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Barry Levinson will direct “Wise Guys” written by Nick Pileggi based on his famous book. That book was also the basis of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 classic, “Goodfellas.”
Robert De Niro will produce and star in the movie playing two characters: Italian American crime bosses Vito Genovese and Frank Costello, who ran their respective families during the 20th century. In 1957, Genovese tried (and failed) to assassinate Costello, who was ultimately injured and attempted to retire from the mafia.
So all the trade papers reporting “exclusives” today can just forget it.
“Goodfellas” covered just a part of Pileggi’s story. “Wise Guys” is set against a broader picture.
Warner Bros, as I reported on July 21st, will be the studio for this film.
This will be a hot ticket once it’s all cast. See you in 2024.
The New York Film Festival has added “She Said” to their Spotlight program for this fall.
This is the Universal film directed by Maria Schrader about the fall of Harvey Weinstein and the start of the #MeToo movement. It’s based on the book by NY Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. They won Pulitzer Prizes for their work.
Zoe Kazan plays Kantor. Carey Mulligan is Twohey. It’s no doubt a well made film.
But will anyone care about all the gross things Harvey Weinstein did to women? At least pay money to see it on screen?
Ken Auletta’s book about Weinstein, “Hollywood Ending,” has sold fewer than 3,000 copies since it was released last month. It’s sitting at around number 12,000 on amazon.com.
Universal is hoping “She Said” will be like “Spotlight,” the Oscar winning movie about the Boston Globe investigation into pedophile priests. They don’t want it turn out like “Bombshell,” the movie about taking down Roger Ailes at Fox News. “Bombshell” was a box office bomb, taking in just $62 million worldwide. Ailes’s sexual harassments had a narrow audience. If Auletta’s book is any indication, the same may be true of Weinstein.
I don’t understand a word of Vanity Fair anymore, and from the looks of their circulation, no one else does, either.
After fumbling the ball with Hollywood, new editor Radhika Jones brought over a big team from Entertainment Weekly to give the magazine a jolt. (Those talented people must be very frustrated!)
But for the September issue, traditionally the gateway to the fall season, Jones has snubbed Hollywood and movie community. The cover story is about someone named Lewis Hamilton.
I tell you, I had to think for a few seconds before I remembered who he was. Hamilton is a star F1 race car driver. He’s also Black, which is key for Jones, who has more than made up for Vanity Fair’s years of ignoring POC cover stars. But when I asked a friend of mine who’s a Black journalist if he knew who Lewis Hamilton was, he actually said to me: “Who? How do you spell it?”
The same journalist had other cogent observations about Vanity Fair that I won’t share right now.
Jones certainly had a wide choice of star for the September issue, any of whom would be more recognizable than Hamilton. (His story and the photos are all fine, but they would have been better used on the inside of the magazine.)
Considering the number of films and stars going to the Toronto, Telluride, and New York Film Festivals, you’d think Vanity Fair could have come up with something. A very interesting cover might have been this summer’s big star, Michelle Yeoh, whose movie, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” made $70 million. She’s a shoo-in for an Oscar nod.
Funny that Vanity Fair, which really rests its laurels on its annual Oscar party every year, is ignoring Hollywood in its busiest season. Take a look even at the cover lines for the September issue: you wouldn’t really know Hollywood existed.
EXCLUSIVE The great Aretha Franklin passed away four years ago today and we miss her every day. Aretha was one of the bravest people ever to grace on this planet, a true artist who overcame suffering on a daily basis. She also had a wicked sense of humor. There’s so much to say that hasn’t been said yet about this remarkable woman.
In her hometown of Detroit I can tell you exclusively that Aretha will be celebrated on September in a special concert. “A Night of Respect” will be a small, semi-private affair in honor also of the 170th anniversary of the Detroit YMCA. Only 100 tickets will go on sale August 27th for the September 27th show.
The evening will feature Detroit star singer Freda Payne (“Band of Gold”) and Aretha’s cousin and long time backup singer, Brenda Franklin Corbett. I’m told all the musicians on stage will be veterans of Aretha’s bands over the years including singer Millie Scott.
What a splendid way to honor Aretha and the YMCA! Tickets should sell out almost immediately, so I hope they decide to two shows. Aretha would be very flattered. Plus there will be an exhibition of photographs from Detroit’s top shooter, Linda Solomon, at the Y.
One PS on this sad day: how did Aretha Franklin become the Queen of Soul? There are many pretenders to the throne currently. But what they’re not getting is that Aretha was committed to the music. Everything she did was original, and there was plenty of it. Even when she adapted a song — like “Bridge Over Troubled Water” — she made it her own. And she didn’t wait six years between releases. There isn’t a year without an Aretha release, and every single one of them displayed her devotion to her craft.
“The Flash” star, Ezra Miller, is ready to get with the Warner Bros. program. In a statement to Variety, the pronoun-deficient actor says they’re (meaning he, because it sounds like more than one person is involved) is getting mental health treatment.
Miller says: “Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment,” Miller says. “I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.”
So, everything is fine, the people who were allegedly missing or kidnapped are officially out of the story. Warners’ $200 million “Flash” movie can be released next June. Nothing to see here, folks. Go back to what you were doing.
Well, as we all know, this is not the end. It never is.
Last year Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary, “Get Back,” was the hit of the season on DisneyPlus. No one could stop watching it and the reviews were raves.
The DVD-Blu Ray release was coming, then postponed and kind of fell between the cracks. It should have been a monster release.
“Get Back” was finally released three weeks ago in both formats. No one knows about it, and it’s been a dud. The DVD version has sold just 12,716 copies. The Blu Ray has sold 31,661. This is very disappointing. Total sales so far have come to just $1.6 million.
This was a landmark documentary that fans should have wanted for their permanent collections. Paul McCartney did what he could, using footage from the doc in his live concerts this spring. Otherwise, there’s been little promotion. Ringo Starr is currently trying to give the collection a boost on Twitter, using pictures of toes in sandals for some reason as an illustration. It’s not a good look.
Me? After writing several glowing pieces about the documentary last year, I tried to get a review copy so I could do more. Not one email has been answered. It’s likely I am not alone in this predicament.
If you were hoping for an Adele vs. Beyonce face off at the Grammys next winner, don’t count on it.
Beyonce’s album, “Renaissance,” has been a sales disaster. As of Friday, the album has sold just 475,000 copies according to Luminate and hitsdailydouble. This past, its third in release, sales were down a whopping 74%.
“Renaissance” has scored just one hit single with “Break My Soul.” That single now sits at number 15 on iTunes. A remix with Madonna has pooped out at number 55. Beyonce will try a new single this week, but the ship may have sailed on this project.
What’s the problem? Beyonce has a voice that should be soaring over radio stations all day long. But her choice of material is terrible. It’s all mishmash retreads of old songs “interpolated” into tuneless concoctions.
The other problem is that she’s doing no marketing or appearances. Beyonce projects an “above it all” attitude when it comes to publicity. She hasn’t done the important TV work for selling albums. There are no interviews. She’s apathetic and so is her public.
Johnny Depp will not be joining Jeff Beck on the latter guitar ace’s upcoming tour.
That may be because the album they did together, called “18,” has sold just 15,000 copies.
Beck will be joined on his tour in various cities by Ann Wilson of Heart and ZZ Top. My guess is other guest artists will jump in along the way.
But not Depp. He and Beck were recently accused of stealing lyrics to one of their collaborations from an old blues song. Since Beck is an instrumentalist, the odds are Depp is the culprit, allegedly.
Beck is one of the great musicians in rock history. Good for him for dumping Depp and moving on with other comparably tremendous contemporaries.
Jean Smart is really having an extraordinary moment. Last year she was nominated for two Emmy Awards– for “Mare of Easttown” and “Hacks.” And of course she won Best Actress in a Comedy for “Hacks.”
This year she’s up again for Best Actress in a Comedy for “Hacks.” That’s a good thing. But because the Emmys have been pushed up a week earlier than usual, Smart will miss an important event 3,000 miles away: the Toronto International Film Festival.
Smart’s cup runneth over: in addition to “Hacks,” Smart co-stars in a breakout indie film coming to the Toronto Film Festival. It’s called “Wildflower,” directed by Matt Smukler. The other big names in are Kiernan Shipka of “Mad Men” fame, Alexandra Daddario of “White Lotus,” and Charlie Plummer.
Daddario is also nominated for “White Lotus.” But she may make the TIFF premiere of “Wildflower.” Smart is going to miss it, stuck in L.A. where she has a good chance of repeating her Emmy win unless Rachel Brosnahan — whose “Marvelous Mrs, Maisel” didn’t have a season last time around — returns to reclaim her title.
Some of the producers behind “Wildflower” are the same people who brought to Toronto in previous years hit films like “Captain Fantastic” and “Half Nelson.” “Wildflower” doesn’t have a distributor yet, but as with those films, when it’s shown in Toronto the bidding wars will be intense. As for Smart, it’s a bounty of riches some 30 years after she had a hit run in TV’s “Designing Women.”
It wasn’t the greatest weekend at the box office with no real new releases, just leftovers.
Still. “Bullet Train” with Brad Pitt took in just over $13.4 million as it chugged along a lonely track. Customers are still boarding even if they’re not going anywhere.
“Top Gun Maverick” is still in theaters! In the next day or so the Tom Cruise blockbuster will hit $675 million.
DOA: Poor “Easter Sunday,” it’s over, there’s nothing else to say. Universal should put it on Peacock.
Lions Gate opened a film called “Fall,” and took in $2.5 million. It has something to do with climbing up and down a mountain. That’s all I know.
In more encouraging news, the 40th anniversary release of Steven :Spielberg’s “ET: The Extra Terrestrial” made $1 million over the weekend, If it’s playing near you just go see it, this is what a great movie was in the heyday.
