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Critics Choice Awards Show will Give Lifetime Achievement Honor to Billy Crystal March 13th

Roger Friedman
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Critics Choice Awards Show will Give Lifetime Achievement Honor to Billy Crystal March 13th

The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced today that legendary actor Billy Crystal will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards.

And two weeks later Billy hits Broadway with his musical version of “Mr. Saturday Night.”

Crystal will be feted for his incredible body of work throughout the years at the star-studded Critics Choice Awards gala hosted by Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer, which will broadcast LIVE on The CW and TBS on Sunday, March 13 from 7:00 – 10:00 pm ET (delayed PT – check local listings).

Throughout its 27-year history, the Critics Choice Awards have honored just six stars with the illustrious Lifetime Achievement Award including Lauren Bacall, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Eddie Murphy, Robert Wise, and now, Billy Crystal. As previously announced, Halle Berry will receive the sixth annual SeeHer Award during the ceremony.

Tony and Emmy Award-winning comedian, actor, producer, writer, and director Billy Crystal is known to audiences around the world as the star of such films as When Harry Met Sally…, City Slickers and Analyze This, as a cast member of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, and as the acclaimed nine-time host of the Academy Awards.

Next on the horizon, Crystal returns to Broadway in his very first musical comedy Mr. Saturday Night. Written by Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel, Mr. Saturday Night is the story of an outrageous and outspoken comedian seeking one more shot at the spotlight some 40 years after his TV career flamed out. The brand-new musical comedy about one comedian’s meteoric rise to the middle arrives on Broadway this Spring, opening April 27, 2022.

 

Crystal landed his first major television role in 1977 on the comedy series Soap, playing Jodie Dallas, one of the first openly gay characters on TV. In 1984 he hosted Saturday Night Live and a few months later joined the regular cast. His best-known SNL creation was Fernando, an unctuous talk-show host whose tagline, “You look mahvelous!” entered the popular lexicon.

 

In 2015, Crystal made his return to series television opposite Josh Gad in the FX series The Comedians. Crystal portrayed a superstar veteran comedian who is reluctantly paired with Gad, an edgier up-and-coming star, in an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at a late-night sketch comedy show where egos and generations collide.

 

Crystal’s many feature film credits include the buddy cop comedy Running Scared (1986), Rob Reiner’s comic fairy tale The Princess Bride (1987), and Danny DeVito’s dark comedy Throw Momma from the Train (1987). But his breakthrough role came in 1989 when he starred opposite Meg Ryan in Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally…, which became a romantic touchstone for a generation of moviegoers. Other iconic titles include Mr. Saturday Night (1992) and America’s Sweethearts (2001). He also starred opposite Bette Midler and Marisa Tomei in the 2012 Christmas family comedy Parental Guidance, which he also produced. In addition, he is the voice of one-eyed Mike Wazowski in Disney•Pixar’s animated global blockbuster Monsters, Inc. (2001), its prequel Monsters University (2013), and the Disney+ television series Monsters at Work, now in production for its second season. Crystal’s latest work includes the friendship comedy Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) opposite Ben Schwartz, and his most recent feature Here Today (2021), which Crystal co wrote, directed, produced, and starred in opposite Tiffany Haddish.

 

As a director, Crystal was nominated for both an Emmy and a Directors Guild Award for his direction of the 2001 HBO movie 61*, which told the dramatic story of the 1961 race between Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris to break Babe Ruth’s single-season home-run record. 

 

In addition to hosting the Oscars nine times—most recently in 2012—Crystal has also hosted the GRAMMY Awards three times. His work as a host, writer, and producer on the televised awards shows has earned him 14 Emmy nominations and five wins. Crystal won a sixth Emmy for his 1989 HBO comedy special, Billy Crystal: Midnight Train to Moscow in which he was the first American comedian to perform in the Soviet Union. Other HBO specials include On Location, A Comic’s Line, and Don’t Get Me Started. Along with Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams, Crystal hosted HBO’s Comic Relief. These comedic telethons raised almost 75 million dollars to provide medical aid for the homeless in America.

 

The recipient of the 2007 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Crystal has written five books, including Absolutely Mahvelous (1986), 700 Sundays (2005) and Still Foolin’ ‘Em (2014), as well as two children’s books, the New York Times best seller I Already Know I Love You (2004) and Grandpa’s Little One (2006).

 

Crystal co-wrote, produced, and starred alongside Kevin Kline and Annette Bening in Have a Nice Day, a play that was recorded live at The Minetta Lane Theatre. It was released on Audible on November 2, 2018 and became an instant best-seller. In his 2013 New York Times best-selling memoir Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? Crystal offers his heartfelt and humorous observations on aging. The audiobook version debuted at number one on iTunes and was nominated for a Grammy Award for the Best Spoken Word Album and won the Audiobook of the Year at the 2014 Audies Gala.

 

Crystal made his Broadway debut in 2004 with the original production of his one-man show 700 Sundays, for which he won a Tony Award. The Broadway production was taped in front of a live audience for an HBO special that aired in April of 2014, which garnered four Emmy nominations and was released on DVD that fall.

 

The Critics Choice Awards are bestowed annually to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Historically, they are the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.

 

The 27th annual Critics Choice Awards show will be produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment. The CCA is represented by Dan Black of Greenberg Traurig.

 

Follow the 27th annual Critics Choice Awards on Twitter and Instagram @CriticsChoice and on Facebook/CriticsChoiceAwards. Join the conversation using #CriticsChoiceAwards.

“SNL” with Willem Dafoe and Katy Perry Finishes About Even with Just Under 5 Million Viewers

Roger Friedman
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“SNL” with Willem Dafoe and Katy Perry Finishes About Even with Just Under 5 Million Viewers

This past weekend’s “SNL” was the last for a month, and the show went out on good numbers.

The final tally was 4.975 million, a tad under the previous week but steady as she goes for January.

Willem Dafoe hosted and Katy Perry was musical guest. The show was uneven, but Perry brought the fire power with her strong performances– despite odd costumes and setting. Dafoe can do anything, and he was game for whatever the show threw at him.

Don Roy King has officially retired as the show’s director after 15 years. His last episode was the ill fated Christmas 2021 COVID show. There’s been no mention of his departure on the show. The new director, Liz Patrick, who’s been working with him all season, comes from Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show.

 

Adele Says She’s Performing on the Brit Awards Next Week, And Her Relationship Is Fine

Roger Friedman
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Adele Says She’s Performing on the Brit Awards Next Week, And Her Relationship Is Fine

Adele speaks: she’s posted to Twitter that she’s performing live on the Brit Awards next week. She’s also giving an interview to Graham Norton, the main TV talk show in Britain. And she allays fears that she’s in relationship angst with boyfriend Rich Paul. “Rich says hello,” she writes. That is to refute the Daily Mail.

But Adele says nothing about her canceled 26 Las Vegas dates or all the money that’s been wasted, or the fans who’ve been left high and dry. Maybe Norton will try and get a straight answer out of her.

Adele singing on the Brits is a big deal. And we can only hope she’ll be on the Grammys April 3rd live from Vegas.

India Arie Joins a Chorus of Older Artists Deleting Spotify, Says Thanks to Neil Young for His “Activist Spirit”

Roger Friedman
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India Arie Joins a Chorus of Older Artists Deleting Spotify, Says Thanks to Neil Young for His “Activist Spirit”

Another one bites the dust.

One of the music world’s great talents, and one of my favorite people, India Arie is taking her music off of Spotify.

She’s joined the hashtag #DeleteSpotify. She’s one of the older, legacy artists for whom Spotify doesn’t mean much anyway. They’re being paid pennies to have their music on the service. Buy her CDs, or download her from iTunes or one of the other services.

(By the way, if you don’t know her music and remarkable voice, go to Apple or Amazon and take a listen. She’s a modern classic.)

India writes on Twitter:

“#DeleteSpotify Clarity: Artist give their LIVES making music that streams for a 28th of a penny. Yes 28th of a penny. And Joe Rogan is paid millions? THIS IS AN ABUSE. thank you @neilyoung for your activist spirit.”

She adds: “The music industry is abusive. sexist. racist. agesit ~ AMPLIFIED and UNCHECKED. THIS is not an opinion. THIS IS WISDOM. this streaming model is but ONE area that needs to be torn down amd rebuilt with RESPECT for the artists AT THE FORE!:

After basically torching Spotify and the music business (go to @IndiaArie for the whole thread) she ends with this, and I love it:

Spotify Problems Grow as Neil Young’s Band Partner, Graham Nash, Asks for Removal of Songs

Roger Friedman
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Spotify Problems Grow as Neil Young’s Band Partner, Graham Nash, Asks for Removal of Songs

Graham Nash wants Spotify to Teach our children facts, not lies. The Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young singer has joined Neil Young in asking Spotify to remove his songs from their service.

Nash is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, famous and influential for his work with CSNY and with the Hollies. He is a staunch advocate of truth telling, and one of rock’s steady voices for truth.

By the way, David Crosby has sided with Young as well. He has said on Twitter that if he controlled his catalog he’d remove it from Spotify, as well. But Crosby sold the rights last year and has no say about his Spotify participation.

Stephen Stills, we’re waiting. Jackson Browne, too.

Again, all of this is over Joe Rogan’s anti-vax and anti-science rantings on his Spotify podcast.

Here’s Nash’s statement:

“Having heard the Covid disinformation spread by Joe Rogan on Spotify, I completely agree with and support my friend, Neil Young and I am requesting that my solo recordings be removed from the service.

“There is a difference between being open to varying viewpoints on a matter and knowingly spreading false information which some 270 medical professionals have derided as not only false but dangerous. Likewise, there is a difference between misinformation, in which one is unaware that what is being said is false, versus disinformation which is knowingly false and intended to mislead and sway public opinion. The opinions publicized by Rogan are so dishonest and unsupported by solid facts that Spotify becomes an enabler in a way that costs people their lives,” said Nash.

Sunday Ratings: HBO’s “Euphoria” Grows By 16% But Still Beaten by Showtime’s “Billions”

Roger Friedman
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Sunday Ratings: HBO’s “Euphoria” Grows By 16% But Still Beaten by Showtime’s “Billions”

Every dog has its day, someone once said. And now that dog is “Billions.”

Showtime’s highly entertaining but awards-starved drama is in its 6th season. One of its stars left at the end of last season. But now “Billions” has become a go-to for Sunday night cable fans.

Two nights ago  “Billions” pulled in a respectable 330K viewers. And it beat, once again, HBO’s offering– “Euphoria.” Even thought “Euphoria” jumped 16% from its previous week, the hardcore sex and tech teen marathon drew only 310K viewers.

The Daily Beast has a good piece today about the collapse of “Euphoria” from cult darling to most ridiculed show on social media. I tried watching the first two episodes on HBO on Demand, and, wow, it’s too much. If high school had really been the way it is in “Euphoria,” we’d all be dead, and in hell.

But kudos to “Billions.” Their 6th season is a winner. Corey Stoll is doing a great job as Mike Prince. Paul Giamatti is a gift, and he deserves an Emmy Award. The whole cast is sterling and the writing is impeccable. All the incredible hard work of Brian Koppleman and David Levien is paying off.

UPDATED Janet Jackson Scored Big Numbers Across Lifetime-A&E Over Weekend, Over 15 Million Viewers

Roger Friedman
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UPDATED Janet Jackson Scored Big Numbers Across Lifetime-A&E Over Weekend, Over 15 Million Viewers

The first two parts of the Janet Jackson documentary aired Friday night, and they were hits.

Lifetime-A&E played the two parts across both networks about nine times, and the numbers seem to add up to around 9 million viewers. The biggest audience was Lifetime at 9pm with 2.114 million viewers.

(UPDATE TUES 2:15PM) Lifetime says the total for the whole weekend was over 15.7 million viewers counting in Saturday, Sunday, on TV and streaming platforms.)

The Friday night installments were the best because Janet’s got the two husbands in the rear view mirror, didn’t have NDA’s with them, and the filmmakers weren’t constrained in their story telling.

The Saturday night chapters, 3 and 4, were more problematic. Part 3 was mellow and trod old ground. Part 4 was just filled with lies, fabrications, and half-truths.

Completely scrubbed from the documentary is Janet’s third marriage, to the father of her son, Wissam Al Mana.  He simply doesn’t exist in this account of Janet’s life. She brags about being a mother but how did she acquire this child? There’s no explanation.

al Mana split from Janet two months after the baby was born. During the short marriage, Janet was seen wearing Muslim garb and was rumored to be converting from Jehovah’s Witness to her husband’s religion. The doc never addresses any of this, or the enormous settlement she is said to have received in the divorce. We can surmise that the money came with a legally zipped lip.

So Part 4 especially feels like an infomercial and not a documentary. We learn nothing about Janet’s career after the split. the fact that some tours didn’t happen or were canceled, that records didn’t sell anymore, nothing.

The worst part of all this is Janet not being real about her abusive father, Joseph. She feared him, and hated him. He had a mistress for a long time, and illegitimate daughter. When Janet and her mother found out, they went after Joseph physically.

Right before he died, Joseph went to Brazil for an 88th birthday bash put together by one of his many lackeys. He expected to party hard. Instead whatever he did caused a heart attack and strokes. It was Janet who had fly to Sao Paolo and bring him back on a plane that was likely paid for by al Mana. Is any of this in the four hour doc? NO.

But A&E-Lifetime did very well on Friday night. We’ll see soon if that carried over to Saturday and Sunday.

More numbers to come…

No Time to Spare: Latest James Bond Gang Discusses the Making of Their Box Office Hit

Leah Sydney
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No Time to Spare: Latest James Bond Gang Discusses the Making of Their Box Office Hit

SPOILER ALERT James Bond is temporarily dead, but that doesn’t stop the Oscar hopeful machine. With Academy voting ending tomorrow night and COVID still a factor, Hollywood is trying to reach the voters as best as they can. The # 1 tastemaker and actress/producer Colleen Camp hosted a Virtual Q and A with the team behind “No Time To Die” Barbara Broccoli, Cary Joji Fukunaga and Rami Malek. Director Amy Heckerling was the moderator.

Barbara first gave kudos to Daniel Craig’s swan song as Bond. “What he’s done over these 16 years, what he’s given to this franchise is amazing. Daniel was so committed to re-inventing Bond, to give him more humanity. This movie is really about love, which is unusual for Bond.”

Broccoli, along with her half-brother, Michael Wilson, controls the franchise. Cary Jo then remarked. “Even though it’s a large franchise, the core team was really a mom-and-pop thing, and telling the studio what we wanted instead of asking.” Amy mentioned that this film gives Bond a second chance at love. Cary Jo said, “With this tragic love story and the complexity and the layers, to come back for the final chapter and reexamine that relationship and that part of his heart, was all by design. We wanted this to feel like an arc over the course of the five films, with “Skyfall” in the middle, and have this feeling at the end that he’s come full circle.”

Broccoli noted that, “When Bond thinks Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) betrays him, it hits a button with him, it’s heartbreaking to him. Heckerling mused that. “it’s so satisfying yet heartbreaking to see Bond be in love and then sacrifice himself at the end.” Barbara also noted of the sensational of Ana de Armas, “She’s sort of like Ginger Rodgers, she does everything that Daniel does except backwards and in heels. “

Rami Malek said of his character, the evil Lyutsifer Safin, “The best way to get under Bond’s skin is to have a relationship with the woman he loves the most.” Rami also explained that he was intent on not meeting Craig before they worked together. “I didn’t want to meet Daniel until we had our first scene together. Of course, I stepped out of make-up trailer and we saw each other. He threw his arms around me and gave me a hug and said as any great leader does, ‘it’s going to be a great ride.” Here’s hoping “No Time To Die” gets some deserved Oscar love.

50 Years Ago This Week: Todd Rundgren Saw the Light, Al Green Became a Superstar, Nilsson Couldn’t Live “Without You”

Roger Friedman
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50 Years Ago This Week: Todd Rundgren Saw the Light, Al Green Became a Superstar, Nilsson Couldn’t Live “Without You”

January 31, 1972– the release of Al Green’s album, “Let’s Stay Together.” The next day came Todd Rundgren’s double album, “Something/Anything.”

I was 14, not quite 15. We depended on the radio to tell us what was being released: 77 WABC for top 40 and R&B singles, WNEW-FM and WPLJ-FM for the cool album stuff.

Looking back now thanks to Wikipedia, it’s hard to imagine I got any homework done. Loving music in 1971 and 1972 was a full time job. There was too much going on. Constantly. Did we think it would become classic music? No one thought about it.

So Al Green had had already put “Tired of Being Alone” on the radio, we were singing along with it, but white kids in the northeast didn’t really grasp who he was yet. When the next Willie Mitchell produced album, “Let’s Stay Together,” arrived, it was madness. The Hi! Records horns, the rhythm section, were nirvana. There are only 9 tracks on the album, which wasn’t a big hit. For Al, it was the 45s. The title track was effortlessly romantic. Plus, as with “Tired of Being Alone,” Al’s falsetto spins spiraling through the main vocal was undeniable. The song remains his crowning achievement. And the album also features Al delivering his immortal treatment of the Bee Gee’s “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”

Then there was Todd Rundgren. I can remember sitting in my room listening to the radio when probably Cousin Brucie played “I Saw the Light” for the first time. It was if I had seen the light. There was nothing else like it. We were in the era of perfect post-Beatles pop that started with Harry Nilsson’s “Without You.” (I wrote about all of this a short time ago.) Todd had already had minor hits with “We Gotta Get You a Woman” and a slow version of “Hello, It’s Me.” But now, what was this?

“Something/Anything” was like a visit to outer space. Electronic Moog music was ‘in’ so Todd including it as interstitials etc was very cool. Then, there were all these potential singles– “Couldn’t I Just Tell You” was the main one after “Light” and “Hello It’s Me.” then were was “Wolfman Jack”–Todd sort of revived him from cult into main stream. There are so many tracks on the album, and you just kept flipping it over and trying a different side. Also, there was a lot of studio talking, which was unusual. So the album had a very intimate feel. You feel like you know this weird looking guy who created this whole musical experience– some of it solo, some with the best musicians in pop.

Right now, I’m listening to the end of the album, with “Slut” and “You Left Me Sore.” The tracks hold up so well they could have been made last week. They’d be hailed as breakthroughs. There’s no question that a direct line run from Todd to projects like the New Radicals. As it happened, Hall & Oates–after their Arif Mardin produced classic “Abandoned Luncheonette” — went full Todd with “Rich Girl” and all those hits. Daryl Hall was smart to commercialize Todd’s concepts, which Rundgren abandoned for his harder metal edged Utopia.

So that’s just this week in 1972. This month coming up are the 50th anniversaries of the Allman Brothers’ “Eat a Peach” and Neil Young’s “Harvest.” This was also the year of the greatest R&B singles. Sly and the Family Stone’s “Family Affair” took the first week of 1972. Then “Let’s Stay Together” was number 1 for 8 consecutive weeks. This was followed by James Brown, Joe Tex, the Staples Singers, Aretha, the Dramatics, and the Chi Lites. This was all before June 30th. When you hear the expression The Soundtrack of our Lives, this was it. At least it was mine. It’s the reason I made the film, “Only the Strong Survive” in 2002.

If you remember all this, you know it already. If you don’t, and you want to know what real music was like, jump in anywhere. And yes, this whole time, “American Pie” was everywhere. We had no idea who Don McLean was or what he was like in real life. I’m so glad we didn’t.

 

Wordle, Popular Online Cult Word Game, Has Been Sold to the New York Times Company for Unknown Amount

Roger Friedman
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Wordle, Popular Online Cult Word Game, Has Been Sold to the New York Times Company for Unknown Amount

Wordle, which rhymes with Yertle the Turtle, has been sold.

The popular online word game that has cult status has been bought by the New York Times company for an undisclosed amount.

Wordle was purchased from its creator, Josh Wardle, a software engineer in Brooklyn, for a price “in the low seven figures,” The Times said.

The Times says the game will remain free until they can figure out how to charge for it. So get in your last free licks of five letters.

Here’s the link with all the bad news.

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