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The Kennedy Center Honors take place this weekend in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will host the honorees at the White House and attend the Sunday ceremony performance not just because they love the arts. They recently spent Thanksgiving weekend at the Nantucket mansion of Kennedy Center’s unofficial owner, Carlyle Group CEO David Rubenstein. (They also kinda own the Washington Monument.)
I’m told that Gladys Knight, who will finally get an Honor, will be presented with her induction by none other than Patti Labelle. My guess is Patti will sing one of Gladys’s many hits like “Midnight Train to Georgia” or “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” It’s possible Dionne Warwick will make an appearance, too. Gladys, Patti, and Dionne are lifelong pals.
George Clooney, U2, Amy Grant, and Tania Leon are the other inductees. Clooney’s list of friends is enormous, but I’d count on Julia Roberts doing the presenting since they are currently in a hit movie together. Amy Grant may see husband Vince Gill on stage. Bruce Springsteen or even Sting would be excellent choices for U2.
The finished show airs on CBS later in December.
PS My only regret here is that honorees themselves don’t perform. To hear Gladys in that special would really make it special!
“Saturday Night Live” is going to stage a December comeback!
This Saturday, the host is Keke Palmer and the musical guest is SZA. On December 10th they’ve got Steve Martin and Martin Short together as hosts, with Brandi Carlile as musical guest.
The show will close out the fall season on December 17th with “Elvis” Austin Butler, and musical group the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
Butler, hopefully, will do some Elvis on the show. He’ll be in the thick of awards season by then.
With this Saturday’s show, “SNL” continues pairing Black hosts with Black musicians. I wonder if NBC tells them do one a Black week, then a white week. I mean, it would have been better to have Brandi Carlile with Keke Palmer, and SZA with the Martins. Oh well.
The show’s ratings have been very meh this season. Maybe all this will take things up a notch.
Paramount really wants “Top Gun Maverick” to get a Best Picture nomination.
Call this “The Empire Strikes Back.” The Empire is of course Big Hollywood, which gets shunned by awards groups traditionally.
But “Top Gun Maverick” has made $1.4 billion around the world, half in the US. Audiences love it. The flying — all real — is out of this world. Jennifer Connelly, a past Oscar winner, grounds the whole film. Miles Teller and Glen Powell lead a group of pilots who are all charismatic. And then there’s Tom Cruise, who will probably get to announce Best Something at this year’s ceremony.
And the ceremony needs “Top Gun” for ratings. No one can object to that idea. The nine other movies are small potatoes at the box office. They might be “The Fabelmans,” “Tar,” “Till,” “Elvis,” “Pinocchio,” “Banshees of Inisherin,” “Empire of Light,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Whale.” They will need “Maverick” to give the proceedings a big push.
“Top Gun” will run again in theaters from this Friday through December 15th. Check your local listings. PS I saw it again on a big screen a couple of weeks ago, and truly, it’s exhilarating.
Exclusive: “Emancipation,” the $120 million Will Smith-Apple movie, comes to theaters this Friday. I’m told it will play in just 12 locations. Then, on December 9th, it goes to 200 theaters and debuts on Apple TV Plus.
Apple is trying everything to save this movie after the star’s famous on stage slap of Chris Rock at last spring’s Oscars. Smith is going hat in hand to every talk show, begging for absolution. Will it work? The Academy suspended him for 10 years. He’s never really apologized, he hasn’t made amends with Chris Rock, and so far hasn’t actually been “punished” for a whole year. It’s hard to imagine Academy voters falling over themselves to welcome him back so quickly.
Then there’s the question of the movie. Almost no one has seen “Emancipation.” a black and white movie in the vein of “12 Years a Slave.” Tomorrow Apple is screening it in Los Angeles, so reviews will pop at the last minute. That’s not a good sign. So far it looks like one of Smith’s preachier films– he’s famous for them. So regardless of Smith’s semi-contrition tour. “Emancipation” may just end up being a hit on Apple TV Plus, and that’s it.
The Academy Awards are returning to sense and sensibility. Variety’s Jazz Tangcay reports that the eight categories deleted from last year’s show will be restored in March 2023.
Last time, original score, makeup and hairstyling, documentary short, film editing, production design, animated short, live action short and sound were all shunted aside, pre-taped and inserted during the live show. Members of all the unions protested, and there was a lot of criticism. After all, who makes the movies? These exact people.
So the new Academy chiefs, Bill Kramer and Janet Yang, seem to have a firm grasp on getting things back on track. Jimmy Kimmel will host. All five songs will be performed during the show. No one will be seated outside. The show will run four hours and who cares? Get a drink, some snacks, a pillow. Did you have other plans that night?
As soon as the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical announced that it was closing in February 2023 after 400 years, tickets sales skyrocketed. Previously, they’d run out of steam, the show as playing at 65% capacity. Everyone in the world had seen the big chandelier a few times.
But now, producer Cameron McKintosh says the demand for tickets has been so high that the show will extend for two more months. The new closing date is April 16th, at which time the Majestic Theater is set to close for renovations.
Now, truly, “Phantom” has reached a new New York status, that of the electronics and rug stores that post Going Out of Business! Must Close! banners. Of course, they’re not going anywhere.
Will “Phantom” really close for good? Or will it reappear next fall in a new theater? I wouldn’t count anything out. You can see the headlines now: “Show Too Popular To Stay Closed.” So don’t put away your masks and gowns so fast.
Yes, some movies and actors won Gotham Awards last night. Some actors, like Michelle Williams, gave exceptionally moving speeches. But the big winner of the night was Adam Sandler, who read a letter supposedly written by his teenage daughters that was the funniest thing anyone’s heard in a long time.
Sandler, like Williams, was picking up a Lifetime Achievement Award. Reading in the comic persona he’s perfect of what he calls “a strange Southern accent,” Sandler tried to explain the difference between his commercial hits and the few arthouse movies he’s done like “Punch Drunk Love” and “The Meyerowitz Stories.”
The big winners of the 2022 Gothams were the film “Everybody Everywhere All at Once,” Danielle Deadwyler (the star of “Till”) and Ke Huy Quan, the child star of “Indiana Jones 3” who is featured in “EEAO.” Quan had not really acted in twenty years when he got this job. He told me he’d been working “mostly behind the camera.” He said, “I couldn’t believe it when they said I had the part.” He almost cried during his acceptance speech.
The Gothams this year were the best produced they’d been in years. The show was elegant, ran on time, and the only person who dropped dozens of F bombs was Sandler, but they were all meant in the best way. He explained his success because “people in prison need movies too, and TBS needs content to show between all those basketball games.”
But the Gothams are not a harbinger of the Oscars. They are what they are: tributes to indie filmmaking. Last year’s winner was “The Lost Daughter,” which wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture. The best acting prize was a tie between Olivia Colman and Frankie Faison. Again, no Oscars. In a way, the Gotham winners are exactly right for the size and scope of the winners. They are prestigious enough.
Among the star studded list of presenters: Julianne Moore, Jennifer Lawrence, Baz Luhrmann, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira. Paul Dano stepped in at the last minute to present his “Fabelmans” co-star, Michelle Williams, with her award because Steven Spielberg has COVID. (Williams dedicated her award to actress Mary Beth Peil, who played her “Gran” on “Dawson’s Creek.”) And Best Lead Performance winner, Deadwyler, was absent so her sensational “Till” director, Chinonye Chukwu, accepted on her behalf.
And PS I’m reminded that everyone was drinking Blue Moon beer, and enjoying it immensely!
You can watch Sandler’s speech here== It’s a gem– an uncut gem!
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Mark Rylance (“Bones and All”) Brian Tyree Henry (“Causeway”) Ke Huy Quan (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”) – WINNER Raúl Castillo (“The Inspection”) Gabrielle Union (“The Inspection”) Nina Hoss (“Tár”) Noémie Merlant (“Tár”) Hong Chau (“The Whale”) Ben Whishaw (“Women Talking”) Jessie Buckley (“Women Talking”)
OUTSTANDING LEAD PERFORMANCE
Cate Blanchett (“Tár”) Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) – WINNER Dale Dickey (“A Love Song”) Colin Farrell (“After Yang”) Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”) Paul Mescal (“Aftersun”) Thandiwe Newton (“God’s Country”) Aubrey Plaza (“Emily the Criminal”) Taylor Russell (“Bones and All”) Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once”)
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
“Athena” “The Banshees of Inisherin” “Corsage” “Decision to Leave” “Happening” – WINNER “Saint Omer”
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“All That Breathes” – WINNER “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” “I Didn’t See You There” “The Territory” “What We Leave Behind”
BEST FEATURE
“Aftersun” “The Cathedral” “Dos Estaciones” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” – WINNER “Tár”
BREAKTHROUGH TELEVISION UNDER 40 MINUTES
“Abbott Elementary” (ABC) “As We See It” (Amazon Prime Video) “Mo” (Netflix) – WINNER “Rap Sh!t” (HBO Max) “Somebody, Somewhere” (HBO)
BREAKTHROUGH TELEVISION OVER 40 MINUTES
“Pachinko” (Apple+) – WINNER “Severance” (Apple+) “Station Eleven” (HBO Max) “This Is Going To Hurt” (AMC+) “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
TELEVISION PERFORMERS
Bilal Baig (“Sort Of”) Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”) Janelle James (“Abbott Elementary”) Matilda Lawler (“Station Eleven”) Britt Lower (“Severance”) Melanie Lynskey (“Yellowjackets”) Sue Ann Pien (“As We See It”) Minha Kim (“Pachinko”) Zahn McClarnon (“Dark Winds”) Ben Whishaw (“This Is Going To Hurt”) – WINNER
BREAKTHROUGH NONFICTION SERIES
“The Andy Warhol Diaries” “The Last Movie Stars” “Mind Over Murder” “The Rehearsal” “We Need to Talk About Cosby” – WINNER
BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
Charlotte Wells (“Aftersun”) – WINNER Owen Kline (“Funny Pages”) Elegance Bratton (“The Inspection”) Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic (“Murina”) Beth De Araújo (“Soft & Quiet”) Jane Schoenbrun (“We’re All Going to the World’s Fair”)
BEST SCREENPLAY
Kogonada (“After Yang”) James Gray (“Armageddon Time”) Lena Dunham (“Catherine Called Birdy”) Todd Field (“Tár”) – WINNER Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”)
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMER
Frankie Corio (“Aftersun”) Kali Reis (“Catch the Fair One”) Gracija Flipovic (“Murina”) – WINNER Anna Diop (“Nanny”) Anna Cobb (“We’re All Going to the World’s Fair”)
Yes, even Steven Spielberg can get COVID. Sources says he has it, so does one of his “Fabelmans” producers. The timing could not be worse. Spielberg was set for a week of “Fabelmans” press this week in New York.
Indeed, we were hoping he’d turn up tonight at the Gotham Awards when Michelle Williams gets her big tribute. His actual set appearances included one at the DGA with Martin Scorsese, and another with Steve Martin hosting a Q&A and screening. But a DGA source tipped me off. No Spielberg this week. Rats!
First, of course, wishing the famed director a speedy get well. We need him in good shape for Oscar season. “The Fabelmans” is the best movie of the year and must be seen. Michelle Williams should be a Best Actress nominee and Judd Hirsch is a cinch as a Supporting Actor nominee.
Meantime, to all the Guild and press people who go to the screenings this week, you’ll love the movie even while Spielberg is home sleeping and drinking green tea.
MARIAH CAREY has added her name to the new musical version of “Some Like it Hot” as a producer. This may give the show a box office boost, and that’s the idea, you know, when this sort of thing happens. “Some Like it Hot” opens December 11th on Broadway, it’s based on the famous comedy with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis.
It’s not the first time “Some Like it Hot” has been tried as a musical. But this one is all new and stars Christian Borle. The buzz is good, and a good new original musical is what we need all the time. The director is Casey Nicholaw, songs are from Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the book is by Matthew Lopez and Amber Ruffin (from Seth Meyers’ show– I love her). How can it be bad?
What is Mariah’s connection? First of all, the great Neil Meron is the producer. Second of all, Mariah owns Marilyn Monroe’s white piano. So all she needed for Christmas was to join the show!
Everyone knows FIDDLER ON THE ROOF by heart. But when you see it at New World Stages in Yiddish, directed by Joel Grey, it’s a mesmerizing experience. You feel like you’re in it. The subtitles are projected on the sides of the stage but you almost don’t need them because the cast, led by Steven Skybell as Tevye, is exceptionally endearing.
But the whole point of “Fiddler on the Roof” is now more compelling than ever. “Fiddler” takes place in an imaginary village called Anatevka, in the Ukraine, south of Kyiv, in 1905. The Russian government conducts violent attacks against the Jews and then forces them from their homes. Sound familiar? One hundred and twenty two years later, nothing has changed. Russian violence against Ukraine continues apace.
You don’t have to be Jewish or know a word of Yiddish to enjoy this show. Three Asian ladies shared the elevator with me at New World Stages. They loved the show. “I want to send my children next,” one of them said. The audience is a mix of “Fiddler” fans from around the world. Don’t miss it!
THE WHITE BLACKS: GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER has a few performances left this week at Theater for the New City. Melanie Maria Goodreaux‘s comedy has been sold out for its entire run but you might be able to get in this week. The play tells the story of the playwright’s Southern “Creole” family – a culture proud of its Black heritage, though burdened with grief over those seen as “passing as white” to flee racism and seek opportunity. The themes of this story are familiar and told with humor and authenticity. Melanie, the playwright, has eighteen animated actors (a depiction of a traditional Creole family coming together) providing the audience with a theatrical experience to savor. And there’s gumbo!
Will Smith has managed to circulate a video he made with a video blogger in which he says “he’s ok” if people are upset with him after last spring’s slapping of Chris Rock during the Oscar show
Who cares if he’s ok with that? I don’t. Smith wants to be rewarded now for the movie, “Emancipation” which by the way has no posted reviews and opens Friday. He wants an Oscar nomination and to be back in the game despite being banned by the Academy for the next decade.
This pathetically hilarious. Apple is trying to recover its $120 million investment and I sympathize with them. After all they didn’t sign on for this mishegos. But Smith’s behavior on the Oscars is unacceptable. It’s not going to be validated now. That would put the Academy in the awkward position of having a nominated film or actor who they’ve banned. What are they going to do? Say “never mind.”
Smith got up out of his seat on national live TV, walked to the stage, and hit someone. From his seat he yelled at Rock. Sorry, nope, I don’t care if he’s made “The Godfather.” That dog won’t hunt, that ship won’t sail. So he says he’s ok with us disapproving of him? What nerve. And his team? They will suffer the consequences. They are Smith’s collateral damage.
