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Brooke Shields can do anything. She’s had books, a documentary, TV shows. She was a model, is an actress. And everyone likes her, which is unique in the celebrity world.
Now Brooke, a Princeton graduate, will bring a one woman show to New York’s esteemed Cafe Carlyle from September 12th to the 23rd. The show is called “Previously Owned by Brooke Shields.” It’s directed by Nate Patten and co-written by Patten and Brooke. Music direction and arrangements are by Charlie Alterman. Special material comes from Matthew Sklar and Amanda Green.
Brooke can sing, so I’m curious to see how she mixes original songs with older ones, which ones she chooses. She’ll be a knockout!
Pee Wee Herman is dead at age 70. Paul Reubens was a gifted comedian and actor who had a troubled career.
Herman’s “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” began as a TV show and went on to become successful movies.
A post from his publicist, Kelly Bush Novak, confirmed the death. Variety confirmed it as well. The cause of death was cancer.
Reubens’ career came to a screeching halt in 1991 when he was arrested in Sarasota, Florida, for masturbating publicly in an adult theater. Much of his work ended, and though Pee Wee Herman remained iconic, the scandal stuck to him. He appeared occasionally on talk shows, but his movie and TV careers were over.
Over his career, Reubens was nominated for 17 Daytime Emmys. He won two of them. He was also nominated for three Emmy Awards. “The Pee Wee Herman Show” also ran for 62 performances on Broadway in 2010-11.
Condolences to family and friends. They ask that donations be made in the memory of Paul Reubens’ parents to Stand Up for Cancer or organizations that are involved in Dementia or Alzheimer’s care.
A Facebook post from his account reads: ?Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness. Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
Paul McCartney hasn’t just been relaxing all summer in the Hamptons, taking in “Oppenheier” with Steven Spielberg.
He’s also been planning a big tour of Austtalia and New Zealand and who knows where else:
At 81, Paul is bouncing around like a teenager. He’s got plenty of songs to sing, and millions of fans who want to see him.
McCartney’s US tour last year was a blast. And after seeing Bruce Springsteen several times lately on his tour, Paul accepts the challenge!
PS Paul also has an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London called “Paul McCartney Photographs 1963-64: Eyes of the Storm” Exhibition which closes October 1st. More than 250 photos from Paul’s personal archive. A fascinating look at an international cultural phenomenon, definitely a must if you’re in London!
You may remember how Lady Chablis, a real person, became a national sensation after appearing in the John Berendt best seller, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” Chablis was in every gossip column thirty years ago.
Then came the Clint Eastwood directed movie, starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack as the actual two main characters. Lady Chablis was used for spice and entertainment. CHablis Deveau — who ultimately died in 2016 — played herself. She was a trailblazer. Chablis was indeed one of the first transgender performers to cross over into the mainstream.
Meanwhile, in Savannah, Georgia, “Midnight” tours and merchandise became their own economy.
Now a Broadway team will try and workshop a musical this week of “Midnight” here in New York. Stephen Pasquale will play the part of Berendt (Cusack in the movie). But the top billing now goes to Lady Chablis, played by recent Tony winner J. Harrison Ghee. With Ghee’s award for “Some Like it Hot” making them/him hot hot hot right now, it seems like Lady Chablis will be the show stopper in this musical. (I’m surprised Billy Porter isn’t doing this since Ghee has “SLIH.”)
Director is Rob Ashford, music and lyrics are by Jason Robert Brown, and Taylor Mac — who wrote very bad “Gary” A Sequel to Titus Andronicus”) with Nathan Lane — just the memory of it is upsetting — is the book’s author.
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga‘s extraordinary friendship and musical collaboration dates back to 2011. Their meeting changed both of their lives and led to huge success with two albums, a tour, two MTV shows, and two amazing Bennett birthday performances at Radio City Music Hall.
When Tony died last week there was no word from Gaga among the hundreds of tributes. tony’s son, Danny, told me they’d been on the phone all day after his passing was announced. She was obviously grieving her great pal. But now she’s written a tribute on Instagram. I’ve broken it into paragraphs.
“I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together. With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power. We transported ourselves to another era, modernized the music together, & gave it all new life as a singing duo. But it wasn’t an act. Our relationship was very real. Sure he taught me about music, about showbiz life, but he also showed me how to keep my spirits high and my head screwed on straight. “Straight ahead,” he’d say. He was an optimist, he believed in quality work AND quality life. Plus, there was the gratitude…Tony was always grateful. He served in WWII, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and sang jazz with the greatest singers and players in the world.
“I’ve been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye.
“Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend. Our age difference didn’t matter– in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people. We were from two different stages in life entirely–inspired.
“Losing Tony to Alzheimer’s has been painful but it was also really beautiful. An era of memory loss is such a sacred time in a persons life. There’s such a feeling of vulnerability and a desire to preserve dignity. All I wanted was for Tony to remember how much I loved him and how grateful I was to have him in my life. But, as that faded slowly I knew deep down he was sharing with me the most vulnerable moment in his life that he could–being willing to sing with me when his nature was changing so deeply. I’ll never forget this experience.
“I’ll never forget Tony Bennett. If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change. Don’t flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it. Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special. Maybe even magical. And pay attention to silence—some of my musical partner and I’s most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all.
“With This Light” is an upcoming documentary which tells the story of the spitfire Honduran nun Sister Maria Rosa Leggol. Pope Francis has authorized for the canonization process to commence, so the Sister is on her way to be sainted. Sister Maria will be feted posthumously (she passed away from Covid in October 2022 at the age of 93) at the upcoming premiere this Wednesday at the noted Museum of Tolerance in LA.
For over 70 years, Sister Maria helped over 87,000 Honduran children escape poverty and fortified her legacy as an activist and visionary. Powerhouse Social Impact Producer Bonnie Abaunza arranged a screening of the film at the Vatican. The film is the brainchild of billionaire entrepreneur and social impact investor Jessica Sarowitz, the Executive Producer on the film. Jessica’s wealth came from the payroll company, Paylocity, she founded with her husband Steve. Jessica was born in Honduras and was raised in Chicago, and she most certainly knows about humble beginnings. Her father came to the US with just $45 in his pocket. Jessica knew about Sister Maria since childhood and enlisted Honduran based director Laura Bermudez and Chicago based producer/director Nicole Bernardi-Reis to co-direct the doc.
“With This Light” is a meaningful documentary which shows this spitfire of a nun plowing through military coups, dictatorships, civil wars, natural disasters. Nothing and nobody stopped her. Sister Maria Rosa Leggol powered through it all, with the well-being of the children first and foremost for her. It’s a worthy watch.
Miraflores Films will release the film in LA, Chicago and NYC on August 11th and will be on VOD on August 15th.
Madonna is thanking her kids on line for getting through her medical crisis. She writes: “I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference.”
Madonna has six kids: Rocco and Lourdes, plus David Banda and Mercy James, whom she adopted first, then twin girls who she also adopted.
The 80s pop star was hospitalized at the end of June for “a bacterial infection.” The word was she was found “unresponsive” and was rushed to the ICU. A month later, she seems like she’s in good shape and getting ready for her tour to begin in October.
She writes:
“Love from family and friends is the best Medicine. One month out of the hospital and I can reflect.
As a Mother you can really get caught up In the needs Of your children and the seemingly endless giving……….. But when the chips were down my children really showed up for me. I saw a side to them I had never seen before. It made all the difference.
So did the love and support from my friends. If you zoom into this Picture I am holding You will see A Polaroid taken by Andy Warhol of Keith Haring wearing a jacket with Michael Jackson’s face painted on it. A perfect triangle of Brilliance.
Artist who touched so many lives including my own.
I sobbed when I opened this gift because I realized how lucky I am to be alive. And how fortunate I am to have known these people and so many others who are also gone.
Thank you @guyoseary for this gift!
And Thank you to all my angels who protected me and let me Stay to finish doing my work!”
You have to hand it to Will Smith. He’s living in his own world.
Smith has posted to Instagram his support of SAG-AFTRA members which is very nice. He took a picture of himself in the middle of a group of members. He is surrounded by smiling, white faces. It’s hilarious. There are two Black men, way up top. Otherwise Will looks like he’s bringing back Up with People.
He also doesn’t apologize for hitting a SAG member on national TV, live, at the 2022 Oscars. Surely what he did would drum him out of most unions.
Smith writes:
“I wanna talk for a second about ACTING. As some of yall mighta heard, my guild, @SAGAFTRA are on strike along with our writer colleagues in the WGA. It’s a pivotal moment for our profession. 33 years into my career as an actor and there are still some days when I feel like I’m that kid from Philly who’s on borrowed time, even though I know I’ve been extraordinarily blessed and lucky to have worked as an actor all this time. It’s thanks to my friend, my teacher and my mentor @aaronspeiser whom I fondly refer to as ‘coach’ that those days when I feel like I don’t belong are fewer and further between.
Coach invited me to an acting class the other day and I met a group of our talented next generation of actors and they amazed and inspired me!
Disney is already reeling from “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” not panning out.
Now, the Mouse House is dealing with the remake of “Haunted Mansion.” No stars, no publicity. nothing. A price tag of at least $150 million.
By no stars, I don’t mean to denigrate Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, or Tiffany Haddish. Also, there are unbilled cameos from Jared Leto and Marilu Henner. But there’s no one on the level of Eddie Murphy, who toplined the original movie.
And the result? Just $24 million for the opening weekend. Unless it suddenly goes viral, “Haunted Mansion” is about to be repossessed.
The writing was on the walls of the mansion. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a 41%. The audience score is 85%. No one liked it, or wanted it.
Why even remake “Haunted Mansion”? The original, in 2003, starred Eddie Murphy, Terrence Stamp, Jennifer Tilly, and Wally Shawn. It got a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was a bad, bad movie. It made $75 million over 21 weeks. With Murphy and special effects, it undoubtedly lost money
But studios figure Why not just keep remaking the same old stuff?
Disney has had one stroke of luck: the animated “Elemental” started out very slow, but picked up steam as the summer dragged on. Parents took their kids, and “Elemental” managed to make $144 US and almost $400 million international. Maybe “Haunted Mansion” can follow that path.
Besides the United States, Christopher Nolan’s epic has blown up in over 70 countries. There are only two places it hasn’t opened yet:
Japan, and China.
There seems to be plan for China beginning August 30th. That could change, of course, or China could ask for plot revisions. But the date is reserved.
There’s no such plan for Japan, which doesn’t seem surprising. Of all World War II movies, “Oppenheimer” would be the most upsetting for the Japanese people. It’s hard to imagine them welcoming a film that shows not only two of their biggest cities being obliterated, but generations of radiation causing cancer and other illnesses.
No Japanese people are seen in “Oppenheimer” and why would they? All the points of view are the Americans. And the actual bombings are handled without showing the destruction in Japan. But still, “Oppenheimer” if it’s ever allowed in Japan may just come in through streaming or DVDs.
