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Cate Blanchett Gets Kindness From a Stranger: Meryl Streep

Roger Friedman
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Just as Blanche DuBois famously depends on “the kindness of strangers” in “Streetcar Named Desire,” so, too, does the actress who’s playing her on stage right now, Cate Blanchett.

And she got it Friday night when no less than the Best Actress in the World, Meryl Streep, made sure to see Blanchett’s stunning performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music at the production’s second official showing. Streep arrived early accompanied by her sister-in-law, Emmy-winning soap star Maeve Kinkead (”Guiding Light”). Her tickets had been arranged by director Mike Nichols, who was also in the house with a friend. There was almost a little hiccup in the plan, though, as Meryl suddenly couldn’t find her tickets just before the show was supposed to start.

A quick check of all pockets proved fruitless. But then, there they were, in a zipper compartment in her handbag. Ladies, oy vey! with those handbags.

Anyway, the sold-out house for the three-hour Tennessee Williams play was dotted with well-known faces. Christine Baranski and actor husband Matthew Cowles were also in the house, as were “This Is It” director Kenny Ortega, who came with young “Gossip Girl” star Chace Crawford. Not bad for a 50-year-old play being performed in an outer borough!

After the many standing ovations, Blanchett entertained guests downstairs in her dressing area. She and Streep hugged, and joked about doing a vampire movie together. Blanchett says her only plans when this run is over is to go home to Australia and be with her family. The Oscar winner doesn’t have a movie lined up yet. “There’s nothing I’ve read that’s any good,” she told me. But I must say it was quite amazing to be with the two best actresses in the world today even for a couple of minutes. And Meryl, as usual, was full of genuine, gushing praise and admiration for Blanchett.

But everyone is. Blanchett’s similarly named Blanche is a tour de force, as is the direction of the play under the legendary Liv Ullmann. Streep and Kinkead each marveled at seeing the play directed by a woman. Under Ullmann’s guidance, this “Streetcar” is not about Stanley Kowalski (played with enormous strength and originality by Joel Edgerton) but about Blanche and Stella (Robin McLeavey). Plus, Mitch is even more of a linchpin as played by Tim Richards. “Streetcar” — one of the most well known plays in history — seems new and refreshed in this version. The players are all excellent, but Blanchett is simply stratospheric. It’s a shame the Sydney Theater Company production isn’t on Broadway, or won’t last longer than Dec. 20.

Exclusive: Billy Joel’s Daughter Overdosed on Traumeel

Roger Friedman
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Alexa Ray Joel, daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley, took an overdose of a mild drug called Traumeel, insiders say.

The 23-year-old singer/songwriter, who is usually perky and in good spirits, had been despondent over breaking up with a musician boyfriend. According to family insiders, Alexa never lost consciousness.

“She had trouble breathing, became concerned amd called 911,” a source says. Traumeel is a homeopathic antihistamine and a muscle relaxer. Lucky for Alexa, it’s not that strong a drug.

What’s interesting and sad about all this is that Alexa is indeed one of those “great girls,” with loads of friends and friend to many. She is truly loved not only by her parents and siblings, but by her whole circle of friends.

And while many may pour over her lyrics looking for clues, there aren’t that many to find. Alexa’s music falls into the range of pure pop. Not only does write a Brill Building-like melody with hooks, she can also compose for Broadway. Her talent is immense and still not tapped. She’s even gone the indie route, avoiding signing with a major record label.

Tonight she’s been talking to her dad by phone since if Billy Joel were to walk through the front doors of the dreaded St. Vincent’s Hospital, it would cause a press riot. But Alexa is very close to both her parents. Mom Christie Brinkley is at her side now, and is always at Alexa’s shows, cheering her on from the sidelines.

“Precious” Screenwriter: Done In By Ex-Colleagues?

Roger Friedman
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Geoffrey Fletcher was one of the few filmmakers on the National Board of Review board. He was also the only black person.

Last year, when Fletcher realized there could be a possible conflict of interest he stepped down from the NBR. His adaptation of “Precious” was debuting at Sundance and he didn’t want his colleagues at the NBR to feel troubled about decisions.

Now, Fletcher and “Precious” have been ignored by the NBR even though the movie, the screenplay, director Lee Daniels, and actress Mo’Nique‘are headed to the Academy Awards. The movie is also a rare indie boxoffice hit.

Fletcher declined to comment as he’s just received the news. But sources say it’s quite a scandal at the NBR that a movie like “Star Trek” would make their top 10 but there’s no sign of “Precious.”

Of course the National Board of Review, despite its name, is not about professional filmmakers or critics. Indeed, the actual professionals have been dropped by president Annie Schulhof over the last several years in favor of a sex therapist and Schulhof’s Park Avenue socialite friends.

Gone from the NBR just recently are Annette Insdorf of Columbia University, a respected professor and writer; as well as both Roy and Lewis Frumkes, writers and film academicians, and Reeves Lehmann, head of the School of Visual Arts. They’ve added, however, Erik Tarloff, screenwriter of the memorable “Car 54, Where Are You?” and several episodes of TV’s “Gimme a Break!”

As for “Precious”: luckily the NBR is a’ precursor of nothing. Insiders say the Oscars are months away, and that the Academy voters don’t take the NBR seriously. Basically, it’s an advertising tool so that the studios can trumpet an impressive sounding award name in ads over Christmas. By March 7th, the NBR will be a distant memory, and their snub of “Precious” just another on their long list of embarrassments.

DeNiro Skips the Killing…Sting and Trudie Go Classical…Courtney Love Gets Romantic…

Roger Friedman
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Robert DeNiro was unusually effusive last night at the Tribeca Film Institute gala. Of course, his new film, “Everybody’s Fine,” was the centerpiece. But the terse actor just decided to talk to everyone and anyone who came his way at Tavern on the Green. He grinned a lot, too, as he accepted congrats on his role as a Dad who tries to go back and find out about his kids’ lives. There were celeb guests from Police Commish Ray Kelly to “The Hurt Locker” star Anthony Mackie and DeNiro buddy Chazz Palminteri (with wife’Gianna) and his own actress-singer wife, Grace Hightower.

DeNiro was in such a good mood, that, while he was gladhanding I asked him if he was happy not to be killing anyone in this picture. “No killing, not in this one. Although it would be funny,” he said, as Chazz and director Kirk Jones joined the laugh. “We couldn’t just come in and kill people in this one. It’s a family movie. We’d have to call Marty [Scorsese] and bring him in!” DeNiro’s eyes crinkled as he laughed. And we were talkin’ to him…And it was a bittersweet night as the remaining folks from Miramax circled the room. Their days are over thanks to Disney’s dunderheaded move to mostly shutter the famed indie. A lot of talented people are gone for absolutely no good reason. Jiminy cricket!

…Downtown, Courtney Love” or her much, much slimmer avatar ‘ appeared in the smallish invited audience for Trudie Styler and Sting’s DVD release of “Twin Spirits.”’This is sort of like a live radio play, with classical music, of the famous couple reading the letters of composer Robert Schumann and his wife pianist Clara Wiek. It’s very romantic and beautifully put together from the version Sting and Trudie have done on stage’ in their spare time when they’re not saving the rainforests or performing rock concerts in stadiums. It’s all for charity, of course ‘ the Royal Opera House Education program, and last night presented by MusicUnites.

Last night, the 90-minute video was shown at WQXR’s new spectacular studio space on Varick and Charlton Streets, followed by a live interview on the classical FM station with Elliott Forrest. Courtney was in the audience and so were Donna Karan and Ali Hewson, aka Mrs. Bono.’ And while we were supposed to be focused on Sting and Trudie, Courtney did pique interest. Yes, she’s actually in the studio, finishing an album I wrote about nearly three years ago called “Nobody’s Daughter.” “You have demos,” she told me. “The mixes are amazing. And there are new songs.” Well, those original songs were very, very good. So maybe Courtney will get a release out in early 0-10…

As for “Twin Spirits,” it will make an excellent stocking stuffer, as they say. The royal rock couple are perfectly cast and incredibly tragic as the Schumanns. Plus, the music and musical performances by the classical artists is superior. Sting sang a little Schumann on the radio later, and said he sometimes felt like jumping in to sing on the DVD. He doesn’t, though ‘ the opera voices are the very profound Simon Keenlyside and Rebecca Evans. Sting will get a chance to perform soon, though: he has two nights next week at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine to play the music from his “If On A Winter’s Night.”

And the good gossip is, he may do something on stage this weekend at the Kennedy Center Honors to help induct his good friend, Bruce Springsteen. And if you don’t believe in synchronicity, one of other new inductees is… Robert DeNiro… who is also Sting’s neighbor…

James Franco Confirms Soap Stint is Performance Art

Roger Friedman
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Everyone was so worried about James Franco appearing on “General Hospital.” Remember, he told this column the same thing on Oct. 3.

Now he writes an op-ed piece today in The Wall Street Journal confirming it.

It’s an interesting piece. More importantly, there are no other young actors of his generation who’ve shown an intellectual curiosity about anything, frankly. It’s refreshing, and kind of retro. It’s also funny how the snarky blogs like to mock him. Jealousy is so ugly.

Warner Music: Back-Ended Release Schedule Never Happened

Roger Friedman
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Four times a year, publicly traded companies have conference calls with Wall Street analysts. They tell them how the company’s doing, and why it’s doing well or not.

This year, in February, May, August, and November, Edgar Bronfman Jr. had such calls with Warmer Music Group. Each time, he said that the company’s release schedule was ‘back-end loaded,’ meaning there would be a flurry of big deal product in the late fall.

At the same time, the dire quarterly report on November 24th sent WMG stock down two bucks, from its inflated $7 to $5.

Here are a couple of quotes from the transcripts of those analyst calls:

“As we had anticipated, this quarter’s declines in revenue and OIBDA reflect the timing of our release schedule, as our release schedule is back-end weighted’
As we noted last quarter, our fiscal year 2009 will be back-end weighted due to the timing of releases.”
–Edgar Bronfman, May 7th

“As our release schedule this year is weighted towards our fiscal fourth quarter, we saw moderate sequential growth in digital recorded music revenue in the third quarter.”
–Edgar Bronfman, August 6th

Either Bronfman was just improvising all year? It’s either that, or the company has a lot of releases out now that they’re hiding somewhere.

Here’s a look at the chart right now, on December 2nd. This is, presumably, the time of year’ Bronfman was alluding to in May and August when he told analysts his schedule was ‘back-end loaded.’

WMG has the ‘Twilight’ soundtrack around #11 on the charts. It’s an Atlantic release. Michael Buble is hovering around number 20. It was released a few months ago. There are two other Buble holiday albums on the charts right now, too. Josh Groban‘s Christmas album from 2008 follows, around number 26. Then there’s the Zac Brown Band, a release from earlier this year. And Trans Siberian Orchestra, which, like Zac Brown, is on Atlantic.

Jay Z‘s ‘Blueprint, Pt. 3’ on Atlantic, too, is somewhere in the 30s. It was released in September, and has had the surprise advantage of a hit single with Alicia Keys. It’s also on the Atlantic label. WMG was so eager to have Jay Z that it bought out his contract “Blueprint, Pt. 3″ at’ DefJam for $5 million.

What’s funny about this is the analysts. They get a chance at the end of that conference call to ask questions. Not one of them has a clue about what to ask. There’s a lot of financial mumbo jumbo. They ask about digital releases and video games and downloading.

Here’s what they might ask: ‘Edgar, is Warner Music a record company? Do you have hits on the radio and records that people are buying? Will you?’

The answer, of course, would be no. Well, there are some: Atlantic Records has a few hits every year. But this year even the one they should have had, Rob Thomas‘s ‘Cradlesong,’ they blew.

Otherwise, WMG spent 2009 like it’s spent the last five years: squandering time, firing people, paying severances. The execs built big houses and went to parties. The artists disappeared.

Compare Warner’s output to RCA/J/Arista. This month, Clive Davis and friends have released new music by Alicia Keys, Barry Manilow, Leona Lewis, and Rod Stewart. They launched their fall with Whitney Houston and have had several other releases like Say Anything and The Priests, too.

Over at the WMG website, things look dire. Under ‘Artists’ they’re listing the Doors, the Grateful Dead (picture with Jerry Garcia), Led Zeppelin, and Burt Bacharach. And those names are mixed with one-hit wonders Daniel Powter and James Blunt ‘‘whose one hits are now more than a year or two old. It’s a very alarming state of affairs, to say the least. But maybe WMG is back-end loaded again ‘ to 2007, or 1976.

P.S. Whatever happened to Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley?

Grammys Snub Whitney, Go Ga Ga

Roger Friedman
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The Grammy nominations are out, and they are an odd lot.

For one thing, they totally snub Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, and Rob Thomas. Grammy pet John Mayer is nowhere to be heard.

Substance is out, style ‘ or fad ‘ is in. It’s a Lady GaGa Grammys, with flashes of the trivial spread around her. Ten nominations for Beyonce? Are we kidding? And on January 1st, will anyone care about these nominees?

Whitney Houston’s lovely comeback, which could have been a Grammy story, is ignored. Entirely. How could her song, “Million Dollar Bill,” written by Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz, not make it? Mariah Carey’s “Obsessed”’ deleted. Rob Thomas’s excellent pop album,”Cradlesong” ‘ not happening.

Instead, we’ve got more Taylor Swift, and an entry from 1973: Daryl Hall and John Oates got a nomination for a live performance of “Sara Smile.” Hello? This is completely inane. They’re competing with new stuff from Bon Jovi, The Fray, MGMT, and the ostensible winner, Black Eyed Peas. Whoever pulled off that coup deserves some kind of prize. I’m sure one is coming.

My prediction: Black Eyed Peas will rule the show the way Outkast did a few years ago. “I Gotta Feeling” is this year’s “Hey Ya.” My only worry is that Outkast was never heard from again.

Basically, without real artists to support in the under 30 age group, the Grammys have disintegrated into a Tiger Beat mentality. The so called actual artists can be found in Category 15, Best Rock Solo Performance ( I love the names of the categories) ‘ with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Fogerty, Neil Young, and Prince. It’s hilarious that none of the Best Song nominations came from those albums, but instead from crappy “teams” who put together “productions.” Really.

And over in the dreaded New Artist group: Zac Brown, MGMT, Keri Hilson, Silversun Pickups, and Ting Tings. This is a cursed category. We will not ever hear of these people again. Ever.

One bright spot: a nomination for Stevie Wonder and his “All About the Love Again.” It’s a throwaway, but maybe someone read my November 2nd column. Also: two noms for unknown R&B singer Calvin Richardson, on the very small Shanachie Records.’Considering all the main nominees, Ken Ehrlich would be well served to feature this guy. He’s the real deal.

Anyway, between the MusiCares dinner for Neil Young, and Clive Davis’s dinner the following night, I suspect the Grammys are going to be a desultory affair. And with beloved talent coordinator Tisha Fein summarily dismissed a few weeks ago after three decades, many of the real artists who were relegated to minor nominations may not be persuaded to show up at all.

Pierre Cossette, we do miss you!

Oscars: “Nine” Premieres in London, It’s a Ten!

Roger Friedman
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Rob Marshall’s “Nine” opens tonight in London. The premiere should be a glamorous spectacle, with all the stars ‘ all those famous women! ‘ and Daniel Day Lewis, making a splash.

This is what also happens today: “Nine” jumps into the main Oscar competition. With “Lovely Bones” and “Invictus” not quite what everyone hoped, the Best Picture picture is getting clearer. “Nine” joins “Precious,” “Up in the Air,” “The Hurt Locker,” and “Inglourious Basterds” as the top tier competitors.

And here is what “Nine” is all about: glamour. It’s style AND substance. Every one of the famous ladies gets her big musical number, and they are each knockouts. Daniel Day Lewis actually seems Italian. The sets are gorgeous, the editing is fast and furious. It’s not “Chicago” all over again, but rather, a descendant of Bob Fosse’s “All that Jazz.”

“Nine” is also about fantasy. DDL plays film director Guido, a stand-in for Federico Fellini. He dreams of his women ‘ his wife (Marion Cotillard), lover (Penelope Cruz),’ best pal (Judi Dench), mother (Sophia Loren), and so on ‘ in these elaborate expressions of drama and theater and sex. They don’t disappoint.

With bombs going off in “The Hurt Locker,” televisions thrown at people in “Precious,” and George Clooney firing everyone in “Up in the Air,” the pleasures of “Nine” are all the more welcome this Oscar season. Cruz is luscious, like a dessert, you could eat her with a spoon. She’s a cinch for Supporting Actress nods. Cotillard is the lovely constant in the lead role of Guido’s life. Even though she has an Oscar from “La Vie En Rose,” this is her breakout role.

And then there’s Fergie. If only she sang like this all the time! What a voice, and a presence. And no one will leave a theater without humming, singing, dancing “Be Italian.” Sand may be in short supply after her dance number is seen.

By the way, you can listen to the whole score from “Nine” here.‘Press number 5 and listen to Nicole Kidman sing “Unusual Way.” It’s a hit!

“Lovely Bones” Break In A Million Pieces

Roger Friedman
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Peter Jackson’s adaptation of “The Lovely Bones” is the kind of stunning failure we don’t often get to see.

Last night Jackson brought the film and his cast to the Paris Theater for a premiere, and took his chances with an invited audience. For a few minutes, it all seemed okay. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad: the 14-year-old girl who narrates the story, played by Saoirse Ronan, was alive and well. Mark Walhberg (who is very good at creating empathy for his character) and Rachel Weisz were her parents; the latter seemed miscast. Susan Sarandon was the feisty 1970s cool grandma. “The Lovely Bones” had potential.

But then the bottom drops, the shark jumps, a cup of crazy is served, and Alice Sebold’s beautifully wrought, tightly constructed narrative is thrown out. In comes choas in the form of CGI, psychedelic computer graphics, and nightmarish hallucinations that are also stunning to behold but totally and completely irrelevant. You needn’t bring drugs to this movie; you feel as though you’ve taken them. And so “The Lovely Bones” becomes the Unwieldy Mess, a victim of its own overreaching ambitions.

What’s interesting about the novel is that you could give it to five different directors and get five different films. Oliver Stone would do the conpsiracy version, David Lynch would emphasize the creepy small town killing, David Fincher would follow the investigation, and so on. Giving the book to Peter Jackson, whose fanciful spirit made possible the epic “Lord of the Rings” series meant this is what you were going to get: heaps and heaps of Susie Salmon’s teenage fantasies broadcast from heaven. The movie splits between the reality of Susie’s murder and very mannered, brightly rendered graphics. Some of it looks like the Tele-Tubbies, and a lot of it resembles album art from the 1070s. The latter may be intentional since this was the period. Maybe all of Susie’s thoughts are expressed that way because of the time. But one would have been enough.

Into all this inconsistency comes Susan Sarandon, as Susie’s kicky grandma. It’s a standout performance because she’s the only real thing going on, and she takes charge during the family’s grief. But there’s a problem: suddenly in a movie about a psycho next door, a teen girl’s murder and a family’s disintegration, the focus swings away and the audience is laughing. It’s a different movie, with a different tone and temperament. You do feel a little uncomfortable.

I’m assured that 14-year-old girls are going to go wild for “The Lovely Bones.” Knowing that, Jackson has kept the gore to a minimum. Susie’s rape isn’t even mentioned. The murder is cleverly cut around. Stanley Tucci’s Mr. Harvey is creepy without being too creepy. The lovely bones in his safe are shot in the stylized manner of much of the movie, with dollops of music playing to make everything seem alright. It’s not.

And oh yes: are there Oscar nominations here? Perhaps, for art direction. But Paramount is smart to concentrate on Jason Reitman’s excellent, “Up in the Air.” Tucci has his good work in “Julie & Julia.” Sarandon might be the sole beneficiary of positive attention. But the advance warnings (save from the bought-off aintitcoolnews website) were spot on. This is film number eleven.

Wahlberg: Entourage Movie Will Cap Series

Roger Friedman
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wahlberg mark 200x250 Wahlberg: Entourage Movie Will Cap SeriesMark Wahlberg is a phenomenon at this point.

The former Calvin Klein underwear model was an Oscar nominee for “The Departed.” His work in every film he does is thoughtful and surprising. No one would have ever guessed that his serious demeanor would also lead him to executive produce one of TV’s — rather HBO’s — most memorable shows, “Entourage.”

At the “Lovely Bones” premiere last night in New York, Wahlberg told me that there are two seasons left of “Entourage” on TV. And then? “We’ll see, there could be more. But then, a movie.”

So “Entourage” will follow “Sex and the City” into theaters in this unusual backward progression of development. Maybe we’ll even see Vince (Adrien Grenier) make a good movie.

Right now, Wahlberg is filming a Will Ferrell comedy, “The Other Guys,” with Ferrell’s crew. “I don’t really get to do comedy,” Mark said. “We waited for just the right thing. It’s a buddy movie.” It also has cameos from Derek Jeter and Paris Hilton, so let’s brace ourselves.

While we were talking in the Oak Room at the Plaza Hotel after the movie — in a party so full that it would have welcomed Washington’s Salahi’s — Wahlberg must have greeted two dozen friends. The nice thing was, there was no nuttiness. He is the epitome of down to earth and accessible. There was no “entourage.”

“Are they friends from Boston?” I asked.

Wahlberg shook his head. “All my friends from Boston are either dead or in jail,” he replied. He’s said it before, so I asked: “They can’t still be in jail after all this time?”

Wahlberg didn’t hesitate. “The stuff they did, you don’t get out of jail.”

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