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Pop Fizz: Dua Lipa Sued for Plagiarizing Hit Song “Levitating” By Two Different Songwriters with Strong Claims

Roger Friedman
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Pop Fizz: Dua Lipa Sued for Plagiarizing Hit Song “Levitating” By Two Different Songwriters with Strong Claims

All good things must come to an end.

For a while we thought Dua Lipa was a real songwriter. Why did we kid ourselves into believing this? It turns out she’s taken a page from Mariah “I wrote that song” Carey.

Lipa is being sued by not one but two different groups of songwriters who claim she stole parts of their songs to construct her hit, “Levitating.”

The newest suit is from songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer accused Lipa of copying their 1979 song “Wiggle and Giggle All Night” and 1980 song “Don Diablo.” They said the opening melody to “Levitating” was a “duplicate” of the melody to their songs. The news came from the Hollywood Reporter.

“Defendants have levitated away plaintiffs’ intellectual property,” lawyers for Brown and Linzer wrote in their complaint. “Plaintiffs bring suit so that defendants cannot wiggle out of their willful infringement.”

If you listen to the Brown-Linzer song below and compare it to “Levitating,” you’ll either crack up laughing or roll your eyes. They are the same.

The second suit is from a Florida reggae band named Artikal Sound System which claims the British pop star had copied a little-known 2017 track called “Live Your Life.”

“Levitating” is a Frankenstein, created in a lab by smart producers who thought they’d get away with it. But lifting other songs and hoping no one will notice is a time honored tradition in pop music. Mariah Carey did it many times and paid off several settlements over various songs. Chris Martin lifted “Viva La Vida,” his biggest Coldplay hit, from Joe Satriani. And Robin Thicke has never recovered from repurposing Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” for “Blurred Lines.”

And let’s not get started on Ed Sheeran. He’s still “Thinking Out Loud” about Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On” and getting the “Shape of You” from TLC.

See you in court, Dua Lipa.

 

Hooray! Sounds Like Judi Dench is Coming to the Oscars This Year! Watch Her Cute Video with Grandson

Roger Friedman
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Hooray! Sounds Like Judi Dench is Coming to the Oscars This Year! Watch Her Cute Video with Grandson

(EXCLUSIVE) It sounds like Judi Dench is making the trip to the Oscars. Now, you’re going to watch!

Dame Judi, nominated for Best Supporting Actress in “Belfast,” is featured in a TikTok video posted by her grandson Sam Williams. He’s reading lyrics to her from new pop songs and asks her to figure out the next line. It’s very cute, and Judi is just as charming as ever.

When they get to a line from a song “come out to LA, come out to LA.” Dame Judi responds: “Well be coming out to LA very soon, and then we’re coming right back.”

Talk about dropping the lede!

This a coup for the Oscars, which are having problems right now. Dench won the Best Supporting Actress statue in 1999 for “Shakespeare in Love.” She’s had many nominations since then but never makes the trip across the pond. They’d better give her the keys to Hollywood!

Boycotting the Russian Tea Room? Don’t Bother, The Real One Closed in 1995, This One’s Just a Theme Park

Roger Friedman
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Boycotting the Russian Tea Room? Don’t Bother, The Real One Closed in 1995, This One’s Just a Theme Park

I’m seeing a lot of stories about people boycotting the Russian Tea Room because of the Ukrainian war.

Really, don’t bother. The real Russian Tea Room on West 57th St. closed in 1995. The one that’s there now is a theme park, a facsimile, fake chews.

I know. I was there for last Saturday lunch at the end of that year.

Faith Stewart Gordon, the widow of Sidney Kaye, ran the RTR for decades after his death. But she sold it in 1995 to Warner LeRoy, the owner at different times of Maxwell’s Plum and Tavern on the Green.

This is where everyone gets the story wrong. LeRoy demolished the original building. He sold everything in it at auction. Everything. I actually walked through the space when it was down to studs. All the samovars and paintings, dishes, place settings, all of it was gone.

LeRoy built a new, bigger, and artless structure in its place. He reopened the restaurant in 1999 and it was a dismal failure. Even with the large glass bear filled with fish on the second floor, the no one came. The magic was gone. They closed again in 2002. Golf Magazine took over the building. Eventually investors came in and installed whatever is there now.

The real Russian Tea Room was a magnet for celebrities, especially at lunch time. As Elaine’s was the place where the A list checked in at night, the RTR was for lunch. (Dinner was mostly for the Carengie Hall crowd.) I met so many famous people in the Russian Tea Room it’s hard to remember. This was largely because Ona Desouza, who was the matire’d, liked me, and vice versa. She was Oprah before there was Oprah. Ona stood at the host podium and sized everyone up, sending tourists to the back of the room and making sure the stars had their blintzes.

Sydney Pollack did film the famous scene there with Dustin Hoffman for “Tootsie” and Woody Allen filmed there for “Manhattan.” I had lunch there in 1983 with Tony Randall. I was working for Ballantine Books as a publicist and had to promote something called “The Odd Couple Trivia Book.” I needed Tony’s help. I wrote to him and his response was, let’s meet at the Russian Tea Room. His famous press agent, John Springer, came, too. It was the most exciting lunch I’d had to that point, and still ranks in the top 5. I have no idea what we ate. Every single movie or theater producer, actor, musician stopped at the table. And after that, Ona let me sit in the front of the room for the next 12 years.

No one involved with the RTR was Russian. Not even the waiters who, trust me, maybe served Russian dressing but weren’t ‘rushin” anywhere. So boycotting it won’t do anyone any good. I returned there a few years ago under protest, for a movie premiere party. The whole place looked like a cheap replica, something shiny made in Hong Kong with green felt on the bottom and a gold sticker. The only thing about I like now is that the front of the building is made to look like the old place. But when you push open those revolving doors the old rush of excitement is long gone.

The only upside? They don’t have outdoor dining.

UPDATED “The Batman” Brings Moviegoers Back to Theaters with $255 Mil Worldwide Opening Weekend

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED “The Batman” Brings Moviegoers Back to Theaters with $255 Mil Worldwide Opening Weekend

Three hours too long for a movie? Nonsense!

And just like that, “The Batman” taught moviegoers to get their snacks in order and plan bathroom breaks.

The Warner Bros. epic scored a massive opening weekend with $134 million in the US, total worldwide $255 million. POW! Will there more of these Matt Reeves movies? You can bet that Riddler and Joker are already plotting the next script.

Otherwise, the box office was quiet. Channing Tatum’s “Dog” is still hunting, with another $6 million in the till. But everything else was laid waste by Bruce Wayne and friends.

Gitesh Pandya, box office expert, writes on Twitter: “Fans spent $38M on seeing #TheBatman on premium scrns this wknd in North America. $15M came from IMAX while $23M came from all other premium format scrns. That’s 30% of the #boxoffice gross coming from those willing to pay for the best big-screen experience”

According to Exhibitor Relations, here were the top selling theaters for “The Batman”:

1. AMC BURBANK LA
2. AMC LINCOLN SQUARE NY
3. AMC EMPIRE NY
4. REGAL IRVINE SPECTRUM LA
5. AMC ORANGE LA
6. TCL CHINESE HOLLYWOOD
7. AMC BOSTON COMMON
8. AMC CITYWALK LA
9. AMC GARDEN STATE NY
10. AMC GROVE LA

THE BATMAN: TOP IMAX LOCATIONS

1. TCL CHINESE HOLLYWOOD ($156k)

2. AMC LINCOLN SQUARE NY ($140k)

3. AMC CITYWALK LA ($83k)

4. AMC BOSTON COMMON ($82k)

5. AMC KIPS BAY NY ($75k)

 

Stevie Wonder Posts Video Message of Peace: “Only you, the people, can prevent World War III”

Roger Friedman
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Stevie Wonder Posts Video Message of Peace: “Only you, the people, can prevent World War III”

One of the greatest stars of our lifetime, Stevie Wonder, has posted a message of peace to social media. Watch it here. Whether he’s singing or speaking, Stevie is right all the time. “Only you, the people, can prevent World War III,” he says. He’s right. I’ve included one of Stevie’s greatest songs, which means so much right now, “Conversation Peace.”

Oscars Race: “King Richard,” “Tick Tick Boom!” Win Editing Awards, So Does Beatles “Get Back”

Roger Friedman
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Oscars Race: “King Richard,” “Tick Tick Boom!” Win Editing Awards, So Does Beatles “Get Back”

 

The path to the Oscars is littered with other awards. Tonight it was the ACE Eddie Awards given by editors to editors. “King Richard” won Best Dramatic Film. “Tick Tick Boom!” won Best Comedic Film. This will have no bearing on the Oscars, but it’s nice nonetheless. The Beatles’ “Get Back” documentary won an award, too!

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM – DRAMATIC

Belfast
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE, BFE

Dune
Joe Walker, ACE

King Richard (WINNER)
Pamela Martin, ACE

No Time to Die
Tom Cross, ACE, Elliot Graham, ACE

The Power of the Dog
Peter Sciberras

BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM – COMEDY

Cruella
Tatiana S. Riegel ACE

Don’t Look Up
Hank Corwin, ACE

The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
Andrew Weisblum, ACE

Licorice Pizza
Andy Jurgensen

tick, tick…BOOM! (WINNER)
Myron Kerstein, ACE, Andrew Weisblum, ACE

BEST EDITED ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Encanto (WINNER)
Jeremy Milton, ACE

Luca
Catherine Apple, ACE, Jason Hudak

The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Greg Levitan

Raya and the Last Dragon
Fabienne Rawley, ACE, Shannon Stein

Sing 2
Gregory Perler, ACE

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY – FEATURE

Flee
Janus Billeskov Jansen

The Rescue
Bob Eisenhardt, ACE

Summer of Soul……Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised (WINNER)
Joshua L. Pearson

Val
Ting Poo, Leo Scott

The Velvet Underground
Affonso Gonçalves, ACE, Adam Kurnitz

BEST EDITED DOCUMENTARY (NON-THEATRICAL)

100 Foot Wave “Sea Monsters”
Abhay Sofsky, Adrienne Gits, Connor Culhane, Brandon Valentin

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything “Starman”
Sam Blair

Allen V. Farrow “Episode 1”
Mikaela Shwer, Parker Laramie & Sara Newens

The Beatles: Get Back “Episode 3” (WINNER)
Jabez Olssen

Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry
Greg Finton, ACE, Lindsay Utz, ACE

BEST EDITED MULTI-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES

Kevin Can F**k Himself “Fixed”
Kenneth LaMere ACE

Kevin Can F**k Himself “The Grand Victorian”
Ivan Victor ACE

Kevin Can F**k Himself “Live Free or Die” (WINNER)
Daniel Schalk, ACE, Joseph Fulton

BEST EDITED SINGLE-CAMERA COMEDY SERIES

Curb Your Enthusiasm “Igor, Gregor, & Timor”
Steven Rasch, ACE, Thomas Foligno

Curb Your Enthusiasm “The Mormon Advantage”
Chris Chandler, Roger Nygard, ACE

Hacks “1.69 Million” (WINNER)
Susan Vaill, ACE

Ted Lasso “No Weddings and a Funeral”
A.J. Catoline, ACE

Ted Lasso “Rainbow”
Melissa McCoy, ACE

BEST EDITED DRAMA SERIES

Euphoria “Fuck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob”
Julio C. Pérez IV, ACE, Nikola Boyanov

Lupin “Chapter 1”
Jean-Daniel Fernandez-Qundez

Squid Game “Gganbu”
Nam Na-young

Succession “All the Bells Say” (WINNER)
Ken Eluto, ACE

Succession “Chiantishire”
Jane Rizzo

BEST EDITED MOTION PICTURE (NON-THEATRICAL)

Kate
Sandra Montiel, ACE, Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, ACE

Lupe
Shiran Carolyn Amir

Oslo (WINNER)
Jay Rabinowitz, ACE

BEST EDITED LIMITED SERIES

Dopesick “First Bottle”
Douglas Crise, ACE

Mare of Easttown “Fathers” (WINNER)
Amy E. Duddleston, ACE, Naomi Sunrise Filoramo

Mare of Easttown “Illusions”
Amy E. Duddleston, ACE

The White Lotus “Departures”
John M. Valerio, ACE

The White Lotus “Mysterious Monkeys”
Heather Persons

BEST EDITED NON-SCRIPTED SERIES

Formula 1: Drive to Survive “Man on Fire” (WINNER)
Dan Ablett, Kevin Austin, Otto Burnham, Shane McCormack, Graham Taylor

MasterChef: Legends “Semi Final Pt 3 Chef Showdown”
Roger Bartlett, Matt Cluett, Greg Fitzsimmons, Dylan Hart, Ezra Hudson, James Messina, Rod Schultheiss, Austin Scott, Molly Shock ACE

Queer Eye “Angel Gets Her Wings”
Nova Taylor, Sean Gill

BEST EDITED VARIETY TALK/SKETCH SHOW OR SPECIAL

A Black Lady Sketch Show “Sister, May I Call You Oshun”
Daysha Broadway, ACE, Stephanie Filo, ACE, Jessica Hernández, ACE

Bo Burnham: Inside (WINNER)
Bo Burnham

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver “Union Busting”
Ryan Barger, Anthony Milae

BEST EDITED ANIMATION – NON-THEATRICAL

Bob’s Burgers “Vampire Disco Death Dance” (WINNER)
Jeremy Reuben

Rick and Morty “Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion”
Lee Harting, ACE

What If? “What If… Ultron Won?”
Graham Fisher, Joel Fisher

You can learn more about the American Cinema Editors and the ACE Eddie Awards at AmericanCinemaEditors.org.

Billy Joel Makes Initial Donation of $250,000 to Bethenny Frankel’s Ukrainian War Effort

Roger Friedman
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Billy Joel Makes Initial Donation of $250,000 to Bethenny Frankel’s Ukrainian War Effort

Billy Joel and wife Alexis have made what they call an “initial donation” of $250,000 to Ukrainian war relief. They’re doing it through Bethenny Frankel’s B Strong Foundation which is part of the Global Empowerment Mission. It sounds from their statement on Instagram that more is coming. Billy has always been incredibly philanthropic, especially locally on Long Island.

“The Batman” Scores $36 Mil Friday for Total Opening Night of $57 Mil, Eyeing Over $120 Mil Weekend

Roger Friedman
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“The Batman” Scores $36 Mil Friday for Total Opening Night of $57 Mil, Eyeing Over $120 Mil Weekend

“The Batman” flapped his wings over Gotham City last night.

Friday’s total is $57 million, with $21 mil of that from Thursday previews and other showings. A $36 mil take just for Friday points to over $100 million for the weekend. POW!

“The Batman” may not be on “Spider Man” Levels yet, but it’s close. Without the distraction of an HBO Max showing, fans will be flocking today to theaters.

The number to keep in mind is $120,686,863. That was the opening weekend for “The Dark Knight Rises” in 2012. If “The Batman” can do a penny more, that will be outstanding considering everything go on right now.

 

John Mayer Leaves Columbia Records After 21 Years and Diminishing Sales with Surprise Announcement

Roger Friedman
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John Mayer Leaves Columbia Records After 21 Years and Diminishing Sales with Surprise Announcement

John Mayer is an accomplished guitarist and singer. But his days of hits is behind him, at least right. So after 21 years he’s decided to leave Columbia Records. He made the announcement on Instagram without any warning. He doesn’t say where he’ll go or what he’ll do. But Mayer was deeply affected by the death of his friend Bob Saget and this may be a reaction to that, a sort of life changing moment of reckoning.

Mayer’s most recent album, “Sob Rock,” was released in July 2021 and was sales disappointment: around 520,000 copies including streaming, but about just 95,000 CDs and LPs. There were no singles, but “New Light” was the leading track with sales of about 7,000.

It’s frustrating for legacy artists which Mayer is now, believe it or not, at age 44. Live performance is the next movie for artists like him, and these past two years have been a disaster because of COVID. Mayer also hasn’t done much to be part of a music community or network, which is what saves the current generation of Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Camila Cabello, and so on. The charts are filled with duets and so on. But for artists like Mayer, who go their own way. it’s a lot tougher. He could have a lot of interesting collaborations.

So goodbye Columbia Records and Sony Music. No word on what happens to his catalog or masters. Stay tuned…

RIP Hollywood Dynasty, Second Generation Successes: Alan Ladd Jr., 84, Tim Considine, 81

Roger Friedman
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RIP Hollywood Dynasty, Second Generation Successes: Alan Ladd Jr., 84, Tim Considine, 81

This week, two members of Hollywood’s second generation, each successes in their own right, passed away.

TIM CONSIDINE’s death was announced on Friday. He was an early TV sensation for a being a kid and teen star in the 1950s and early 60s. His first role was on “Spin and Marty” but then he became famous as the older son on “My Three Sons” with Fred MacMurray. Playing Mike Douglas, Considine was able to capitalize on his fame also from “The Mickey Mouse Club,” where he co-starred with Annette Funicello. Considine was on “My Three Sons” for five years, then left for a career in writing and directing.

Tim Considine came from a show business family. His uncle was a famous sports columnist, Bob Considine, His father, John Sr., was a movie producer in Hollywood. His mother was the daughter of the Pantages family, the theater chain. The Pantages Theater in Hollywood today is where Jimmy Kimmel’s show is broadcast from. Tim’s older brother, John, is still alive, and an accomplished actor with dozens of credits including long runs on soap operas in the 1980s including “Another World” and “Santa Barbara.”

ALAN LADD JR. died this week at age 84. Known as “Laddie,” he was one of the town’s best liked film producers and executives. His father was Alan Ladd, the famous actor who starred in “Shane” in 1953. (The name Ladd may be more known to kids from the 70s because Cheryl Ladd was his half-brother David’s wife for most of that decade.)

Alan Ladd Jr. has a long list of films he produced on his resume. The biggest is “Star Wars.” Among the other movies he produced were were “Chariots of Fire” (1981), and “Braveheart” (1995), each of which won Best Picture at the Oscars. Even if he didn’t have a producing credit himself, Ladd was a behind the scenes quarterback for a lot of important, much loved films including “Moonstruck,” “Julia,” and “Alien.”

Kathie Berlin, one of the great and legendary PR people, wrote of Ladd on Facebook: “My mentor and the best boss I ever had died this morning. Alan Ladd known as Laddie. A brilliant film producer and studio executive. Never yelled , always an open door and made movies for and about women. Thelma and Louise, Turning Point, Moonstruck, Julia. I will miss him. Won Best Picture for Chariots of Fire and Braveheart.”

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