Vogue magazine has pictures from Julie Taymor’s $55 million Broadway extravaganza, “Spider Man: Turn off the Dark.”
Also the Vogue article has two song titles from U2 for the show: “Boy Falls from the Sky” and “Rise ‘Bove.”
The pictures are cool: this is not an old fashioned “Spider Man” by any means. See the rest at vogue.com
http://www.showbiz411.com/tag/rose-hemingway
Big announcement today: Rose Hemingway will play Rosemary in the “How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.” This is the musical revival starring Daniel Radcliffe, better known to all of us as Harry Potter. I told you this, though, on April 26th. When I met Rose last spring her last name was Sezniak, but she was planning on a summer wedding to a young man who is not related to Ernest Hemingway. I just noticed that Broadway World.com picked up that scoop four days later without bothering to credit this column. I guess they were trying to succeed in business without really trying…
Anyway, the good news is that “How to Succeed” has announced the rest of its cast, including the great Tammy Blanchard and John Laroquette…
The Times reported the Rose Hemingway story today, too, not noticing the above link in its research. But that’s ok. On Friday, the Times “reported” that Paul Simon was moving his entire catalog from Warner Music back to Sony. Uh huh. I reported that on June 1st. If the Times writer had done a little more checking he’d know the new Paul Simon album is titled “So Beautiful or So What.” They’d have known that if they’d read this column on November 1st. Simon announced the title in the previous week’s New York Times Book Review.
As Michael Jackson‘s new single, “Hold My Hand,” goes “live” tonight (www.michaeljackson.com) , I can tell you a bit more about his new album.
There had been some concern that no outtakes existed of the tracks Jackson recorded with Eddie Cascio. Michael’s nephews have gone into overdrive trying to discredit the tracks. They’ve claimed it’s not their uncle’s voice on the recordings.
But now sources tell me that there were “work tapes” made during the Cascio sessions. These aren’t outtakes of the songs, but tapes running in the studio while Michael discussed what was going on with Eddie Cascio and other members of the Cascio family. Jackson’s own kids even make cameo appearances on the tapes. At some point, the work tapes will be released, although it’s unclear by whom. The main thing is, there’s plenty of evidence of Michael Jackson working with Eddie Cascio.
Still, it’s nice to know that the tapes prove once and for all what was going on in the Cascios’ home studio in the summer of 2007. It’s truly, without a doubt, Michael Jackson on the recordings.
There are three Cascio tracks on the new album. “Breaking News,” of course, has already been heard. Last Friday, “Keep Your Head Up” was leaked to the internet. Some people heard it, but Sony’s legal team moved quickly to have it removed. It’s a great record. The third Cascio track, “Monster,” with 50 Cent, remains a mystery, although I’ve heard good things about it.
The Patriots were so far ahead of the Steelers Sunday that I was able to switch over to ABC a couple of times.
Guess what? Both “Desperate Housewives” and “Brothers & Sisters” are still on the air. Who knew?
“DH” is simply awful and interminable. Granted, it was never very good. I watched a bit of the 2005 spring season when I was stuck in Santa Maria, California covering Michael Jackson‘s trial. Back then, it was a novelty. But the creators blew the big mystery of why the narrating character, Mary Alice, killed herself. It was incredibly convoluted. They killed off their best male character, Rex, played by Steven Culp. You knew they had no idea what they were doing.
I did watch when Dana Delany and Kyle Maclachlan were on; she was terrific. But the rest of it is nonsensical. Granted, I wandered in last night without a playbook. But nothing much has happened, silliness reigns. Felicity Huffman, an Oscar nominee, has been given drivel. Last night Teri Hatcher, a beautiful woman, was concerned about a baby crying. Nicollette Sheridan is gone. Bree is sleeping with David from “Beverly Hills 90210.” Yikes. Cancel this thing. Let it be done.
“Brothers & Sisters” started out as a pretty good soap opera about a wealthy family with a business and a lot of secrets. It is also, now, drivel. Or more drivelish. Sally Field can do no wrong, so she makes everything seem all right. You can’t touch Rachel Griffiths, and Matthew Rhys is very talented. But last night’s show, like the week before, was not about the business. Holly (Patricia Wettig) is AWOL. So was Ron Rifkin. With both of these series, the writing is very limited. They’ve never found the groove of “Knots Landing,” the supreme nighttime soap. They have no overarching plot, or story. And by now, who cares? And, more importantly, the Patriots are as annoying as the Red Sox.
Oh Friday night at SL Nightclub, a mirrored bunker under Abe & Arthur’s shiny, glamorous restaurant. This used to be Lotus nightclub. It’s very hip on West 14th St.
Where else would you find Quincy Jones on a Friday night, getting a little salute for his new album, “Soul Bossa Nostra”? He’s 77, man, and he’s younger, cooler and more with it than just about anyone.
John Legend was already seated beside Q when we arrived, and there were about twenty young females jockeying for position–to be near Q. I asked him last winter what his age cut off for dating was, and the legendary musician and man about town replied: “I’m 77, and the two numbers cannot add up to more than 100.”
Amen.
Suddenly, Grace Hightower and her husband, Robert DeNiro, come in through a side door. Hightower, who is lovely and has a killer voice, hightails it over to Q. DeNiro hangs back, orders a martini with extra vermouth and lemon rind from a waiter. “Lemon rind,” DeNiro reminds him. The guy looks like he’s going to have a brain hemorrhage trying to remember all the particulars of this drink. When he returns with it, he asks DeNiro if it’s right. The actor takes a sip, doesn’t look so happy. “It’s all right,” he says. He winds up leaving half of it behind.
More fun: Clive Davis arrives, also through the side door, with Nikki Haskell and friends. Clive is Q’s age, it’s 10pm, and he’s just come from dinner at Cipriani. The two take pictures together. They are the last of the real music men. Right now Clive has Rod Stewart, Santana, and Jamie Foxx on the charts. Quincy has Mary J Blige, Jennifer Hudson, and Akon on his album. These men are dangerous.
Now come the second wave: Anthony Mackie, who’s in the “24 Hour Plays” tonight, was the award winning co-star of “Half 
Nelson” and “The Hurt Locker” arrives with indefatigable manager Jason Spire. Mackie’s classically trained, Denzel 2.0. Quincy hugs him. Mackie tells us about the bar he’s opening in Crown Heights, Brooklyn this winter called No Bar. He’s building it himself. No kidding. Even the tables. He shows us pictures. Gorgeous.
Gayle King comes by, looking hot, discussing today’s (Monday’s) “Color Purple” reunion on Oprah with Quincy, who did the music way back in 1985. Says Gayle of her recent camping trip with Oprah: “I will never do that again.” I tell her: tents is a homonym for tense. Don’t forget that.
More from Q later this week. In the meantime, he’s got the album and a beautiful coffee table book out all about his music called “Q on Producing.” You can get it on amazon,’natch.
All pictures c2010 Ann Lawlor for Showbiz411
I told you the other day that Barbra Streisand sings “The Way We Were” on Tuesday’s Oprah show.
But here’s the big surprise: Robert Redford makes his first ever appearance on Oprah’s show as well.
Talk about a home run! Oprah has really been hitting them out of the park lately. Between the Jackson segment and this Monday’s “Color Purple” reunion, Oprah’s sweeps numbers are going to be amazing.
I don’t know why Redford has never been on “Oprah” before. It’s a great forum for his environmental issues.
A spy from the Chicago set reports: “There was gorgeous footage from the film as Miss S performed and after she finished the song, a teary eyed Oprah came from the front row and went to hug Barbra and lo and behold, the man who has never done Oprah’s show and has NEVER done an interview with his one-time co-star Streisand, Robert Redford came out onto the stage to a rousing applause and standing ovation. He gave Oprah a kiss and gave Barbra a bigger kiss. Talk about memorable television moments, this show will top the history books!”
Redford sat and talked with Oprah and Barbra about the famous 1973 classic which was directed by the late and very great Sydney Pollack. Among the films Redford and Pollack also made were “Out of Africa” and “The Electric Horseman.”
PS Who wrote “The Way We Were?” Arthur Laurents, now 92, and still staging “West Side Story” and “Gypsy” on Broadway in recent years. His uncredited polishers: Francis Ford Coppola, the great screen doctor David Rayfiel (who worked with Pollack on everything he touched), and the late, also great Dalton Trumbo.
And the funny thing is, I see Oprah’s bff Gayle King all the time, and she never tells me a word about this stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7ohTZm6RaA
So many Oscar blogs, and everyone has their own axe to grind!
Here’s where things stand now among films that have been seen, for Best Actor and Best Actress.
Best Actor:
Colin Firth (“The King’s Speech”), James Franco (“127 Hours”), Ryan Gosling (“Blue Valentine”), Robert Duvall (“Get Low”), Mark Wahlberg (“The Fighter”), Jesse Eisenberg (“The Social Network”), Leonardo DiCaprio (“Shutter Island”– or — “Inception”), Michael Douglas (“Solitary Man”), Javier Bardem (“Biutiful”), Kevin Spacey (“Casino Jack”)
Best Actress:
Annette Bening (“The Kids Are Alright”), Nicole Kidman (“Rabbit Hole”), Natalie Portman (“Black Swan”), Julianne Moore (“The Kids Are Alright”), Michelle Williams (“Blue Valentine”), Patricia Clarkson (“Cairo Time”), Hilary Swank (“Conviction”), Jennifer Lawrence (“Winter’s Bone”), Sally Hawkins (“Made in Dagenham”), Halle Berry (“Frankie and Alice”)
More names on Monday. And this list doesn’t reflect the still unseen Coen brothers remake of “True Grit,” or James L. Brooks’s “How Do You Know,” Andrew Jarecki’s “All Good Things.”
Dear TMZ:
You’re so good at following celebrities around with little cameras. Go back to what you do best.
But when it comes to the Jackson family and Howard Mann: no no no. It was only last week that you got snookered into thinking a Michael Jackson track you posted was “new.” It was 32 years old!
Now you’re telling the story of Katherine Jackson’s “Secret contract.” Unfortunately, that story has already been written–by us, last June. Here’s the link:
http://tinyurl.com/23gjxy4
Here’s another scoop for you, TMZ. There’s going to be a really big Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center this year. Get right on it!
Mariah Carey was very clever to record a new holiday album. Her “Merry Christmas II You” debuted this week at #1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop album chart. It’s the first time a holiday album has done that. “MCIIYou” also came in at #4 on the pop chart. The timing here was perfect. The album will be top of the pops for the next several weeks. By the way, it also outsold its predecessor in its first week. Sixteen–that’s right, 16– years ago, Mariah’s first Christmas album entered the charts at #44 and sold 44,960 copies. The new one did over 55,000 copies. Ho ho ho…
Rosie O’Donnell’s wonderful arts charity is officially changing its name. I told you this was going to happen back in September. Rosie’s Broadway Kids is now Rosie’s Theater Kids. This means her For All Kids foundation is dissolving. Now all of the focus is on the Theater Kids foundation. The Theater Kids project is huge and very successful, taking place at the Maravel Center in the West 40s. Kids come from all over the city to participate in theater programs. A great group, worthy of end of the year donations. www.rosiesbroadwaykids.org is still the web address.
A friend writes from Philadelphia: “Was at a cool fundraiser last night in Philadelphia for Eddie’s House (www.eddieshouse.org). Founded by a friend of mine, Sharon McGinley. Susan Saint James (“Kate & Allie” and Dick Ebersol’s wife), Agnes Nixon (“All My Children” creator), and Ari Meyers (“Kate & Allie”) were all there and looking great! Also, most of the Comcast execs and a lot of generous Philadelphia society. At the Union Club in Philadelphia. Can we do a shout out for a good organization?”
Yes, we can. Eddie’s House helps young adults transition through pregnancy, unemployment, educational issues, homelessness–this is so important. What a great idea, and so needed in every city.
Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci may finally be reuniting.
There’s a plan afoot for them to co-star in “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.”
David O. Russell–who’s just about to release “The Fighter”–has been developing a film from the popular video game.
Russell also may have Mark Wahlberg on board for the Columbia Pictures film.
Right now, the script is being composed from scratch. Word is the actual video game didn’t have much there aside from a concept and a name.
Russell didn’t fork over any plot points at last night’s premiere of “The Fighter.” But sources say the story will have something to do with antiquities dealers in New York.
DeNiro and Pesci famously teamed up in five movies: GoodFellas, Casino, Once Upon a Time in America, A Bronx Tale, and Raging Bull.