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“Saturday Night Live” returns on February 26th with previously announced host John Mulaney and musical guest LCD Soundsystem. That should be a big one.
Then comes Oscar Isaac, promoting his new mini series, “Moon Knight,” and Charli XCX making up her end of the year non appearance when COVID almost shut down the show.
On March 12th, “SNL” will hope to cash in on “The Batman” being a hit with Zoe Kravitz as host and Rosalia as musical guest. The ratings will be entirely based on “The Batman” ginning up interest.
Interesting that none of the hosts are Oscar nominees. These would be the weeks for heavy campaigning. So that’s weird. Mulaney’s whole 18 month real life soap opera of drugs and divorce should be a ratings getter. Isaac has his “Star Wars” following.
Let’s hope the show stays topical. Also the whole cast should be back including Cecily Strong.
Baz Luhrmann has delivered the trailer for his “Elvis” coming June 24th from Warner Bros. It looks great.
Tom Hanks plays Colonel Parker, Elvis’s manager, and Austin Butler is Elvis. This sure seems like Oscar 2023 fodder. How can it not be?
If you’re wondering what accent Tom is speaking with– Col, Parker had a pronounced Dutch accent. He was not from the South. He was born in the Netherlands and emigrated here illegally with his parents. So Tom is doing it exactly right.
Starring alongside Hanks and Butler, award-winning theatre actress Helen Thomson (“Top of the Lake: China Girl,” “Rake”) plays Elvis’s mother, Gladys, Richard Roxburgh (“Moulin Rouge!” “Breath,” “Hacksaw Ridge”) portrays Elvis’s father, Vernon, and DeJonge (“The Visit,” “Stray Dolls”) plays Priscilla. Luke Bracey (“Hacksaw Ridge,” “Point Break”) plays Jerry Schilling, Natasha Bassett (“Hail, Caesar!”) plays Dixie Locke, David Wenham (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, “Lion,” “300”) plays Hank Snow, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “The High Note”) plays B.B. King, Xavier Samuel (“Adore,” “Love & Friendship,” “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse”) plays Scotty Moore, and Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) plays Jimmie Rodgers Snow.
Also in the cast, Dacre Montgomery (“Stranger Things,” “The Broken Heart Gallery”) plays TV director Steve Binder, alongside Australian actors Leon Ford (“Gallipoli,” “The Pacific”) as Tom Diskin, Kate Mulvany (“The Great Gatsby,” “Hunters”) as Marion Keisker, Gareth Davies (“Peter Rabbit,” “Hunters”) as Bones Howe, Charles Grounds (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Camp”) as Billy Smith, Josh McConville (“Fantasy Island”) as Sam Phillips, and Adam Dunn (“Home and Away”) as Bill Black.
To play additional iconic musical artists in the film, Luhrmann cast singer/songwriter Yola as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, model Alton Mason as Little Richard, Austin, Texas native Gary Clark Jr. as Arthur Crudup, and artist Shonka Dukureh as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton.
Oscar nominee Luhrmann (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”) directed from a screenplay by Baz Luhrmann & Sam Bromell and Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner, story by Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner. The film’s producers are Luhrmann, Oscar winner Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss. Courtenay Valenti and Kevin McCormick executive produced.
The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Mandy Walker (“Mulan,” “Australia”), Oscar-winning production designer and costume designer Catherine Martin (“The Great Gatsby,” “Moulin Rouge!”), production designer Karen Murphy (“A Star Is Born”), editors Matt Villa (“The Great Gatsby,” “Australia”) and Jonathan Redmond (“The Great Gatsby”), Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Thomas Wood (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), music supervisor Anton Monsted (“Australia,” “Moulin Rouge!”) and composer Elliott Wheeler (“The Get Down”).
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is coming to an end. Not so fast– season 4 drops tomorrow, and there will be a season 5.
But that’s it.
The much awarded and beloved series is very expensive to make. And one more season should set Midge up as a star comedian and somehow get her and Joel back together. So it makes sense even though we don’t want to see the Maisels and the Weissmans go into rerun heaven.
But don’t worry. My guess is we’ll see a movie, or a rogue reunion season, somewhere down the line.
Season 5 is just starting production now, so we’ll probably see it a year from now. And it will still be 1960!
Here’s my fantasy: AMC or Lions Gate gives permission, and Midge and Susie cross paths with Don Draper and Peggy Olson from “Mad Men.” It’s just a dream. Or at least the two of them go to a voice over at Sterling Cooper.
“Amy, Dan, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel have blazed an unparalleled path, elevating the stories we tell about women, challenging the norms in our industry, and forever altering the entertainment landscape with their one-of-a-kind storytelling,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “The dozens of awards cement Maisel’s legacy in many ways, but what’s even more enduring and poignant are the characters Amy created and the joyous, brilliant, singular world she and Dan brought to life.”
Salke added, “This series has meant so much to Prime Video and the effects of its success will be felt long after its final season. I can’t wait for fans and our worldwide Prime Video audience to savor each moment as we embark on the culmination of this groundbreaking and unforgettable series.”
Sony is finally getting to release “The Gold Experience” featuring Prince’s number 1 hit from 1995, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.”
It’s streaming right now on Spotify and other platforms! See below.
Back when Prince left Warner Bros. to become a glyph, he released “Most Beautiful Girl” and “The Gold Experience” through an indie label. The label, owned by Al Bell, the legend of Stax Records, had the rights so the song — which was a late career number 1 smash — remained outside of the Prince catalog, as did the album.
But now it seems the song and the album it came from have been reunited — streaming right now and physically on June 18 on CD and LP. Sony is even doing a special gold double LP pressing on Legacy. On Amazon,the original CD sells for eighty-seven dollars!!!! So glad I bought it back in ’95. There was never a vinyl pressing. This is a big score for Legacy.
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced today that the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards will be an international affair, with celebrations planned in both London and Los Angeles on March 13th, 2022.
The press release doesn’t say it, but this is a decided move on the awards chess board in relation to the British Oscars, or BAFTA. Those awards are being given out a few hours earlier in London.
Originally, the CCA’s were supposed to take place on January 9th. But the pandemic was raging and the date had to be moved. Now actors who were nominated by both groups have to choose between Los Angeles, and being seen all over the world, or London, and few people knowing about it. I’d pick L.A.
Hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer, the star-studded Critics Choice Awards gala will broadcast LIVE in the U.S. on The CW and TBS on Sunday, March 13 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm ET (delayed PT – check local listings) and will also be seen in many countries around the globe.
The Los Angeles awards ceremony will be held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel, while stars in London will gather at the Savoy Hotel for a late night soiree that will be an integral part of the live telecast.
“The role of the Critics Choice Awards in the entertainment world has grown exponentially over the past quarter century,” notes CCA CEO Joey Berlin. “When the pandemic made us move our show date from its traditional kick off in January into the heart of the awards season, we felt the need to add a second stage in London to make sure that all our honorees would have the opportunity to participate in the live telecast. Two parties, two networks, two hosts – it’s going to be a heck of a night – on two continents!”
As previously announced, Billy Crystal will receive the Critics Choice Lifetime Achievement Award at the gala, and Halle Berry will be presented with the SeeHer Award.
It’s been about two weeks since Carly Simon was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
So where’s she been?
Recovering from knee surgery. Ouch!
I finally caught up with her today. How’s she doing? “Coming along, I have two physical therapy sessions a day!” she said.
Luckily, she’s got a lot of people around her including son Ben Taylor, who lives nearby on Martha’s Vineyard, and her boyfriend. Dr. Richard, of 16 years.
What about the Rock Hall? She literally was having the surgery when the announcement was made. “I can’t believe all the support I’ve gotten,” she told me. “Emails, letters, phone calls. People can’t believe I wasn’t already in.”
It can only be hoped that the nominating committee will choose to include her with the five or six finalists this time around. Carly’s official career is now in its 52nd year, believe it or not. (She started young.) Her first hit was the haunting ballad, sweeping anthem, “That’s The Way I’ve Always Heard it Should Be” in 1971. She followed that with “Anticipation” in 1972– fifty years ago right now.
But it was the following year that Simon released her landmark album, “No Secrets,” with “You’re So Vain” and “The Right Thing to Do,” produced by Richard Perry. That was also the year she married James Taylor. From then on there were many top 10 hits including “Mockingbird” with Taylor, “Haven’t Got Time for the Pain,” the James Bond Oscar nominated “Nobody Does it Better,” “You Belong to Me,” “Jesse,” “Coming Around Again,” and the Academy Award winning “Let the River Run.”
There was also an opera “Romulus Hunt,” and three albums of standards that became classics: “Torch,” “My Romance,” and “Moonlight Serenade.”
Carly Simon has been an inspiration to so many female stars in recent generations. Janet Jackson sampled “You’re So Vain” for her hit, “Son of a Gun.” Taylor Swift asked her to a guest star on her tour a few years ago. In 2004, a whole movie starring Brittany Murphy, called “Little Black Book,” was designed around Simon’s songs.
Simon is the only major singer songwriter of her generation to be in the Rock Hall yet. Carole King came in this year. James Taylor and Joni Mitchell got in earlier. So the time is now, now, now.
Carly told me she’s hoping to make it to Clive Davis’s 90th birthday in April in New York. It’s all about the knee, of course. I have every confidence she can do it. Four years ago she ventured out to Los Angeles for Davis’s pre-Grammy gala and blew everyone away. In June 2020 she and her band appeared on Clive’s Zoom gala live from her barn and performed “It Was So Easy” and “Anticipation.”
But, as the song says, these are the good old days.
You can cast your vote for Carly on the Rock Hall site here.
The big Valentine’s Day rush was great for Jennifer Lopez’s “Marry Me.” The rom com went up to $3 million on Monday.
But the fall off yesterday was an ouch.
“Marry Me” dropped 66% on Tuesday, to just a tad over $1 million. That’s less than it made on any of the preceding three day weekend.
Now “Marry Me” has $12 million total. Luckily, it’s low budget enough that it might not hurt so bad. But the rest of the story has not been told.
We can watch “Marry Me” on Peacock, by the way. And why not? The good news is that the title track of the album is number 5 on iTunes, and the album is number 12. It ain’t over til it’s over!
Larry Charles has directed a two part documentary about Larry David, airing on March 1st on HBO. Charles is the long time director of both “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I’m a little surprised Robert Weide isn’t involved. But this is it. Will they include clips from “Sour Grapes”?
Here’s the description:
For over three decades, award-winning producer/writer/comedian Larry David has been one of TV’s defining talents. Now, this insightful two-part documentary finds the 74-year-old sitting down with friend/director Larry Charles for a peek behind the proverbial curtain, as David gets candid about his personal and professional highs and lows, from his humble beginnings as an unfunny Brooklyn kid to becoming America’s favorite misanthrope. In between reflecting on his bumpy road to success – and hit series “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – David shares his thoughts on everything from metaphysics to parenthood. Genuine, hilarious, and eye-opening, THE LARRY DAVID STORY shines a new light on the infamous cynic who remains a singular voice in comedy today.
The pleasures of “Schmigadoon” are known not only to the viewers of Apple Plus TV but also to the American Film Institute. The AFI included the the musical comedy mini series on its list of top TV show this year.
So now I’m hearing that the follow up will be called “Schmicago,” and parody the long running Kander-Ebb-Bob Fosse musical. I’m assuming “Schmicago,” like “Schmigadoon,” will run for six episodes.
Cecily Strong, who just finished a sold out run in “The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe,” stars with Keenan-Michael Key, along with Jane Krakowski, Fred Armisen, Kristen Chenoweth, Oscar nominee Ariana DeBose, Alan Cumming, Tony winner Aaron Tveit, etc. If they’re doing a take on “Chicago,” I sure hope they include Bebe Neuwirth and maybe even Catherine Zeta Jones.
Strong, meantime, returns to “Saturday Night Live” when the famed sketch show returns on Saturday, February 26th or March 5th.
The Holy Grail of Prince has arrived.
This sounds pretty, pretty, pretty good.