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“Star Wars” Coming to Cannes: Ron Howard’s Han Solo Movie Will Premiere on Croisette 10 Days Before Release

Roger Friedman
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“Star Wars” Coming to Cannes: Ron Howard’s Han Solo Movie Will Premiere on Croisette 10 Days Before Release

So it turns out LucasFilm and Disney must have a lot of faith in Ron Howard’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” They’re bringing it Cannes for a premiere on May 15th, ten days before the film’s release.

The “Solo” premiere should rock the Croisette considering first, that it’s “Star Wars,” and second, that the film has been the subject of so much gossip. But Kathleen Kennedy must really know she’s got a hit if they’re giving it such a big stage, and ten days out. If it were no good, you know, they’d wait til the next week and just have the premiere in L.A.

So that’s a relief, and that should quiet down the naysayers. “Solo” did a have bumpy start, with the original directors leaving and Ron Howard coming in. But this news is very heartening. Maybe they’ll even get Harrison Ford to come to Cannes!

I have a lot of confidence in Howard’s star, Alden Ehrenreich. He was terrific in the Coen Brothers’ movie, “Hail, Caesar!” and in Warren Beatty’s “Rules Don’t Apply.” There’s no reason to think he won’t make a great young Han.

Big news!

Giuliani Divorce: Who Will Get the Monogrammed Napkin Rings, the Oriental China, and the Smoking Room for 55 Pals?

Roger Friedman
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Giuliani Divorce: Who Will Get the Monogrammed Napkin Rings, the Oriental China, and the Smoking Room for 55 Pals?

Pretty much the last time Judith Nathan Giuliani let anyone into her swanky apartment with the former of Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, was in the fall of November 2003. Jill Brooke, then the editor of Avenue, got an exclusive interview and photographs. As Jill recalled to me about the apartment, in a swish building on Madison Avenue and East 66th St.: “Everything was monogrammed with their initials, down to the napkin holders. What will they do with that now?”

Now as in post-divorce as the Giulianis, whose relationship began with an affair behind the Mayor’s wife’s back, are separating for good. Unlike during Rudy’s preceding marriage, to Donna Hanover, Rudy and Judy really lived it up. She went from being a rep for a pharmaceutical company to Lady of the Manor. The pictures in Avenue, some of which survived on Getty Images, you can see here. Judy posed for pictures in her ruby-red cocktail dress and monogrammed black velvet Belgian loafers.

The Avenue story talked about Judy “in her walnut-walled dining room, amid rust and navy-blue Oriental china, monogrammed hand-stitched napkins, monogrammed silver picture frames and monogrammed silver napkin rings – half with her initials, half with Rudy’s.”

There were pretentious quotes like this one: “My mother always said a lady should speak at least two other languages,” says Judith, who’s fluent in Spanish and French.

Judy Nathan Giuliani told Brooke she bought her silver from James Robinson (established 1912), stationary from Dempsey and Carroll and plates from Scully & Scully. (These are all unfathomably expensive stores on the Upper East Side– think Bed, Bath and Waayyyyy Beyond.) Nathan also designed a masculine “smoking room” specifically for Rudy to relax in with his friends – like the 55 or so pals “who’ve been known to barrel in after a Yankees game to smoke cigars, which as you know, he loves.”

Rudy himself told Jill that he likened his marriage to Judy — who wore a tiara for what was also her third wedding — to that of Winston Churchill and his wife Clemmie: “When you read the correspondence between Churchill and Clementine, you see how she always supported everything he was doing and was very helpful. She knew exactly how to love him and he loved her.”

Well, the party’s over now. I asked Jill about the day she spent in their apartment. One thing she remembered: all the rooms were decorated to a ‘t’ except for the children’s room– Andrew and Caroline. At that point, three years after the reveal of the affair and the consequent divorce and marriage, neither child was speaking to Rudy. All these years later, those undone rooms may have come back to haunt the Giulianis.

 

Rock Hall Induction Concert in Dire Straits as Group’s Leader, Mark Knopfler, Will Be a No Show

Roger Friedman
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Rock Hall Induction Concert in Dire Straits as Group’s Leader, Mark Knopfler, Will Be a No Show

The Sultans of Swing will be without their chief at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony next week in Cleveland.

Mark Knopfler, leader of the group Dire Straits, is skipping the festivities. According to a posting by Alan Clark, a member of the group, neither Mark nor his brother Dave– who was also a Straits member– is heading to the mid west. Jann Wenner must be furious since having Mark Knopfler’s performance would have been key to the taping for HBO. Whoops!

Says Clark: There’s a lot of conjecture on forums about whether the band is performing at the Hall of Fame, and if not why not, and who in the band are going to the ceremony. Well, here it is and it’s official: Myself, Guy Fletcher and John Illsley will attend the ceremony where we’ll be be performing an unplugged version of Telegraph Road, with me on harmonium, Guy on ukulele, John on banjo, and the vocal sung NOT by Stevie Wonder, as previously reported, which would, I admit, be ridiculous. No, after much deliberation we decided the best possible replacement for Mark would be the Red Army Choir, which took some organising, as you can imagine, what with the current political climate. I hear Trump swung it for us usin his hotline to Putin.  

So they’re not even performing their biggest hit, “Sultans of Swing,” on top of that. Well, at least the Cars, and Bon Jovi, will be there, as well as the Moody Blues. Of course, with Bon Jovi there’s always the issue of Richie Sambora. And it is hoped that Denny Laine, original member of the Moodys, will join them. Nina Simone, another inductee, is, sadly, gone, as is Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

BTW So what is Mark Knopfler doing these days? I found this video he made with Tommy Emmanuel for the latter’s “Collaborations” album this past January.

Original Dreamgirls Jennifer Holliday and Sheryl Lee Ralph Reunited for Project Angel Food

Leah Sydney
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Original Dreamgirls Jennifer Holliday and Sheryl Lee Ralph Reunited for Project Angel Food

Sheryl Lee Ralph, dynamic and talented as she is, reunited after 37 years with her “Dream girl” Broadway co-star, the equally stupendous Jennifer Holliday.  Diva Jennifer recently had the Hollywood Hills in rapt adoration listening to her glorious voice at Project Angel Food’s 3rd Annual Circle of Angels Garden Party at the stunning home of Tim Robinson and Bob Cohen.  The group prepares and delivers healthy meals to feed people impacted by serious illness and has a huge trove of celeb /Hollywood VIP supporters.

Sheryl was the vivacious auctioneer and cheekily commented to the well dressed crowd, “I love your shiny sunglasses-I can see myself in them, that’s why I love you all-you are my people!”  

Sheryl reminded everyone that it was “thirty seven years since “Dreamgirls” bowed on Broadway.” That prompted Jennifer to sing her signature “ Dreamgirl” songs:  “And I Am Telling You, I’m Not Going,” and “I Am Changing,” along with a gorgeous version of “The Way We Were.”  The crowd was truly in rapturous adoration.  Jennifer’s voice remains remarkable and needs to be heard way more than it have has been lately.  Somebody in power who is really smart should hitch their wagon to her star and bring her back in the showbiz spotlight where she belongs.

 

Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem Will Open Cannes Film Festival, Bringing Needed International Glamour to Red Carpet

Roger Friedman
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Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem Will Open Cannes Film Festival, Bringing Needed International Glamour to Red Carpet

The Cannes Film Festival will get a shot of glamour this season for opening night.

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem, the hottest married couple of the international film world, will bring their new movie. “Everybody Knows.” It’s directed by Iranian Asghar Farhadi, a Cannes favorite whose last work, “The Salesman,” won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Farhadi’s film just previous to that, “A Separation,” also won an Oscar. And of course, Javier and Penelope each have Oscars.

Farhadi is Iranian, but “Everybody Knows” is mostly in Spanish with some English. It still doesn’t have an American distributor, but my guess would be that Michael Barker and Tom Bernard pick it up for Sony Pictures Classics before the Cannes opener. They’ve released films from Farhadi, Cruz and Bardem for a long time. Who better to do this one?

“Everybody Knows” will be the first Spanish film to open Cannes since Pedro Almodovar’s “Bad Education” in 2004. Almodovar, of course, is what brought Cruz and Bardem together in the first place.

Rudy Giuliani Divorcing Third Wife, Judith Nathan After 18 Years: It Started with An Affair While He Was Mayor

Roger Friedman
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Rudy Giuliani Divorcing Third Wife, Judith Nathan After 18 Years: It Started with An Affair While He Was Mayor

Oh my gosh. Rudy Giuliani is getting a divorce from third wife, Judith Nathan, according to Page Six. What a shame! It all started 18 years ago. I should know. On April 28, 2000, I was eating dinner in Elaine’s — and it was packed. Around 11:30pm some people I knew came in and said, “You should check out what’s going on across the street at Cronie’s”– a bar on the south east side of 88th and Second. “The mayor is on a date.”

Well, the Mayor– Rudy Giuliani– was married to news anchor Donna Hanover. But he’d also already had an affair with an aide, much reported over the years. That was over, so who was the Mayor dating? Plus, just the day before he announced he had prostate cancer.

I jumped up and made my way to the front door of Elaine’s. I saw a friend by the bar who I asked to come along as a witness. This was before we had phones that took pictures.

Outside on Second Avenue, two cars — a limo and an SUV– idled in front of Cronie’s. They had city license plates. So Giuliani was really in there. We entered– Cronie’s was a dimly lit bar with a restaurant off to the side. But down the main bar a couple of people sat on stools. Parallel to them were a couple of round tables, with some mayoral staff lingering. Just past the far end of the bar, there was an alcove with a curtain. And sitting a little table was the Mayor of New York. Tucked close to him was a middle aged brunette with long hair. She was not Donna Hanover.

Guiliani’s eyes met mine. I said to my friend, “If that’s not his oncologist, he’s in big trouble.”

The owner of Cronie’s suddenly appeared. “Are you one of the mayor’s groupies?” he asked. “Groupies?” I said.

“Yeah, he has groupies.”

“Does he come in here a lot?” I wondered. “Oh yeah, all the time.”

“With that woman?”

“With her, sure, sometimes with his son.”

And that was it. We headed back to Elaine’s. When I got back, Sid Zion, a legendary novelist and lawyer, said he wanted to see what was going on. I said, “The mayor’s on a date.” Sid, wearing a trench coat, grabbed his hat, a fedora, and took my arm. But by the time we got back across the street, the Mayor and his entourage were gone.

What happened next: over the weekend I checked to see who the woman was. A couple of people helped me. When I turned in my story to Foxnews.com I was told that Roger Ailes had a deal with Giuliani not to print any negative stories. I could only write about it if someone did it first. So I flipped it to the Daily News, then reported on their “scoop.” Later Joyce Purnick of the New York Times gave me some credit, which was very nice of her.

A few days later, Donna Hanover called a press conference at the foot of the driveway of Gracie Mansion. Her marriage was over. Rudy moved out. It seemed like everyone was going to get what they wanted.

And now, it’s all over. RIP Rudy-n-Judy. I’m glad I could be there when it all began.

 

Exclusive: Al Pacino Says He Studied Videos of Joe Paterno for HBO, Says Coach Was Brilliant at Football, “Hope I Got Him Right”

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Al Pacino Says He Studied Videos of Joe Paterno for HBO, Says Coach Was Brilliant at Football, “Hope I Got Him Right”

Al Pacino plays Penn State’s heralded football coach Joe Paterno in Barry Levinson’s very fine HBO film, “Paterno,” which premieres this Saturday. The movie is so sensitive on the subject of pedophilia and child abuse that on Monday night HBO feted Pacino with a small screening and no press.

But I caught up with the Oscar winner on Tuesday night at the first anniversary of Charles S. Cohen’s re-opening of the Quad Theater in Greenwich Village. The dazzling Quad is little movie palace now thanks to Cohen, a real estate magnate who owns the D&D Building here in New York and the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. He also captains a boutique film company that has one Oscar under its wing, for “The Salesman,” and a bevy of awards and citations for choosing quality films since his first release in 2008, “Frozen River.”

At the Quad celebration, Pacino — who was just the subject of a month long retrospective at the Quad — welcomed old friends like actresses Brenda Vaccaro and Lois Smith, and Peggy Siegal, as well as Oscar winning screenwriter of “Precious” Geoffrey Fletcher, actors Josh Charles, Aasif Mandvi, and Kevin Corrigan. Cindy Adams, Queen of Gossip for the NY Post, was taking notes fast and furiously for a column maybe we’ll see this week.

I asked Al about Paterno, complimenting him on the performance– but really. it’s Al Pacino, of course he nailed it. Pacino said, “Look what he’s doing” — Paterno, on the field, 409 wins– “he’s not playing around. I watched a lot of videos of him to get him right. I hope I got him right. I know a lot about it,” he added– oh yes, you may remember him in Oliver Stone’s “Any Given Sunday.”

“What’s your favorite?” Fletcher asked him.  I say “Serpico,” Pacino adds “Dog Day Afternoon, all that early stuff,” he shakes another hand. There are too many to mention.

I ask him, Did Al hear the voice over at the beginning of “Paterno” when someone calls him “The Godfather”? “I did, I did,” he said, big Pacino smile, eyes gleaming with mischief.

What’s next, I asked? “The Irishman! We finished The Irishman!” he said, still gleaming. This is Scorsese with DeNiro, Pesci, the most hotly anticipated movie of the year. And then, he’s off, back to magical Pacino land. He’s talked to everyone in the room, and now they’re all smiling, too.

 

 

Review: Shrill “Roseanne” Episode 3 Mocks ABC’s “Black and Asian Shows,” Endorses Physical Violence of Grandkids, Plus Dan May Be Dead After All

Roger Friedman
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Review: Shrill “Roseanne” Episode 3 Mocks ABC’s “Black and Asian Shows,” Endorses Physical Violence of Grandkids, Plus Dan May Be Dead After All

RATINGS UPDATE: “Roseanne” scored 15.1 million viewers last night, down about 3 million from last week’s broadcast, and 10 million from the added in viewings. More to come…

Now that we’ve come back to Earth, let’s talk about “Roseanne” episode 3 called “Roseanne Gets the Chair” in which Dan– who may actually be dead after all — steals what looks like a brand new electric staircase chair from a neighbor’s house. Hilarious, no? No.

In this episode, Dan — John Goodman, looking unwell and very squeamish about his lines — mocks ABC’s “Blackish” and “Fresh Off the Boat” with a racist swipe. I wonder if those shows are going to retaliate. “Yeah, they’re just like us,” Roseanne snidely retorts. And we’re off.

Darlene’s teenage daughter Harris is acting up, hates living with the Conners, and is rude to Roseanne. So what does grandma do? She shoves Harris’s head under the kitchen sink faucet and douses with her water. She holds her by the neck. That’ll teach her! So funny, right? It’s abuse, and cringe-worthy at the least. And oh yeah: Roseanne calls Harris a bitch.

Oscar nominee and Tony winner Laurie Metcalf as Jackie has returned to looking like an electric shock patient in this episode, jettisoning all the strides she made an as actress since she left “Roseanne” in a two minute cameo. Movie star Goodman, so beloved in quirky films, has absolutely nothing to do but spout inane crap and pretend to be Dan, who he’s playing as a ghost.

“Roseanne” is shrill, but it was always shrill. The difference now is that it’s a set up for one liners for self-righteous one liners, there’s no story, it’s just as gross as “Married with Children” used to be. Ironically, “Modern Family” follows “Roseanne” (on abc.com) and it’s the anti-thesis– smart stuff, endearing people who make mistakes and figure them out without resorting to physical violence. And it’s always genuinely funny.

PS Missing from this episode: the black grand-daughter, the cross dressing grandson, Roseanne and Dan’s son who’s married to a black woman, and any mention of the baby surrogacy.

 

 

Review: Al Pacino’s Powerful, Intelligent Performance as Joe Paterno Doesn’t Let Famed Penn State Coach Off the Hook in HBO Drama

Roger Friedman
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Review: Al Pacino’s Powerful, Intelligent Performance as Joe Paterno Doesn’t Let Famed Penn State Coach Off the Hook in HBO Drama

Saturday brings to HBO Barry Levinson’s “Paterno,” the Oscar winning director’s much anticipated snapshot of famed Penn State coach Joe Paterno at the end of his life, mired in a terrible scandal. This movie was originally going to be called “Happy Valley,” directed by Brian DePalma, with a different screenwriter and source material but also with Pacino. The latter film was canned over budget issues.

Levinson has made the economic and economical choice of making a character study with an ensemble cast. So Pacino leads a very taut group of actors who are given their moments as real life people who played a part in the unraveling of the decades of pedophilia at the hands of assistant coach Jerry Sandusky and the coverups that took place around it.

“Paterno” highlights a young local journalist, Sarah Ganim, who led the charge along with her editor, Jonathan Newhouse. But this is not “Spotlight” redux. While Riley Keough is outstanding as Ganim, and her trajectory moves the story forward, Levinson was right to keep the reporters secondary this time. He was more interested in Paterno, considered a God at Penn State for 61 years, and his downfall. Other movies in the future could tell different views of the saga. This was Levinson’s choice and it was a smart one.

There is no hoo-hahing here for Pacino, who restrains himself from chewing the scenery (he does it well) often. This Pacino will remind you of Michael Corleone at the end of “The Godfather, Part 2,” when he realizes that it’s all been for naught. Indeed, right at the beginning of this film, voice overs are heard of people discussing Paterno. Someone actually calls him “The Godfather.”

Of course, Paterno didn’t have any one killed. But it’s pretty clear from this film that he began covering up Sandusky’s miscreant behavior as early as 1976. He looked the other way, rationalized it, permitted, enabled– why? All to win — four hundred and nine wins altogether, and to build his empire. This was without regard to Sandusky’s victims, who were mortally wounded.

Pacino’s performance is intelligent and sympathetic but don’t take that the wrong way. Levinson is wrestling with the discovery by people around Paterno how this all happened– and they had little time to do it. He died quickly of cancer two months after the scandal broke. Your sympathy is for those around him, not for Paterno. But Pacino, in keeping it dialed down, makes you invest in him just as his inner circle did, to get the answers. It’s a really canny performance.

Riley Keough is sensational as Ganim, and is joined in her efforts by Peter Jacobson as Newhouse. I really Annie Parisse as Paterno’s daughter, Kathy Baker as his wife, and Greg Grunberg as Paterno’s morbidly obese and faithful son. (I hope he was wearing a fat suit.)

The whole Penn State scandal is a mini-series yet to be made. “Paterno” simply stands as a snapshot of a moment when everything went to hell fast. It’s not a documentary. It’s a narrative film and very, very good.

The Beatles Get a 50th Anniversary Release of “Yellow Submarine” This July, All Hand-Restored with 5.1 Surround Sound Soundtrack

Roger Friedman
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The Beatles Get a 50th Anniversary Release of “Yellow Submarine” This July, All Hand-Restored with 5.1 Surround Sound Soundtrack

“Yellow Submarine” is coming back and we’re all going to live in it this July 8th. The Beatles and Apple Corps have reached a deal to release a restored version of their 1968 classic to US theaters. The classic animated film has a shiny new 5.1 mix soundtrack that presumably will be released by Capitol. (This will be the second re-working of the Submarine soundtrack.)

from the press release: “Yellow Submarine was restored in 4K digital resolution by Paul Rutan Jr. and his team of specialists at Triage Motion Picture Services and Eque Inc. The film’s songs and score were remixed in 5.1 stereo surround sound at UMG’s Abbey Road Studios by music mix engineer Peter Cobbin. Due to the delicate nature of the hand-drawn original artwork, no automated software was used in the digital clean-up of the film’s restored photochemical elements. This was all done by hand, frame by frame.”

Funny– the press release mentions a few artists of the time that “Yellow Submarine” is supposed to be influenced by. But it’s all Peter Max. I think they don’t say it so he doesn’t sue them. But the whole movie is a tribute to Peter Max, whose timeless work WAS the Sixties.

Anyway, “Yellow Submarine” is wonderful. See it, bring the kids, bring the grandparents.

PS The Beatles are going to capitalize on all their 50th anniversaries since the “Sgt. Pepper” box set was such a hit. We are right now in the middle of the “Lady Madonna” 50th anniversary chart run. The Beatles then recorded “Hey Jude” on July 31 and August 1st. It was released August 26, 1968, spent 19 weeks on the charts, 9 of them at number 1.

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