Sharon Osbourne has regrouped and sent out her first social media message since March 12th. See below it’s TikTok video turned into a Tweet set to the song “Right Back Where We Started From.” Sharon will not just slink away, even if CBS paid her off. She’ll write a book, there will be an inevitable movie of that book, you’ll see.
— Sharon Osbourne (@MrsSOsbourne) March 30, 2021
Listen, Tina Turner hates Ike Turner. Still. After all these years. For good reason.
You thought we knew all about the torture she endured from him. There was the Kurt Loder book, the award winning movie with Angela Bassett, a thousand interviews, and then the Broadway musical in November 2019.
I interviewed Tina in 1993 for the cover of the NY Daily News Sunday magazine and she was so gracious and endearing I wanted to keep her safe. Even then, more than a decade after her escape from Ike, she still seemed vulnerable.
So this new film, which aired on HBO inexplicably on the first night of Passover (they couldn’t wait?), directed by Dan Lindsay, T.J. Martin seemed to me a little unnecessary. And everything I read about it pointed in that direction. Everyone who saw it in advance felt like they knew the story, what was left to say?
Well, a lot as it turns out. “Tina” really doesn’t expand too much on Turner’s life past her comeback and rise to massive success. A lot of the comments I read complained about that. Tina’s been in retirement for a while, what’s she up to? How is her health after all? That is not addressed.
Tina sits in a nice looking chair and answers some questions, but mostly the documentary relies on old interviews. One was from 1981 with People magazine’s Carl Arrington, who kept his audio tapes. Then there are tapes from Kurt Loder, interviews with him, with her old manager and so on.
Why did she do this? By the time you’ve read the book, seen the movie, and Adrienne Warren’s fiery performance in the musical, isn’t that enough? Well, when Tina came to the opening night of the musical, she was very fragile. During intermission, Oprah whisked her away to a private room. When the show was over, Tina did appear on stage and we thought we’d see her at the after-party. But she went home, and was not seen again.
Maybe the show was too much for her to revisit the story of how she left Ike after 16 years of violence. This documentary drills down into the details of that torture in unexpected ways. Tina, as always, is disarming. But footage of Ike, a brilliant musician, reveal his monstrousness and cluelessness. Well after Tina left him, someone asks Ike why she left, what went wrong? He is opaque. He has no idea. He says, “She must have been unhappy.” Uh, yeah.
So it’s not that we learn anything new, but perhaps we get a richer understanding of how Tina lived, what her genius was, and how, thank god, she reclaimed it. I was thinking that the difference between Tina and Aretha Franklin, who was just portrayed in the “Genius” miniseries, is so stark. Aretha hid her dark secrets and didn’t want to share them. She walled herself in.
Tina, on the other hand, does not want anyone to forget what she went through. I think it’s not just for herself, although that seems important. Her treatment at Ike’s hands is a cautionary tale. There’s so much violence against women in the news now– murders, missing persons, all boyfriends and ex husbands and husbands responsible — that the Ike story is worth retelling for anyone who may be in trouble.
My nitpick: the music is all good, but the directors missed the real turning point of Tina’s comeback. Manager Roger Davies took her to England and put her with producer Martyn Ware of Heaven 17 and Human League. It was 1983 when their single and video of Al Green’s reworked “Let’s Stay Together” was released. It was stunning. That release predated the Big Comeback, it’s what got everyone stoked. It was a bigger hit than Al Green’s version. “Private Dancer” and all that followed a few months later. They also recorded a slow version of the Beatles’ “Help,” that still kills.
The directors also don’t explain that it was Tina who decided back in 1971 to re-work John Fogerty’s “Proud Mary,” create that slow sensual opening followed by the rip roaring chaotic dance number. I wish they’d asked her more about how she created her sound, one very different than the Ike and Tina Revue. That’s a missed opportunity. But kudos to all. Just next time, wait til the Seder is over.
The coolest guy in Hollywood, for decades, celebrates his 84th birthday today. God bless Warren Beatty. He’s one of the best, a maverick actor, director, writer, activist, and let’s face it, ex-playboy. We love him for all of it.
First of all, “Reds” is one of my very favorite movies. Beatty won the Oscar for directing it in 1981. A massive, epic, gorgeous throwback to great classics like “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Reds” still resonates on every level. It won 3 Oscars with 12 nominations (Maureen Stapleton is glorious as Emma Goldman in her Best Supporting Actress win.)
Beatty has a raft of nominations for “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Shampoo,” “Heaven Can Wait,” “Bugsy,” and “Bulworth.” He was acclaimed from the beginning of his career from “Splendor in the Grass.” He has a couple of ‘cult’ movies in which his acting is par excellence: Robert Altman’s “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” and Alan Pakula’s “Parallax View.” And there’s nothing better than seeing this young colt in the first season of Max Shulman’s classic TV series, “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.”
The playboy thing? Much has been written about it. But when Annette Bening calmed him down they embarked on a long, happy marriage producing four kids. Warren as family man turns out to be his biggest success.
Beatty often flirted with politics, and was active when it was necessary. He was there for George McGovern when Richard Nixon was threatening to destroy us (and almost did). He’s been there for liberal and just causes ever since.
So Happy Birthday, Warren, as you start your 85th trip around the galaxy. And no, I didn’t end this piece with his least favorite punch line. (You figure it out. He prob’ly thinks this tribute is about him.)
Now we know why HBO made a big deal of announcing a huge new pact with George R. R. Martin last week. I mean, he hasn’t even finished the book for the season of “Game of Thrones” that’s come and gone. What could there be for them in a new deal?
Well, it’s a stage version of “Game of Thrones,” which will go to Broadway and London’s West End very much a la “Harry Potter.” HBO isn’t involved yet, but they will be, count on it. It’s going to take a lot of dough to put this production together. Flying dragons will be expected, among other things.
And the casting? Imagine the Broadway stars lining up to play Jon Snow, Daenerys, Oleanna Tyrell, Cersei, and all those Lannisters. The mind boggles. And what about an orchestra to play the theme music? Come on! The merchandising is a gold mine.
All of this will unravel in 2023. And Martin doesn’t even have to write it. He just stands at the door with a collection box. A lovely pay off for a gifted writer an amazing imagination.
Martin says in a statement:
“The seeds of war are often planted in times of peace. Few in Westeros knew the carnage to come when highborn and smallfolk alike gathered at Harrenhal to watch the finest knights of the realm compete in a great tourney, during the Year of the False Spring. It is a tourney oft referred during HBO’s GAME OF THRONES, and in my novels, A SONG OF ICE & FIRE… and now, at last, we can tell the whole story… on the stage.
An amazing team has been assembled to tell the tale, starting with producers Simon Painter, Tim Lawson and Jonathan Sanford. Their knowledge and love of my world and characters has impressed me from the very first, and their plans for this production blew me away since the first time we met. Dominic Cooke, our director, is a former Artistic Director of London’s Royal Court Theatre, who brought Shakespeare’s dramas of the War of the Roses to television, and our playwright, Duncan Macmillan, has previously adapted George Orwell and Henrik Ibsen, among others. Working with them (back before the pandemic, when we could actually get together) has been a treat, and I am eager for our collaboration to resume. Our dream is to bring Westeros to Broadway, to the West End, to Australia… and eventually, to a stage near you. It ought to be spectacular.”
A tip of the hat to the New York Times’ Dave Itzkoff, who offered some lyrics on Twitter:
JON SNOW:
Daenerys
I’ve just met a girl named Daenerys,
I’m totally elated
I hope she’s not related
To me
Princess Diana always went her own way. Her musical is following suit.
“Diana The Musical” almost opened a year ago. The pandemic caused it to go dark before opening night. The buzz wasn’t great anyway.
Now Diana will return on December 1st for previews before an opening on the 16th.
But first there will be a TV special to edition on Netflix October 1st. This will either stoke interest or kill the show for good. Producers are betting on the former.
Diana will no doubt benefit from all the Meghan Markle controversies. You can bet on loads of articles on whether Prince Harry and his wife will come see it.
That’s all, folks.
On Sunday night “The Walking Dead” fell below 2 million viewers to an all time low.
The number was 1,938.000. That’s a substantial drop from last week’s 2.11 million. I don’t know what those Zombies are up to, but the fans don’t like it. They’re leaving in droves.
In February, the number was 2.89. The steady decline is a sad saga for a show that once commanded north of 10 million viewers in a night. “Walking Dead” was a ratings monster. Now it’s on life support.
There’s only one episode left for this season, and then a summer season during which AMC should just let the whole die quietly. By then there will be so few people watching it won’t matter anyway.
Spin offs? Extra movies? I do think Andrew Lincoln was smart to cut bait and exit when he did, rather than wait for the eulogies.
The shark jump? When Negan took out his bat and bashed heads in a few years ago. I left, and I’m sure a lot of others did, too. Negan as a main character was nothing anyone wanted. That has been proven.
By the way, Negan killed Glenn, whose portrayer got the last laugh: Steven Yeun is the star of the beautiful movie, “Minari,” and nominated for an Oscar. LOL. A very happy ending.
I feel for the Motion Picture Academy. Putting on this Oscar telecast will not be easy. Last week, the Academy sent out the below letter to nominees and publicists with provisions for this year’s show in accordance with COVID regulations. Among the restrictions: a 5 day quarantine leading up to the April 25th show if the attendees are already in Los Angeles. A 10 day quarantine is required for those traveling from another city.
Hello?
A new conference Zoom call is set for tomorrow. At that time, the whole ‘no Zooming for the show’ may be revisited since all of that quarantining seems impractical if not impossible.
But everyone wants to stay safe and still put on a good show.
Just a note to ABC and the Academy: after all the awards shows of the last year, no one is going to care about the ratings of the Oscars. An asterisk will be placed next to 2021. You get a free pass. Just put on the show.
Here’s the email that went out:
“COVID PROTOCOL PLANNING:
If nominees are traveling internationally into Los Angeles, they will be required to quarantine for 10 days upon arrival. There will be 3 COVID tests required leading up to the show. The Academy’s contracted lab will handle all testing.
“If nominees are traveling domestically or are already in Los Angeles, they will be asked to quarantine for 5 days. There will be 2 COVID tests required leading up to the show. Again, the Academy’s contracted lab will handle all testing.
“TICKETS:
The Academy will not accommodate additional ticket requests. Tickets for nominees are non-transferrable.
“ZOOM:
If Nominees are not in person, there will not be an option to Zoom into the telecast and the show will use an approved photo for the nominees when their category is announced. However, winners not in attendance will be able to Zoom into the Virtual Press Interview Room.
“STUDIO/PERSONAL REPS:
We will not be able to credential studio nor personal reps to be onsite. The Academy PR department and a small Talent Relations team will assist.”
The wait is over.
If you stayed away from “Chaos Walking” because of the pandemic, the good news is it’s coming to video on demand and all streaming services this Friday.
The release is just in the nick of time. “Chaos Walking” cost over $100 million. But it’s made just $11 million in four weeks. It’s the biggest money loser of 2021.
Directed by Doug Liman, “Chaos Walking” stars Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, two big names of this generation. The co-stars are even more impressive: David Oyelowo, Demian Bechir, Cynthia Erivo, and Mads Mikkelsen. Nick Jonas is even in it.
And yet, the film has a 22 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics didn’t like it. Neither did bloggers. And on Friday, we’ll all get the chance to see it!
Merry Clayton is back, with a sweet vengeance. After a terrible car accident in 2015, the legendary singer from the Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and from Carole King’s hit albums of the 70s, has made a new album.
“Beautiful Scars” is named for a title track written by Diane Warren. The album is produced by Lou Adler, who first signed Merry to Ode Records in 1970. She had solo albums and she sang on Ode Records’ Carole King albums memorably. Her voice on the Stones song remains a key part of their legacy and hers.
Merry was featured in the Oscar winning drama “20 Feet to Stardom” a few years ago. I was at a Grammy event with her and Darlene Love and a few others from that film in a small club in Los Angeles, and will never forget her peeling the paint off the ceiling when she sang. Utterly amazing.
“Beautiful Scars” drops on April 9th.
What year is it again? While Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is number 1, and Justin Bieber is in the top 10, the iTunes chart continues to be rife with Oldies. Oldies!
It’s comfort food for the pandemic, I guess.
On the iTunes Top 20, 8 of the entries are oldies but goodies. They include Norman Greenbaum’s unintentionally spiritual “Spirit in the Sky” from 1970 and the Cranberries’ “Zombie” from 1994. Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” a song with with 9 lives, is number 4. The late 70s hit already had a massive run on the charts last year after going viral from a fan video. “Dreams” won’t go away.
There are FOUR other Fleetwood Mac singles in the top 100. Not to mention Stevie Nicks, who wrote “Dreams” sang lead on it for the Mac. Her solo hit, “Edge of Seventeen,” is also in the top 20.
Bryan Adams’s “Summer of ’69,” a hit in 1984, is also there. Just FYI, Adams was only 9 years old in the Summer of 1969. The song is fiction. The rest of the top 100 is littered with oldies, including past hit records by Bon Jovi, U2, Chicago, Nickelback, Simple Minds, Heart, and Tina Turner.
Is this a surge of nostalgia? Or an indictment of current music? Or just a lack of current music with artists and labels holding back new music until the pandemic is over?