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The Tony Awards can proceed with their show on Sunday, June 11th. It can be broadcast on CBS thanks to a waiver from the Writers Guild, which is on strike.
In an agreement reported overnight, the WGA said it was fine and not so fine. It’s unclear how or if the Tonys will be able to stage numbers from musicals, or if anyone in another labor union will do the work, whether an actor or a crew member.
The Tonys could produce a show in which they present the winners of this year’s awards, interspersed with clips from past shows, or pre-recorded clips from the past year’s shows.
The most important part of this is that the Tonys are announced so that the winners can use that imprimatur to promote themselves. A lot of shows are struggling to stay in business. All of Broadway is hoping the Tonys seal of approval will help them.
But you never know. In the week following the Tony nominations there wasn’t a big box office bump. The musical, “Some Like it Hot,” jumped by $100,000, but didn’t come close to previous high week from March 19th. All the plays are having a bad time, too,
The Broadway League hasn’t said yet. but we can only hope the big after party at the Plaza will take place. The Broadway community needs to be able to celebrate the season, which was a very good one whether or not the typical kind of broadcast occurs.
The Intercontinental Hotel Group spent a bloody fortune to renovate Cannes’s centerpiece, The Carlton Hotel. I was a given a tour tonight, and it’s magnificent. The Carlton I knew was shabby, down on its luck, throwback to the days of screen sirens.
And then it got a facelift. Well, all body parts. New bars and restaurants throughout, a new restaurant outside in the back facing a reflecting pool and a real pool with cabanas. Everything is new, made to seem like the old Hotel but only better. And better it is.
The facade has been completely redone, painted, pointed. It’s gleaming. Normally on the night before the Festival de Cannes, you’d see the whole place dressed up in advertising for movies and film companies. You couldn’t even see the facade there would be so many ads on it. But tonight there are just two large free standing signs for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” flanking the new front entrance that eliminates the portico so you can walk straight in. (I miss the portico.)
Where’s all the old pizzazz that made the Carlton the center of attention every year? “I don’t think that’s happening this year,” says a young woman who works at the front desk. The implication is that the new Carlton will be like the glamorous Hotel du Cap Eden Roc in Antibes– sophisticated and cool. They don’t want people dressed like zombies or space vixens (see Troma Films) parading out front.
At the opposite end of the Croisette, the Majestic Hotel, across from the Palais, is also absent a sense of old Cannes merriment. Renovated a few years ago, the Majestic is also gleaming with Big Money energy. In the fabled bar, young women with large exposed breasts and big ideas are looking for “some advice.” (There were more discreet types at the Carlton, and I loved seeing tradition continue despite #MeToo.)
From the Majestic to the Carlton the wind is blowing, the weather is blustery. Some of prized commercial real estate that used to house over the top luxury brands are boarded up. I’ve never seen this before, ever. It’s startling. Some stores are still assembling window displays, although a few have been unveiled and are eye catchers, like Hermes. But some others are really closed down tight, no tenants, that used to be thriving. There’s a sense that the Money is not coming this year.
Indeed in front of what used to the garish Noga Hilton, brokers of supercars used to park out front. That’s where I used to see convertible Bugattis, Lamborginis, Ferraris, models I never heard, shining in the sun like NASA prototypes. But when I walked by what is now known as the JW Marriott, the indented slot from the street that used to house these symbols of abnormal wealth was empty. “Where are the cars?” I asked the doorman. He just shrugged.
What happened here? The pandemic. Even post-COVID, you can feel a reluctance to return to the old Cannes days. Wonderful restaurants and gelato shops, and so on, have closed over the last couple of years. Nothing has replaced them. Mom and pop businesses took a beating, it’s clear. A lot of little out of the way places have just vanished.
One restaurant has revived itself, however. On out of the way Boulevard Republique, chef proprietor Alison Sucheta is doing all the cooking from a small corner open kitchen. She’s dressed up, too. The restaurant is typically tiny for France, and the tables are packed. There’s a long middle table full of Americans here for the festival. I was lucky to get a seat next to two couples very involved in cinema– Bob Jeannie Berney, and Joana Vicente and Jason Kliot. Vicente runs the Sundance Film Festival. The other three are successful producers.
They are all hoping for a great festival, despite the glitchy ticket delivery system that’s causing nervous breakdowns. So am I. And some warm weather. After all, we’re on the Cote d’Azur!
The front window at Hermes on the Croisette, Cannes, May 2023.
David Mamet, the once popular playwright and director, is coming back after 10 years.
He’s going to make a movie about the Chicago mob rubbing out President John F. Kennedy. It’s called “Assassination.” Here’s the description: “1963. During a crucial justice hearing against organized crime, the head of the Chicago mob orders the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Jr., creating a deadly conspiracy while altering the fate of a nation.”
The movie will star Al Pacino, John Travolta, Courtney Love, and Shia La Beouf. Also, Mamet’s wife, Rebecca Pidgeon. This is some group. It will be like herding cats.
No word whether Mamet has cast his actress daughter, Zosia.
In the decade since Mamet last worked on a film, he revealed himself to be ardently right wing. This shocked a lot of people, but also made the author of “Glengarry Glen Ross” and “Speed the Plow,” as well as “State and Maine,” not quite as popular as before.
Mamet actually told The Guardian in 2022 that “Trump did a good job” as president, and that he didn’t disagree that the 2020 election was rigged.
How a Mamet film will be met now is certainly up in the air. But then again, Mel Gibson is directing a new movie, too, written by a Jewish screenwriter. All bets are off in Hollywood.
No question “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” is a hit. On its first weekend, it cleaned up.
But coming around the corner into Monday, “GOTG3” was running $30-$35 million behind the second installment from 2017. If that had continued, the final episode of Chris Pratt and his rag tag gang would have fallen further behind.
And then came a quote in the New York Post from the red carpet of a screening in New York. Pratt compared himself to Jesus. Pratt was asked if he felt attacked over his religious beliefs.
“That’s the way it is, nothing new, 2,000 years ago they hated him [Jesus], too,” Pratt told Page Six. The quote was published last Sunday, but it took a couple of days to migrate through the media that takes in “ET,” “Access Hollywood,” and all the aggregators.
In the middle of the week, “GOTG3” was lackluster. But when the story set in, “GOTG3” popped. The result is a $60 million weekend. The movie is still lagging behind its predecessor, but it’s suddenly picked up steam. Jesus turns out to be quite the influencer.
Pratt has positioned himself as a Good Ol Boy, strong on religion and conservative values. (How he functions as Maria Shriver’s son-in-law beats me, but Arnold Schwarzenegger loves him.)
Did Pratt know what he was saying would have this effect on box office sales? The answer is, he probably knew, given his fans that it wouldn’t hurt.
Still, “Guardians 3” is now at $213 million. “Guardians 2” was at $248 million. So Pratt may have to call in the apostles next.
Hildur Guðnadóttir, the Oscar winning composer of “Joker,” plus “Tar,” and “Women Talking,” is frantic. She says on Twitter that someone broker into her home and stole her one of a kind instrument, what looks like an electronic violin or cello. (She’s an award winning cellist.) This happened in Berlin in the last couple of days. This isn’t funny– she’s working on the score for the “Joker” sequel with Lady Gaga. Someone call Batman immediately!
Berlin music community – PLEASE HELP!!
Someone just broke in and stole my instrument. It has a huge emotional value to me, but it is worthless to whoever now has it, as none of the electronics will work without the accompanying amplifiers etc. Please share this & help me find it! pic.twitter.com/JlvuHx4np0
Just a short time ago, Ben Affleck directed “Air” — now on Amazon Prime — and drew raves. The film has made over $50 million in theaters, it’s a big hit on the streaming platform, and should win some Oscars. It was all good.
But this weekend, Affleck stars in Robert Rodriguez’s “Hypnotic.” It’s a bomb. Weekend take is predicted as $2.5 million, maybe, if the universe is kind. Not only does “Hypnotic” have a miserable 39% on Rotten Tomatoes among critics, it has an even more alarming 56% audience rating.
In other words, no one wants to see it, and no one will see it.
Rodriguez has never been a critical hit, but his “Spy Kids” movies were hits, and he’s been prolific to say the least. But this one did not work out.
Affleck can shrug it off. He has “Air,” and plenty more to come.
Yes, there’s a musical with songs associated with Britney Spears starting performances tonight on Broadway.,
“Once Upon a One More Time” opens officially June 22nd at the Marriott Marquis Theater. There’s a video of a rehearsal below.
This is dance show based loosely on “Cinderella.” She’s blonde, and played Briga Heelan, but she’s not playing Britney and she’s not in either of the advanced videos. They’re saving her for later in this saga.
The show has added the estimable David Leveaux as creative consultant. The directors are Keone & Mari Madrid.
This sounds like a fun summer show. All of Britney’s songs will included like “Oops I Did It Again,” “Lucky,” “Circus,” and “Toxic”. The dancing looks good. Let’s hope Britney comes in for the opening night. She could give Broadway a needed jolt.
You’d have thought that winning his copyright trial would have been a publicity bonanza for Ed Sheeran. On the stand he played his guitar, welled up with tears and carried on, charming the jury. They agreed he did not lift “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye’s “Let Get It On.”
Then Ed released a new album, called Minus, or “Subtract.” That was last Friday.
Today sales were counted for this week’s albums, and Minus sold only 111,000 copies. It debuted at number 2 behind Morgan Wallen. On iTunes, the Jonas Brothers are number 1 and Ed is number 2.
Did the trial hurt him? It looks like it might have done some damage. Usually a new Ed Sheeran album with a mathematical symbol debuts at number 1.
Minus did sell 80,000 albums or paid downloads, which is great. Ed is not a big streamer, so far. This album opened at just about the same level as Sheeran’s last one in 2021, His last actual hit album — over 1.5 million copies, was :Divide,” in 2017.
Ed Sheeran is just 32 years old. The record business is crazy now. Wow. Also maybe it’s time to move on from the symbol titles. The next album should not be called “Fractions.”
(And why was he on Live with Kelly and Mark? Not cool, Ed, no cool factor.)
The chopping block is pretty busy at all the networks. Next week they will all present their new schedules to press and advertisers at the Up Fronts.
Today, ABC finally canned “Big Sky” after three dismal seasons. This was a show you could never figure out what was going on. When it began it was a little like “Twin Peaks,” with Ryan Phillippe advertised as the star. But he was killed off in the first episode, and the characters who subsequently took over were meaningless. Unlike “Seinfeld,” “Big Sky” was really a show about nothing.
Two time Oscar winner Hillary Swank starred in “Alaska Daily.” She got twins out of it in real life, born this spring. “AD” looked good and the actors — including dependable Jeff Perry — were fine. But how many unsolved murders could there be in Alaska? And the main characters were undefined. Swank must return to movies. She popped off the TV screen.
Last, “The Company You Keep” starred Milo Ventimiglia from “This Is Us” and a sexy girl. I could never figure out if they each spies, or one of them was, or what they were doing, It thought it was “Mr, and Mrs Smith”– two assassins get it on — but I don’t think that happened. Polly Draper and William Fitchner were in, and who knows why?
ABC is taking “Rescue 911: Lone Star” from Fox for one of these spots They finally got rid of “Nine Million Pieces” or whatever it was called (“A Million Little Things”) which tried to be the reboot of “thirtysomething.” These shows all have fine actors but there’s no vision or point of view, they all seem like wallpaper. None of them are as good as a great wallpaper show like “Trapper John MD.” Why can’t network approach streaming/cable quality?Very frustrating.
The Writers Guild rejected giving CBS and the American Theater Wing a waiver so the show could go on. The main writer of the Tony’s, Dave Boone, is a member of WGAE. Actors from SAG won’t cross a picket line. Actors Equity, the Broadway union, has been on picket lines all week.
I told you this from the outset of the strike. When I queried a rep for Ariana DeBose, this year’s host, last week, there was no response.
The Tony committee will meet on Monday and choose between delaying (perhaps to September) or putting on a private dinner of some kind.
Frankly they should do both. A dinner on June 11th where they announce the awards, and a proper TV show when the strike is over.
Many Tony nominated shows are struggling right now, and counting on the awards to get them through the summer. If they could at least have something to put in ads, that would help them tremendously.
A fall show with pre-announced winners performing, even some nominees and other Broadway stars, is never a bad thing. I hope the Committee will take that into consideration.
Meanwhile, some shows like “Leopoldstadt” are coming to the end of their runs anyway. It would help them punch up the last couple of weeks of box office just to be able to say “Tony winner Best Play 2023.”
