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In Memory of Cecile Insdorf

Roger Friedman
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In Memory of Cecile Insdorf

She was not particularly famous, unless you were part of New York’s film world and knew Dr. Cecile Insdorf, the constant companion of her daughter, Annette Insdorf, the Columbia University film teacher, critic, and journalist.

On Thursday, Cecile passed away. Dr. Insdorf, who was 88, was a beloved member of the Hunter College teaching staff, was an author and scholar who taught film and French literature. In 1977 she published “Montaigne and Feminism” with the University of North Carolina Press. She created the romance language Film Festival at Hunter College. She was also a Holocaust survivor.

In 2006, Cecile donated $100,000 to Hunter College and created the Cecile Insdorf Foreign Language Screening Room at the Chanin Center. Big name directors from all over the world knew and admired her from Pedro Almodovar to Peter Bogdanovich.

I tell you all this because for the last two decades, Cecile Insdorf has been a fixture on the New York film scene thanks to her daughter, Annette and her son-in-law Mark. For years until she was recently unable to make it, Cecile was their ‘plus 1.’ Rarely have a daughter and her husband been so devoted to a mother. And Cecile–elegant, eminently fashionable at all times, articulate about everything–so appreciated it. We looked forward to seeing her in a crowd. Dr. Insdorf was an oasis of intelligence.

(The picture here is of Mark, Annette, Cecile, and Hunter College’s Dr. Jennifer Raab.)

It’s the end of an era in our community. My heartfelt condolences to Annette and Mark.

Animal Kingdom: A-Plus Tarantino Down Under

Roger Friedman
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Animal Kingdom: A-Plus Tarantino Down Under

David Michod‘s “Animal Kingdom” opens on Friday the 13th, but it should be lucky: the Tarantino like crime movie was the most exciting film offered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. (It won the Grand Jury prize.)

Think of it as a Ma Barker and her boys down under. Jacki Weaver is an Australian actress who told me at Sundance she usually plays the “Sally Field” type parts in her country. So she was shocked when she was chosen to play the evil, conniving Janine Cody, mother of a bunch of hoodlums and murderers. I’m telling you, Jacki has got to be seen to be believed. In a crowded field of supporting actresses this year, she’s top of the list.

Then there are her “boys.” James Frecheville, the Channing Tatum of Australia, makes his film debut as 17 year Josh. Young Josh is terrorized by his older brothers and his mom, all of whom want him to join in their psychotic reindeer games.

Michod has cast his gang brilliantly. Ben Mendelsohn is razor sharp as the crazy older brother known as Pope. Joel Edgerton, who appeared in Brooklyn with Cate Blanchett in “Streetcar Named Desire,” is turning into a star.

We’d better watch Michod closely. He also co-wrote “Hesher,” another Sundance film — starring Joseph Gordon Levitt as a psychotic who moves in with a family whom he terrorizes — albeit lovingly. No one over 25 liked “Hesher” at Sundance, which means it must be good.

Michod, who does a little acting of his own, is part of a group of filmmakers called Blue Tongue Films. “It kind of orignated with Edgerton and his brother Nash–who started out as a stunt man. Nash Edgerton had a stunt man friend called Tony Lynch. It wasn’t until those guys started up with me, and Spencer Susser, who directed “Hesher,” we suddenly got quite active in making short films.”

[Editor’s note: He actually did say, on tape, “we got involved in each other’s shorts”– but I decided to leave that out. It was the result of too much coffee and too little sleep.]

Michod doesn’t seem psycho himself and is pretty calm. So why so much violence in his films? “Very few things can enact a shift in a person’s landscape as violence,” he says. “I’ve always loved Spencer’s analogy for Hesher–he’s the embodiment of death.”

As for “Animal Kingdom,” Michod created the story from fiction. There’s no real crime family lurking about in Oz, although he was inspired by a chilling story from the 1980s. “It turned the underworld upside down. Melbourne has a history of crime families. They love being in the newspaper.”

The families have some notable matriarchs. About Jacki Weaver he says, “She’s something of a national treasure back home. She’s much loved in the theater. Next month she’s doing Chekhov with Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.”

The Cody family: “I think they’re fun,” he says with a chuckle. But you won’t have them over for dinner. And what if Hesher moved in with the Codys? Michod laughs: “They’d crush him. What a funny sequel that would be!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5BsYRmMfus

Stop the Party: Reports Says Neglect At Motion Picture Home, Injuries, Broken Laws

Roger Friedman
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Stop the Party: Reports Says Neglect At Motion Picture Home, Injuries, Broken Laws

A new report says that patients at the Motion Picture Fund Home for Actors have been severely neglected to the point where they’ve sustained unattended injuries.

The report also says the Fund broke the law and didn’t give proper notice to 34 of 40 patients it transferred to other facilities.

So the question is, How can any A list actor attend the August 28th event known as The Evening Before, set for Century Park, in which celebrities receive humongous gift bags in exchange for showing up and supporting the Fund?

For the last several years, protesters have waved placards outside events known as The Night Before and The Evening Before, which were designed to be “hot” A list parties. The guests got things like IPods and customized sneakers. All of this was supposed to benefit the Motion Picture Home.

But the home and the Fund are under fire for attempting to close the long term care facility and get rid of 100 or so patients who require permanent hospitalization.

Now this report, issued by the California Department of Health and Human Services, says that unimaginably bad things have been happening to the patients just recently.

Forget the lack of 30 day notices telling elderly, ill people they must leave for another facility. Based on this report, you’d want to go, frankly.

Residents of the facility, chosen randomly, were all in peril. “Resident 55”–examined on June 1st–“had a dark red black bruise  noted under the right eye and a small closed laceration on the left foot.” The resident suffers from dementia.

Resident 1 had “severe weight loss of 8.6% in one month and 13.6% in six months.” Resident 1 also had  “7 incidents of falls” from February 3, 2010 to May 17, 2010.”

Resident 3 also had severe weight loss and a fall that resulted in a fractured hip.

Resident 5 also had severe weight loss.

The report says: “The facility must not employ individuals who have been found guilty of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating residents by a court of law; or have had a finding entered into the State nurse aide registry concerning abuse, neglect, mistreatment of residents or misappropriation of their property…”

Hey: “this requirement is not met.”

This is disgusting. What the hell is going on at this place?

The former chief doctor, Dr. David Tillman, resigned last February. He was making a million dollars a year. Not bad.

On a personal note, I helped three grandparents through assisted living and medical care facilities over a period of 11 years. If anything like these incidents occurred at either of their facilities, there would have been hell to pay. The state report is outrageous. And what’s worse is, millions of dollars have been delivered to this facility based on celebrity participation. It’s outrageous.

read more  at http://www.savingthelivesofourown.org/

Big Stars Take A Beating at 2010 Summer Box Office

Roger Friedman
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Big Stars Take A Beating at 2010 Summer Box Office

Big stars don’t cry. Hopefully, they’ve made their hundreds of millions and stashed them away for a rainy day.

This summer, there was a generational change and a message at the box office. To wit: spending $150 million on Tom Cruise around the world on a motorcycle with Cameron Diaz is no longer of much interest. “Knight and Day” ends it run essentially, today, with just under $75 million domestic box office returns. That’s half of what it cost, maybe. All in, worldwide, the official total box office is $200 million. But that includes drachmas and pieces of eight. The U.S. box office is Cruise’s worst since 1992. He’s had a great run. Now it’s time to re-evaluate.

Nicolas Cage: “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” won’t hurt Mickey Mouse’s legacy, but Cage took a beating. Disney says it cost $150 million, but you know that means $200 mil including flying everyone around on magic carpets. Domestic receipts are $57 mil, foreign are about the same. What happened to Nicolas Cage? Watch “Family Man” to see the last time he was an actor.

Jonah Hex: Lots of good name actors (Josh Brolin, John Malkovich) but no one wanted to see it. No one. $10.5 million domestic take. It was like burning money. Fortunately, Warner Bros. can afford it. Between “Harry Potter” and “Inception” they’re happy as clams.

The A Team: So much publicity about Bradley Cooper and so little reward. We were inundated with Cooper’s abs all spring, and it was an abs-olute waste of time. Jessica Biel? I’m still not sure what’s going on there career-wise. Fox might break even on this, but it’s doubtful. Luckily, “Wall Street 2” is coming. It’s a hit, and a good movie. There are no avatars but by September 23rd, the adults who like movies will be thirsty for this brand. Michael Douglas and company may be the real A team!

Dinner for Schmucks: I loved this movie. And, I was mostly alone. The title didn’t help. Steve Carell is excellent in it. The script is solid. Jay Roach did a good job. But the audience must have wondered if they were the schmucks, and no one likes being called a schmuck. A marketing misfire. But a video that will have its own life.

PS Even new stars are having a bad time. “Charlie St. Cloud” is a bust. Zac Efron has had a huge push, and little has come from it. Luckily, the movie didn’t cost too much. And “Twelve,” with Chace Crawford of “Gossip Girl” fame, is the worst movie of the year and the biggest financial dud. It will be gone before you finish reading this sentence.

Hollywood Reporter in Chaos As Tabloid Plans Proceed

Roger Friedman
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Hollywood Reporter in Chaos As Tabloid Plans Proceed

I spent a little less than a year at the Hollywood Reporter, and worked with very nice people. I know they can’t be too happy about what’s going on.

According to The Wrap.com, new editor in chief Janice Min, whose experience lies in the supermarket tabloid world of US Weekly, has now brought on three new staffers from that rag. And it is a rag, sorry. Min’s talent was turning Britney Spears into a week to week soap opera. If the long valued Hollywood Reporter is about to become a monthly or weekly tab, it’s a sad sad day.

Will the For Your Consideration ads this winter concern the Kardashians, the Bachelor, and Levi Johnson? (They don’t have grosses, they’re just gross. There’s a difference.)

I am told by insiders (no one I worked with, everyone relax) that newish publisher Richard “Mad Dog” Beckman and investor-slash-publisher-kinda Jimmy Finkelstein–whose brother Andy Stein was arrested in the Ken Starr scandal–are no longer speaking to each other. One insider notes: “They deserve each other.”

As for Min, she’s got trouble from the get go. A piece by Kim Masters, who otherwise writes sensible, serious pieces, has occasioned a demand for retraction from Hollywood pit bull lawyer Marty Singer. We’ll see if that’s saber rattling. And the other news from inside is that advertising situation hasn’t picked up in the now almost nine months since Beckman took over. “He’s spent all the money he was allocated for changes,” says a source.

Finkelstein’s gang, now called E5 Global, comprises Guggenheim Partners’s Alan Schwartz, and Pluribus Capital’s Matthew Doull. They bought a bunch of mags from Nielsen, not just the Reporter. Billboard, AdWeek, MediaWeek, BrandWeek, and a few others were in that package. But no, there’s no rumor yet of Billboard being renamed “BieberWorld.”

Eat Pray for Good Reviews: Julia Roberts Movie Was Shown Early to Some

Roger Friedman
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Eat Pray for Good Reviews: Julia Roberts Movie Was Shown Early to Some

This is part 2 of the item below: some lucky people did see “Eat Pray Love” early. I don’t want you to think Columbia Pictures was hiding the movie. They weren’t!

The only hiding was done by Julia Roberts, at her premiere. (See below.)

So the early birds seem to be People, Entertainment Weekly, Associated Press, and the New York Daily News.

This is what they said:

EW: “If only Roberts’ warmth, coupled with Javier Bardem‘s scruffy sexiness as Felipe, were enough to compensate for the folded-map flatness of this production.”

AP: “It provides a gorgeous escape, exquisitely photographed and full of female wish fulfillment. Yet it also offers sufficient emotional heft and self-discovery to make you feel as if you’ve actually learned something.”

The Daily News gave it a very middling 3 out of 5 stars. That’s a B  minus at best.

Both Variety and the Hollywood Reporter panned it. Variety panned it twice. So far “Eat Pray” has a 31% standing at Rottentomatoes.com. That’s not good. On the bright side, someone with the unfortunate name of Drew McWeeny liked it from some blog. Oh well.

I do think “Eat Pray Love” is headed to mostly negative reviews. Columbia Pictures doesn’t have to worry. They are full of hits this year. This, too, shall pass.

UPDATE THURSDAY MORNING: The Rotten Tomatoes score is now 22%. One reviewer called it “tapas for the soul.” Funny.

Julia Roberts Film: No Reviews Before Friday Opening

Roger Friedman
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Julia Roberts Film: No Reviews Before Friday Opening

Julia Roberts‘ big film, “Eat Pray Love,” is in stealth mode until its Friday opening.

This means that no one at all saw the movie before Tuesday night’s premiere. On top of that, critics and media outlets are really only seeing it for the first time tonight–Wednesday–two days before it opens on the unlucky Friday the 13th.

All reviews are embargoed until Friday, but with the internet it’s hard to control. There are no reviews on Rottentomatoes.com right now, which is a little weird with 48 hours to go.

However: one review has been posted on the Internet Movie Database. The reviewer gave it a 2 out of 10.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to note that the press junket for the movie was held in the Napa Valley in northern California. No part of the movie is set there. But maybe someone thought it mimicked Italy, one of the foreign locales featured in film.

This means we’ll be seeing the usual suck-ups from Napa with “Entertainment Tonight” drooling all over the place. Columbia Pictures will have footed the bill.

According to winespectator.com:

“The cast and crew of Eat, Pray, Love, the upcoming film based on the memoir of the same name written by Elizabeth Gilbert, spent this past week wrapping up their press junkets in Napa Valley, and numerous California wines were on hand for the celebrations. Both the press junket and the after-party were held in Napa at the foot of Mount St. Jean at the estate of John and Barbara Witt. The Witts were thrilled to host the stars of the foodie film and pulled from their cellars some bottles of the Witt Estate Repartie Merlot 2004 made with grapes from their 6-acre vineyard. The events at the rustic modern rammed-earth estate were organized by Napa-based location and production company Scout Napa Valley, which tapped numerous California wineries to provide the libations.

“Our West Coast spies tell us the stars in attendance—Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Billy Crudup, Richard Jenkins and director Ryan Murphy—were treated to [a selection of very expensive wines and champagnes].” Sounds like a great way to get everyone in the mood for the movie!

So many people at last night’s premiere told me that the movie would be a hit because it had a built in following among the book’s readers. But I caution those people. Books like “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and “White Oleander” also had devout readers. The movies were bad, and the box office was a bust. Nothing can be taken for granted in these situations. A movie must stand on its own.

Josh Brolin May Join Charlize Theron in Jason Reitman Film

Roger Friedman
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Josh Brolin May Join Charlize Theron in Jason Reitman Film

Jason Reitman‘s next film, “Young Adult,” already has Charlize Theron signed up to play the female lead.

Now I’m told that Josh Brolin, one of the best actors of his generation, may join the project as the male lead.

Diablo Cody, who won many awards for writing Reitman’s big bit, “Juno,” is the author here, too. According to the imdb.com. “Young Adult” is about a divorced writer (Theron) who returns to her mid west hometown and reconnects with her old flame–now married with kids. Brolin would be perfect with Theron in a comedy. They are both very funny and don’t get to show it so much in their films.

Brolin is having quite a year in 2010–this fall he’s in “Wall Street 2,” the Woody Allen film “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,” and wraps it up in December with the Coen Brothers’ remake of “True Grit.” His wife, Diane Lane, is also getting a lot of great buzz as the lead in “Secretariat,” playing Penny Chenery, who owned the famous race horse.

Remember I told you this on August 11, 2010: Brolin and Lane will be the first husband and wife with Oscar nominations this season.

Julia Roberts Eat Pray Hide At Own Premiere

Roger Friedman
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Julia Roberts Eat Pray Hide At Own Premiere

Julia Roberts went on a spiritual journey for the movie,”Eat Pray Love.” The journey ended at the swanky Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue last night where Columbia Pictures threw an invite only lavish after party for Roberts, director Ryan Murphy, the cast and miscellaneous celebrities.

And what did Julia learn from finding herself and communing with swami’s and gurus? While the guests partied downstairs in the famous club, Roberts threw herself a private gathering upstairs, in a room blocked by bodyguards. She took the whole cast hostage, as well as Julian Schnabel, Josh Brolin (who brought his 16 year old stepdaughter Eleanor–Diane Lane‘s daughter with Christopher Lambert), and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.

Call it “Eat Pray Love Hide.”

It was quite a scene watching various people trying to get past the guards and into the room. Former New York Times movie reviewer Elvis Mitchell was turned away, but eventually gained entry. Two young women had to send someone in to find actor co-star Billy Crudup, who finally came out to say hello. The movie’s main producer left his family outside the party and kept running in and out to be with them.

The most glaring snub: Elizabeth Gilbert, the best selling author of “Eat Pray Love” was left way downstairs and far away from Roberts’ soiree, with her own guests.

Roberts did spend about five minutes in the main party room. But as she and her posse–including husband Danny Moder–were hurried out and away from the dreadful real people, Roberts said, to no one in particular, “That’s so tacky.” A lot of the real people heard her say it.

Vedder and Brolin hung out l0ngest in the main room, and each were funny and polite. Bardem and Schnabel would have stuck around longer, but they were summoned by publicists who arrived with Roberts’ invitation. Gilbert was totally excluded.

I tried in vain to find Jennifer Salt, daughter of the late legendary screenwriter Waldo Salt. Jennifer, who once starred on “Soap” as  Eunice Tate, is herself a fine scripter who faithfully adapted “Eat Pray Love” from Gilbert’s memoir.

But I did run into director Ryan Murphy, now famous for TV shows “Glee” and “Nip/Tuck.” Ryan used to write for me in the 1980s at Fame magazine, and wrote a column for US Weekly. He authored the famous Entertainment Weekly interview with Alec Baldwin in which Baldwin called Jeffrey Katzenberg “the eighth dwarf.” http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,314345,00.html His Hollywood ascent is a great success story!

The only members of the “Eat Pray Love” gang not in attendance were Viola Davis and James Franco.

There was a heavy turnout from CAA for Roberts and Murphy–both Kevin Huvane and Richard Lovett.

Sony/Columbia is counting on the “Eat Love Pray” readers turning out at the box office. The studio is on the upswing right now with Will Ferrell’s big hit “The Other Guys” and “Salt,” “Grown Ups,” and “The Karate Kid.” It’s been a hell of a year so far.

But “EPL” definitely cost a lot. With Roberts’ salary and the locations in Italy, Bali, and India, this is a $100 million movie. Gilbert told me she loved the adaptation. It’s more than likely that the book’s readers will, too.

The movie does suffer–at least for men–from a lack of purpose. When men want to “find themselves” we use GPS. Women may identify with Gilbert’s journey, which looks like it cost a million dollars. She suddenly has no interest in being married to her husband, played by Billy Crudup. So she ups and leaves. He’s not cheating on her or abusing her. He’s perfectly nice. But she dumps him, then traipses around the world complaining about it all. She doesn’t become altruistic, or charitable, or politically active. But she always looks great.

I really got a kick out of Julia Roberts on “Letterman” recently. She was charming. And often in “EPL” that charm comes through. But just as often Roberts seems to be fighting the demons of “Liz Gilbert” (as written, not the real person). Women may want to see that on screen,and join her on that trip. This is a movie we will be seeing on Lifetime, OWN or We for decades to come.

PS We’ve been at parties at the Metropolitan Club honoring Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood, Diane Keaton, Jude Law, Robert Downey Jr--dozens of A list celebrities. This was the first time ever that a private party was given upstairs and the stars were isolated. Mark it down in your books. A first.

There’s Another Olsen Twin; Matthew Modine Back from Italy

Roger Friedman
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There’s Another Olsen Twin; Matthew Modine Back from Italy

Hugh Grant–remember him? Cited in the paper today for appearing with a “bevy of beauties.” Whatever that means.

Stuttering, blinking Hugh used to be in the movie business. But after “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” and “Music and Lyrics”–two movies no one should be forced to watch again–Grant is without a project. He has nothing in the can and no listings in development.

I do think it’s time for the sequel to “Notting Hill,” but no one asked me and I’m not paying for it. In the meantime, Grant remains a curio of his generation. With no movie shot for 2011, he’s taking the chance of being off the radar for more than two years.

…Meantime, there’s another Olson twin! Who knew it? Elizabeth Olsen is the 21 year old sister of pencil trolls Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen. She plays Catherine Keener‘s daughter in “Peace, Love and Misunderstanding.” Her brother is played Nate Wolff, son of Polly Draper and musician Michael Wolff. Nate and his brothers have a successful tween band called The Naked Brothers. Elizabeth must be very small since no one’s really noticed her before. But maybe she’s the actual actress in the family…

Mickey Sumner has landed a role in Showtime’s “The Borgias” as a lady in waiting. Mickey is the talented actress daughter of Sting and Trudie Styler. She’s also just booked a couple of indie films…

Matthew and Cari Modine just returned from Italy, where Matthew’s been shopping a film script…Matthew just wrapped a film called “The Trial,” and is looking for series work with either Showtime or HBO, I’m told, after making his Broadway debut earlier this year…

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