Does Janet Jackson age? She looks the same as she did 20 years ago in this new video for “No Sleeep.” That’s three ‘e’s. And no verses. She must look good because she’s so rested from all that sleeep.
And a little Friday retro:
Here’s Janet Jackson’s Video for “No Sleeep” with J Cole: She’s Not Aging, But She Is Sleeping
Exclusive: Bobbi Kristina Brown Remains in Hospice After One Month
Bobbi Kristina Brown remains in hospice one month after she arrived. I’ve confirmed that she’s still alive, has not passed away yet, and has not had a funeral.
The daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown entered an Atlanta hospice one month ago. But as has been pointed out, the 22 year old is young, was not suffering from a debilitating illness. It’s taking her body a much longer time to shut down.
Anyone who’s been through this process knows how agonizing it is for the family. Photos of a white tent and hearses pulling in and out of Peachtree Hospice made tabloids draw conclusions of all kinds. But I am told the white tent was erected to give some privacy to families of other patients. Hearses, of course, are a natural occurrence at a hospice.
I am assured that when Bobbi Kristina passes an official announcement will be made right away. She will have a private and low key funeral and burial near her mother’s grave. What’s happened to her is a tragedy.
Mariah: “Shalom!” Announces Concert Date In Israel (Watch Cute Video)
Mariah Carey is playing the Rishon Lezion Amphitheater on August 18th in Tel Aviv. Here’s her cute Instagram. “Shalom!” she says. Rishon Lezion can accommodate 20,000 people, Mariah should have no trouble filling the place.
Shalom Israel! I will be coming to you on August 18 at the Rishon Lezion Amphitheater. Tickets http://t.co/sxcqHl7UAT pic.twitter.com/SmCZ86Ntsi
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) July 23, 2015
Watch Tom Cruise Interview Himself at Vienna Premiere of “Mission Impossible”
Tom Cruise– the Mission Impossible 5 Rogue Nation premiere in Vienna this evening was beautifully scripted. Cruise appears in a tuxedo with the local Austrian TV anchor. The anchor asks him one or two questions and Tom makes several long memorized speeches to promote the movie. Is he live or Memorex? If I have to hear about him hanging from the plane one more time…
Move the cursor to 52:00 and watch the whole thing unfold. If you watch the whole video, it seems he arrived in casual clothes to sign autographs, then changed into formal wear. Versatile!
Leonardo DiCaprio Raises $40 Mil, But Foundation Hasn’t Filed Itemized Report Since 2008
Big headlines: Leonardo DiCaprio’s private foundation raised $40 million for environmental causes ast night in St. Tropez. Lots of big stars were on hand, and the press is everywhere.
But LDF, as Leo calls it, hasn’t filed a public itemized report since 2008. That’s the year that DiCaprio moved his foundation under the California Community Fund, which files reports in general as a summary for all its funds.
LDF is not itemized, so there’s no way of knowing what’s happening. Transparency is zilch.
From 2000 to 2008, LDF was on its own and filed individual reports. By its last couple of years, DiCaprio was giving between $200,000 and $250,000 to mostly environmental groups. The directors of the foundation included his parents and ubiquitous Hollywood – Harvard liaison Jeffrey Sachs.
DiCaprio’s move into the CCF removed his foundation from any public scrutiny. This would be unlike Madonna, whose Ray of Light Foundation is often chronicled in this space, or Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Jolie-Pitt Foundation.
Last week, DiCaprio announced that he was donating $15 million to 30 different organizations. But there’s absolutely no way of knowing what’s really going on, other than relying on press releases. And the press does a great job of that.
There’s no question that DiCaprio is committed to investing in the environment. His commitment stretches back to 1998, the year after he made real money– a reported $100 million — from “Titanic.” But it would seem a little less sketchy to have the details, just as with most other foundations.
Uber Spending Millions To Defeat NYC Mayor’s Limitation Proposal, Plus Investors Like Ashton Kutcher
TV star Ashton Kutcher, who I like, is not telling the truth on Twitter. He’s using his millions of followers to try and influence the New York City council to prevent limitations on Uber. He’s not telling his followers that he’s a major investor in Uber.
Marcy Simon is a top exec at mega PR firm Burson Marsteller. They did and maybe still do represent Uber. Simon is using her Twitter feeds to advocate for Uber without any transparency. She’s a big player in the tech PR world, a close associate of Google’s Eric Schmidt among others.
Ken Kurson is reporting in the New York Observer that Uber is spending millions to influence New Yorkers on TV and radio to keep Uber from being limited by Mayor DeBlasio and the council. It’s a must read piece.
Anyone who lives in Manhattan knows that cab rides have turned into expensive affairs. This is largely because congestion has made traffic come to a stand still. Uber and other private car companies have increased traffic ten fold. Just get in a vehicle and try to move up Sixth Avenue. Impossible. It’s like a parking lot nearly all day.
Uber and the other private companies must be curtailed. There is just so much room on New York’s avenues. They’ve pushed it to the limit. Or over the limit.
I am amused by non New Yorkers telling us about our transportation. Since 1904 we’ve lived very well on a very functional transit system. There are good days and bad. But the subway is a modern miracle. The buses are extremely agreeable. And we have lived very well on yellow cabs. There are always cabs. No one is still waiting for a cab. Just wait. One is coming.
Uber is great in the suburbs, and cities where it’s harder to get around. But it’s almost completely unnecessary in New York City. Unless, of course, you’re on their payroll.
I don’t agree with Mayor DeBlasio on a lot of things. But this time he’s right. Time to put the brakes on.
UPDATE Adam Sandler “Pixels” Wipes Out with Critics, Scores a Zero with Major Reviewers
1:33PM WEDS: “Pixels” has 14 of 14 negative reviews including the major reviewers. Even if one or two pajama bloggers post something positive, the fate is sealed. Wipe out.
EARLIER “Pixels” is coming, but so far there are no reviews posted anywhere. Well, almost anywhere. The CGI semi animated film is being talked about on message boards as “the worst movie I’ve ever seen” by several who’ve seen it. My source from last week’s screening echoed that comment. So far there are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, even though both “Southpaw” and “Paper Towns” — the two big movies this weekend– are largely accounted for.
Sandler has mostly been in flops for the last five years. The sole exceptions are the interminable “Grown Ups” and its sequel. Otherwise, the list of disasters includes last year’s “The Cobbler” — which didn’t even post box office numbers– as well as “Blended” $46.2 million– and “Men, Women and Children” — $705K– yes thousand.
“That’s My Boy” and “Jack and Jill,” each made with a target audience of morons, were mostly DOA. To be fair the latter film squeaked out $74 million. It was likely profitable since its costs were minimal.
Sandler’s big run of $100 million movies was back in 2007-2008. Since then I guess much of his audience has been confined, restrained, or institutionalized. Maybe that’s why he’s headed to Netflix, so the homebound can see his work.
Keep refreshing as we monitor the “Pixels” reviews…
E.L. Doctorow, Great American Novelist of “Ragtime” Fame, Dies at 84
Ed Doctorow was one of the few people I was actually in awe of– a real writer, a great writer, a pure novelist whose gift is a legacy. “Ragtime,” “The Book of Daniel,” “Loon Lake,” “Billy Bathgate,” “Welcome to Hard Times.” Dead at age 84. He was a great editor first, at Dial Press, before his books took off. Condolences to his family.
Heartbreaking. Thanks, E.L. Doctorow, one of the last of the greats.
The great opening line that would introduce us to Father, Mother, Mother’s Younger Brother, Coalhouse Walker and all those wonderful characters: “In 1902 Father built a house at the crest of the Broadview Avenue hill in New Rochelle, New York.” Doctorow wove together fiction and history the right way, never erring to do justice to facts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awBmXjSgEus
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt wrote in the New York Times of Ragtime, 7/8/75: “It works so well that one devours it in a single sitting as if it were the most conventional of entertainments. And the reviewer is tempted to dispense with heavy breathing and analysis and settle down to mindless celebration of the pure fun of the thing. Of the passages in which one Harry Houdini, grown dissatisfied with being “a trickster, an illusionist, a mere magician,” sails to Europe, learns to fly a biplane and performs a few turns before the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who “gazed. . .with stupid heavy-lidded eyes” and “didn’t seem to know who Houdini was. He congratulated him on the invention of the airplane.” Or of the scene in which a J. P. Morgan and a Henry Ford get together in a mansion on New York’s West 36th Street, exchange their respective thoughts on reincarnation and “found the most secret and exclusive club in America, The Pyramid, of which they were the only members.”
Please read from 1980: https://www.nytimes.com/books/00/03/05/specials/doctorow-sign.html
Theodore Bikel, 91, Star of Stage and Screen, Remembered
I’ve reprinted Theodore Bikel’s obit from the SAG-AFTRA release today. An amazing actor who shouldn’t be forgotten. Also gone this week is George Coe, a wonderful character actor:
Los Angeles (July 21, 2015) – SAG-AFTRA mourns the loss of Theodore Bikel, president of the Actors’ Equity Association from 1973 to 1982 and of the Associated Actors and Artistes of America from 1987 to the present, who died today at 91.
SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard said, “Theo Bikel was a masterful actor whose indelible performances on stage and screen are eclipsed only by his contributions to the quality of life of his fellow performers. He was a man of the world in the highest sense, and his was a life fully lived. He used his time on this earth — nearly a century — well and unselfishly, and remained throughout his life committed to artistry, activism, inspiration and achievement.”
“Theo was a tremendous presence in the labor movement. He was a compassionate advocate who served his fellow artists for decades as a union leader fighting for social and economic justice. He was also a successful musician, actor and a consummate storyteller who lived his life fully with an unwavering regard for the profession of acting. He will be missed by us all,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White.
Born in Vienna on May 2, 1924, Bikel wore many hats in his long and generous life: award-winning actor of stage, screen and television, musician, singer (in 21 languages), songwriter, author, teacher, labor leader and humanitarian.
On Broadway, he was the original Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music. For lovers of the 1964 film My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn, Bikel was a Hungarian phonetics expert who attempts to unmask Eliza Doolittle as a fraud — and fellow Hungarian. In 1967, he first played the lead role of Tevye in the original national touring company of Fiddler on the Roof and went on to play the role in subsequent productions more than any other actor — over 2,000 performances. Television viewers saw him play comedy and drama in multiple categories of programming from the 1950s to the 2000s: classic mystery dramas Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone; westerns Wagon Train, Rawhide, Gunsmoke; crime series Columbo, LA Law, Law & Order and Murder, She Wrote; science fiction shows Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5 and a poignant serio-comic turn in two episodes of All in The Family.
Bikel’s first union involvement came with Actors’ Equity, which he joined in 1954. He was active in the Equity strike in 1960 and elected to the Equity Council in 1962. He became Equity’s first vice president in 1964, ascending to the presidency nine years later.
President Jimmy Carter appointed him to a five-year term on the National Council on the Arts in 1977. He was a vice president of The International Federation of Actors/ Fédération Internationale des Acteurs (FIA) from 1981-1991, a board member of Amnesty International, and senior vice president of the American Jewish Congress.
Bikel received numerous honors in his later years: a Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Hartford in 1992, the National Foundation for Jewish Culture Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997, and Doctor of Humane Letters from Seton Hall University in 2001. The spring of 2005 brought more accolades to Bikel: That April he received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in the Live Performance category, located at 6233 Hollywood Blvd. He was also paid tribute to in the Congressional Record on May 3 and was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles two weeks later. The AFL-CIO convention in September 2009 honored Bikel with a resolution for his accomplishments as “the epitome of a Renaissance Man. Not content with a robust and diverse résumé as a multi-hyphenate performer, Theodore Bikel also leads a life committed to social justice.”
It was an enviable career with Bikel always in demand. As he told the Jewish Daily Forward in 2013, “I was never at a loss for work, for what to do next. I never had to wait for the telephone to ring to offer me a job. It’s been a good life.”
Bikel was widowed in 2012 when his third wife, conductor and music teacher Tamara Brooks, passed away suddenly. He is survived by his wife, journalist Aimee Ginsburg, who he married in 2013, sons Robert and Daniel, and a grandson, Wolfram.
Brit Crix Say Only 6 Films Since 2000 Make Top 100 American Movies of all Time
Ah, the British film critics? What do they know? Sixty two of them chose what they think are the top 100 American films of all time. “Citizen Kane” and “The Godfather” were numbers 1 and 2. Only 6 came from thge last 14 years. Most are classics that always make the top 100 lists. Five of the six are weird choices, too, like “Mulholland Drive” and “Tree of Life.” “The Dark Knight”? Huh? “Memento” is much better. “Grey Gardens” was a documentary and I think the only one on the list. “Heavens Gate”? Unwatchable even now. And where is “Fantasia”? “Airplane”? “Hannah and Her Sisters” or “Midnight in Paris”? Plenty missing. “Reds.” “Ordinary People.” “Klute.” “All the Presidents Men.” “Serpico.” You get the idea. “Harold and Maude.” “Shampoo.” “Being There.”
And where the hell is “Unforgiven”?
from the BBC website:
The 100 greatest American films
100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)
99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)
98. Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)
97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)
96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)
91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)
88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)
87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)
85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)
84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)
83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)
82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)
80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)
79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
78. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)
75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)
74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)
72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)
71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)
70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)
69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)
68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)
67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)
65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1965)
64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)
62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
59. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)
58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)
57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989)
56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)
54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)
53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)
52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)
51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)
47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)
46. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)
44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)
43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)
42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915)
38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)
36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)
34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)
30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)
25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)
22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)
16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)
15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)
10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)