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Guillermo del Toro Speaks About “Pinocchio”: “Nobody in this goddam movie is cool or hip.  We went for humanity, pain, memory and loss”

Leah Sydney
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Guillermo del Toro Speaks About “Pinocchio”: “Nobody in this goddam movie is cool or hip.  We went for humanity, pain, memory and loss”

Guillermo del Toro sure has his fans and they showed him their enthusiastic cinematic love at the first LA screening this past week of his stop-motion adaptation of “Pinocchio.” The screening was at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills and played to a rapturous, packed house for the final day of the fifth edition of Animation is Film Festival.

After being introduced by Festival director, Matt Kaszanek, del Toro explained his film’s arduous journey.  “What you are about to see we started 15 years ago.  Around 2006 we started to talk about this movie, in 2008 we were full on.  Little by little, we got the thing that you get most in Hollywood, which is no! We got that no again and again. 

‘My feeling is that every time you have the opportunity to do a movie, you shouldn’t waste that opportunity by doing something that anyone has tried before. It’s a privilege that you’ll never know if you are going to make another movie.  I never know, I guarantee you that.  The whole team went for this, we never wavered.  This film took this long because we wanted to push the thematical, emotional and performance animation to a place that we hoped that would be helpful in moving the bar. 

“Why am I saying this?  Because animation is not a genre for kids.  We know that.  People ask me if this is for kids. I say no, but kids can watch it if their parents talk to them.  It’s not a homogenized, pasteurized yogurt that they can consume immediately.  It’s time to break with the crap that much of animation has been. We tried to rebel against cool and hip.  Nobody in this goddam movie is cool or hip.  We went for humanity, pain, memory and loss. We tried to tackle themes that hurt.  But this movie also has the largest beating and loving heart possible. 

“For me this movie is a huge hug to the world.  We need it.  We need love and empathy and to see each other.  In the world there is pain, and when we make stories, we have to account for that pain.  we embarked on this thinking we can deliver something beautiful.  When we animate the ordinary, it will be extraordinary.” 

Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” is a soulful, whimsical, dark and heartbreakingly exquisite take on the classic tale.  His stop motion breathes brilliant poignant life into rotten wood.  The actors providing the voices including Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, John Turturro and the rest are all superb.  Alexandre Desplat’s score and songs, many co-written by del Toro himself, are equally buoyant and heart wrenching.  The films perfection shines a luminous light on the imperfect.  Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” is a magical masterpiece. 

Netflix will release “Pinocchio” in theaters this November before it hits Netflix in December.

The Beatles’ “Revolver” is Number 1, 2, 7, and 8 on Amazon For a Reason: It’s Brilliant

Roger Friedman
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The Beatles’ “Revolver” is Number 1, 2, 7, and 8 on Amazon For a Reason: It’s Brilliant

Yes, “Revolver” is back. It’s past the 50th anniversary of 1966, but the Beatles put out so much classic, amazing music in such a short time that they couldn’t get all the 50th reissues out fast enough.

Well, we had the remixed number 1s, the 50th of “Sgt Pepper,” the White Album, “Abbey Road,” and “Let it Be” with the ‘Get Back’ documentary. All that’s left really is “Revolver,” and the album that preceded it, “Rubber Soul.”

Currently, “Revolver” Super Deluxe is holding down the number 1, 2, 7, and 8 positions on Amazon’s best seller list. There’s a very good reason.

For some, “Revolver” is even more sacrosanct than “Sgt. Pepper.” Going back to it now is a blessing. Even going back to the 2009 remaster of “Rubber Soul” is very enlightening. The Beatles had finally gotten some control over US vs UK albums, straightened out running orders, etc. — although some “Revolver” tracks were issued early on the US “Yesterday and Today” butcher baby album. Alas.

Of course, everything was remastered in the 2009 black box set plus the white Mono box, and the US albums. It’s all piling up.

The glories of the new “Revolver” set exist in the two demo CDs. There’s also a remixed version of the album — spectacular sound — and a new mono disc. Their sound is so good they made my phone glow on Spotify.

But the revelations are in the demos. There was a lot made in the press last week about the plaintive, folky version of “Yellow Submarine,” which is fine. But I am more obsessed with the evolution of songs like “Got to Get You into My Life” and “I’m Only Sleeping.” Plus, I’m sorry, listening to the instrumental track for “Paperback Writer,” I hear bits of “Jumping Jack Flash” very clearly. Is it a coincidence Mick Jagger visited the Beatles in the studio? No. And two years later came Jumping Jack.

Giles Martin used Peter Jackson’s music process as he and Sam Okell put this all together. They have turned Beatles remixing into a transcendent art. They’ve done as much as humanly possible to make the Beatles bright and shiny for future generations. Even if the 2009 remasters were enough for you, the attention and love these guys have given the whole catalog is more than commendable. I now wait for the final piece of this puzzle– “Rubber Soul.” The whole thing has been a blessing.

What these Beatles did in just seven or eight years continues to be mind blowing. There was magic in the air, the hand of God was involved, it’s not normal, none of it. The more you listen, the more the mixes and demos illustrate the genius that just grows deeper and richer by the year.

Oh yes, and there’s also the iconic Klaus Voormann cover.

Billboard Says Taylor Swift Has All Top 10 Singles, But Actual Sales Total is Sadly Anemic

Roger Friedman
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Billboard Says Taylor Swift Has All Top 10 Singles, But Actual Sales Total is Sadly Anemic

Billboard is all excited. They’ve awarded the entire top 10 singles to Taylor Swift. It’s the first time one artist has had all of the top 10.

But it’s a sad victory. The total sales for the 10 singles comes to fewer than 70,000. Yes, lots of streaming. But when they count all streaming, sales, and airplay, it’s nothing.

It used to be, not that long ago, that singles would sell a million copies in one week. Not anymore. The record business is so hobbled, and has changed so much, that total sales of 21,400 is all you need.

That single, called “Question???,” only made number 7 because Billboard used streaming numbers to determine number 1. That distinction went to “Anti-Hero,” which only had sales of 13,400.

In the great chart days, the Beatles had the top 5 singles. Sales then were well over 70,000.

Well, it’s a great PR stunt on behalf of Billboard and Swift, and it will get her into some book of records. But not a Book of Records.

Bruce Springsteen Tells Howard Stern He’ll Never Retire Unless He’s Incapacitated: “I Can Do the Broadway Show Forever,” Reveals He Was with Clarence Clemons When He Died

Roger Friedman
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Bruce Springsteen Tells Howard Stern He’ll Never Retire Unless He’s Incapacitated: “I Can Do the Broadway Show Forever,” Reveals He Was with Clarence Clemons When He Died

This morning Howard Stern has had an extraordinary interview with Bruce Springsteen, just perfect.

Bruce tells Howard that he’ll never retired “unless I’m incapacitated.” Springsteen says he can his Broadway show “forever,” and that he has enough “different kinds of music” that will allow him to keep going even if not in stadiums.

Springsteen said he was “very lucky” that his songs “Fire,” “Blinded by the Light.” and “Because the Night” were covered by the Pointer Sisters, Manfred Mann, Patti Smith, because “they weren’t going to be hits for me.” He told Stern when David Bowie recorded two of his songs a famous Philly studio, Bruce took the bus from Asbury Park to Philadelphia to hear him do it.

Bruce tells Howard that he was with Clarence Clemons when he died. Clarence was in a coma, and dying from cancer. Bruce played “Land of Hope and Dreams” on his guitar in Clarence’s room. “His brother was there, his nephew Jake and a few other people. It was just a tiny little space…”

During the Stern hour or so, Bruce played several songs live. He called “Tougher than the Rest,” which he performs live usually with wife Patti Scialfa, his best love song. He also cited Clive Davis for prodding him to write “Spirit in the Night” and “Blinded by the Light.” He played parts of “Rosalita” and talked about the real life mother who tried to get a restraining order against him when she was just 15. “And I was the most mild mannered 15 year old ever,” Bruce said. He played “It’s Hard to be a Saint in the City” for Stern, remembering how he auditioned for John Hammond at CBS Records. “I was homeless,” he said, “living in a sleeping bag on my buddy’s floor.”

Springsteen also talks a lot about depression and love. He did a lot of therapy. He called his first divorce “devastating.” He said that he had to do the work to learn how to be loved. “You’ve got to take your ass there, and your mind will follow.” He adds:
Patti and I were both outsiders.”

Bruce is playing an acoustic version of “Born to Run” on his guitar. It’s sensational, of course.

Springsteen is recording a new album at home right now, sounds like another album of covers.

Amazing interview which you can listen to on SiriusXM, even on their app not just in the car!

keep refreshing…

Review: Oscar Buzzed Danielle Deadwyler as Emmett Till’s Mother in “Till” is a Powerhouse for the Ages

Leah Sydney
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Review: Oscar Buzzed Danielle Deadwyler as Emmett Till’s Mother in “Till” is a Powerhouse for the Ages

Dame Helen Mirren introduced the film “Till” this past Friday night at CAA. Headquarters. In her most regal way she emoted to the packed crowd that, “I watched the film last night and it obviously it is still with me in the most profound way. “Till” will be with me for the rest of my life.“ “

Till” which is now in theaters, tells the story of the 1955 lynching of 14 year old Emmett Till in Mississippi and the actions of his devoted mother Mamie Till Mobley played by the amazing Danielle Deadwyler. Her bravery and courage literally galvanized the modern civil rights movement.

“Till” is out in theaters now is engrossing, enraging, heart wrenching, added to that an awards worthy masterful performance from Danielle Deadwyler and Mirren is right, it will stay with you. Our friend Pete Hammond moderated the Q & A after the screening. Director and co-writer Chinonye Chukwu explained that “this was an opportunity to center her for her rightful place in history. For without Mamie Till Mobley the world wouldn’t have known who Emmett Till was. Black women are so often erased in general, but especially from history. I felt this was way to correct and/or challenge that.”

The film does not focus on the brutality of the act but rather what Mamie did to avenge her son. (Think of this: we are still talking about Emmett Till today in 2022.) Chukwu went on to say that, “The film I always wanted to make is essentially a character study, about Mamie’s emotional journey and perspective, her origin story of how she became the catalyst for the modern American civil rights movement. I also wanted this film to be a love story between a mother and her child. And not showing the physical violence in this film is a way that I show care for the story for the audiences and for myself.”

Deadwyler said of her journey to the role that, “It was a nerve wrecking thing, a slow process. I read the script in thirds. It takes that kind of reverence and that kind of intentional consideration because it is that significant. Because I have known this event; this horror for the bulk of my life. I considered that in my personal DNA. We wanted to mine the truth of her experience, the public and private nature of this black woman’s life.”

Well Chinonye and Danielle and team most certainly did that and their efforts will surely garner awards kudos. Whoopi Goldberg, also a producer on the film, is terrific as Emmett’s grandmother, as well as Jalyn Hall as Emmett, Frankie Faison as his grandfather and the rest of the cast. Mamie’s activism and defiance along with her vulnerability and strength and her profound grief and love for her son, most definitely makes “Till” powerhouse viewing.

United Artists Will Kill “Till,” Their 2023 Oscar Release, Despite Great Reviews No Business

Roger Friedman
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United Artists Will Kill “Till,” Their 2023 Oscar Release, Despite Great Reviews No Business

I’ve never seen the movie, “Till.” The people who run publicity at United Artists Releasing have never offered to show it to me. I haven’t had time to get to a theater yet, but our Leah Sydney loved it, and reviewed it. (See her review here.)

Danielle Deadwyler has received universal acclaim for playing Emmett Till’s mother. But that won’t matter if UAR can’t communicate this film to Academy members and critics. Last year they blew a whole slate of films, from “Respect” to “House of Gucci” to “Licorice Pizza.” They have no idea what they’re doing, and they keep doing it.

“Till” is playing in over 2,000 theaters. This past weekend it made only $2.8 million. The total after 3 weeks is just $3.6 million. UAR will kill “Till.” That seems to be their goal. What a mess. PS The movie is directed by Chinonye Chukwu, who directed a wonderful small film a couple of years ago called “Clemency,” starring Alfre Woodard. She should be pretty upset.

More: Kanye West Calls Instagram Owner Mark Zuckerberg “Masa,” Says Must Get Contracts Fair or “Die Trying”

Roger Friedman
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More: Kanye West Calls Instagram Owner Mark Zuckerberg “Masa,” Says Must Get Contracts Fair or “Die Trying”

At about 7:20pm tonight Kanye West posted to Instagram (italics are mine):
The entire entertainment business changes noooooowwww on Donda in Jesus name #lovespeech I was told to remove a word from this post and I did Please oh please masa Zuckerberg Don’t cancel my wittle black voice of opinion I know I don’t say everything #redmedia forces people to think feel and say My shadow banned instagram is all I got left

West is mocking, not seeking contrition. He is completely panicked and rightly so. Someone in his camp has to reach him. He attaches a text message with someone who suggest he leave the US to calm things down. West writes: “I’m staying in America. I gotta get the Jewish business people to make the contracts fair. Or die trying.”

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A post shared by Ye (@kanyewest)

Kanye: More Antisemitism as He Blames Hollywood Agent for Demise, Begs for Help to Relocate Academy Students, Exploits Emmett Till

Roger Friedman
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Kanye: More Antisemitism as He Blames Hollywood Agent for Demise, Begs for Help to Relocate Academy Students, Exploits Emmett Till

When Kanye West first went on his bender of antisemitic rants, the first person to criticize him was William Morris Endeavor chief Ari Emanuel. Ari’s brother is former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. They are Jewish. Ari, many years ago, was the first Hollywood player to publicly disavow Mel Gibson after his antisemitism scandal.

Now today Kanye is blaming the Emanuels for his problems: not only loss of his income, but the closing of West’s Donda Academy School in the Simi Valley of Los Angeles. He calls out the Emanuels as “business” people– meaning Jews. Kanye is a sick, sick man. He also includes in this Instagram a graphic photo of the late Emmett Till after he was killed. Kanye is conflating everything about racism to reach some kind of unclear point without taking any personal responsibility.

Kanye is also calling the Emanuels and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg “masa,” which is beyond insulting. What’s more frightening about this is that West is stuck. No one is coming to his aide, or assistance with advice and counsel. And if they are, he’s not listening to them. He’s just hurling insults and making everything much worse. It’s unclear who will reach out, who he’ll accept, or how to get to any point of resolution before he’s destroyed completely. Believe it or not, no one wants to see that. But this descent into madness can’t be tolerated.

Here’s his message to the Emanuels:

Ari Emmanuel:
Can you find a place for the Donda Academy kids to go to school that’s properly zoned for a school?

I got about 60 children that have no place to be as they look to transfer.

They tried to dismantle our basketball team. Those boys are being penalized without reason.
Even professional athletes were threatened by their owners to disassociate.

This is what modern post social media #Blackmirror warfare looks like…the children are not even off limits

– Economic Lynching
– Digital Lynching
– Bankrupting my Social Credit Score

You tried to bankrupt adidas and me at the same time

You tried to destroy my life after all the money I’ve made for the “business” people

At least as I burn to the stake in front of the whole world… // everyone now knows who they need to really be afraid of.

And now eeeeveryone knows how much power you “Business” people actually have.

Forcing Roxie to to sue me for 252 million after I gave her family 2 million

Only a truly powerful “business” person could have thought of that and sent her to do this.

To everyone in the world! // Take me as an example of what will happen if you show any frustration.

Your frustration does not matter!

We declare today the day when no human is allowed to be human.

Please note that I have never physically hurt anyone.

So…Ari Emmanuel:

Better yet, let me ask your BIG brother Rahm Emmanuel // Former Mayor of Chicago.

Rahm…You’re a very powerful “Business” person // Here I am…The once richest black man in the world asking the very person who is destroying me to at least help these Children…

“Hurt meeeeeeee
but please masa
don’t hurt da chirren masa”

We bus underprivileged kids in from all over and they love it at Donda Academy.

I see and understand just how powerful you are, but even the mighty Pharoah was no match for the power of GOD.

At times like this…and at all times…

I trust my Jesus. The KING of Israel.

#savedonda
#Lovespeech
#jesusisking

Theater Review: Everything’s Better than Fine at One Man Show from Former “SNL” Writer Doug McGrath

Roger Friedman
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Theater Review: Everything’s Better than Fine at One Man Show from Former “SNL” Writer Doug McGrath

I often feel when I read memoirs or see one-actor shows like “Everything’s Fine” that I’ve led a sheltered life.

In 1971, Doug McGrath was 14. So was I. I was busy following the Yankees, reading Cashbox, the Sporting News, and Rolling Stone, and hoping to survive 8th grade. But Doug? He was being seduced by a 47 year old female teacher. And she was married with adult kids!

You’ve seen Doug McGrath on screen, sometimes in Woody Allen movies (he’s been a frequent collaborator). He’s appeared in other great films like “The Insider,” “Quiz Show,” and “Michael Clayton.” He won a Tony Award for writing the Carole King musical, “Beautiful,” on Broadway. He’s a mild mannered guy who went to Princeton and is always comes off as agreeable and understated — in other words, a gentleman.

So what happened? As he explains it eloquently on stage, directed by none other than John Lithgow, this teacher — whom he calls Mrs. Malinkoff — was just “bat shit crazy.” She slipped notes into his locker every day. They were written on robin’s egg blue paper, sometimes poems, often invitations. She invited him to her home after school, or hung out with him in her classroom. They didn’t have sex, but the heaviness of it wafter in the humid, windr, dusty filled air over Midland, Texas where this all took place in secret.

These days what Mrs. Malinkoff did would be called “grooming.” She’d be arrested. But in 1971, no one talked about these things. McGrath never told his parents or siblings. His parents died never knowing about it. He only told his wife during the pandemic, when she encouraged him to write about it. He simply dealt with it using his childhood pal, “Eddie,” who was a practical observer and years beyond himself with dry wisdom, as a sounding board.

The play takes 90 minutes, has no intermission, and is utterly riveting. Lithgow masterfully moves McGrath through a simple set of a classroom, desk chairs, a small desk, to recreate all the scenarios needed. McGrath’s writing is so evocative that you feel like you’re in all these places with him, on his bike with Eddie, fearing and then dealing with the teacher, keeping his family out of it. He is utterly mortified when the teacher, acting like a spurned lover, calls him at dinner time at home. “It’s not like our house was Downton Abbey,” McGrath says, his eyes panicking like Charlie Brown in a “Peanuts” cartoon. “The phone was right there! It was a few feet away!”

Still, the family does not catch on. But in the process of the 90 minutes, we learn a lot about his parents. They are from New York and Connecticut, but the father sees oil as his future and moves them to Midland, Texas for perceived opportunity. This idea doesn’t pay off, and ultimately McGrath — who’s obviously gifted — is sent back East to boarding school. All the while, he keeps this secret.

“Everything’s Fine” is one of the most satisfying evenings in theater this season. Already plenty of celebrities have trooped down to Union Square’s DR2 Theater to see it including Michelle Pfeiffer and David Kelley, Bernadette Peters and Nathan Lane, Nicholas Hytner, Joanna Gleason, Blythe Danner, Graydon and Anna Carter, writers Lawrence Wright and Adam Gopnik, actors like John Benjamin Hickey, Danny Burstein, Isabella Rosellini. Woody Allen loved the script, and promises to take a seat when he returns from shooting his new movie in Paris.

I do hope someone films “Everything’s Fine” for posterity and maybe a showing on HBO or Netflix. McGrath plans to keep performing it through January. What an utterly brave thing to strip oneself naked, metaphorically, seven times a week in front of strangers. McGrath told me after the show that it’s not exactly cathartic for him, but it sure is for the audience. Bravo!

Ratings: Much Hyped Diane Sawyer Matthew Perry Interview Finished in 3rd Place Friday Night With Few New Scoops

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: Much Hyped Diane Sawyer Matthew Perry Interview Finished in 3rd Place Friday Night With Few New Scoops

Diane Sawyer’s much hyped interview with “Friends” star Matthew Perry was not the ratings blockbuster hoped for by the alphabet network.

The Sawyer special finished third in its time slot on ABC, well behind the World Series and CBS’s “SWAT.”

Sawyer pulled in 4.15 to “SWAT”;s 4.44 million. The World Series was up around 10 million.

Totals will be in tomorrow.

One show Sawyer- Perry did beat was NBC’s “Dateline,” which is often hosted by Perry stepdad, Keith Morrison. The white haired, deep voiced questioner narrates real life murder stories in a very entertaining way. Strangely, Sawyer never mentions that Perry and Morrison have been related for most of the “Friends” actor’s life.

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