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Vanity Fair Cannes Not: Annual Party Shrunk, Moved from Famed Hotel Du Cap to Outskirts of Town at Revived Franchise

Roger Friedman
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Vanity Fair Cannes Not: Annual Party Shrunk, Moved from Famed Hotel Du Cap to Outskirts of Town at Revived Franchise

Just as the current Russian Tea Room in New York is not the actual place it once was, something similar has happened in Cannes.

Tetou was a legendary restaurant on the beach in Golfe Juan, the seaside part of Antibes. For decades celebrities camped out there to pay — in cash only — $186 apiece for a bowl of bouillabaisse. Paparazzi surrounded the entrance and exit. If you could get in at all, it was a memorable experience.

Alas, Tetou was demolished a few years ago when the town demanded their beach rights back. In an instant, it was gone, along with the vaunted history. It was the equivalent of the end of New York spots like the RTR, 21 Club, Le Cirque, and the Four Seasons.

But now a French chain has licensed the name and is attempting to revive the glamour. But not in Antibes. Instead, the new Tetou is on the fringes of Cannes, sort of if Le Cirque were reimagined but in Canarsie.

The pop up will be the home of the new extremely diminished Vanity Fair Cannes party this Saturday. No more Hotel du Cap Eden Roc for the flailing Conde Nast publication. It would be like if Vogue moved the Met Gala to the home of the actual Mets, at CitiField.

How the mighty have fallen! The likelihood is that guests will have their drivers wait while they take red carpet photos, then go off to more desirable locations. And what guests will those be, anyway? Cannes is so desperate for American stars they’re welcoming Vin Diesel and John Travolta. Not exactly the days of Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, and forget about Sophia Loren and Catherine Deneuve!

Oh well, as they say, The party is over.

As for the new Tetou, the company that bought it is talking about an “international expansion.” You know what that means — locations in Las Vegas and in Hudson Yards.

PS The Hotel du Cap, one of the world’s greatest locations, is still hosting one major party. Next Tuesday, the famed former editor of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter, is welcoming the stars with CAA agent Bryan Lourd, and Dario Amodei, head of AI giant Anthropic. I’m hearing that’s the hot ticket.

Swatch Gives One of Its New Audemars Piguet Pendant Watches An Unfortunate and Kinda Racist Name If Read in English

Roger Friedman
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Swatch Gives One of Its New Audemars Piguet Pendant Watches An Unfortunate and Kinda Racist Name If Read in English

There are plenty of watches in the world that have black dials.

A lot of them have brand names that use the word ‘black’ or ‘noir.’

Now only one that I can find uses “negro.”

Ocho Negro is the name of one of the new pendant watches announced in a collaboration with Audemars Piguet.

There are 8 in the collection, each retailing for $400. They all have clever names. There’s Huit Blanc, Otto Rosso, OTG Roz, Orenji Hatchi — which could mean Orange Eight, or former Senator Orrin Hatch — and so on.

But Ocho Negro? Um, I don’t know what the means in Swiss. In Spanish, it means Black Eight. Which would have been fine. But in English? “Which watch did you get? The Negro?”

Not in 2026. Or really, any year.

Is anyone still in charge of product development? I may return to Timex.

Broadway: “Chicago” Box Office Drops by $1 Million, “Beaches” and “Six” Dire, “Stranger Things” Struggles, “Mormon” Disappears

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: “Chicago” Box Office Drops by $1 Million, “Beaches” and “Six” Dire, “Stranger Things” Struggles, “Mormon” Disappears

The news from Broadway is not that great from this past week.

“Chicago” fell back to Earth, dropping by $1 million after the departure of its reality stars.

With Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas on stage, “Chicago” had its biggest receipts ever after three decades.

But the pair is gone, and so is the money. The musical played at 64% capacity last week.

That news is bright, however, compared to some others. The new musical, “Beaches,” is dead. Without any Tony nominations, “Beaches” — based on the movie — is kicking sand. It played to 51% capacity last week, with just $475K. Watch for notices.

Also, collapsing: “Six.” Playing to 55% capacity, the jukebox show about the wives of Henry the 8th brought in just $450,000 last week. Shows have been guillotined for less. They’ve had a good run, but it may be time to say Goodbye.

“Stranger Things” The First Shadow” is also struggling at just 66%. The play has never taken off like the TV show, oddly enough.

Meanwhile, “The Book of Mormon” has been dropped from the box office standings. A fire at the Eugene O’Neill has shut the musical down until at least this weekend. Let’s hope they can get back up and running by next week.

Conan O’Brien Returns to 2027 Academy Awards as Host for Third Time After Successful Stints This Year and Last

Roger Friedman
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Conan O’Brien Returns to 2027 Academy Awards as Host for Third Time After Successful Stints This Year and Last

ABC has announced that Conan O’Brien will be back next March as host of the Oscars.

This will be Conan’s third year in a row keeping the Academy Awards on track.

Next March’s show will be the 99th anniversary of the Academy Awards. They’ll have one more year on ABC after that before heading to YouTube.

The show will again be produced by Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, with Conan’s own producers Jeff Ross and Mike Sweeney.

“We are thrilled to be working again with Conan, Raj, Katy, Jeff and Mike for the 99th Oscars,” said Academy chiefs Bill Kramer and Lynette Howell Taylor. “They are an incredible team and have produced such captivating, entertaining and heartfelt shows over the last two years. We are so grateful for their ongoing partnership as we honor our global film community — and we look forward to Conan superbly leading the celebration with his brilliance and humor.”

Interesting note: ABC has already secured Conan for the March 2027, but no news about the Grammys, which come a month earlier. It’s the first year the Grammys will be on the network after decades on CBS.

RIP Jack Douglas, Producer of John Lennon’s Final Albums, Many of the Aerosmith Hits, Graham Parker Hit, Dies at 80

Roger Friedman
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RIP Jack Douglas, Producer of John Lennon’s Final Albums, Many of the Aerosmith Hits, Graham Parker Hit, Dies at 80

Rock producers don’t get much respect because no one knows what they do.

But their contribution to making hit records is incalculable.

Such was the case for Jack Douglas, who has died at 80.

Douglas’s relationship with Lennon began when he engineered the “Imagine” album in 1971. In 1980 he produced John Lennon’s final albums, “Double Fantasy,” and “Milk and Honey.” It was Douglas who said goodbye to John and Yoko before they left the recording studio and went home to tragedy. The Lennon murder left a mark on Douglas, who blamed himself for not walking the couple home.

In between his work with Lennon, Douglas produced a string of hits that established Aerosmith in the 70s including “Walk this Way” and “Sweet Emotion.” He also oversaw a hit for Graham Parker with his “Another Grey Area” album and “Temporary Beauty” single.

Marketing Gone Wrong: Popular Swatch Watches Ginned Up Expectations About Luxury Collaboration, Then Went Poof!

Roger Friedman
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Marketing Gone Wrong: Popular Swatch Watches Ginned Up Expectations About Luxury Collaboration, Then Went Poof!

Years ago, I was a Swatch collector.

This was at a time before there was really an internet, to give context. Swatch was an innovative design company. Also, the watches cost $40.

So fast forward. This week, word went out that Swatch was doing a collaboration with famed watchmaker Audemars Piguet. Since the company already had done wildly crossovers with Omega and other high end brands, expectations went through the roof.

As of yesterday, collectors (not me, don’t worry) were lining up at Swatch stores waiting for an in person release this Saturday. Photos went up all over the web of a potential Swatch x AP watch in a half dozen bright colors. The rumor was it was priced between $300 and $400. On ebay, potential buyers were bracing to flip their investment for thousands as a collectible.

And then? Pfffft. Swatch has finally revealed what they’re releasing on Saturday and it’s not a wristwatch. It’s a pendant. A dongle. It does cost as much as predicted. But it’s a plastic watch face to hang around your neck.

Ever see air leave a Mylar birthday balloon? The store campers have disappeared. Social media is now on fire that they’ve been had. Owners of actual AP watches are relieved their hundred thousand baubles aren’t being desecrated by a cheap version.

But wow, what a disaster. It’s too bad. Swatch — with their clever designs — is still a great alternative to the high end watch business, and much better made than brands hawked on TV like bulky, clunky often tacky Invicta. The come down, though, will be studied in marketing classes for years.

NBC Banishing “Law & Order” to Fight with “Grey’s Anatomy” 10PM on Thursdays, Will Replace 20 Plus Season Show with “The Traitors”

Roger Friedman
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NBC Banishing “Law & Order” to Fight with “Grey’s Anatomy” 10PM on Thursdays, Will Replace 20 Plus Season Show with “The Traitors”

Dick Wolf’s grip on NBC Thursdays is loosening.

NBC is now banishing 25 year old “Law & Order” to 10pm, moving it from 8pm. This way it will run after “Law & Order SVU,” and maybe benefit from the lead in.

At 10pm “Law & Order” will battle with ABC’s fading “Grey’s Anatomy.” The 10pm hour has become the graveyard shift on Thursdays. On CBS, the slot is going to a new legal drama called “Cupertino,” about tech guys in the Silicon Valley.

Yeesh.

NBC has also, as reported before, canceled “Law & Order: Organized Crime.”

At the rate things are going, only “SVU” will survive another season from this legendary franchise. The current iteration doesn’t hold a candle to the classics from years ago with Sam Waterston et al even though it features top notch actors like Hugh Dancy and Tony Goldwyn.

Still, the move might be beneficial since “Grey’s” has no ratings anymore and is still on because ABC owns it.

As for “The Traitors,” Alan Cumming will host the 8pm game show spin off from the Peacock version. Only instead of celebrities, the players will be “civilians.”

Weird Al Yankovic is Getting a Broadway Musical with Original Songs, Directed by Tony Winner Alex Timbers

Roger Friedman
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Weird Al Yankovic is Getting a Broadway Musical with Original Songs, Directed by Tony Winner Alex Timbers

Now, this is a show I’d like to see.

Weird Al Yankovic is coming to Broadway with a new musical.

He’s written the songs with Scott Brown and Anthony King, of “Beetlejuice” fame.

Al is famous for his parody songs. He’s always hilarious. No word on a lot of details but Alex Timbers is directing. He’s got a Tony or two.

The musical, called “Dare to Be Stupid,” will feature songs from Yankovic’s unparalleled catalog spanning more than four decades — works that have parodied, celebrated, and cheerfully outlasted virtually every genre and cultural moment of the modern era – including “White & Nerdy” (a parody of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’”), “Amish Paradise” (a parody of Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise”), “Eat It” (a parody of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”), “Smells Like Nirvana” (a parody of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), and “Like a Surgeon” (a parody of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”).

“Ever since I was a middle-aged man, I’ve always wanted to be a part of the New York theatre community,” says Yankovic in a press release. “Plus, the one thing people always say about Broadway is that it’s ‘severely lacking in Weird Al-based entertainment,’ and I think this musical should fix that problem immediately.”

Remembering the Great Rex Reed, Acerbic Film and Theater Critic, Performer, Raconteur, Who’s Left Us Too Soon at Age 87

Roger Friedman
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Remembering the Great Rex Reed, Acerbic Film and Theater Critic, Performer, Raconteur, Who’s Left Us Too Soon at Age 87

Wow.

I did not think I’d wake up to this sad news. Rex Reed is gone. He was 87, and he was a New York superstar.

Rex was maybe the most famous film critic ever in New York. A kid from Texas, with a drawl he couldn’t escape, Rex was close pals with another transplanted star from that state, the late Liz Smith. He called her “Lizzie” and they loved each other. I hope they’re having a drink in heaven right now.

Ditto actress Polly Bergen, another close pal. They adored each other.

Everyone today will have Rex stories. Rex did not keep his opinions to himself. If you sat with him during a screening and he didn’t like something the whole theater knew about it immediately. At the Toronto Film Festival every year, I’d have to whisper, “Rex, shhhh.” He’d say, “Well, really, how can you watch this?”

A funny moment: the intermission of Idina Menzel’s musical “If/Then.” Red didn’t care for the star’s shrill voice, or the songs. Right out loud, he exclaimed, “My ears are bleeding! Help!” I couldn’t help but laugh. He was right, as usual.

But when he liked something, or someone, you couldn’t do better than to have Rex in your corner. He defended good films and actors adamantly, not only in his New York Observer columns but in person. At New York Film Critics Circle dinners, actors would often read their negative Rex Reed posts. They were hilarious. But he could also heap on praise, and give movies or plays enough support to keep them going or give them much needed attention.

Rex was also a performer. The ham in him meant that he often turned up at various venues with anecdotes about his past. I’m including here a column the late Harry Haun (I can’t believe he’s gone either) wrote about such a night in 2018 at Birdland. 

And talk about being in the center of things. A longtime resident of the Dakota, Rex had innumerable insights about the comings and goings of neighbors like Lauren Bacall, Roberta Flack, Yoko Ono, and Leonard Bernstein (his family, really). He knew where all the bodies were buried, but was circumspect enough to entertain us with amusing– not scandalous — stories. Yes, there was nothing better that he liked to do than gossip with friends. Peggy Siegal and I met up with him for lunch after Nora Ephron’s funeral. It was the most amazing celebration of life, and it could have gone on for days.

Rex, you will really be missed. I’m looking forward to all the social media posts today from other reviewers and actors you encountered. I know you will be, too! Tell Lizzie we said hello!

 

 

Bruce Springsteen’s Stunning Return to Madison Square Garden a Lesson in Democracy and Empathy But Not for Wealthy Moguls

Roger Friedman
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Bruce Springsteen’s Stunning Return to Madison Square Garden a Lesson in Democracy and Empathy But Not for Wealthy Moguls

Bruce Springsteen returned to Madison Square Garden last night with his stunning three hour show, the same lesson in democracy and empathy he’s been delivering the last few weeks.

If nothing else, the show — which I last saw on April 21st in Newark — has grown richer and more textured as the famed E Street Band has found grooves no one expects and executes them with soulful precision.

As before, the show begins with Springsteen stating the theme of the night — a rebuke of Donald Trump’s cruel and sociopathic administration, accompanied by a denouncement of ICE and a memorial to the two people killed in Minneapolis — Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

The Garden holds about 20,000 people, and you would think by now any of them there last night were on the same page politically with Springsteen. Can there be anyone left who just wants to hear “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark” but are pro-Trump?

And yet there were two ultra wealthy moguls — one from media, the other from sports — sitting just above me. Toward the end of the show, Bruce makes his final pitch for humanity. But these two — who I will not name, because it’s not important — simply ignored it. I watched while one chomped away at some food, and the other just closed his eyes. They were there to hear “Hungry Heart.”

At one point, I saw Bruce’s friend, Jon Bon Jovi, who looked bewildered by his company, lean over and (I imagine) explain to one of these guys what the heck this all meant.

The experience of watching all this was quite a statement about the divide in America. Bruce was trying to address this to the other 19,998 souls who thunderously voiced their support and agreement with the singer’s brave plea to stand up to the oppression and political terror we face every day.

Watching these guys made me only that much more enthralled by Springsteen’s energy and determination to not let us lose our country.

Musically, the show was airtight. Seeing it a second time meant really getting to enjoy how Stevie van Zandt runs the stage, and handles his guitar. He is really exceptional. The same can be said for Nils Lofgren — who’s a spinning top during his solos — and guest player Tom Morello. Max Weinberg — I always want to do a health check after these shows to see if he’s survived. His drumming is ferocious. Jake Clemons continues to make his late uncle Clarence beaming in heaven.

Springsteen remains a modern miracle. For three hours he commands the most famous music venue in the world. In Newark, with a smaller room, he adjusted to a slightly more intimate setting. But at the Garden Bruce opens up the band full throttle and never takes his foot off the pedal. There is nary a break between songs. As he lands one like a jumbo jet, the next one is being counted down for take off.

The highlights — “Streets of Minneapolis” and “American Skin” are so important because they underscore Bruce’s message in the most engaging way. They aren’t lectures, but reports on how we are barely surviving. The pop songs — “Two Hearts,” “Hungry Heart” — are the welcome relief. The covers — “War” and “Welcome to the Clampdown” — re-balance the protest.

The show is titled “Land of Hope and Dreams: No Kings.” The song that inspired it is itself infused with Curtis Mayfield’s hopeful “People Get Ready,” which the Band acknowledges in a stirring tribute. The show ends with covers of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie classics — “Chimes of Freedom” and “This Land is Your Land” — that answer the proclamation of the opener three hours earlier — “War, what is it good for?”

PS It’s not all serious, you know. Bruce still dances up a storm, shimmies across the stage and into the audience as if he were three decades younger.

Here’s the speech that the two moguls — people who’ve done damage to this country morally and financially — just ignored. Let’s win them over by making them hear it again.

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