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Michael & Janet Jackson Duet in We Are the World

Roger Friedman
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Michael & Janet Jackson Duet in We Are the World

Less than 48 hours before “We Are the World 25″ premieres on the Olympics, I can tell you that the finished version has a duet of sorts with Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.

It comes at the midpoint of the Quincy Jones produced record. Just like in the original version from 1985, Michael sings the bridge, with Janet joining in. The vocal and the video of Michael are taken from the original version of the record. On the new video, Michael’s image pops up from the old video, followed by Janet’s from the new one.

“It’s very emotional,” says an insider. The finished version was played today in its entirety just for the production staff.

I am told that leads and single lines are heard from Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Natalie Cole, Kanye West, Gladys Knight, Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, and T Pain. Apparently there’s a smash solo vocal by Pink. Justin Bieber, 15, sings the opening lines.

A three-minute version will be heard during the Olympics. Following that, a longer version will be available on iTunes.

More importantly, the new website for the single has gone live at World25.org. And the group has already made a deal with YouTube for a channel so that donors can see their money at work in Haiti. Director Paul Haggis’ crew will be posting clips constantly of World25 putting the money to good use.

Lady Gaga Was Never Scheduled for ‘We Are the World’

Roger Friedman
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Lady Gaga Was Never Scheduled for ‘We Are the World’

ladygaga1 Lady Gaga Was Never Scheduled for We Are the WorldThere’s a lot of controversy going on about pop spectacle Lady Gaga, aka Stephanie Germanotta.

I told you last week that she declined the opportunity to be part of “We Are the World 25.” She turned them down flat.

By coincidence, Gaga’s producer, Red One (yes, that’s his name), aka Nadir Khayat, worked with Quincy Jones on the new “We Are the World.” Because of that there was talk of Gaga joining in, but it didn’t happen. At a meeting with about 20 people, apparently, Red One said he might be able to get Ga Ga. In the end, he couldn’t.

At no time did executive producer Randy Phillips ever promise Ga Ga to anyone. But all the people he did say were coming, came. And a few more, like Fergie, taped their parts later. Phillips and Quincy Jones put together 80 artists in about four days. It was an amazing achievement, frankly. I still haven’t gotten over seeing Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Tony Bennett, Gladys Knight, India Arie, and so on all in one room. Yowza.

“We Are the World 25″ debuts on Friday.

Michael Jackson’s Doctor Won’t Be Putting Anyone Else Out

Roger Friedman
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Michael Jackson’s Doctor Won’t Be Putting Anyone Else Out

As the world knows, Dr. Conrad Murray was arraigned yesterday and set free on $75,000 bail. The government wanted $300,000. Dr. Murray’s lawyer thought he should just go free. The judge found a middle ground.

Now the case moves to downtown L.A. on April 5 for a preliminary hearing. But my sources say that we won’t have a trial before September, and it could be as long as a year before Dr. Murray has to face a jury of his peers.

Meanwihle, the government scored a point: Dr. Murray, while he waits for his medical license to be revoked, can no longer administer anesthesia. He won’t be putting anyone else out or under. That’s a good thing. You may recall’a story I did last summer: Dr. Murray’s late doctor father also had problems giving patients such drugs. He was suspended for two years. The Murrays apparently like knocking out their patients. A lot.

Wyclef, Mary J. Blige Take Haiti Hip-Hop

Roger Friedman
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Wyclef, Mary J. Blige Take Haiti Hip-Hop

59527114So many things to tell you from last night’s Haiti relief fundraiser at Donna Karan’s magical Urban Zen space on Greenwich Street. Not the least of it is how many different kinds of amazing events occur on a daily basis at Urban Zen. It’s quite the facility.

Out of nowhere, Haiti Hope Help & Relief has popped up, and started raising money to send 50,000 tents to Port-au-Prince for people to live in. The tents cost $1,000 and you can buy them by e-mailing haitirelief@urbanzen.org. Mitch Davis, one of the organizers, turned me on to this new group because all the money, 100%, is going straight to Haiti.

So Whoopi Goldberg and Wyclef Jean each spoke, and Soledad O’Brien was master of ceremonies, and the well-heeled folks in the audience listened. They included organizer Andre Harrell, plus Robert De Niro and Grace Hightower, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, Robert Kennedy Jr., Gayle King, Russell Simmons, Al Sharpton, BET’s Debra Lee, Lyor Cohen, Tory Burch, Alina Chow, Donna D’Cruz, Daphne Guinness, Amy Sacco and Jay Z. Even Anna Wintour stopped by.

All of these people got a treat, too: Mary J. Blige did a full set with her band. Let’s just say she ripped the ceiling off. It’s nice to see a room full of rich people bouncing up and down, arms in the air. And Mary J. did her showstopper, “I See Colors,” which she wrote for “Precious” but somehow didn’t get nominated for an Oscar. (If she performed this number in the Kodak Theater, they’d have to have smelling salts for everyone.)

And then there was the after party, at Andre Balazs’s Boom Boom Room aka 18th floor at the Standard Hotel. Balazs is so behind this group that he had yellow tents outside the entrance stamped with The Standard Hotel logo, ready to be shipped to Haiti. Inside, upstairs (not easy to get there since the doorman didn’t want to let Wyclef’s band in) Jay Z and Trey Songz crowded in, Salman Rushdie took a booth, everyone from the dinner piled in.

This was all to see Wyclef, cousin Jerry Wonda and their band do another full set of rousing hits, Haiti and Trinidadian music. Mary J. joined Wyclef for their old hit, “Somebody Call 911″ and really, to see all these people crowd into a small space, shouting and singing along with vistas of Manhattan and the Hudson River behind, was hip-hop surreal. Some of them may still be there as you read this, that’s how much fun it was. Wyclef and Mary J. are magic together. And by the way. Mary J. may ‘ may, not definite ‘ tour with Alicia Keys this spring. It’s too much to think about.

Meanwhile, some people did have dinner last night: just prior to the Haiti benefit, the great Paul Sorvino, dining with friends, sang an operatic “Happy Birthday” to my friend Irene Walsh at venerable Cafe Luxembourg on the Upper West Side. One of the great TV newsmen, Brian Ross, of ABC, ate with a friend at an adjoining table, while screenwriter Jim Hart and his wife Judy entertained friends. And just beyond them was former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine. Who knew all this went on at Cafe Luxembourg on a Monday night?

He Really Wanted A Hot Dog

Roger Friedman
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hot dog363x3002:20am Saturday, Feb 6, 2010

Range Rover plows into Gray’s Papaya, corner of 8th St. and Sixth Avenue. The staff kept serving, which was nice.

Gray’s always has funny sayings posted in the window. Of course, there is no window now. But when it’s fixed, curious to see what they’ll say. Maybe “Mayor Bloomberg. Get rid of the bike lanes.”

And a blizzard is coming. Snow cones tomorrow instead of papaya juice!

The Who Still Rock…Dear Mel, You’re in 4th Place…Estelle Chows Down…

Roger Friedman
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It may have been said before, but The Who got famous singing, “Hope I die before I get old.” That was 45 years ago.

Well, it didn’t happen (except to Keith Moon, who took the line literally). Roger Daltrey (age 65) and Pete Townshend (age 64) are still around, and they absolutely killed as the Super Bowl half time entertainment. The group broke up in the 80s, but then kept going. Some twenty five years later, Daltrey sounded better than ever. Pete is still a guitar madman. “Baba O’Riley” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” came out in 1971 on “Who’s Next,” yet they are better than anything we heard on the Grammy show last Sunday. Unfortunately, we’ve been fooled over and over…

Great news: “Dear John,” a new romantic weeper, sent both “Avatar” and “Edge of Darkness” scurrying for cover over the weekend. “Dear John” made $32 million in one weekend ‘ $3 million more than “Edge” has made in two full weeks.

“Dear John” is a chick flick, yes. But it’s directed by the tremendous Lasse Hallstrom, who can spin silk from a sow’s ear any day. Hallstrom is one of our most gifted directors. His great resume includes “The Cider House Rules,” “Chocolat,” “My Life as a Dog,” “What’s Eating’Gilbert Grape” and underrated films like “Hoax,” “Casanova,” and “Once Around.”

Whoever onces the rights these days to D.M. Thomas’s “White Hotel” should hire Hallstrom immediately. It’s the movie he was meant to make.

“Edge of Darkness” fell more than 59% from last week, more than any other top film. It finished fourth for the weekend with a $7 mil take. Odds are it will be more than halved again next week. Mel Gibson has proved unworthy of a comeback in every respect. It’s hoped that Leonardo DiCaprio will get the message and pull out of Mel’s next scheduled project before it starts.

“Edge” shouldn’t be a total bust. Even if it totals just $40 mil domestically, it should have a good life overseas, especially in the U.K. (It was a British mini series originally)…

…Yes, that was the legendary Ben Gazzara having lunch at Balthazar on Sunday with wife Elke. He’s going to be 80 in August. God bless…

…People are still talking about the lunch last week at Phillippe Chow in Hollywood for R&B singer Estelle (”American Boy”). She played us some tracks from her new, upcoming CD and welcomed an elite crowd including Hill Harper, Sam Jean (Wyclef’s lawyer brother), and host Kim Porter ‘ aka P Diddy’s babymama of three. The lunch went on extra long I think because the guests loved the energy drink, called Sin, sponsoring the event. They all got bottles of it and Sin’s sister drink, Serenity, which is designed to put you to sleep. Other guests included our “cousin” Bill Werde, the editorial director of Billboard,’”Today show” producer Melissa Lonner; plus Jaime Hilfiger, Darren Henson, and Claudia Jones…Watch out for Estelle in 2010…she’s gonna be big…

Natalie Cole: ‘I Thought I’d Be Dead by 30′

Roger Friedman
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Natalie Cole: ‘I Thought I’d Be Dead by 30′

59498145“I never thought I’d live this long,” Natalie Cole told the sold-out-to-the-rafters crowd Saturday night at New York’s City Winery. “I thought I’d be dead by 30.”

Instead, she’s lived twice as long, and celebrated her 60th birthday on Saturday night with style, grace, and her amazing voice.

The Saturday-night show was the second in a row, and capped a birthday week that included her singing on Quincy Jones‘ remake of “We Are the World” this past Monday. In between, though, Natalie managed to have a little trouble ‘ she fell in her home and broke her elbow. The result was a black sling to go with her slinky black dress.

But elbows aside, Natalie rarely performs in New York, so her appearance was really a treat. (She would have done better to leave her rude corpulent female road manager at home, but that’s another story.) The show was mostly standards, which was just fine. Of course, there was “Unforgettable,” with a video of late dad, the original R&B superstar, Nat “King” Cole.

But Natalie is truly unforgettable. Her voice has more of its lilt and texture than ever. Her father has his place in history. Natalie Cole is one of the few progeny in the popular arts to match if not exceed a famous parent. Whether it’s upbeat material like “Paper Moon” or Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile,” Natalie can turn any standard into her own. She does “Come Rain or Come Shine” not in the melancholy way of Ray Charles, but as the promise that was first offered by Sammy Davis Jr. and Lena Horne. It sounds fresh and new. A revelation from the night: “Better than Anything,” a song she originally sang with Diana Krall. Lovely.

Of course, we love Natalie singing jazz, but the audience came with ulterior motives. “Maybe you remember the R&B Natalie Cole,” the singer said humbly toward the end of the show. Many titles were shouted out, but there was one in particular that everyone wanted: her original 1975 hit, “This Will Be.” “The music will be fine, but we don’t have any singers,” Cole protested. Still, with the audience clapping in time, she did it ‘ with no augmentation or background singers or Auto Tune. Thirty-five years just melted away. We need more Natalie Cole. So many of today’s singers could take lessons from her.

P.S. City Winery is a beautiful space with an excellent sound sytem. Owner Michael Dorf has done a great job with the music, food, and of course, beverages. One caveat: Get rid of the belligerent, brain dead security people. More 12-year-olds with headsets we don’t need, especially when they’re nasty to their elders.

Paul McCartney on the Beatles: ‘We Were a Great F-ing Band’

Roger Friedman
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Paul McCartney on the Beatles: ‘We Were a Great F-ing Band’

mccartney Paul McCartney on the Beatles: We Were a Great F ing BandPaul McCartney watched the rehearsals for the Beatles’ “Love” show from Cirque du Soleil and this is one thing he had to say: “We were a great f-ing band.”

This moment is captured in the documentary “All Together Now,” which seems like it was supposed to have come out last fall, did or didn’t, and is being pushed this week. Regardless, I watched it over the weekend, and it’s wonderful. Beatles fans will just eat this up. What a pleasure.

First of all, you get a real sense of the main players involved: George Martin, who deserves a purple heart; his devoted and talented son Giles; McCartney, of course; and Ringo Starr. You also get a real sense of Olivia Harrison, George’s incredibly loyal and devoted widow; and Yoko Ono. And there are the people from Cirque du Soleil: from creators Guy Laliberte and director Dominic Champagne, to a South African dancer who’s struggling to fit in.

Director ‘ yes, this was directed ”Adrian Wills gets short shrift among all these creative geniuses. But he really pulls it together. McCartney is at most his disarmed in this film, a little gobsmacked I think, as he sees the enormity of the Beatles unfold on stage through Champagne’s vision. Ringo is his usual charming self. Yoko One comes off better than you’d think, though she’s not easy on Champagne as the production is getting ready to open. “She hates it,” Champagne says to an associate in French. It doesn’t matter.

The whole “Love” show with Cirque du Soleil came about because of George Harrison. He didn’t get to see the project realized. Instead, Olivia and their son Dhani played a big backstage role in bringing “Love” to fruition. Olivia is on camera quite a bit, and she makes the most sense as she and Yoko ‘ thrown together in their joint widowhood ‘ are often together.

“All Together Now” answers quite a few questions too: the whole father-son relationship between George Martin ‘ who’s 84 years old! ‘ and son Giles, who’s inherited the mantle of protecting the legacy; McCartney’s perspective on having created the body of work; Ringo’s memory of Brian Epstein knocking on his door one day with an offer to join the band; the one new creation in the show ‘ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” ‘ to which Martin added a new violin score. He reveals that the musicians sent him two dozen roses upon completion. “Usually you just get invoices,” he jokes.

More than anything, you do get a real idea of George Martin’s role as the fifth Beatle (Billy Preston was sixth Beatle then). I loved a little anecdote he and McCartney share about Martin playing a harmonium on some song (”Penny Lane,” maybe) with the Beatles producing and giving him instruction. Their roles were reversed for once.

I was at the opening night of “Love” when all the parties mentioned were guests. I went back about a year later. It’s the best thing in Las Vegas, without a doubt. It’s a shame it can’t be brought to New York, Los Angeles, or London. I think people would be shocked about how extraordinary it is. Seeing “All Together Now” made me want to book a ticket immediately. In the meantime, we have the DVD and the CD, “Love,” which even yours truly ‘ a Beatles purist ‘ loves, loves, loves.

P.S. The documentary is properly dedicated to the memory of Neil Aspinall, who shepherded “Love” and ran the Beatles’ Apple Records for 40 years.

Mel Gibson’s Career on the Edge of Collapse?

Roger Friedman
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mgibson Mel Gibsons Career on the Edge of Collapse?Mel Gibson’s new film, “Edge of Darkness,” cost at least $80 million. Add in another $15 million, let’s say, for marketing, and you’ve got nearly a $100 million movie.

As of Wednesday, “Edge” had $21 million in its till. But it also had a unique problem. From Tuesday to Wednesday, it had the largest drop-off of any movie in the top 10. It was off 19.7%. The next closest drop went to “When in Rome,” Disney’s sort of straight-to-airplane romantic comedy which fell 19%.

The other eight were all at much less, including Denzel Washington in “The Book of Eli,” also from Warner Bros and a comparable commercial big studio entertainment.

The gauge for “Darkness” will show up later today, when we can see who went to see it on Thursday night.

What happened? It’s taken a few days for movie fans to hear about ‘ and see ‘ Gibson’s vile personality exhibited in public again. This time, he became belligerent during a perfectly friendly interview with a TV correspondent. Gibson did it by satellite, and when it was over, with his microphone on, he called the interviewer an “a**hole.”

The interviewer asked Gibson very politely about his DUI arrest and subsequent problems. It was perfectly valid. Gibson shot back this was now something that happened four years ago. That is true. Gibson’s legal problems began in 2006. But still, they happened, and they are absolutely noteworthy. He drove drunk. When he was arrested, he made anti-Semitic and racist comments. And there was an attempt to cover this up.

Here’s the clip of Gibson calling Chicago’s WGN’s Dean Richards an “a**hole.”

“That’s almost four years ago, dude. I’ve moved on. I’ve done all the necessary mea culpas.”

Well, no, Mel, you haven’t done the necessary mea culpas. You haven’t apologized directly for any of it. You haven’t explained why you continue to fund a “Catholic” church that isn’t recognized by the Catholic church. You haven’t explained or apologized for being a Holocaust denier, or answered questions about your father, Hutton Gibson, who’s said outrageous and awful things about the current Pope and the last one, too.

Here’s the thing: Mel has invested $50 million into that ideology. He got the money from people like us going into movie theaters and paying $12.50 per ticket. The public, huge segments of which Mel hates and despises, created this Frankenstein. Catholics, Jews, blacks, people against drunk driving ‘ all get to vote with their wallets on whether Mel Gibson remains a movie star. He called Dean Richards an “a**hole.” He picked a fight with Sam Rubin. He is not contrite. He is not sorry.

Wednesday’s drop may be a reflection that the fans are finally getting it.

Hilary Swank Film for Fall Has Oscar Promise

Roger Friedman
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59403592Hilary Swank ‘ a two-time Oscar winner ‘ will try again next fall to score big at the boxoffice and with critics.

Swank’s latest film, “Betty Anne Waters,” has been sold to Fox Searchlight. Directed by Tony Goldwyn, “Betty Anne Waters” concerns a sister who puts herself through college and law school to defend her brother on murder charges. Swank plays the title character, Sam Rockwell is the brother. Melissa Leo, Peter Gallagher, and Clea DuVall co-star.

Yesterday, one of the movie bloggers outrageously wondered why, after Mira Nair’s “Amelia” tanked, anyone would want to be in business with Hilary Swank. This is one of he more preposterous things I’ve read in these blogs. Swank has two Oscars (for “Boys Don’t Cry”and “Million Dollar Baby”). She’s a great young actress with a huge future. That assertion was so crazy that I called up Fox Searchlight chief Nancy Utley to see what she thought.

“We love Hilary, who wouldn’t want to have one of her movies?” Nancy said. I agree. “This movie feels very commercial. The performances are wonderful. It’s a true story, too. Betty Anne ‘ who’s alive ‘ didn’t have a high school degree. She became a lawyer. When we tested the film at previews, it went through the roof.”

So there, bloggers. “Amelia” was no dud, but it was hard to market. Everyone knew the ending, for one thing. Richard Gere was miscast, some thought. And there was no one alive to hang the marketing on.

Utley, who’s busy with “Crazy Heart” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” Oscar campaigns, says “Betty Anne Waters” will be at some key festivals, then open in the fall.

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