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RIP Elliot Lawrence, 96, Won 9 Emmy Awards, 1 Tony, Jazz Composer, Big Band Leader, the Bernard Herrmann of Soap Operas

Roger Friedman
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RIP Elliot Lawrence, 96, Won 9 Emmy Awards, 1 Tony, Jazz Composer, Big Band Leader, the Bernard Herrmann of Soap Operas

The composer, jazz musician, big band leader, Elliot Lawrence, died on July 2nd at age 96. He won 9 Emmy awards in his lifetime and a Tony Award. (He was nominated twice.)

Lawrence was musical director for 10 Broadway shows including “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying,” “1776,” and “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Because of his amazing resume, he would probably laugh that I’m citing this, but he was what I would call the Bernard Herrmann of soap operas. From the mid 70s to the mid 80s he was the composer and music director for the Procter & Gamble soaps, “The Edge of Night,” “As the World Turns,” “Guiding Light,” and “Search for Tomorrow.”

Here’s a great interview with Lawrence.  

Working like Hermann with a little Henry Mancini thrown in, Lawrence what might be the quintessential soap theme for “The Edge of Night.” Gothic and mysterious, the theme stood on its own as a little work of genius. Contemporary to it was his update for “As the World Turns.”

Here’s the link to his official obit.

First, listen to his “real” work, like this beautiful jazz composition from 1958

and “Elevation,” his jazz hit collaboration with Gerry Mulligan

and then who knew that soap operas would benefit from his musicianship?

RIP Beloved Rapper Biz Markie, 57, “Clown Prince of Hip Hop,” Hit it Big with “Just a Friend”

Roger Friedman
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RIP Beloved Rapper Biz Markie, 57, “Clown Prince of Hip Hop,” Hit it Big with “Just a Friend”

Biz Markie, aka Marcel Hall, was a late 80s hip hop smash. A groundbreaking character in rap, he hit it big with “Just a Friend,” and never went out of style. He died today at age 57 from complications from diabetes. Condolences to his family and friends.

amFAR Cannes Guests Stingy? Watch Sharon Stone Call Them “Cheap MF’s” During Gala Auction

Roger Friedman
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amFAR Cannes Guests Stingy? Watch Sharon Stone Call Them “Cheap MF’s” During Gala Auction

It looks like Sharon Stone worked her tushy off on Friday trying to get the Eurotrash crowd at the amFAR Cannes event to pony up some dough.

VAriety’s Ramin Setoodeh posted a video of Stone calling the crowd “cheap motherf***kers” when no one responded to the offer of some coutour dresses for $200,000.

How much did amFAR actually make Friday night? We may never know. Their last tax filing, for 2019, shows that at their most recent Cannes dinner– in May 2019– they spent nearly $7 million in expenses to put on the freak show by the Mediterranean. Over $1.8 million was just for entertainment.

Last night’s entertainment was Alicia Keys, who sang four songs and didn’t fly over on her own dime. She came first class courtesy of amFAR, like all the other celebs who had to be brought in from the US.

In the old days, Harvey Weinstein would have a bunch of movies in Cannes, and keep the actors around for the amFAR night. But those days are over. All the big movie stars leave now after their movies premiere, so the amFAR event now has to be constructed out of whole cloth. The evening has almost no connection to the Cannes Film Festival, it doesn’t even take place in Cannes, but in neighboring Antibes.

In 2018, the group filed notice that they finished the year in the red, just as they did the year before, when expenses were calculated against revenue. And still they paid millions in salaries to their top executives.

amFAR brought back Sharon Stone this year to run the auction because they know she has a way with the audience. But if she was calling them “cheap mfers,” it might have been like getting blood from a…stone. With the pandemic, the high cost of travel, inflation, and worldwide uncertainty maybe no one wanted a collection of 30 couture dresses. Shocking.

Thanks to Ramin and Variety for posting the video.

Caitlyn Jenner, Running for Governor in California, Joins “Big Brother” in Australia, Flies in While Residents Are Locked Out

Roger Friedman
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Caitlyn Jenner, Running for Governor in California, Joins “Big Brother” in Australia, Flies in While Residents Are Locked Out

Isn’t Caitlyn Jenner running for governor of California?

In her spare time, she’s flown into Australia to be a guest on “Big Brother” in that country. And the people are outraged. Residents of Oz are locked out of re-entering their country because of COVID restrictions. But Caitlyn had no problem surmounting that obstacle.

According to the New Zealand Herald, there are thought to be as many as 34,000 Australians overseas who are trying to get home, yet just 3000 weekly spots. That’s down from a cap of almost 6500 last week after the Federal Government agreed to further limit arrivals in an attempt to lessen the risk of further Covid-19 leaks from hotel quarantine.

It’s so hard to get back into Australia for the poeple who live there that a Stranded Aussies Network has formed on the internet.

The former Bruce Jenner, ex-husband of Kris Jenner and father/step brother of the greedy, gross Kardashian-Jenner, doesn’t seem to care about the problems in Australia. An inveterate poster to social media, she’s failed to mention her trip or new job to her followers.

 

Anthony Bourdain’s Widow: She “Certainly Did Not” Say Husband Would Be “Cool” with Filmmaker’s Use of Artificial Voice Clips in New Doc

Roger Friedman
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Anthony Bourdain’s Widow: She “Certainly Did Not” Say Husband Would Be “Cool” with Filmmaker’s Use of Artificial Voice Clips in New Doc

Here’s the story.

There’s a new documentary out today from Focus Features about CNN celebrity travel and food impresario Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain committed suicide in June 2018 after his actress/celebrity girlfriend, Asia Argento, flaunted another romantic relationship in the European tabloids.

(Here are some links to catch you up.)

The doc is from Oscar winner Morgan Neville, who has done something in the film never done before and hotly criticized today by filmmakers who are just finding out about. He used Artificial Intelligence to piece together Bourdain’s voice. He’s got Bourdain reading aloud in the film things he never said and there are no recordings of.

This is considered blasphemy among real documentary filmmakers. It’s also questionably unethical. On top of that, Neville said in a New Yorker interview: ““I checked…with his widow and his literary executor, just to make sure people were cool with that,” Neville said. “And they were like, Tony would have been cool with that. I wasn’t putting words into his mouth. I was just trying to make them come alive.”

His widow, Ottavia Bourdain, responded to that assertion swiftly on Twitter: “I certainly was NOT the one who said Tony would have been cool with that.”

Neville is a serious filmmaker. I can’t for the life of me understand how such an idea was invented in the first place. It would have been one thing to have an actor read Bourdain’s thoughts or emails, but to cobble together his voice from shards and teach it to speak like the subject– this is an outrageous mistake in judgement.

He tells the New Yorker: “I created an AI model of his voice,” Neville says. He goes on to say, “If you watch the film, other than that line you mentioned, you probably don’t know what the other lines are that were spoken by the AI, and you’re not going to know.”

In a GQ interview he explained:  “We fed more than ten hours of Tony’s voice into an AI model. The bigger the quantity, the better the result. We worked with four companies before settling on the best. We also had to figure out the best tone of Tony’s voice: His speaking voice versus his “narrator” voice, which itself changed dramatically of over the years. The narrator voice got very performative and sing-songy in the “No Reservation” years. I checked, you know, with his widow and his literary executor, just to make sure people were cool with that. And they were like, Tony would have been cool with that. I wasn’t putting words into his mouth. I was just trying to make them come alive.”

What???? And no one stopped him to say, Are you insane? Something has gone way wrong here in the thought process that led to this episode.

 

Watch Video from Bob Dylan’s Grandson, Pablo Dylan, Named for Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda

Roger Friedman
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Watch Video from Bob Dylan’s Grandson, Pablo Dylan, Named for Chilean Poet Pablo Neruda

Dylan progeny are everywhere! In the same week that his uncle Jakob Dylan released a new Wallflowers album comes an EP from Bob Dylan’s grandson, Pablo (his dad is Jakob’s brother Jesse, the filmmaker).

The EP is called “Fortitude,” and it’s Pablo’s second EP this year following “Solitude.” The song is called “Ward No. 9” and he says it’s inspired by George Floyd. You can read his comments below from Instagram.

Pablo is named for Nobel Prize winning poet and politician Pablo Neruda. Give him a chance. The hardest thing is for the aforementioned progeny to strike out on their own. He’s in the family business!

Review: For Every Beatles Fan, “McCartney 3, 2, 1” is a Must-See Rare Look Under the Hood at How the Songs Were Created

Roger Friedman
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Review: For Every Beatles Fan, “McCartney 3, 2, 1” is a Must-See Rare Look Under the Hood at How the Songs Were Created

In all, I published three pieces this week on the excellent six part Hulu doc, “McCartney 3, 2, 1.” This is the last one.

Rick Rubin was the founder of DefJam Records. He made a mint there. He sort of talked himself into being a mythic figure. At one point he was the head of Sony Music, which he nearly destroyed. He cost them a fortune, and left. He gained new fame as the producer of Johnny Cash’s last albums. The final one included the Nine Inch Nails cover, “Hurt,” which won acclaim and awards.

How Rubin wound up with McCartney is a mystery to me. They’ve never had anything to do with each other. But somehow McCartney felt like talking a blue streak to this odd looking fellow. Maybe Paul thought he was Father Time. In any case, it worked.

In the last two segments, they talk about the Beatles breaking up and Paul moving on. Paul says, “I was heartbroken,” although– this is another story– he instigated the break up. In the segment he plays “Maybe I’m Amazed,” which is among the greatest pop songs of all time. In the final segment he remembers how he dreamt “Yesterday,” and didn’t trust that it was original. They talk about “A Day in the Life,” although I wish Rubin had asked him more about the piano work.

There could be six more episodes. I wish they’d go back and finish. But to have these six is a pleasure, and they are gems. Me? I can’t get enough of this stuff.

Hulu Doc: Paul McCartney Names Top 2 Fave Beatles Songs, Talks How He Saved “Come Together,” And Being Right in Arguments

McCartney Hulu Doc: A New Song, An Unreleased Beatles Song, Personal Motto: “Forge ahead constantly…in music and in life”

Paul McCartney Hulu Doc: When They Fought He Called Lennon “Four Eyes,” John Called Him “Pigeon Chest”

UPDATE: Dick Wolf Won’t Have All Thursday Law & Order at NBC as “For the Defense” Vanishes into Thin Air

Roger Friedman
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UPDATE: Dick Wolf Won’t Have All Thursday Law & Order at NBC as “For the Defense” Vanishes into Thin Air

Remember when we were all excited about Dick Wolf having the whole of Thursday night this season?

Not happening.

“Law & Order For the Defense” just never happened. NBC announced the new show in May, making Thursday all Wolf, all L&O with “SVU” and “Organized Crime.” Carol Mendelsohn of “CSI” fame was producing.

But it turns out no one was “For the Defense.” They never cast the show. Sources confirm for me that Wolf’s company never actually knew what it was about, there were no scripts. It was just a title.

Who can blame Dick? He has so many shows on the air, it’s not possible to run them all. He’s got three “FBI” shows on CBS. He’s got three other shows on NBC with the “Chicago” trilogy. Obviously, someone forgot to actually map out “For the Defense.”

But you know, it’s July 15th. What were they doing all this time? No one asked me, but I’d say that “For the Defense” sounded like the original “Law & Order.” Maybe they should just revive the classic. Instead of having “Law & Order OG” it could be “OG Law & Order.” Where the heck is Dann Florek?

Now NBC has a sinkhole on Thursdays at 10pm which they’ll fill with more episodes of “Organized Crime” and eventually “The Blacklist.”

Here’s the Trailer for Lifetime’s Beautifully Cheesy “Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace” Coming in September

Roger Friedman
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Here’s the Trailer for Lifetime’s Beautifully Cheesy “Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace” Coming in September

There’s nothing better than a cheesy Lifetime movie to brighten the day.

Here’s the trailer for “Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace.” Jordan Dean (The Punisher) and Sydney Morton (She’s Gotta Have It) star as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Leading into the premiere of the third installment in the Harry & Meghan franchise, Lifetime will present encore airings on September 6th of William & Kate at 1pm ET/PT followed by Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance at 3pm ET/PT and Harry & Meghan: Becoming Royal at 5:30pm ET/PT.

It’s unclear who plays Oprah since no one is listed yet. Cross fingers it’s someone good.

Based on the trailer, AMC is preparing a “Harry & Negan” episode of “The Walking Dead.” Just kidding!

amFAR’s Big Sponsor This Year is Film Festival from Saudi Arabia, Which Deports People with AIDS and Treats Gays as Criminals

Roger Friedman
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amFAR’s Big Sponsor This Year is Film Festival from Saudi Arabia, Which Deports People with AIDS and Treats Gays as Criminals

Well, this makes sense. (Just kidding.)

amFAR is the organization that raises money for AIDS research. Red Sea International is a foundation owned by the Saudi Royal family to underwrite their inaugural film festival this coming December in Jeddah. Red Sea has billboards up all over Cannes, and has been busy sponsoring events there since last week. (Cinemas were outlawed for 30 years until recently in Saudi Arabia.)

In Saudi Arabia, being gay or trans is completely illegal. Having AIDS is worse. if you are a foreigner who has AIDS, you’d be deported. If were openly gay, you’d be considered a criminal, and punished in one of many violent ways. The country does not recognize same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships, or civil unions.

So guess who’s sponsoring amFAR’s annual gala in Cannes tomorrow night? Why, the Red Sea International Festival. Red Sea is overseen by the Saudi Minister of Culture, Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan Al Saud. He’s a close friend of, and relative, to MBS, Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia who ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

According to the New York Times, the Prince really likes art. He was the winning bidder, for $450 million, of the only available painting on the market by Leonardo da Vinci. He doesn’t know anything, presumably, about Leo’s personal life. (He was not a ladies’ man.)

amFAR can take Saudi money but they can’t visit the country to thank them. No one from amFAR would be allowed to visit the country, They’d be thrown right out, if not arrested, tortured, or killed.

According to Wikipedia: “Foreigners who are applying for a work visa are required to demonstrate that they are not infected with the [AIDS] virus before they can enter the country, and are required to get a test upon arrival at a government accredited lab. To be issued their first work permit, they are also required to perform the test again before the renewal of a residency or work permit. Any foreigner that is discovered to be infected will be deported to the country of origin as soon as they are deemed fit to travel. Foreigners are not given access to any HIV medications and while awaiting deportation may be segregated (imprisoned) from the rest of society.”

So it makes sense that amFAR, which has lost many of its corporate sponsors, is taking money from Red Sea with one hand, pushing up their COVID masks over their eyes to ignore the reality of this situation.

Presumably, the Red Sea Festival will send some kind of contingent to the amFAR dinner they’re paying for, maybe just to hear Alicia Keys. The delegation would be lead by Red Sea’s artistic director, Edouard Waintrop, former head of the Cannes Directors Fortnight. amFAR guests shouldn’t be too surprised, however, to see Prince Badr and his co-horts. How they’ll react when they realize what amFAR stands for is another story. Maybe Kevin Frost, the org’s CEO, who gets paid $600,000 a year, will just tell everyone to leave the word “AIDS” out of the announcements.

 

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