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Can Justin Bieber and Brandon Flowers Save L.A. Reid?

Roger Friedman
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Can Justin Bieber and Brandon Flowers Save L.A. Reid?

The word is starting up again at Island Def Jam Records: L.A. Reid, they say, may be on his way out.

Listen, no one criticized L.A. Reid more almost a decade ago when he took over Arista Records. He had a rocky start. that’s for sure.

But Reid’s promotion from running LaFace Records to Arista and then to Island Def Jam has shown him to be a mature, decisive record man. Losing him now would be a mistake for Island Def Jam and Universal Music Group.

The rumors emanate now because Lucian Grainge has come to the US from Universal International to run UMG. He’s a music man but he’s looking at the bottom line. And in the music biz these days, it just doesn’t look good. It doesn’t help that Grainge was described in Billboard earlier this year as a “killer shark.”

Reid, on the other hand, is a softy. He signed up Jennifer Lopez, god knows why. His experiments with Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri failed. The last Mariah Carey album was a disappointment. Reid loves Lionel Richie and keeps pushing out new records. It’s admirable. But Hello? Is it Richie young kids are looking for? Not really.

So Reid has Justin Bieber, the annoying teenager. Leave it to Bieber–he’s a hit. You can’t discount that. Reid has a hot album and promo push coming for Brandon Flowers, lead singer of the Killers, with his first solo effort. It smells like platinum. Charlize Theron stars in the video.

Reid has some other gambles about to hit, so watch out. He went to Belize and signed up rapper Jamal “Shyne” Barrow after he got out of jail. Shyne famously took the rap in the P Diddy/Sean Combs-Jennifer Lopez nightclub shooting a few years ago. Now he’s out, and mad after serving nine years of a decade long sentence.Not only that, he’s been deported to his native Belize. If Reid can turn Shyne into a cause celebre, he may have a hit on his hands. (PS This is funny–Barrow’s mother is Jewish. And frankly, as a rapper, he sounds a little like he’s been sitting around Katz’s waiting for a glass of tea.)

There’s also a new album from one half of Outkast, Big Boi. And Mariah Carey, as I’ve already reported, is hard at work on a new album for possible Christmas release. And it was Reid who “broke” Duffy, his own Dusty Springfield.

I like the idea of Lucian Grainge simply because he signed the Psychedelic Furs thirty years ago.

The industry wags are predicting that Home on the Grainge will look very different once he takes over in January 2011. I think not. And he’s sure to see that L.A. Reid is one of the last links to what makes the record business still run or feel like it might have a little magic left.

Edward Norton’s Hulk Problems Were Always Lurking

Roger Friedman
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6
Edward Norton’s Hulk Problems Were Always Lurking

There’s a big hub bub going on in Marvel land.

The reason? Edward Norton has been dumped from “The Avengers” rather than reprise his role from the 2008 film “The Incredible Hulk.” Comic fans are going crazy trying to piece all this together. Norton’s reps say first Marvel was negotiating with them, then all of a sudden issued a not so nice explanation for their decision to skip it.

Norton is a smart, talented guy. But he really had a bad time with Marvel on “Hulk.” He spent hours and days rewriting Zak Penn‘s script. At the 2007 Comic Con, Norton bragged about writing the screenplay. But it was Penn who got the credit.

In the end, Norton had such a falling out with Marvel that he skipped the movie’s premiere and went off to some island to lick his wounds. He exited the promotional campaign without a contract to do sequels, although both Liv Tyler and director Louis Letterier each had them. That was two years ago. Since then two “Iron Man” movies have come and gone, but the “Hulk” has been in a sulk. And the film didn’t do so well: it made $135 million in the US and $128 million abroad.

Norton was an odd choice anyway. He’s a serious actor, and should be making films with Oscar written all over them. The next guy to play the Hulk has to be someone a little less heavy, so to speak.

Box Office: Universal Stands Tall, Tom Cruise Stalls

Roger Friedman
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1
Box Office: Universal Stands Tall, Tom Cruise Stalls

The biggest story at the box office this weekend wasn’t the continued agony of Tom Cruise. But yes, his “Knight and Day” has stalled around $61 million domestically. Will it reach $80 million? It seems unlikely. Cruise slices off his $20 mil, and then the fun begins. Where this leaves him is unclear.

But the good news is “Despicable Me.” An unexpected blockbuster, this animated film has put the Universal name back at the top of the list. Not even Russell Crowe was able to do that. His “Robin Hood” has been like a kidney stone for Universal with $105 million domestically and $200 million elsewhere. The total $300 million is nowhere near what the studio needs to make money or to consider a sequel.

But “Despicable Me” is a total real hit, like the old days. Sequels are probably being drawn up as we speak. And the cast of voices! Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Jason Segel, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, even Julie Andrews. It’s just a perfect recipe for success, and Universal’s marketing department pulled off a coup with it. Nicely done. Is it any wonder Steve Carell wants to wind up “The Office”? He doesn’t need it. He’s Will Ferrell, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler all rolled into one.

Meantime, there are some real clunkers out there: Fox’s “Marmaduke” has moved families into seats with the speed of poured marmalade. It didn’t cost much to begin with, but still…And Disney spent so much on promoting Jake Gyllenhaal as a buffed up action hero in “Prince of Persia” but the whole thing fizzled. There’s $90 mil in the till, but at least $250 mil spent. On Friday, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” with Nicolas Cage gets its Disney airing. Will it be a repeat?

Soon the studios won’t even need American audiences any more.

As for “Despicable”: congrats to Universal. Box office success is cyclical, but they’ve waited a longer time than usual.

Mel Gibson’s Self Destruction Continues Unabated

Roger Friedman
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5
Mel Gibson’s Self Destruction Continues Unabated

Mel Gibson‘s complete and total public ruin — and self destruction– continues unabated.

More tapes of his horrific conversations with baby mama Oksana Grigorieva have been released by Radar Online, aka the National Enquirer. (Yes, they are one and the same.)

On this new tape, which Grigorieva patiently recorded while Mel went ballistic over the phone, includes death threats and language too salty to be reprinted here. Suffice to say, Mel–ever the calm, cool gentleman–never ceases to use the “c” word. He also has much to say about Oksana’s pussy, and I don’t think he’s talking about a house pet.

Gibson also reveals that he left his wife, Robyn, mother of his first seven children, because they had no “spiritual connection.”

Robyn, who is an enigma in all this, is listed as Vice President of Mel’s A. P. Reilly Foundation, with $50 million in assets. The Foundation supports Mel’s non sanctioned private Catholic church in Malibu.

It was only last week that another tape contains Gibson ranting against Oksana and using the “n” word. He was subsequently dropped as a client of the William Morris Endeavor Agency.

In 2006, Gibson was arrested for driving drunk and made famously racist and anti-Semitic comments to the officers involved.

Then his father was revealed to be anti-Semitic, and a Holocaust denier who disavows the pope and has written for Neo Nazi publications.

Gibson never apologized for his own comments or his father’s philosophies.

Being dropped from his agency is no surprise. On the same day he was let go, his long time agent and defender, Ed Limato, died. With Limato gone, Gibson had no one left to protect him. In the time since his arrest and scandal, Gibson’s agency, William Morris, had merged with Endeavor. When Gibson was arrested in 2006, Endeavor’s Ari Emanuel quite rightly swore he’d have nothing do with him.

Gibson has no one but himself to blame in this latest episode. Grigorieva has another child of out of wedlock with another movie star, Timothy Dalton. She claimed to be a musician when Gibson unveiled her in his life, and he underwrote her music “career.”

Meantime. the real losers here–and unfairly–are Summit Entertainment. They have Gibson’s next movie, “The Beaver,” in the can. It doesn’t seem possible that they could release it in 2010 at the rate things are going, without having a press nightmare. The bigger question is why Jodie Foster, the director, who is thought of as a sensible person, would have made a movie with Gibson in the first place.

Roman Polanski Free; Friend Says “Mad with Happiness”

Roger Friedman
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4
Roman Polanski Free; Friend Says “Mad with Happiness”

Roman Polanski was freed by a Swiss court today and released from home arrest after a ten month ordeal.

The famed director has been detained in Switzerland at his estate since last winter when he was arrested. The Swiss court has finally decided at long last not to extradite him to the US on charges from his 1978 arrest in Los Angeles and subsequent jailing for having sex with a 13 year old girl.

That girl, now adult Samantha Geimer, had long ago settled with Polanski financially and asked the world to leave him alone.

But Swiss authorities, acting on orders from the United States, arrested the director last year when arrived to receive an award.

A documentary film had shown that there were several defects in the original case, and that the judge in the case had acted improperly. Today the Swiss judge said she was letting Polanski go because the US didn’t assist with information stemming from a January 2010 hearing that concerned those charges.

Polanski’s friend, Bernard Henri Levy, told the Swiss press that he was “mad with happiness.” Polanski’s leg bracelet was removed around 1pm Swiss time, but friends say he hasn’t left his home yet. The French Culture Minister, Frederic Mitterand, who hadn’t done much to help Polanski–a French citizen–told a Geneva newspaper he was “thrilled” at the news of Polanski’s release.

Henri-Levy told the paper: “I just talked to him, he is in the same state of mind that millions of citizens who supported him, his feeling is that justice is served.”  Levy continued: “I expected it because I could not imagine an impartial justice system and a person endowed with reason to take a different decision given the evidence in this case.”

The Swiss judge pointed out that this decision has nothing to do with whether or not Polanski is innocent or guilty in the American case. And in fact, the director remains a fugitive in the eyes of the Los Angeles District Attorney. But he is now free to return to France and resume his life.

Spurlock’s Secret Doc; ELO in NYC; Sting Symphonizes

Roger Friedman
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4
Spurlock’s Secret Doc; ELO in NYC; Sting Symphonizes

Morgan Spurlock never shies away from an adventure.

The director of “Super Size Me” took on the search for Osama Bin Laden. He also celebrated the 20th anniversary of “The Simpsons.” He contributed to the multi-director documentary “Freakonomics.” Very shortly he takes off for Comic Con, to work on another non fiction film.

But Spurlock has something else cooking that we hadn’t heard about it before: a documentary that is hush hush. According to inside sources, Spurlock is finishing up some kind of film that concerns the advertising business. He’s apparently had great access within ad agencies, too. Considering the fever for “Mad Men,” this would seem like a perfect time to go trace the history of the big agencies.

I am told that the Spurlock film may have a distributor already. And Morgan is hopeful that the film will play at the Toronto Film Festival. So stay tuned…

Jeff Lynne— of Electric Light Orchestra and Traveling Wilburys fame–hosted a dinner on Thursday night at the Waverly Inn with a bunch of pals. Lynne was in town for Ringo Starr’s 70th birthday party and show on Wednesday night…

Sting plays the Metropolitan Opera house on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Tomorrow, his “Symphonicities” album is released and all indications are it’s a hit out of the box. “Symphonicities” reimagines many of Sting’s solo and Police songs with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra. The songs– including “Englishman in New York,” “We Work the Black Seam,” “Straight to My Heart,” “The Pirate’s Bride,” and “I Hung My Head”–turn out to be incredibly supple and well adapted to this format. It’s an absolutely gorgeous album that once again underlines Sting’s place as a master contemporary songwriter.

Jackson Browne Is Oceanic, Montauk Gets Panoramic

Roger Friedman
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3
Jackson Browne Is Oceanic, Montauk Gets Panoramic

Jackson Browne, on tour, stopped at the Oceana event in Watermill on Saturday night and played a full acoustic set on guitar and keyboards, by himself. The songs included “Running on Empty,” “The Pretender,” “Before the Deluge,” and “Rock Me On the Water.” At the end, he said he no longer cared what people thought about the fact that he’d written the Eagles’ most famous song, “Take It Easy,” and played it.

Oceana is the brainchild of Lois Robbins and Susan Rockefeller, with Keith Addis, designed to raise money for ocean conservancy. Could anything be more timely? Caroline Hirsch, of Caroline’s Comedy Club., is also very involved, as are Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. I ran into Charlie Walk, Kathy Schenker, Jane Rose, Fred Davis, John Howard, Jill Brooke, and Jackson’s girlfriend, Dianna Cohen, an artist from L.A. who created a mural for Oceana with recyclable goods and a bunch of schoolkids from Barcelona.

Jackson told me after the show that he’d never heard a famous urban myth about the “Take it Easy” lyrics. For generations the line “I’m looking for a lover who won’t blow my cover” was mis-heard by young rockers as something else. Jackson demurred, and claimed not to know that. I’m a little skeptical. But he’s a serious guy. If you’re too young to know his work, check out his masterpiece album, “Late for the Sky.”

Out in Montauk–where the totally refurbished Panoramic View in Montauk graciously put me up on Friday and Saturday nights– the big stop was at Sean McPherson‘s secret restaurant. the work in progress re-do of The Crow’s Nest. Sean co-owns the Waverly Inn in Greenwich Village.

In Montauk, where he recently moved, he couldn’t find a place to eat. So he bought the old, decrepit Crow’s Nest and started fixing it up. It won’t open for real until next summer. But it’s actually open now. The stars are pouring in. On Sunday night Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romajn rode their bikes over from Lake Montauk and acted like they were on a third date. They left their one and a half year old twin girls with the grandparents. Jerry is working on the new CBS series, “The Defenders.” Rebecca told me she’s busy raising the kids. No nannies? I asked. Are they really a Hollywood couple? “We tried to shake those kids off,” Jerry laughed. “But they keep coming back!” A funny, charming couple. And Crow’s Nest? Best new place from East Hampton to Montauk Point.

Meantime, the Panoramic is trying to get the word out about 21 new amazing duplex oceanfront condos that are now neighboring the homes of Robert DeNiro, Ralph Lauren, and Jann Wenner, hard by Guerney’s Inn. New owners have refashioned this gem of a resort and the results are staggering. Over 100 people– including two Real Housewives of New York– showed in the rain on Saturday to see a model condo that sells for $6.5 million.

The Panoramic has unique status in Montauk because of its age–the homes are right on the ocean, closer than any new construction is allowed now. The hotel also has a beautiful pool set into the cliff side with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean. The A list is already discovering the Panoramic –-Stephanie Seymour was there all weekend with her kids. By the time you read this, more stars will be crowding the pool and taking up chaise longues at the private beach. http://tinyurl.com/2ee4t5u

The English Beat Save it for Now

Roger Friedman
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1
The English Beat Save it for Now

Are the Hamptons still hot? Oh yes, indeed. So hot that I actually missed Denise Rich‘s cocktail party to celebrate her coming fall extravaganza for her Gabrielle’s Angels Ball. (Denise, we’ll be there in October.) The reason? The sudden booking of the great UK 80s band The English Beat at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett. Dave Wakeling, founder of The Beat (they were renamed such because an American group beat them to the name), wrote some of the catchiest and most alluring pop-reggae records of the early 80s. When The E. Beat broke up, they splintered into General Public and the Fine Young Cannibals. And then they all drifted away.

On Friday, Wakeling brought his current line up to Amagansett’s famous Talkhouse, a dive with a long, wide stage under a low ceiling. Even though the 9pm temperature was well beyond 80 degrees inside and out, the place was jammed with devoted Wakeling fans who knew every word to the Birmingham Brit’s classics like the extraordinary “Save it for Later” and “Tenderness.” Wakeling is 54 now; I saw him play in 1982 at the Country Club in Reseda, California. He hasn’t lost a “beat,” frankly. Known for his marathon shows, Wakeling kept this one to just a little over two hours. He could have gone on forever.

And oh yes, “Save it for Later”–I can die now, having heard this version, and a whole room of people who didn’t know each other sing this tune loudly and ebulliently. All of Wakeling’s songs are infectious and beautifully constructed, from “Mirror in the Bathroom” to “Tenderness.” But “Save it for Later” is his epic. John Cusack, another rabid fan, made sure to include it in his most recent film.

What kind of guy is Wakeling? I told him before the show that I might have to leave early, and so inquired when “Save it” came in the set. “At the end,” he said, “but I can move it up if you like.” He did–have you heard of such a thing? But the show was so good I had to stay to the triumphant end. The English Beat keeps touring America all summer with Squeeze on some dates, and Bad Manners on others. See them, and understand why the current state of music is so synthetic and dead.

Scorsese Still a Good Fella: Not Sued by Ken Starr, Exactly

Roger Friedman
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4
Scorsese Still a Good Fella: Not Sued by Ken Starr, Exactly

It’s not Ken Starr who’s suing Martin Scorsese. Let’s all take a deep breath.

Starr is in jail, on ice–so to speak–awaiting anything to happen on his $59 million fraud indictment.

Meanwhile, a receiver has been appointed by the court to go figure out what happened to all the money and to straighten out the accounting of Starr’s investment company.

In all Ponzi cases this happens, and it’s not pretty. The receiver has to go find where money went from one account to another. Even if a client received money that wasn’t theirs for example and it didn’t know it, they have to give it back.

In the 2001 case of Dana Giacchetto, the money manager to Leonardo DiCaprio and Mike Ovitz, this is what happened. It was a mess. The Giacchetto case was very similar to this one, except the total amount only came to $14 million. It seemed like a lot back then.

In today’s case, receiver Aurora Cassirer is a heavy duty lawyer whose job it is to unravel these mysteries. The Scorsese matter–she says his film company should pay back $600,000–won’t be the last. And it’s not a slam dunk either. Scorsese may argue that he lost money with Starr, or found his accounting to be snarled up.

Cassirer will be making more of these moves, believe me. It’s her fiduciary responsibility.

She’s also going after money Starr deposited years ago on a $14 million apartment. So hold on. As we always say, more to come.

Still No New York Times Obit for Ed Limato

Roger Friedman
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3
Still No New York Times Obit for Ed Limato

Wow–the most obscure people get feature obits in the New York Times. But not a famous talent agent.

Ed Limato died last Saturday, July 3rd, at age 73. He represented some of the biggest names in Hollywood –-Denzel, Mel, Kevin Costner. He was one of the few Hollywood agents whose name was well known outside the confines of studios and Beverly Hills. His pre Oscar party was famous.

And yet: it’s Friday, and no news of his death has made the paper. Consider if you will that producer Elliot Kastner, a contentious man who was always suing someone, got in right away.

The Los Angeles Times ran an obit for Limato the next day. Of course, he lived in L.A. But considering that Limato’s reach certainly encompassed New York, that’s no excuse.

What gives? Who knows? Could Limato have had an enemy at the Times? Perhaps. But that obit page is a weird one. A couple of years ago, when Times freelance writer Monique Yazigi passed away, the paper refused to run something on her, too. She wasn’t important enough. Tough crowd.

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