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Rolling Stones Gather Gold: Top of the Charts Again

Roger Friedman
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The Rolling Stones are back at the top of the charts.

Thirty eight years after it first was issued, “Exile on Main Street” will be the second best selling CD of the week. The reissue of the 1972 classic is a hit, finishing just behind the “Glee” soundtrack.

A second “Exile” CD, called “Rarities” and featuring new tracks that the Stones left off the original album but have now finished, will also be in the top 10 or so when all the sales for last week are counted.

Still to come is the DVD of “Stones in Exile,” which hits stores in mid June. It will also be included in a deluxe “Exile” package.

Now that “Exile” is a hit, expect the Stones to milk their post-1971 catalog which was recently licensed to Universal Music Group. That includes 1971’s “Sticky Fingers,” 1978’s “Some Girls,” and 1981’s “Tattoo You.” In between there are very good albums like “It’s Only Rock and Roll” and “Goats Head Soup.”

The success of “Exile” and, earlier, “Get Your Ya Ya’s Out” (from their ABKCO catalog) means the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band is finally figuring out how to market its old material a la the Beatles. Collectors will want to have it all, and there’s plenty of it.

The “Rarities” album or the full “Exile” is certainly worth having simply for the new old tracks like “Plundered My Soul” and “I’m Just Signifying.” Great stuff. And the “Stones in Exile” DVD, which we saw in Cannes, will be worth the wait.

Suzanne Somers Scores Huge Book Promotion with “SATC 2”

Roger Friedman
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14
Suzanne Somers Scores Huge Book Promotion with “SATC 2”

Suzanne Somers — as someone whose weight goes up and down, I have come to agree with a lot of her dieting theories. She’s smarter than you think and still cute as a button.

She’s scored a big coup with “Sex and the City 2.” One of her 19 books on health and nutrition, “Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness,” is heavily featured in the movie that opens on Thursday.  And I do mean, heavily featured. Kim Cattrall‘s Samantha–who announces that she’s “fifty-f-ing-two” and going through menopause–declares that she lives by it. She hands it to everyone in the movie. Forget Oprah. This is a book publisher’s dream. By the end of the movie, women are exchanging copies of “Breakthrough,” with the cover very prominent.

Somers and her husband manager Alan Hamel were at the big “SATC 2” premiere last night; I ran into them at the swell Lincoln Center party with the Arnold Kopelsons. Suzanne told me, “The producers called and asked, Would I mind if they used the book? I said, Sure.” She laughed. (I think this is a true story. I’ve never seen a product plug like this; who knows?)

Somers is a cancer survivor, a recovering everything, and a TV icon from “Three’s Company.” She’s a Hollywood survivor, too. You want to high five her when you see her. “I’m working on my 20th book,” she said. Her books have covered dieting and all kinds of women’s issues. She is often criticized, mostly by doctors, I think, who are jealous of all the ink she gets. But really: you know she’d be one of Samantha’s clients. Bravo!

Miramax Update: Disney Talks Off “For Now”: “It’s Happened Before”

Roger Friedman
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2

Yes, the Wall Street Journal says this morning that talks between Harvey Weinstein-Ron Burkle and Disney over the sale of Miramax are off.

However: sources say this has happened before, that the Journal story is spin, and that it’s not over ’til it’s over.

Indeed, this story is a spin fiesta, as it was only last Saturday that the LA Times got spun about the deal being over. They retracted that story, and the New York Times then dropped it.

Here’s what I can figure out from the people who will talk, since the principals are unusually silent on this subject. Weinstein and Burkle are fine, they’re on the same page, and there’s no trouble on that side. Burkle has a long relationship with Fortress Investments stemming from their mutual interests some five years ago in Michael Jackson‘s loans against his Sony music publishing interests.

The schism last weekend came from some grayness over how the existing Weinstein Company and the new Miramax would function vis a vis the time devoted by Harvey and Bob Weinstein. TWC, as sources pointed out, has investors. That company was not going to disappear with the return of Miramax. Somehow there would have to be adequate assurance on all sides that TWC would not be forgotten. But of course, a united TWC and Miramax would be a powerhouse.

So what’s going on now? According to the people I’ve spoken to, the offer from the Gores brothers, even with the ailing Overture Pictures involved, isn’t going to cut it. Disney, they say, has done this before, calling off the deal, walking away, thinking they would get more money.

“I think they’re either going to make the deal with Harvey and Ron or not sell it,” says a source. “But why would they keep it? It has nothing to do with their core business.”

Indeed, Disney has no interest in Miramax or its catalog. The sensible solution is to sell it to the Weinsteins, et al and be done with it.One interesting observation on the part of my source here: “If Disney were using outside advisors or an investment bank this would be over. But it’s all done in-house.”

What is interesting, and maybe a little perplexing, is that Harvey Weinstein–who loves to be in the press–isn’t talking at all. Burkle is an enigma anyway. The leaks, they say, could be coming from the Gores-es, a pair of brothers who have had serious issues in the past (one thought the other was cheating with his wife and used Anthony Pellicano to find out). Or they could be coming from spoiler David Bergstein and his investor, Ron Tutor, who are on the outside looking in on this deal.

As it’s been pointed out, Disney went through this mishegos with Pixar for years before striking a deal with them. They’re a very animated group when it comes to money.

Sex and the City 2: “Star Wars” for Women

Roger Friedman
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3

Pow! Smash! “Sex and the City” is back. And don’t listen to any negativity. Despite an unwieldy length and way too much time spent in Abu Dhabi and at the gay wedding of all time, “SATC2” is a box office killer.

At Radio City Music Hall on Monday night, thousands of women gave the cast a standing ovation before the movie even started. They cheered, laughed and clapped all the way through. SATC 2 is “Star Wars” for women. And the way he was received by the audience, John Corbett as Aidan is Lando Calrissian.

The movie is also a gay Super Bowl, with Liza Minnelli performing Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” at the over the top Connecticut wedding of Willie Garson‘s Stanford Blatch to Mario Cantone‘s Anthony Marentino. The wedding is at the start of the film and goes on longer than the one from “The Godfather.” If you can get past it (especially the straight male companions of the women who will flock to the film), the story levels out. But be warned: there are swans and a male chorus singing show tunes.

“SATC 2” may seem like more of the same to the untrained eye, but it’s got a lot of nice touches and is more fully fleshed out than its predecessor. Also, Sarah Jessica Parker‘s Carrie — while still the central character– is offered more balance by the stories given to Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha. In fact, my favorite scene in this film belongs to Charlotte and Miranda at the private bar in their lavish Abu Dhabi. The scene gives Kristen Davis and Cynthia Nixon their own space and identities. That plus Kim Cattrall‘s better than ever Samantha makes “SATC 2” a much better film in every way.

But then there is Abu Dhabi. The trip is part “Road to Morocco” (it was shot in Morocco substituting for Abu Dhabi), and part travel advertising. It’s kind of a mess and the episode goes on forever. “SATC 2” clocks in at two and a half hours. Good editing could have eliminated at least 20 minutes. It’s just unnecessary.

Randomly, I will tell you that Penelope Cruz makes a funny cameo. Miley Cyrus and Tim Gunn each play themselves in wave-by’s. Jason Lewis and Evan Handler don’t get enough screen time. There’s some gratuitous sex in the city, but it’s fleeting. And there may be an Arab or two who don’t jokes at their expense. Also, the costumes and apartments are just about as sumptuous as they can be: this is a New York fantasy even Woody Allen has not presented.

But mostly, writer/director Michael Patrick King delivers a movie that’s sympathetic to all its characters, doesn’t talk down to its audience, and celebrates honesty and spontaneity. Could I live without more of this? Yes. But there will be a third installment, you can bet on it.

PS Big lavish party last night at Lincoln Center, in a massive tent set up in Damrosch Park decorated like a Moroccan palace. All the stars were there, plus Matthew Broderick (‘natch), playwright Kenny Lonergan, Australian star Guy Pearce, and Gabby Sidibe. Chris Noth, of course, who plays Mr. Big, caused a stampede. SJP changed from her bright colored premiere frock to an elegant black lace dress. Warner chief Alan Horn’s beautiful daughter Cody came with her pal, “As the World Turns” actor Billy Magnussen. (They’re in a band together.)

More later…

Jessica Biel May Be Cured of ‘Breakdown’

Roger Friedman
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Jessica Biel May Be Cured of ‘Breakdown’

No sooner did I report that Jessica Biel would star in the musical version of “Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” than there’s talk she’s out.

It was only a week ago that Pedro Almodovar was telling me in Cannes how great Biel was in the workshops of the Broadway musical based on his hit movie of 20 years ago. I do know that everyone was excited about it.

But now it seems Biel is getting cold feet about the commitment of time, and the inability to make movies. She’s signed to make a comedy this summer called “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea,” which would eat into her rehearsal time. And then, “Woman” is supposed to open in October. Biel would be obliged to stick around through June and the 2011 Tony Awards. Ask Catherine Zeta Jones: that’s a loooong time.

I;’m sure Biel is getting great advice from top people, but really, I think she’d be better off racking up kudos and respect in the legit theater rather than make a couple of throwaway romantic comedies. But, of course, no one asked me!

If Biel is really gone, then watch all the ladies knocking down the doors at Lincoln Center to get that part. Laura Benanti, anyone? This is still a show on the verge of being a hit.

Simon Monjack: Brittany Murphy’s Husband’s Death Foretold

Roger Friedman
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3
Simon Monjack: Brittany Murphy’s Husband’s Death Foretold

Brittany Murphy‘s widower, Simon Monjack, died over night at home. It’s been almost six months since Murphy died.

Monjack, who was 39, was a bad guy, there’s no two ways about it.

This is what I wrote back in December about Monjack and Murphy.

Director Michael Z. Gordon was planning to go ahead with Brittany Murphy (whose real name was Brittany Anne Bertolotti) in a movie called “Shrinking Charlotte” that was set to shoot in January. Gordon told me he was nervous about working with Murphy because his staff had been in touch with the Puerto Rico production office of “The Caller.” That was the movie from which Murphy was fired two weeks ago.

But what he heard about her husband, Simon Monjack, was what gave him pause.

“Monjack came on the set inebriated,” Gordon said he’d been told. “The producers wanted to keep him away. Brittany of course defended him. And so she was let go.”

Nevertheless, Gordon liked her. He had planned, ironically, to put her in film called “Heart Stopper,” which wasn’t made. But if “Charlotte” had gone well, he had another dark comedy for her.

Monjack is not beloved in Hollywood. I spoke to two others movie producers today who came in contact with him on a project in the last couple of years. They described him as a “con man.” Neither had anything nice to say, but one of them warned: “He’s a dangerous guy.” According to this producer, Monjack presented himself as someone with a lot of money and had none at all. A lawsuit was settled after the film in question was made.

Monjack had other problems besides drinking and interfering with Murphy’s career. He is a walking legal time bomb. For one thing, the British citizen was arrested a month prior to his marriage to Murphy in May 2007 because his visa expired. The tabloids speculated that he married Murphy to avoid deportation.

Then there’s the money: According to public records, Monjack has been the defendant in several lawsuits. In 2006, Coutts and Company, a British bank, received a court judgment against him of $470,132. In 2005, right before he met Murphy, Monjack and his girlfriend were evicted from their New York apartment for $7,025 in back rent. There was a similar incident in 1997 in Los Angeles.

More interestingly: in November 2007, six months after marrying Brittany, Monjack was chased into Los Angeles Superior Court by his ex-wife. British writer and TV personality Simone Bienne claimed that Monjack had never paid her the $50,000 she’d been due in their 2006 British divorce. The court awarded her the money in U.S. dollars plus fees and interest.

This morning, May 24th: what was going on with this couple? Back in February, Murphy’s death was ruled “pneumonia, with prescription drugs and anemia also playing a role.”

Lost Was Purgatory; Now We’re in Hell

Roger Friedman
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Lost Was Purgatory; Now We’re in Hell

“Lost” is finally over.

And, as I surmised–and many others did a long time ago–the survivors of Oceanic 815 were in a kind of purgatory. All that flashing forwards and backwards and sideways was their lives flashing before them.

The best line of the night went to Kate, after Desmond told her someone named Christian Shephard had died. “Christian Shephard? Seriously?”

Back in the ether of my Fox News column I did say a long time ago that Jack’s father was named for a reason. The show had highly Biblical overtones, and they call came together tonight.

But, as with everything to do with “Lost,” and most series finales, this will be debated for a long time to come.

There were a lot of clues along the way. I’ll trust the folks at Lostpedia to sort them out, and all over the ‘net on forums devoted to the subject. But Jack’s neck wound coming and going should have been one, certainly. And last week, it made no sense in linear time that Michele Rodriguez‘s character, Ana Lucia, could have appeared in a flash sideways after she’d died on the island. But neither did it make sense in the same episode that Rousseau and her daughter, Alix, could have existed in Ben’s story.

The question will be: did the Oceanic passengers survive at all? Did the Oceanic 6, as they were known, return to the mainland, and then return to island only to die? And what about all the other people, like the bad guys from the Dharma Institute, and the Others? Th questions will go on and on.

But you know, “Lost” had to end eventually. And remember that that Damon Lindelof and Carleton Cuse always said they knew what the last shot would be from the beginning. And so it was.

Mantime, Cyndi Lauper was pretty damned good on “Celebrity Apprentice.” And is it any surprise that Bret Michaels won? At least he’s alive and not in purgatory.

James Franco Off to Yale On Double Header

Roger Friedman
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2

James Franco will have to shoot his “Planet of the Apes” prequel quickly this summer. In September he heads to Yale University to begin graduate work in both the writing and film departments.

“It’s a first,” he said, his trademark grin spreading from ear to ear. I caught up with the multi-tasking Franco on Thursday night in Cannes. He showed his 13 ninute short film, “The Clerk’s Tale,” at the Critics Week finale. It was preceeded by Kirsten Dunst’s 6 minute short, “Bastard.” Both stars were there, and got a lot of  applause for their work. But it was Franco the kids were screaming for.

The actor, who’s also in “Howl,” this fall (from Sundance) and “Eat, Pray, Love,” has managed to make a lot of films while attenting New York University film school and Columbia University’s writing program. His NYU classmates actually came to the Critics Week screening last night. They’re an enthusiastic bunch. And they assured me that despite a nasty photo posted on a blog last year, Franco does not fall asleep in class.

Frankly. who could blame him? He’s on the go 24/7.

“The Clerk’s Tale,” is based on a poem by Spencer Reese, who worked in a Brooks Brothers store in Minneapolis for 14 years while writing his poems and hoping to get published. He was finally vindicated, and now is at Yale Divinity School. Technically. the short is Franco’s fifth film, but certainly it’s just the beginning of a long interesting career.

As for Dunst, her “Bastard” is stylish and well-executed. Bravo!

‘Medium’ Star Jake Weber was Rolling Stones Drug Mule

Roger Friedman
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5

Jake Weber, who plays Patricia Arquette’s much put upon husband in “Medium,” is featured in a Cannes film.

When Weber was about 7, he spent the summer with the Rolling Stones in the south of France. His father was their drug dealer. Weber, as it’s noted in the new film, “Stones in Exile,” spent the summer rolling joints for Mick, Keith, and friends.

In other interviews, Weber has said that he was a “drug mule” at Mick and Bianca Jagger’s wedding.

The British actor also went to to school at Summerhill, the famous experimental school about which many books have been written. Who knew? Most TV actors don’t have such an exciting resume.

Jagger laughed at Wednesday’s Q&A following the first screening of “Stones in Exile.” He brought up “the little boy in the movie.” who few in the British and French audience realized was a TV star now.

“It’s not an occupation I’d recommend for an eight year old,” Jagger said of Weber’s joint rolling days. There’s no mention of who Weber’s dad was, or how he knew Keith Richards.

Paul Allen: Time to Update the Social Software

Roger Friedman
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8

One thing you can say for mysterious Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen: he doesn’t know how to throw a party. He does have a big yacht parked out in the Cannes marina with its full sized yellow submarine, floating hospital, and basketball court.

On Wednesday night, he hosted a party for the Rolling Stones vanity piece documentary, “Stones in Exile.” If Emily Blunt hadn’t made an appearance around 11:30 pm, Allen’s party would have been labeled the Voyage of the Garmento’s. The only other name stars were Ryan Gosling and Adrien Brody.

I looked back in old columns to see who’d been at previous years’ Allen parties. The answer is, few celebs. Whoever’s advising him isn’t doing a very good job. How can you have a gigantic yacht and no celebrities? Not even Mick Jagger, who’s said to be staying on the yacht, has shown up at Allen’s parties.

Monday night was pretty much the same thing. At least on Monday, Allen played with his pick-up rock garage band. By Wednesday, the band room was shut down.

On the good news side, people who’ve been on the boat say Allen looks better,albeit on the heavy side. He’s been battling non Hodgkins lymphoma for some time. Friends say he’s off to Norway next to do something or other considered once-in-a-lifetime. Readers of my old column may recall Allen’s failed attempt to photopgraph wild dogs in Zambia in the summer of 2008–even after spending millions. My friends and I got the pictures instead, by accident, for free.  

Speaking of the Rolling Stones doc, here’s a question that was asked by not just a few people last night after the screening: where the heck is Keith Richards in all this? Mick Jagger has made this is own project. Even though the names of Richards and Charlie Watts are on the same Executive Producer card as Jagger, there’s no sign of Richards at all for this “Exile on Main Street” re-release.

 PS Allen, an amateur musician, loves his rock and roll icons. He has a full state of the art recording studio on his yachts and in his houses. Robbie Robertson, leader of the legendary Band, has been making an album at Allen’s Hollywood Hills studio this year.

 

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