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Miley Cyrus, Elaine May Among Cast in Woody Allen’s 6 Part Amazon Series

Roger Friedman
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Miley Cyrus, Elaine May Among Cast in Woody Allen’s 6 Part Amazon Series

I told you last week that Woody Allen‘s six part Amazon series was casting for supporting players. Woody had said last summer he was “sorry” he’d agreed to do the project and wondered how he’d do it. Well, he’s done it. He starts shooting next month.

Now comes news that Woody will be in the show, as well as the great comic actress-writer-director Elaine May. But also joining her will be Miley Cyrus in her first real acting role since “Hannah Montana.” Somehow this all makes sense. Miley seems like she’s a natural Woody character.

The six half hour episodes will shoot in New York. More to come soon….

Pop Charts: Adele is Safely Back at Number 1 But Can’t Find a Hit Single to Follow “Hello”

Roger Friedman
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Pop Charts: Adele is Safely Back at Number 1 But Can’t Find a Hit Single to Follow “Hello”

Adele– even she has frustrations! Having sold 8 million copies of “25,” the biggest pop star in the world is back at number 1 on iTunes and all the charts after a couple of weeks off for David Bowie and then Panic at the Disco. Last week, Panic briefly took the top spot.

But Adele is back at number 1 on the album charts, where she should stay until next week when Charlie Puth’s debut album will challenge her. Still, Adele has her own issues. She can’t seem to find a follow up single hit to “Hello.” She’s got a few single tracks selling on iTunes including the excellent “When We Were Young.”

But so far radio hasn’t picked up that song enough to get “When We Were Young” rolling in the deep or the dough. So it lingers in the top 20 like a wounded bird. It could also be that so many people have “25” they don’t need to buy it again. What will Adele do? How will she survive? I’m leaving it to the Sony radio people. I’d like to hear “When We Were Young” on every radio station, all the time.

Meantime, the most interesting record in the top 10 right now is Alessia Cara’s “Here.” She’s a YouTube phenom from Canada, and one of her producers– Andrew Wansell– is a direct descendant of Philadelphia International (his dad is Dexter Wansell). Let’s hope she sticks to her production team and doesn’t hook up with the Swedes or any of the people churning out the same-sound songs of other pop starlets.

Exclusive: David Bowie Episode of HBO’s Jagger-Scorsese Series “Vinyl” Will Carry In Memoriam Card

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: David Bowie Episode of HBO’s Jagger-Scorsese Series “Vinyl” Will Carry In Memoriam Card

We still have three weeks before Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger’s excellent “Vinyl” series hits HBO. This is the tumultuous story of the record business in the early 70s told through the eyes of exec Richie Finestra, played exquisitely by Bobby Cannavale. Richie is loosely based on men like Neil Bogart who were fearless lone rangers among the corporate titans.

noah beanI can tell you that throughout the ten episodes that follow the two hour Scorsese opener on February 14, many real rock stars are portrayed. The late great David Bowie is one, and he appears in Episode 6. Actor Noah Bean plays Bowie, and since it’s circa 1973-74, we will see Bowie in the “Diamond Dogs” phase of his amazing career.

Sources tell me that with Bowie’s death this month, Scorsese, Jagger and Terence Winter have added a memorial card at the end of the episode to honor the great singer, actor and artist. Other rockers who will be seen during “Vinyl” include — in episode 8– John Lennon and Harry Nilsson, along with Lennon’s girlfriend, May Pang. Pang attended the HBO red carpet premiere last week at the Ziegfeld, where the paparazzi went crazy when they saw her. She’s a popular New York celebrity.

Lady Gaga’s Oscar Nominated “Til It Happens to You” Launches Campus Acapella Contest

Roger Friedman
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Lady Gaga’s Oscar Nominated “Til It Happens to You” Launches Campus Acapella Contest

We already know that Lady Gaga’s “Til it Happens to You” is the socially conscious “Glory” type hit of the year. I think it will win the Oscar for Best Song.

Now the people behind the song are launching a college campus acapella contest since “Til it Happens to You” comes from the documentary about campus rape, “The Hunting Ground.”

The movie, the It’s On Us campaign and ROK Mobile are sponsoring the contest “to amplify the voices of those fighting the crisis of sexual assault.”

“By calling on all a cappella groups at colleges, It’s On Us is engaging new allies in the arts community and empowering more young people to speak out about sexual assault,” said Kristin Avery, campaign manager for It’s On Us, in a statement.

The college groups will submit videos to be judged by the song’s main writer, Diane Warren, plus LL COOL J, Pentatonix, artist manager Trudy Green, director Catherine Hardwicke, Cynthia Germanotta (mama Gaga), music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg, and producer David Foster. The winning group will participate in a Skype masterclass with Warren, an eight-time Oscar nominee, and Foster, among other prizes.

Sundance: Casey Affleck Hit Rolls the Dice and Takes Amazon $10 Mil Bid Over Established Distributors

Roger Friedman
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Sundance: Casey Affleck Hit Rolls the Dice and Takes Amazon $10 Mil Bid Over Established Distributors

The word from Sundance is that Amazon was the accepted high bidder– a whopping $10 million– for Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea.”

Several established distributors like Fox Searchlight and Focus also bid on the praised film starring Casey Affleck. But amazon wants an Oscar and will pay for it. No one can blame playwright Lonergan for taking the big check. His last film, “Margaret,” dragged on for years in a tortuous experience with Fox Searchlight. It lost money for everyone.

But Amazon is a gamble for feature films. While they are doing very well with original TV shows like “Transparent” and “Mozart in the Jungle,” their movie marketing acumen is a question mark. They released Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq” through Roadside Attractions and, like all Roadside projects, it died. (I call them Roadkill.) “Chi-Raq” has made only $2.6 mil since December 4th. It was ignored by the Oscars. “Manchester” will also be dead if goes through “RAtt.”

Plus, there is the lesson of Netflix’s foray into feature with “Beasts of No Nation.” By going day and date in theaters and on TV sets (or computer screens), they sent the message to Oscar voters that “Beasts” wasn’t really a movie.

Already my friend Scott Feinberg, who covers awards season, tweeted that “”Manchester”‘s Oscar chance have “passed away.” Let’s hope not. Amazon just has to be savvy enough to make “Manchester” a big deal MOVIE and not something to put in the checkout basket.

Producers Guild Awards Go to “The Big Short,” “Game of Thrones,” “Amy,” “The Jinx,” John Oliver HBO Show, Seinfeld “Cars”

Roger Friedman
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Producers Guild Awards Go to “The Big Short,” “Game of Thrones,” “Amy,” “The Jinx,” John Oliver HBO Show, Seinfeld “Cars”

Upset at the PGA! “The Big Short” won Best Picture. Seems like we have chaos now in the Oscar race. “Spotlight” or “The Revenant” were supposed to win. The PGA winner usually wins the Oscar. Holy moly! Now what? No one has picked “The Big Short” to win the Oscar. Now the race til February 28 is a free for all!
Leah reports:
Michael B. Jordan came on to announce Best Picture. He announced four of the nominees, but not The Big Short. It was a mistake He opened the envelope quickly. Then he turned around to no one the audience could see and he said, “Well I lost the best, The Big Short.” The problem was that the room and the Big Short Table, which was in the back, thought Michael was just announcing it as a nominee, since he didn’t include it in the first place..So there was no reaction, silence, because the room was supposedly waiting for the winner. Then Michael said, “Hey guys, you won, Big Short.” Then the table erupted, but it was confusing and awkward…
PGA got the A list, JJ Abrams, Steven Spielberg, Jeff Skoll, F. Gary Gray, all were in a huddle. They told Gray that that Straight Outta Compton should have gotten a Best Picture from the Academy. F. Gary Gray seemed moved by it.

Other winners:

Best TV Drama Series: “Game of Thrones”

Best Documentary: “Amy”

Danny Thomas Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Comedy

Transparent (Season 1)
Producers: Jill Soloway, Andrea Sperling, Victor Hsu, Nisha Ganatra, Rick Rosenthal, Bridget Bedard

Outstanding Producer of Live Entertainment & Talk Television

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (Season 2)
Producers: Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Liz Stanton

Outstanding Producer of Competition Television

The Voice (Seasons 7 and 8)
Producers: Audrey Morrissey, Mark Burnett, John de Mol, Marc Jansen, Lee Metzger, Chad Hines, Jim Roush, Kyra Thompson, Mike Yurchuk, Amanda Zucker, Carson Daly

Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures

Inside Out
Producer: Jonas Rivera

Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television

The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (Season 1)
Producers: Marc Smerling, Andrew Jarecki, Jason Blum

Outstanding Sports Program

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel

Outstanding Children’s Program

Sesame Street

Outstanding Digital Series

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

The David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television

Fargo (Season 2)
Producers: Noah Hawley, John Cameron, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Warren Littlefield, Kim Todd

Lady Gaga Reveal at PGA: Aunt Was Raped In College, Reason Singer Devoted to Campus Rape Doc and Song

Roger Friedman
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Lady Gaga Reveal at PGA: Aunt Was Raped In College, Reason Singer Devoted to Campus Rape Doc and Song

Leah Sydney reporting…

Lady Gaga never ceases to amaze or reveal. At the Producers Guild of America Awards tonight in Hollywood she revealed why she got involved with the campus rape doc, “The Hunting Ground.” She told the crowd she wrote the song “Til it Happens to You” with Diane Warren because her aunt– her father’s older sister– was raped in college. It gets worse: the young woman suffered from Lupus, which was exacerbated by the rape. She died not long after that. Gaga said that what happened to her aunt affected her for years.

Gaga went on to perform “Til it Happens to You” to a huge ovation. The song is the “Glory” of this season.

Tonight: Which Film will Win Producers Guild Award? Oscar Usually Predicted Here

Roger Friedman
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Tonight: Which Film will Win Producers Guild Award? Oscar Usually Predicted Here

Here are the ten movies nominated for the PGA tonight. The ceremony starts soon in Hollywood. Going back at least until 2007, the PGA winner has won the Oscar for Best Picture. Last year “Birdman” won. I think “Spotlight” this year. But that damn bear and horse carcass may prevail in “Revenant.”

This year “Carol” was snubbed, which caused a scandal. Which film will win, and will that affect the Oscars? Keep refreshing– I’ll have all their winners here. Plus the documentary “The Hunting Ground” is getting the Stanley Kramer award. Lady Gaga is performing “Til it Happens to You”– her Oscar nominated song with Diane Warren, from that movie.

The Big Short

Producers: Brad Pitt & Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner

Bridge of Spies

Producers: Steven Spielberg, Marc Platt, Kristie Macosko Krieger

Brooklyn

Producers: Finola Dwyer & Amanda Posey

Ex Machina

Producers: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich

Mad Max: Fury Road

Producers: Doug Mitchell & George Miller

The Martian

Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ridley Scott, Michael Schaefer, Mark Huffam

The Revenant

Producers: Arnon Milchan, Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon

Sicario

Producers: Basil Iwanyk, Edward L. McDonnell, Molly Smith

Spotlight

Producers: Michael Sugar & Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin, Blye Pagon Faust

Straight Outta Compton

Producers: Ice Cube, Matt Alvarez, F. Gary Gray, Dr. Dre, Scott Bernstein

Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda Freestyle Rap Apology for “Hamilton” Snow Closure

Roger Friedman
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Watch Lin-Manuel Miranda Freestyle Rap Apology for “Hamilton” Snow Closure

Lin-Manuel Miranda, on point as ever:

Broadway League Cancels All Shows Today, A Half Hour Before Matinees Begin

Roger Friedman
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Broadway League Cancels All Shows Today, A Half Hour Before Matinees Begin

The Broadway League had to acquiesce to Bill deBlasio and cancel all shows today– a half hour before scheduled 2pm matinees. deBlasio only announced his decision at 1pm. There were lines outside “Hamilton” of eager people hoping to score cancellations. Someone told me that deBlasio has so far not to been a Broadway show since he became mayor. So he wouldn’t know the theatergoers come in an hour before showtime. I can only imagine what’s going on.

Here’s a pic of the Hamilton fans waiting:

hamilton fansAnd here’s the statement from the Broadway league”

 

 

 

As a result of the ban on travel in New York and suspension of public transportation by government authorities and additional safety precautions implemented due to severe weather, all Broadway matinee and evening performances on Saturday, January 23rd, will be cancelled.

Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League, stated, “Now that the snowstorm has arrived, I’d like to reiterate that the safety and security of theatregoers and employees is everyone’s primary concern. As a result of the ban on travel in New York and the suspension of public transportation by government authorities and other safety precautions implemented on behalf of the weather, matinee and evening performances will be cancelled today, January 23rd. We expect normal operations to resume for tomorrow’s Sunday matinees.”

Additional information will be posted here as it becomes available. For information about refunds and exchanges, theatregoers should contact their point-of-purchase.

P.S. The “Hamilton” crew isn’t rushing home, Mayor.

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