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Movies: Great Unheralded Performances of Oscar Season — Julianne Moore, Frank Langella, Etc.

Roger Friedman
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Movies: Great Unheralded Performances of Oscar Season — Julianne Moore, Frank Langella, Etc.

If you’re going to the movies this weekend, here are some people to look out for.

Barbara Hershey–plays Natalie Portman‘s maybe crazy, maybe crazy as a fox mother in “Black Swan” vividly. Hershey should have won an Oscar years ago for her work in “Portrait of a Lady.” She’s one of our finest actresses, and never talked about enough.

Dustin Hoffman–plays Paul Giamatti‘s father in “Barney’s Version.” This is an Oscar worthy performance, and Academy voters should note it. Hoffman, like Mary Tyler Moore, can turn the world on with that sly smile. Bravo.

Jennifer Ehle–is Geoffrey Rush’s wife in “The King’s Speech.” Ehle is the daughter of famed actress Rosemary Harris, and a star herself in London on stage. As Mrs. Lionel Logue, she nearly steals her scenes from players Rush, Colin Firth, and Helena Bonham Carter when she discovers the King and Queen of England in her kitchen.

Julianne Moore–you can rent, download, upload, whatever “The Kids Are All Right” now. Moore is being pushed with co-star Annette Bening for Best Actress. They should each be nominated. For all of Bening’s character’s serious business, it’s Moore–playing with Mark Ruffalo–who shows comic genius and brings extra radiance to the fine film.

Frank Langella–two movies, and nowhere to slot this former Oscar nominee in this year’s races. Langella was absolutely brilliant in “Wall Street 2.” Now watch him as Seymour Durst head of a powerful New York real estate family in Andrew Jarecki’s surprisingly effective “All Good Things.”

National Board Not a Great Oscar Predictor–7 Times Right out of 20

Roger Friedman
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National Board Not a Great Oscar Predictor–7 Times Right out of 20

The National Board of Review is not a great indicator of the Academy Award.

The NBR has chosen the Best Picture only 7 times in the last 20 years. They’ve only picked it three times in the last decade.

What the NBR does do is build up false hopes. They were the ones who got the “Up in the Air” crowd riled up. They were very disappointed later.

2010     The Social Network
2009     Up in the Air
2008     Slumdog Millionaire- won the Oscar
2007     No Country for Old Men – won the Oscar
2006     Letters from Iwo Jima
2005     Good Night, And Good Luck
2004     Finding Neverland
2003     Mystic River – won the Oscar corrected: lost to “Lord of the Rings”
2002     The Hours
2001     Moulin Rouge
2000     Quills
1999     American Beauty – won the Oscar
1998     Gods and Monsters
1997     L.A. Confidential
1996     Shine
1995     Sense & Sensibility
1994     Pulp Fiction  (tie) Forrest Gump – won the Oscar
1993     Schindler’s List – won the Oscar
1992     Howards End
1991     The Silence of the Lambs – won the Oscar

‘Social Network’ Wins National Board (of Fan-Reviewers) Award; Clint Eastwood Gets Annual Prize

Roger Friedman
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‘Social Network’ Wins National Board (of Fan-Reviewers) Award; Clint Eastwood Gets Annual Prize

The bogus National Board of Review voted Aaron Sorkin‘s “The Social Network” Best Film of the year.

The NBR– a group of fans who pay $600 a year to belong and see films, and $600 a ticket for the annual gala–gave “Social Network” also Best Actor, Best Director, Best Screenplay.

Not to go too off course, they included several poorly reviewed or just bad movies in their top 10, to satisfy the studios and their own personal needs. Included on that list were Sofia Coppola’s dreadful “Somewhere,” and Clint Eastwood‘s disappointing “Hereafter.” They even gave Coppola a special award for Filmmaking Achievement– Sofia Coppola for writing, directing, and producing “Somewhere.” This is beyond laughable.

Eastwood’s archivist, Jeanine Basinger, is on the NBR Board. Much as we love Clint, too, it’s a little hard to believe that no year passes without him getting something from the NBR.

According to the group’s federal tax filing, students at Wesleyan University, where Basinger teaches and the Eastwood archives kept, got $11,ooo in student grants last year.

The NBR gave nothing at all to some of the best reviewed films of the year: “Blue Valentine,” “127 Hours,” “Black Swan,” or “The Kids Are All Right.” They also chose for Best Actress Lesley Manville, a British actress from a very film, “Another Year.” They skipped over Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Natalie Portman, and Nicole Kidman.

They named “Youth in Revolt” one of the best independent movies of the year. Hah! I can’t stop laughing. This was over all these  other aforementioned titles.

The NBR awards are rarely an indicator of anything, and certainly not the Academy Awards. They also will have a lot of trouble getting press this year. Their awards banquet is the same night “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark” officially opens on Broadway.

Exclusive: Ronni Chasen–Her Brother Thinks “It Was Road Rage”

Roger Friedman
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Exclusive: Ronni Chasen–Her Brother Thinks “It Was Road Rage”

Ronni Chasen‘s brother, screenwriter Larry Cohen, says he thinks his publicist sister’s death was due to “road rage.”

Cohen, whom I spoke with this afternoon, is awaiting word like everyone else from the police about who killed his sister on November 16th and why. Cohen is grieving; his voice on the phone can only be described as distant.

Cohen  told me, “I’m sure it was road rage. I’m sure it was some kind of random thing.”

When I mentioned to him that most reports indicate a personal motivation for the murder, he said he disagreed. “Everything I’ve read in the paper is wrong. Everything the New York Post wrote about Ronni was wrong: the difference in our ages, when she changed her name, everything.”

Cohen brought up mistakes in the papers, and then I asked about the rumors of a family member having gambling debts. He insisted, “I don’t play poker. I don’t gamble. My two daughters don’t gamble. Someone writes something on the internet and it’s everywhere, whether it’s true or not.”

So we’re clearing this up for Larry Cohen and hope, like him, that answers are forthcoming and satisfying.

PS Larry Cohen did see his sister quite a few times, he says, before she died. They ran into each other at Wolfgang’s Steak House in Beverly Hills the day before she died. “We also were at the premiere of Black Swan together,” he said, a few days earlier. It’s not much, but it’s something to hold on to.

P Diddy Goes Sarah Palin’s Way, Becomes Word Maker with “Repercaution”

Roger Friedman
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P Diddy Goes Sarah Palin’s Way, Becomes Word Maker with “Repercaution”

First Sarah Palin invented “refudiate” out of repudiate and refute.

Now Sean P Diddy Combs has invented “repercaution” out of repercussion and caution.

Isn’t it great that our finest intellectuals are working on changing the language?

“Repercaution” is a song on Diddy’s new album, “Last Train to Paris.” You can find some of the tracks streaming on Vogue.com. Why a fashion website? Because Combs is about fashion, not music. The new album actually features Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley and Anna Wintour, designers like Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Zack Posen, and Isaac Mizrahi doing spoken word bits.

Can you imagine this? Anna Wintour reciting: “I’m Anna Wintour, and you’re listening to ‘Last Train to Paris.'” Anna Wintour, she’s in da house!

Other song titles include “Ass on the Floor.”

The album is dripping with pretentiousness; tacky is not a quality Combs avoids.”What would you do if I was the perfect man?” Combs asks a girl between tracks. You know, Saltines are good for nausea.

On other hand, if you can skip through the bs, there are some nice R&B songs here, well sung by various guests, and no doubt sampled from everything. Combs’s singing, well, is not quite in fashion yet.

You know, if only Stevie Wonder had used bits from Pierre Cardin, John Weitz and Bill Blass — and Diana Vreeland and Alexander Lieberman–on “Songs in the Key of Life.” He would have had some career!

Grammy Awards Snubs: Alicia Keys, “Hey Soul Sister,” R&B

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Awards Snubs: Alicia Keys, “Hey Soul Sister,” R&B

Who can explain the wacky Grammy Awards and their weird nominations?

Last night, the announcement came on national TV. Justin Bieber and other prefab product dominated the screen. So weird, so like the Grammys of the past.

The biggest snub: Alicia Keys. While she and Jay Z got a Record of the Year (a single track) nomination for “Empire State of Mind,” the catchiest song of 2009 and 2010 missed Best Song. And the album from which it came was ignored altogether–“The Element of Freedom.” Where was Keys’s great single, “Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart”?

Keys, who’s probably the best new artist of the last decade, hasn’t gotten much love from the Grammys in recent efforts. Keys’ absence from Best Album means the category is all white, there’s no R&B, just people mimicking it like Eminem and Lady GaGa.

The other record of 2010 that got almost nothing was Train’s “Hey Soul Sister.” This had to have been one of the most played songs on the radio this year, and a good one. It has one nomination, and for a “live” version, not the studio record. Go figure.

The big winners in the nomination game: Eminem, Katy Perry, Cee Lo, Lady Antebellum, and the less Lady like, Lady GaGa.

Michael Jackson was nominated for his vocal on “This Is It,” a song co-written with Paul Anka and given a lackluster production last year. Still, it was nice.

Luckily, even though his machine tried to orchestrate something, the annoying Bieber was limited to just two nominations: Best New Artist, and Best Pop Album. If he wins either, it will be an embarrassment. But he’ll no doubt be all over the Grammy telecast promoting his concert film. It’s going to be released on the Friday before the Grammys. One can only hope he won’t be chosen to sing for Barbra Streisand at the MusiCares dinner.

Ronni Chasen Murder Case: New Shocking Developments

Roger Friedman
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Ronni Chasen Murder Case: New Shocking Developments

There have been a lot of new, shocking developments in the murder case of beloved Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen.

Last night in Los Angeles, a man whom the police considered a suspect in the murder, killed himself when he was confronted at his apartment.

The suspect, according to various reports, was returning home to the dingy Harvey Apartments, a building right out of a Raymond Chandler detective novel, when the cops found him. Without discussion, he shot himself in the head.

Some reports say the police had been casing the apartment house all day, waiting for a man the LA Times has ID’d only as “Harold.” http://tinyurl.com/26d5j24

So what does it mean? Was he an actual ‘hit man’? Most hit men don’t usually kill themselves. And who would have hired someone to kill Ronni Chasen?

This news comes on the heels of other revelations: that whoever did shoot Chasen five times used hollow point bullets, the mark of an assassin. What everyone now knows is that the police do not consider this a random murder.

Last night’s event took place in Los Angeles; the murder was in Beverly Hills. These are two different police departments. As noted everywhere, they famously do not get along or cooperate much with each other. Fifteen years ago, when I covered the OJ Simpson murders for New York magazine, I remember the frustration of dealing with all these different police departments that hadn’t shared information–or actually ignored it. This was before the internet existed. Maybe in this “modern” era, the police can actually all work together to solve this terrible crime.

Kirsten Dunst: “I Feel the Pressure of Making On the Road”

Roger Friedman
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Kirsten Dunst: “I Feel the Pressure of Making On the Road”

Kirsten Dunst–a late entry in the Oscar race  in Andrew Jarecki‘s “All Good Things”–is shooting Jack Kerouac‘s classic novel, “On the Road” right now. She plays Mary Lou Camille, one of the female leads in the Walter Salles production. (Marylou is played by Kristen Stewart.)

“Believe me, I feel the pressure,” she told me last night at the “ATG” premiere. “I know how big it is. Every time I’ve been on the set, I’ve thought, ‘This is On the Road.'”

Jareck–of Moviefone fame–threw a lavish premiere at the very hip Buddakan following the screening with Candice Bergen, Nora Ephron and Nick Pileggi, Bob Balaban and Lynn Grossman, famed singer Kate Taylor (James’s sister), “Knots Landing” star Michele Lee, ABC’s Lynn Sherr, Griffin Dunne, and Parker Posey all captivated and caught up in the “Cold Case” nature of the mystery.

In the film, Dunst plays Kathie, Ryan Gosling is “David” or Robert; and Lily Rabe is Susan. Frank Langella is sublime as always as the Durst patriarch, Seymour. They are outstanding performances. And while Gosling goes for Best Actor in “Blue Valentine,” Dunst has a square shot for Best Supporting Actress as Katie/Kathie.

You think you know Kirsten Dunst. But she’s only 28. “I’m at a funny age,” she told me last night. “There aren’t so many great parts. Believe me, I’m looking.” She’s being choosy. Her portrayal of Katie will knock her up several pegs. She’s a serious, dramatic actress who can carry a film.

“ATG” is true crime murder mystery changes the names of the real people, but is very much based on the 1982 disappearance–still unsolved– of Kathie Durst. the young wife of New York real estate heir Robert Durst. He’s from the wealthy, dynastic Durst family, here with name changed to Marks.

Imagine that in 28 years, no one has ever figured out what happened to Kathie Durst. It’s been surmised that Robert, her crazy husband, killed her. Jarecki’s very taut thriller traces the couple’s marriage, the disappearance, and a 2001 trial for another crime Durst was accused of: dismembering a friend. He cut the guy up, but a brilliant Texas jury acquitted him. He served four years in jail for miscellaneous crimes. But Durst never stood trial for Kathie’s murder or the murder of his female best friend, Susan Berman. He remains the only suspect in the latter.

Durst, according to the New York Times, likes the movie. He’s also living on a $65 million settlement from his family. Crime pays! The Durst Organization has threatened to sue the filmmakers for maligning them. Kathie Durst’s brother told me: “We pray for Robert every day to do the right thing. We just want to know what happened to Kathie.”

Tarantino Dirty Sexy Friars Roast: Travolta, Uma Object of Comics’ Poison Darts

Roger Friedman
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Tarantino Dirty Sexy Friars Roast: Travolta, Uma Object of Comics’ Poison Darts

Whoops! Did Uma Thurman have any idea what she was in for when she agreed to sit on the dais next to Quentin Tarantino at his Friars Club Roast?

The Oscar nominated beauty wound up getting just about as roasted as her favorite director yesterday at the annual extremely bawdy and coarse luncheon fest.

The audience: 2200 guests at the New York Hilton who paid to contribute to the Friars’ myriad charities. Among them: Howard Stern and his wife Beth, Tarantino producer Lawrence Bender, actress LaTanya Richardson (aka Mrs. Samuel L. Jackson) and dozens of New York notables.

On the dais with Quentin and Uma: emcee Samuel L. Jackson, plus special guest Jerry Lewis, Harvey Weinstein, comic Jeffrey Ross, Brett Ratner, Michael Madsen, Patricia Arquette, Danny Aiello, Robert Wuhl, Richard Belzer, Steve Buscemi, Rob Schneider, Sarah Silverman, Harvey Keitel, Whitney Cummings, Rosario Dawson, Kathy Griffin, Dick Cavett, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Simone, and Eli Roth.

Plus there were the Friars comic legends, like Freddie Roman, Stewie Stone, and the “closer,” the amazing Pat Cooper. Cooper came on at the end of nearly three hours and exclaimed, loudly, to Tarantino: “I don’t know you, I’ve never seen your movies, and who the f— cares?” He’s 82, nearly deaf, and absolutely hilarious.

One of the best lines– Stewie Stone, commenting on Cher‘s faux retirements: “When the world comes to an end, all we’ll have is cockroaches and Cher.”

Remember, Eli Roth, who told us the night before that his speech would be a “career-ender”? Almost! Roth was brutal as the kickoff speaker, but everyone who followed went right into the gutter with him. It’s a beautiful thing, the Friars Roast: dirty, politically incorrect, racist, misogynist, ugly, unprintable.

Tarantino star John Travolta, absent, was the butt of many extremely unprintable gay jokes.

Thurman endured her ribbing with incredible grace. At the end of her own speech, which was very funny, she took off her designer shoes, poured wine into them, and she and Tarantino drank from them. But she had to listen to many zetzes about her marriage to Ethan Hawke, her current billionaire boyfriend Arky Busson, and an unfavorable dissection of the movies she’s starred in.

Tarantino had to sit through long tirades about his less successful films like “Grindhouse’ and “Four Rooms.”

May I say: Jerry Lewis, 85 years young, still gives as good as he gets, was completely abashed by his two standing ovations, rose up from his seat after almost three hours and managed speak eloquently and was still hilarious.

“Bloody Andrew Jackson” Next Broadway Show Set to Close

Roger Friedman
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“Bloody Andrew Jackson” Next Broadway Show Set to Close

We can add “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” to the list of Broadway shows posting closing notices.

Last night the cast of the clever musical was told that the show — which began off Broadway and maybe should have stayed there–will have its last performance on January 2nd.

“Bloody” joins a long list of shows folding up their tents, from “Promises, Promises” and “A Little Night Music” to “The Scottsboro Boys.” “Elf,” “Elling,” “Fela!”, “In the Heights,” “Next to Normal,” and “The Pee Wee Herman Show.”

“Bloody” will have a legacy, though. It made a star out of Benjamin Walker, also the fiance of actress Mamie Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep. Walker was supposed to be in the new “X Men” movie but chose instead to continue with the musical. Now I’m told he’s being courted for a half dozen new movies. I do hope “Andrew Jackson” is filmed for posterity. It’s a highly ambitious, innovative show.

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