Okay yes, I know, enough already: but what the heck? I told you the other day that Michael Stipe had commissioned a bunch of videos for the new REM album, Collapse Into Now. The album–which is great– and is streaming now on NPR’s website–hits stores next week. Now it seems that of the 12 tracks, James Franco has directed two: for the songs “Blue” and “That Someone Is You.” Franco apparently did this during “alternate” hours on Earth’s mirror planet, Franconia. Some of the other directors on the “Collapse”project are Britain’s Sam Taylor-Wood, who directed “Nowhere Boy,” famed documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, Tom Gilroy, and Stipe’s sister, Lynda.
Mariah Carey: New Song “Save the Day” To Raise Money for Human Rights Issues
Mariah Carey‘s had a slight pr problem recently. She and other acts like Beyonce and Usher have performed in St. Barts over the last few years at New Year’s Eve parties thrown by the sons of vicious, crazy dictator Muammar Ghaddafi. At the time, Libya was not in the news. The shows were booked by a name promoter who probably was not forthcoming about the true nature of the underwriters. Now it’s become an issue in hindsight, which is sort of ridiculous.
Anyway, Mariah is not happy about what occurred and is stepping up to the plate. First, she tells me that a song she will record for her album, called “Save the Day,” will only generate funds to be donated for human rights issues. She may even set up her own foundation. She’s done this before. All the money ever made from the song “Hero” has gone to charity–millions. She’s also donated millions from DVDs and from the song “One Sweet Day,” which she recorded with Boyz II Men.
Carey has always been very philanthropic. She still runs her annual Camp Mariah through the Fresh Air Fund; she supports it financially. She’s even given her image to PETA to sell, although considering the weather today she might want it back!
Mariah’s official statement about the birthday event: “I was naïve and unaware of who I was booked to perform for. I feel horrible and embarrassed to have participated in this mess. Going forward, this is a lesson for all artists to learn from. We need to be more aware and take more responsibility regardless of who books our shows. Ultimately we as artists are to be held accountable.”
Charlie Sheen Tweets 19 Times, Gets 1 Million Followers
Charlie Sheen is fast becoming like a character from a Kurt Vonnegut novel. He is nothing, sheer dross, and people are following him. He’s L. Ron Hubbard and Kilgore Trout rolled into one. Sheen joined Twitter, sent out a scarce 19 messages–mostly pictures–and now has over 1 million people signed in is Twitter account. Sheen has nothing to say of any value, yet he mustered that much attention thanks to his four day media barrage. One person who has a lot of say, on the other hand, is his live in porn star girlfriend, Bree Olson. No, I cannot reprint or re-tweet almost anything she has addressed in her truly vulgar, porno prose. I hope Brooke Mueller‘s lawyer is printing out Olson’s bon mots, and reads them into the record during Sheen’s next custody hearing. A good influence on two year olds? Hmmmm….Maybe only in Hefner’s grotto. Anyway. Who is Charlie following on Twitter? Just 23 people including Brett Ratner, P Diddy, Sarah Silverman, Sly Stallone. Nicky Hilton, George Lopez, Piers Morgan, Alyssa Milano, Fred Durst, Minka Kelly, Howard Stern, Will Arnett, and Yankee slugger Nick Swisher. If we could just figure out what this eclectic group has in common, maybe we could unlock the key to Charlie’s madness. Oh wait: he also follows Bree, who says on Twitter that she is going home to Indiana soon, thought her computer guy was cute, and wants to be sodomized. Please.
Bieber Fever: Hundreds of Kids Post Videos for Born to Be Somebody
Hey kids: famed songwriter Diane Warren is really happy that hundreds of you have posted You Tube videos for her song “Born to Be Somebody.” Diane was beaming over the weekend showing me all the different versions–1200 to 1500–that kids have posted–boys, girls, children–from all over the place. Diane wrote the song for Justin Bieber to sing in his “Never Say Never” movie. The song has touched a nerve, and now everyone’s doing it. I’ve put four of the amateur You Tube creations in the video box below, and we’ll change them a couple of times to get some more in. They aren’t professional; this isn’t “American Idol.” But it reminds me of the old days when kids were trying to learn songs like Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game” or anything by James Taylor or Neil Young. Songs become anthems for generations, and something tells me Warren has written a timeless one. Do I hear a Grammy nomination for Best Song, 2012? Maybe! If you have more suggestions of amateur videos for this song, send them to me.
Why is the “Mad Men” Negotiation Taking So Long?
It’s March 1st, do you know when “Mad Men” is coming back? No? Neither does anyone else. As of this weekend there has been no movement in the negotiations between Lions Gate, AMC, and show creator Matthew Weiner. Over the weekend, I ran into Jon Hamm, the nominal star of the show. He says nothing’s happened. He and girlfriend (accomplished writer director) Jennifer Westfeldt just wrapped their indie film, “Friends with Kids,” and now head off to edit it. I saw Jared Harris at SoHo House one night. Like most of the “Mad Men” actors, he’s trapped. He can’t really start anything because the show could come back at any moment. Indeed, the way Weiner works, if “Mad Men” were all set to begin pre-production today, Weiner wouldn’t be ready to shoot until June 1st. At least. Maybe July 1st. We wouldn’t see new shows until September. Last time, “Mad Men” debuted on July 25th. Certainly AMC’s strength is to debut in summer, away from the new fall season on the broadcast networks. But now that hope is dashed. By procrastinating so long, they’ve pushed “Mad Men” to a late fall run at best. Get with it, AMC, Lions Gate! Wrap this up. There’s nothing Weiner could want than any other star show runner has ever gotten. This stalling is only making the companies and the network look bad, and not attractive to other TV producers.
Halle Berry Loves Women (So Do We)
So much to catch up on from Oscar weekend besides the actual Oscars. Our Leah Sydney reports that the Women in Film event, held on rain drenched Friday night at SoHo House, scared up Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jackie Weaver, Hailee Steinfeld and David O. Russell. Halle Berry was honored; producer Cathy Shulman, president of Women in Film, spoke to Leah.
“We are still dealing with the situation of that of the top 100 films annually I think now four years running we’ve only got about 7 % of women at best, working in the roles of writers, directors and producers and less in other areas. It remains a problem. Since 1998 we haven’t increased the numbers, we’ve actually decreased them.I think the best way to solve it is to train and instruct women as they’re coming into the media business as to survival skills in the business. And also to really work to educate them that this is not just show, this is show business. There is a very solid business aspect to the jobs. It’s important to understand the context of how the movies are working and how they sell, etc. “
So it’s still a Good Old Boys Network?
Cathy answered:
“I see more proliferation actually in the executive ranks of women. I wouldn’t say in the executive side that’s it’s only it is a good old boys network. What’s really shocking even with executives in high level positions within the studios, we’re not seeing an increase an increase of the hiring of women from the creative side. I would like to see a more concerted, focused effort in hiring women into jobs. Only if the women are prepared and ready and appropriate for those jobs. The way we can focus on making women ready is to teach them to the necessary skills. To work on the kind of genres that work in the business. To steer away from a tendency to work on personal and particular stories which often times don’t have a wide distribution. It’s hard. If you’re making a movie of an experience that only happens rarely-it’s harder..If it’s a four quadrant movie, a universal theme, people all over the world can relate to it.”
Halle then told the crowd, “ I love women, I love supporting them, I do whatever I can to be a part of it.” She didn’t talk to the press otherwise, but after all, she’s got a baby at home.
Elton John: Free Show in NYC for Tribeca Film Fest Opening
Elton John is coming to Tribeca. He’s going to play a free show with Leon Russell in Tribeca on April 20th to launch the Tribeca Film Festival. The concert will follow an opening night screening of Cameron Crowe‘s documentary, “The Union,” about Elton and Leon’s album collaboration of the same name. Who better to have made such a doc? As I told you when Elton and Leon played here at the Beacon last fall, Crowe was shooting his movie back then. “The Union” is an amazing album that came out after the Grammy deadline was over. But it’s my favorite record of 2010 by far. Crowe, of course, has a long association with Elton John. He covered him when we were in high school back in the 1970s, for a magazine called Rolling Stone. (It’s different than the one that comes out now.) And in Crowe’s wonderful movie, “Almost Famous,” a group of characters memorably sings along to Elton’s “Tiny Dancer,” one of the most timeless scenes in all of moviedom. That April 20th show will follow an April 14th show, by the way, where Sir Elton and guests will be performing at the Pink Ball for breast cancer research. It does sound like the 10th annual Tribeca Film Festival is going to be great if this is their opening night!
PS If you don’t have “The Union” CD, you must get it. The song “If It Wasn’t for Bad” has my favorite line of the year in it: “If it wasn’t for me you’d be happy.” That says it all!
Sony Music Gets Doug Morris July 1st: Reported Here Feb. 11th
Doug Morris will become head of Sony Music on July 1st, it was announced today. I told you this in a column on February 11th. Morris has had an unbelievably successful run at Universal Music Group. The feisty 72 year old was going to retire and had passed the baton to Lucien Grange. But Sony lacked a chief following the departure of Rolf Schmidt Holz.
Now Doug will come in and focus Columbia and Epic Records. Expect a lot of housecleaning, both with staff and artists. One house that’s in order: Clive Davis’s. Clive is 78, which means Sony will now have 150 combined years of brilliant music making to lead them. Clive’s team, with Peter Edge, can pull rabbits out of the hat. And they also have Tom Corson and Richard Palmese, two great record execs who still care about the industry.
Sony’s in a good position, too, what with “Glee” and “X Factor,” not to mention lots of veterans from Springsteen to Streisand. Morris may actually be able to figure out how to exploit the Michael Jackson catalog and all future releases. (Let him tangle with Jackson co-executor John McClain, who I believe contributed to the “Michael” album’s disappointing launch.) They also have the Number 1 album of the week with Adele’s “21.” It sold an impressive 320,000 copies.
Now comes the fun stuff: today, Sony’s RCA chief Barry Weiss leaves for Universal, in a round robin of exec chair changing. Morris could now bring LA Reid over–who knows? Stranger things have happened. Reid could revamp RCA out of its moribundity. Morris also has Simon Cowell to play with, because of “X Factor.”
PS Hopefully all these changes won’t inspire multi million dollar redecorating at the respective companies. Gentlemen, it’s the fodder of gossip columns. Spend the money on the music!
Charlie Sheen’s Kids Removed from House–Thank Goodness
Charlie Sheen‘s ex wife, Brooke Mueller, had her two small sons removed from Sheen’s home last night. For some reason, Mueller didn’t think it was reasonable for the boys, not yet two years old, to be exposed to Charlie’s porn “goddesses,” his media parade, and admitted drug abuse. Mueller, who is trying to gain her own sobriety, now has the kids under her care with her mother and a caretaker. Sheen, meanwhile, was welcomed once again onto the Today show in what can only be described as an exploitation by the once sane news program. The Today Show always prided itself on being part of NBC News, and not entertainment. But what’s going on now is shameful. Jeff Rossen sat with Sheen and his lawyer in garden chairs at the foot of Sheen’s property at 4am this morning. The resulting 14 minute interview was simply another airing of Sheen’s crazy views with no real questions and no purpose other than to score ratings. J. Fred Muggs must be pawing in his grave. Is this what we’ve really come to? The Today Show should have better judgment than this. And Sheen looks–physically–worse and worse.
Indie Spirit Awards: Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, James Franco
Hey–with all the griping about the Oscarcast, let’s not lose sight of something: James Franco won Best Actor for “127 Hours.” That’s no small achievement. Natalie Portman won the Indie Spirits and the Oscar– a rarity. When Portman won, I was over with Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Nicole clapped the loudest for Natalie–she was very pleased. The Indie Spirits were fun, but an odd affair this year for many reasons. One was the weather: frigid on the beach. Bright blue skies but windy and cold.
The show’s producer made a big mistake, too, taping the show in real time with commercial breaks. With every break there was more attrition. No one sat down. Everyone roamed around. By the end of the show, a third of the tent was empty–people left because of the weather or because they could, frankly. Next year, no commercials. And IFC has to show it live, which scares the audience into behaving.
There was a nice win for Best Screenplay for Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Beattie for “The Kids Are All Right.” Also, Nicole Holofcener‘s “Please Give,” one of my favorite movies of the year, got the Robert Altman Award. Most of the cast was there including Ann Guilbert, who once starred on “The Dick van Dyke Show” as Millie Halper. I wanted to meet her, but she left immediately after the presentation. Holofcener told me, “She’s tired.”
By the way, there was one strange moment. For fun, instead of doing “In Memoriam,” the writers tried a sketch called “Who Will Be Dead Next Year?” They chose random people from the audience, including Aron Ralston, who did almost actually die–and lost a limb. Not in good taste, really.
The main thing, though, is that the show was back on the beach, in the tent. And maybe next year the weather will be normal. PS Funny scene: Jane Lynch arrived, got her gift bag, and left immediately. She didn’t stay for the show. She told me later: “I wasn’t invited. But I do endorsements for LG, and I wanted some of the stuff in the bag.” She’s a practical girl, that Jane!