
This coming weekend we get Woody Allen’s “Coup de Chance,” an A plus mystery that no one should miss. Also, Dev Patel’s “Monkey Man.”
Beyonce sings a magnificent cover of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” on her new album.
The version is so lovely that the track is at number 4 on iTunes.
Paul McCartney wrote the song about Black women struggling during the civil rights protests of the 1960s. That’s an old story, but now it’s everywhere thanks to a press release put out by Beyonce’s team. (The story is in dozens of iterations across the internet including from Rolling Stone, as if it were a new idea.)
So far there are no posted credits on Beyonce.com for 25 of the 27 songs on “Cowboy Carter.”
But Paul McCartney might he surprised to learn that Beyonce Knowles Carter is listed a co-writer on Wikipedia. Beyonce was born in 1981. The song was written in 1968. And the only person Paul McCartney shares credits with is John Lennon.
Go figure. Maybe Beyonce thinks she gets a credit for adding an I to her title, “Blackbiird.”
I’m sure someone will be on the phone come Monday morning!
“Do not fuck with a woman from NYC,” exclaimed comedian/actress Alex Borstein, accepting her award for The Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment Made in NY Award at this year’s NYWFT Muse Awards.
The “Mrs. Maisel” star reminded 700 guests seated for a sumptuous steak dinner at Cipriani 42nd Street, she was not actually “made in New York,” but everyone seemed to think she was, maybe because as Susie Myerson she epitomized the brash, pushy person who could be a talent agent.
The actress said her parents never called to congratulate her for any of her work, but they did for “Mrs. Maisel.”
“You were good,” said Borstein’s mother, while her father asked, “Why weren’t you the lead?” Her mother — yes, her own mother — replied, “Because the skinny one with the perfect tits is the lead.” This may have bothered her growing up, she said, but as the Muses dispense advice, now she knows: “You are enough.”
Canadian actress Tantoo Cardinal — whose personal story informed Martin Scorsese’s Oscar nominated “Killers of the Flower Moon” — had gratitude to family, particularly her grandmother who picked her up from the “dregs of genocide.” When her grandfather spoke her name, she said, “I knew he knew me.” And when he died, she wore an eagle feather in her hair for him. That was brave, she told the crowd. Of indigenous descent, she was taught to be ashamed of who she was.
“Wonderstruck” and “A Quiet Place” actress Millicent Simmons — whose hearing impairment has not affected her career — accepted the Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award. Her mother was discouraged from learning to sign by doctors who thought that would slow her, a deaf baby, in learning to speak. A riveting performer, in “A Quiet Place II,” she led the cast including writer/director John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and often gave them notes.
Actress Kyra Sedgwick has taken on directing. Her husband Kevin Bacon, who is one degree away from. advised her: she was great at directing, if only she would never say “I’m sorry,” as in, Sorry, but we’re doing another take. This gave the audience a hearty, knowing chuckle.
One comedienne was missed by all: Fran Drescher — who had spent the year doing serious work in shepherding actors through strikes to a successful new contract — had a sad reason to be absent. Now, She was sitting shiva for her father. Morty Drescher passed away March 20th at age 94.
Drescher sent remarks that included: “I am his daughter and I am so happy he got to see me not only achieve success as an actor, but even more importantly as a labor leader because doing volunteer work on behalf of the greater good was the ethics by which he raised me.”
The veteran monster kicked off the weekend with $37 million including Thursday previews. The warm reception for “Godzilla x Kong” shows that the famous pair of frenemies still has what it takes to draw crowds.
Another $50 million for tonight and Sunday should put the utterly mindless entertainment up around $87 million. Huzzah!
The success of “Godzilla” means that “Ghostbusters Frozen Empire” got one week at number 1. Last night the customized ambulance gang got slimed with just $5.5 million. Their total gross for the run will be around $62 million by tomorrow night.
One movie definitely coming soon is Will Smith’s “Bad Boys Ride or Die.” This should be interesting. How will they do a press tour with Will Smith even two years after his Oscar slap and Academy ban? “Bad Boys” has a built in audience so first weekend receipts are guaranteed. But beyond that? And will Chris Rock say something? This will be a test, for sure.
Everyone’s excited about Beyonce’s “Cowboy Carter” album. It’s very good, great even, and should secure Ms. Knowles with her first Album of the Year next January.
But groundbreaking? Not really. Exactly 30 years ago there was an album and a documentary called “Rhythm, Country & Blues.” It mixed top country stars with R&B stars.
The R&B stars were Sam Moore, Patti Labelle, Little Richard, BB King, Natalie Cole, The Pointer Sisters, Aaron Neville, The Staples Singers, Allen Toussaint, and Al Green. I’m sure they’re reading all the publicity about Beyonce and saying, “Huh? We did that 30 years ago!”
Not to take anything away from Beyonce. The album is personal to her because she grew up in Texas. But most of the R&B singers from “Rhythm, Country, and Blues” also grew up in the South — or had roots there.
By the way, the album debuted at Number 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums. It was a huge hit, and remains available on streaming and on CD. The duets hold up very well, too.
Last night, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” stomped into theaters and made $10 million!
Godzilla — he must have had work done, he never ages! — killed off “Ghostbusters Frozen Empire” handily. “Frozen Empire” melted to just $2 million.
Tonight, “Godzilla” should do twice its preview night and crush “Frozen Empire” under one foot.
And that’s the way it is, these days. The film has a lousy 54% from critics, but a 93% from audiences who saw it last night. People love to be terrorized! Pass the popcorn!
And Godzilla and King Kong — come on, this is Hope and Crosby, Affleck and Damon, Matthau and Lemmon. You know in real life they’re hanging around the Hillcrest Country Club eating the Cobb salad, planning to get out on the golf course. We love ’em!
The PR machine for Alex Garland’s “Civil War” is in full gear.
The first comments were things like “Masterpiece!”
But I’m told the film, starring Kirsten Dunst, is not exactly that. It will be talked about, but it’s “disturbing and violent,” according to my spies.
“What if Trump were re-elected and the country split in two?” asks my insiders. “That’s what it’s about.”
Is it an Oscar film, I asked? Emphatically “no.” Kirsten Dunst, even? “Probably not.”
“Civil War” opens April 12th. I remember back in the day when “China Syndrome” was coming out and Hollywood PR made it seem like we were all going to get blown to high heaven by an exploding nuclear reactor. On top of that we then had the real life situation at Three Mile Island — the nuclear power plant went into meltdown ten days after the movie opened. Suddenly, theaters were packed.
Will “Civil War” scare people into making sure Trump isn’t back in the White House? I sure hope so. But will it cause violence now? That would be a shame all in the name of box office. Let’s hope everyone keeps a cool head — audiences and reviewers, and accept “Civil War” for what it is.
Billy Joel, almost 75, rocked Madison Square Garden tonight to a sold out crowd for his 100th show in his ten year residency. The concert — fun, emotional, nostalgic — was taped for an April 14th showing on CBS.
Billy’s guests were Jerry Seinfeld — who gave a rousing and touching tribute to Billy as the savior of Long Island. Jerry also brought down a banner marking the 100th show in this series. (When Billy finishes in July he’ll have had 150 shows in his hometown arena.)
There was a musical surprise, too, in the person of Sting, who sang Billy’s “Big Man on Mulberry Street” with depth and bravado evoking a swinging film noir. (Sting loves a cup of tea with honey, it’s said. The result is that his voice is now honeyed and sandpapered at the same time.) Then the pair rocked Sting’s hit “Everything Little Thing You Do Is Magic,” which sent the massive crowd into cheers.
The audience included MSG chairman James Dolan, Senator Bill Bradley, director Ron Howard, actor Paul Rudd, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, and great jazz pianist Eric Lewis aka ELEW.
But the evening was about Billy, whose song repertoire has held up alongside the great Tin Pan Alley songwriters that have inspired him. Like Bruce, Elton, the two Pauls (Simon and McCartney), and Sting, Billy Joel has crafted a catalog of songs that stand the test of time and just keep getting better.
I actually get a little teary eyed now, 50 years later, when 20,000 people sing the words to “Piano Man.” (It’s funny how the boisterous audience suddenly gets very quiet as Billy straps on his harmonica. They want to hear each other sing the stories of the characters at Billy’s bar like it’s a holy communion.) All the hits are in this show, including pop standards like “Uptown Girl” and anthems like “Allentown.” Billy even includes his new song, that he “partially wrote,” “Turn the Lights Back On.”
Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are the two performers who forever will represent the New York area, although the latter is from New Jersey. When I was younger, people would always say, are you a Billy fan or a Bruce fan? It’s interesting that they’re really so similar, grounded in doo wop and R&B, with songs that feature brassy horns. They’re pretty much the same age, too — twins from different mothers.
Billy, though, with his proficient piano skills, cuts a different path, more toward Elton John. Watching him on the keyboards, it’s a master class. You can hear all that jazz, the Spanish rhythms of people like Dion and Lieber and Stoller, a sprinkling of Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound. And his voice, though he doth protest too much, is still there. He jokingly warned the audience that maybe he’d lost some top notes, but they came with ease.
What a great show this will make for CBS. I hope they keep in everything. It was historic.
Here’s a taste of Sting. Tony Bennett would approve!
I would guess a lot of people my age are suckers for The Who’s rock opera, “Tommy.” We loved it in 1969 as a double album, the 1974 movie, and in 1992 on Broadway with Michael Cerveris’s electric performance.
“Tommy” is back on Broadway, opening tonight. It’s sensational even if the timeline of the story is screwy. Who cares? Tommy Walker is traumatized into catatonia after he sees his father shoot his mother’s lover during a post WW1 squabble. He’s lost in a mirror world. How will he break loose?
The story begins in 1921, then jumps to 1942, and on to the 1970s. Pay no mind. Tommy is a bit of a time traveler, on his way to regaining his mind and becoming a pop star-slash-cult leader.
He’s also a Pinball Wizard, which is what makes him famous. Along the way, his father pimps him out to the Acid Queen, his uncle abuses him sexually, and his cousin tortures him. But all of it is in the best way.
The main thing is that Pete Townshend’s music and lyrics have never sounded better. The orchestra is sensational. Ali Louis Bourzgui is a charismatic adult Tommy with a booming supple voice. Christina Sajous stands out as Tina Turner doing the Acid Queen. Bobby Conte is a compelling Cousin Kevin. The whole cast, the production, is updated from 1992 with a shot of life.
Indeed, the sets pop, the choreography is tight, and “Tommy” brims with fun. Maybe it’s a little nostalgic for classic rock fans. But I’ll take this over a lot of musicals with unhummable songs and flat scores. It’s really a tribute to Townshend, who set the bar high for rock after hearing “Sgt Pepper” and its consequent releases by other groups in the late 60s.
