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Clash of the Cannes Party Titans: Graydon Carter to Reclaim Social Crown from Vanity Fair with Warner Bros. Gala

Roger Friedman
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Clash of the Cannes Party Titans: Graydon Carter to Reclaim Social Crown from Vanity Fair with Warner Bros. Gala

It’s not just movies causing a stir in Cannes this season.

When the venerable festival returns in mid May, there will be a clash of the party titans!

Graydon Carter is finally taking off the gloves and reclaiming his role as Chief Gala Guru. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Carter will host a glittering all star gathering at the elegant and historic Hotel du Cap Eden Roc on May 23rd celebrating the 100th anniversary of Warner Bros. His partner in this is Warner Discovery’s David Zaslav.

Carter invented the Cannes party years ago when he was editor in chief of the real Vanity Fair, not the one that puts TV stars on the cover of the Oscar issue. Now he’s got his lively subscription based Air Mail, which has a lot of the old VF writers and covers everything of interest — unlike the new VF.

Meanwhile, the new VF will likely have its – or what used to be Graydon’s — party as well, maybe on the Saturday before AirMail/Warner’s and maybe still at the Eden Roc. Celebrities now use VF’s parties as green carpet photo ops, then move on to private dinners. The upcoming VF Hollywood party will be just like that, teeming I guess with streaming stars.

Me? I’ll hang at the bar at Antibes watering hole Mamo, where the stars sneak off to every night during the festival.

Wayne Shorter, RIP, Founder of Weather Report, Played with Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Famous for “Aja”

Roger Friedman
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Wayne Shorter, RIP, Founder of Weather Report, Played with Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Famous for “Aja”

The legendary and amazing saxophonist Wayne Shorter has died at age 89. His beautiful sounds are stamped into our culture. from his work with Miles Davis and Art Blakey, to being a founding member of Weather Report. What a rich, mellifluous, trademark sound!

I didn’t know who Wayne Shorter was until 1977, when I turned 20, and Steely Dan released their seminal album, “Aja.” In the middle of that title track, which weighs in at 7 minutes and 52 seconds, comes an instrumental break the likes of which had never been heard in a “pop” record.

I can remember the first time I heard it. It was thrilling. It sent me and a generation of teens who’d grown up on the Beatles, soul, and classic rock back to find everything Wayne Shorter had ever played on. From then on, his place in jazz and rock history was cemented and writ large across the sky.

There are plenty of great obits appearing now, with far deeper insights into Shorter’s jazz work. But here is what I will always remember him for. Thank you, Wayne Shorter.

Broadway: “Funny Girl” Revival with Lea Michele Will Close in September After 18 Roller Coaster Months

Roger Friedman
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Broadway: “Funny Girl” Revival with Lea Michele Will Close in September After 18 Roller Coaster Months

“Funny Girl” has had a funny time on Broadway. But now, it’s planning a farewell.

The first revival ever of the famed musical that starred Barbra Streisand will ring down the curtain on September 3, 2023. That will be one year after Lea Michele and Tovah Feldshuh stepped in and saved the show that had opened in April 2022.

When the new cast came in, box office receipts — which had been spotty — suddenly took off like crazy. In the first week, box office shot up by $1 million to $1.6 mil. The show was sold out and people were paying top dollar just to get in.

As recently as February 12, 2023, the box office was up to $1.8 million, an amazing feat.

Back during the pre-Lea Michele fun, Beanie Feldstein missed a lot of shows, which contributed to the problems. Recently, Lea Michele has been out some, too. Her standby, Julie Benko, plays every Thursday.

This past week showed that interest in “Funny Girl” collapses with Lea Michele’s absence — she was on vacation. Last week’s box office was down around 50% from February 12th. The show took an expected nose dive. Lea Michele’s back now, so the numbers will rise, but producers obviously see the writing on the wall. By September 3rd, “Funny Girl” will have fulfilled its mission.

The Weeknd, Already on the Outs with the Grammys, Goes After Rolling Stone So They Rip Apart His New Show (Got That?)

Roger Friedman
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The Weeknd, Already on the Outs with the Grammys, Goes After Rolling Stone So They Rip Apart His New Show (Got That?)

The Weeknd — Abel Tesfaye — doesn’t mind mixing it up with the established music world. He’s already been in a long running feud with The Grammys since they totally snubbed his huge hit album, “After Hours.”

Once that happened, he declared he was done with them. It’s unclear whether there was already bad blood, which led to the snub. But now The Weeknd gets no buzz off the Grammys– and the awards machine just moved on without blinking.

Now The Weeknd is warring with Rolling Stone, which is still a force in the music biz. It’s not like it was in the 70s or 80s. but Rolling Stone is still the main music magazine.

What happened? Rolling Stone has eviscerated The Weeknd’s coming series on HBO called “The Idol,” in which the R&B singer stars. (This is not be confused with the great cult movie, “The Idolmaker.”)

In the magazine article, writer Cheyenne Roundtree — who writes a lot of cool exposés — says “The Idol” is a mess. “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson took over for director Amy Seimetz. Since then the magazine says, Levinson — whose “Euphoria” already pushes the envelope with sex and drugs — really goes for it. They say Levinson turned one episode into a “rape fantasy” involving a character played by Lily Rose-Depp. Depp responded, as did HBO, claiming all is well. But it sounds like “The Idol” is a huge mess, and quite out of control.

The Weeknd responded to all this by posting an unreleased scene from “The Idol” on Instagram. In the scene. “Schitt’s Creek” star Dan Levy plays a manager or publicist of Tesfaye’s music star. Sitting poolside at a mansion, Levy tells Tesfaye’s character he can get him the cover of Rolling Stone, but Tesfaye doesn’t want it and calls the 50 year old music bible, “Irrelevant.” He continues to demean the Stone before turning it down.

Next to the video he posted on Instagram, The Weeknd writes: “Did we upset you?”

The weird thing is, it seems like this scene was already filmed. Did Rolling Stone know they were getting slagged in the show and launched a pre-emptive attack by investigating the show?

TV shows about music really rarely work. Either the tone is all wrong, or it seems outsider-y, or the facts are garbled. HBO tried famous to do a music series called “Vinyl,” which ended in tears and cancellation. Denis Leary was in a show so bad no one remembers it or saw it (“SexandDrugsandRockandRoll”). “Empire” came close briefly and then descended into self-parody. The only one that ever worked was the animated “Josie and the Pussycats” (and maybe tHe Partridge Family”).

As for The Weeknd, all this negative energy in his own business isn’t doing him any favors. “After Hours” sold a stunning 4.5 million albums, of which 645,000 were CDs, LPS, and downloads. The follow up, “Dawn FM,” only did 1.3 million total, and 240K were physical not streaming. The “Dawn FM” numbers were enviable, but show a big drop off. Now Tesfaye wants to be an actor. I’ve got a feeling The Weeknd feels he’s popular and young enough to buck the system and do what he wants without considering the consequences. We’ll see how that goes. It may not be just his face he can feel soon.

HBO’s Hit Show “The Last of Us” Finally Vaults Over 1 Million Viewers on Main Channel

Roger Friedman
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HBO’s Hit Show “The Last of Us” Finally Vaults Over 1 Million Viewers on Main Channel

If you wait long enough, good things come.

Sunday night’s episode of HBO’s hit show, “The Last of Us,” finally vaulted over the 1 million viewer mark on the main channel.

The show had flirted with the million mark a couple of weeks ago, coming in at 991,000. But then last Sunday– 9 days ago — “The Last of Us” was at 841,000. That episode showed Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsay) finding Joel’s brother and utopian group hiding from Zombies and other unpleasant people.

This past Sunday’s show was mostly about Ellie hanging out at an abandoned post-apocalyptic mall with a romantic interest named Riley (Storm Reid). She’s Ellie’s best friend. (Note: Sorry if I don’t know more about all these characters. I’m enjoying the show but know nothing of the source material.)

The increase from last week to this one is around 28%. After 7 episodes, word of mouth is finally turning into ratings. Can “Last of Us” keep growing and turn into a “Walking Dead”? Because that’s what it seems to be emulating. So stay tuned, and congrats to all the people involved. After a roller coaster start, they’ve found a groove.

Oscar Likeability Transcends the Awards: No One Understands “Everything Everywhere” But Everyone Really, Really Likes the Actors

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Likeability Transcends the Awards: No One Understands “Everything Everywhere” But Everyone Really, Really Likes the Actors

There isn’t a person I know who can explain what goes on in “Everyone Everywhere All at Once.” Everyone I speak to asks me why it’s winning so many awards? Why can’t anyone make it through the movie? Some people have tried three times. They still don’t get it. They know all the fun stuff, the hot dog fingers, the crazy costumes, Jamie Lee Curtis‘s overbite, the rock with the jiggly eye, the Bagel! We love the Bagel!

But what is it about? No one knows. No one seems to care, either. They just really like the actors.

If you watched the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday — and that was only a half million people– you could see how the cast of “EEAAO” must have caught on during SAG Q&A’s. They’re like last year’s “CODA” cast: they’re fun, authentic, genuine. None of them have ever had awards interest in the past. And they all like each other very much. They also really like their directors, “The Daniels.”

It’s all about likeability. It’s the same for Brendan Fraser. He plays the 600 pound “Whale.” The movie “The Whale” is manipulative. No one wants to see it. There was no rush to the theaters. After 12 weeks in theaters, “The Whale” — the most hyped movie of the year — has made just $16.7 million. But everyone loves the idea of Brendan Fraser making a comeback. In the 90s he had a lot of popular films like “School Ties,” “Encino Man,” and “The Mummy” series. There were a couple of stabs at serious work in “Gods and Monsters” and “The Quiet American,” but Fraser was mostly of his time and eventually faded out. That he’s back at all is a miracle, and “The Whale” sounds serious enough to make all Oscar voters feel like they could rally similarly in their careers.

Just as with Fraser, Ke Huy Quan in “EEAAO” is part of a big comeback story in that film. Very personable, Quan hadn’t worked in decades until he got this movie. He’s remembered fondly as a child actor from the 80s. Michelle Yeoh rose to American fame with “Crouching Tiger,” and made a lot of good films without attention including “Crazy Rich Asians.” Jamie Lee Curtis, always outspoken, is best known for “Halloween” movies and just being cool for the last 40 years. No wonder they won the SAG Awards. If you’re in SAG, the “EEAAO” group is what you dream of: recognition at last. Plus, it’s refreshing — as it was in Oscar hits like “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Parasite” — to see people who’ve rarely gotten screen attention.

And a PS to that idea just seeing 91 year old James Hong on stage at SAG, telling stories about making a movie with Clark Gable and how Asians have been diminished for seven decades, was enough to make you give this cast anything they want.

But what about that movie? The Academy experts didn’t even include it in Visual Effects. It didn’t make the short list. (The judges obviously know better than the rest of us — I thought that was a slam dunk.) The cinematography is very good, but it’s nothing like the stunning work in “All Quiet on the Western Front.” Or even “Top Gun Maverick.” But back to the central problem: the story is convoluted. Yes, the art work is dazzling. But the drama is not on the level of Elvis’s deterioration, or The Fabelmans learning the meaning of family, or the downfall of a self-absorbed Lydia Tar, or the simple notion of the fragility of friendships in “Banshees.”

No, if “EEAAO” and Brendan Fraser win, it’s because of likeability. And that’s not a bad thing, is it?

Oscar voting begins tomorrow, Thursday. I would pick “The Fabelmans,” Michelle Williams, and Steven Spielberg, not to mention Tony Kushner. But that’s a dream. In reality I’d go for “Elvis,” Austin Butler, Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett and of course, Ke Huy Quan. Spielberg I’m sticking with for best director. Is that how it will turn out? Wait and see on March 12th.

Justin Bieber, Flush with Cash from Catalog Sale, Cancels the Rest of 2023 Tour Dates Because of Face Paralysis Health Issue

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber, Flush with Cash from Catalog Sale, Cancels the Rest of 2023 Tour Dates Because of Face Paralysis Health Issue

Well, that’s it.

There will be no more “Justice” for Justin Bieber. The balance of his 2023 tour has been cancelled. Previously, Bieber had cancelled the bulk of his 2022 dates after being diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, partial paralysis of his face.

In September 2022, he cancelled the rest of the year through this month. Now the rest of it is all gone. Fans will be sent their money back to credit cards, etc. Many will complain about lost money on travel reservations, etc. That’s the way it goes.

In the last few weeks, probably knowing he wasn’t touring again, Bieber sold his song catalog, his masters, and whatever was in his house to Hipgnosis Music. It’s said he got $200 million. My guess is he won’t tour again, or not for a long time. Maybe at some point manager Scooter Braun will set him up in Vegas for an Adele-type run.

Is Ramsay Hunt the only reason he’s not touring? Bieber suffers from depression and other mental health issues, so it’s best to be safe and secure. He’s made a wise decision.

Oscar Likeability Transcends the Awards: No One Understands “Everything Everywhere” But Everyone Really, Really Likes the Actors

Netflix Maximizes Brand with “Stranger Things” Live Stage Play Prequel Story Coming to London’s West End

Roger Friedman
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Netflix Maximizes Brand with “Stranger Things” Live Stage Play Prequel Story Coming to London’s West End

I was watching the great film, “The Reader,” the other night and wondering what its director, Stephen Daldry, was up to.

Now we know: he’s co- directing a play (with Justin Martin) with a new plot based on the Netflix hit “Stranger Things” in London’s West End. Sonia Friedman is producing, I guess this akin to her hit “Harry Potter” play on Broadway.

The new play, called “The First Shadow,” is by Kate Trefry, a writer and co-executive producer for the TV series. A press release says it “will be rooted in the mythology and world of the Netflix global phenomenon.”

“Stranger Things” is now filming its 5th and final season, which will be aired later this year on Netflix.

Here’s the plot of the play:
“Hawkins, 1959: a regular town with regular worries. Young Jim Hopper’s car won’t start, Bob Newby’s sister won’t take his radio show seriously and Joyce Maldonado just wants to graduate and get the hell out of town. When new student Henry Creel arrives, his family finds that a fresh start isn’t so easy… and the shadows of the past have a very long reach.”

So this is a prequel concerning Winona Ryder’s Joyce when she was in high school, and David Harbour’s Jim Hopper, etc. (Just a thought: Matthew Modine, aka Dr Brenner, is already in London starring in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and getting rave reviews. He could just stay and play Young Doctor Brenner.)

If it’s a hit, “The First Shadow” will cast one on Broadway, no doubt, in spring or fall 2024.

This is called Maximizing the Brand, folks. I can’t wait to see what 1959 rock classic will be revived with this play. “Stranger Things” have happened!
And what’s next? “Eleven: The Musical”? No doubt!

Pop Star Ed Sheeran Cogitates on Wife’s Health, Personal Struggles, New “Minus” Album, New Tour, with Annie Leibovitz Portrait

Roger Friedman
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Pop Star Ed Sheeran Cogitates on Wife’s Health, Personal Struggles, New “Minus” Album, New Tour, with Annie Leibovitz Portrait

Pop star Ed Sheeran had a bad year in 2022. His wife, seriously, he says was diagnosed with a tumor while pregnant and couldn’t be treated until their second child was born. He doesn’t say what happened, but presumably all is well now. Thank god.

Otherwise, he had a friend die, which is terrible.

But now he’s got a new album called “Subtract” — the Minus album — a single, and a tour. So everything will be alright.

In his statement, Ed mentions being in court defending himself. He has a nasty habit of nicking other people’s songs. This time it was about his hit “Thinking Out Loud” and Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On.” Let’s hope “Subtract” is minus any soundalikes.

His announcements are via Instagram, and they’re so off the cuff that Annie Leibovitz was hired to take the picture. It costs about $100,000 to get that non chalant.

“I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.

Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.

Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly, and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.

As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time, I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.

This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.” – Ed

Jubilant “RRR” Song Will Be Performed at the Oscars by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava

Roger Friedman
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Jubilant “RRR” Song Will Be Performed at the Oscars by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava

Announced today: the Oscars will be going crazy for “Naatu Naatu” on March 12th.

The jubilant song and dance number from “RRR” will be performed by the singers from the movie, Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava. The movie is nominated for Best International Film.

Adding the “RRR” performers that makes four of the five Best songs all set up for the show. In another day or so we should be getting the announcement of Lady Gaga singing “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun Maverick.”

The Oscars are shaping up nicely.

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