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Jessica Chastain on Winning the Oscar After Will Smith Slap: “It helped distract me from being nervous”

Roger Friedman
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Jessica Chastain on Winning the Oscar After Will Smith Slap: “It helped distract me from being nervous”

You know, Jessica Chastain won the Oscar last spring for Best Actress in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” So much went on that night we kind of forget that part of the show. But Chastain, who is brilliant and beautiful, worked hard for that Oscar.

What does she remember about sitting in the Dolby Theater when Will Smith lost his mind and attacked Chris Rock?

“I wasn’t even paying attention when they called my category,” she told me last night at the premiere for her new, excellent real life thriller, “The Good Nurse.” “To tell you the truth, with all the energy in the room, it distracted me from being nervous.”

Chastain, looking like a million bucks last night as usual, said she’s not one of those people who gets the Oscar and hides it away. “It’s really exciting,” she said. “I have it on a bookshelf where everyone can see it. It’s a big deal!”

It sure is. Jessica told me she didn’t even think it was possible she might win the prestigious award until she won the Screen Actors Guild for Best Actress. “It was only then that I thought it could happen.” The part of Tammy Faye Baker, she says, was one “I couldn’t believe no one had done it. It was such a brilliant role.”

Now Chastain plays real life nurse Amy Loughren who twenty years ago discovered that her best friend at a New Jersey hospital ICU, a male nurse named Charles Cullen, had been busy killing patients unbeknownst to everyone. Eddie Redmayne, who was also at the premiere party at swanky Avra restaurant in Rock Center, gives a chilling awards-worthy performance as Cullen while Chastain’s Amy helps the police uncover his serial killing.

Eddie told me he’s had to warn off his kids from even thinking about seeing the movie, which opens in theaters next week and then goes to Netflix. (See it in a theater, you’ll be on the edge of your seats!) Redmayne says he had to explain in broad terms the kids. “They were very disappointed I was not the Good Nurse!” he laughed.

PS Yes, Jessica and I did discuss her recent, grueling trip to Ukraine which involved flying to Warsaw and then taking a 12 hour train trip to Kyiv. She met with president Zelenskyy in an effort to keep attention on the war, that it is far from from over. Did no one recognize her? “On the way over, no. But coming back” — which involved the reverse train trip (and not the Orient Express, by any means) — “yes. There had been all the press and suddenly a deluge of attention, I realized I had to get out of there.” Would she go back? “Yes, I wanted to immediately. But my friend who I went with says it can’t be done now. Things have gotten that much worse.“

Dwayne The Rock Johnson as DC’s Newest $200 Mil Superhero, “Black Adam,” Must Overcome Scathing Reviews– Can He Do It?

Roger Friedman
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Dwayne The Rock Johnson as DC’s Newest $200 Mil Superhero, “Black Adam,” Must Overcome Scathing Reviews– Can He Do It?

Over the years, Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, has overcome many battles and won at the box office. Never discount his popularity.

But now Johnson faces maybe his biggest struggle. He’s got to pulverize scathing reviews. And they are bad.

“Black Adam” — which cost $200 million — stands at 55% on Rotten Tomatoes today. It’s considered ‘rotten,’ which is no surprise. “Black Adam” has long been the subject of gossip in the movie world. Its late October release is no help, either: “Black Adam” is going into the dumping ground.

For Warner’s and DC Comics it doesn’t seem like “Black Adam” will be a high note– even with a cameo from the DC Universe’s most famous character. (Is it a spoiler? Will it help unless they just say who it is? We’ll see.) If “Black Adam” is this bad why didn’t the studio just 86 it as as they did “Batgirl”? Could the latter movie have been worse? Ouch!

I guess the bellwether will be when “Black Adam” plays previews tomorrow night. But they’re not a lot out there, so it’s possible things will go better than we think.

Review: Big Stars Julia Roberts, George Clooney in Harmless, Fluffy 80s Throwback “Ticket to Paradise”

Roger Friedman
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Review: Big Stars Julia Roberts, George Clooney in Harmless, Fluffy 80s Throwback “Ticket to Paradise”

As I’ve already noted, “Ticket to Paradise,” with two big stars, Julia Roberts and George Clooney, has already made $68 million around the world before opening in the US this Friday. This may have been the wisest marketing and sales move of this century.

“Ticket to Paradise” is harmless, fluffy fun. It’s also instantly forgettable except for the travel catalog to the South Pacific, with Australia substituting for Bali. It’s a throwback movie to the 1980s, big studio packages the likes of which we tolerated and are now not nostalgic for.

Here’s the story: Clooney and Roberts were married briefly 25 years ago and produced a daughter who resembles neither of them, played nicely by Kaitlyn Dever. She has a best friend who looks more like she could have been their progeny, played by Billie Lourd aka Carrie Fisher’s real life daughter. Everyone is highly polished, in great shape, looks wonderful. They are very white and well off. The girls have just gone to “college” and are now automatically “lawyers” without going to law school. George and Julia, who loathe each other and cannot be in the same place at the same time, send them to Bali as a graduation gift that must cost around $50,000.

Immediately, Dever’s Lily falls for a local, gets engaged (like, within a week) and announces her impending wedding. George and Julia race across the world to stop the proceedings. No actual reason is given for their displeasure– not the fact that they’ve spent $100,000 on her education and she must start work the following week, not the distance, or any matter of race. They just don’t like the whole thing.

The estranged couple check into what looks like a $5,000 a night resort and bicker with each other until they realize they miss each other, Bali is beautiful, and they have so much money that they never have to call home or go home again. That’s it.

Ol Parker co-wrote and directed this thing. His only major achievement is having written “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” but now you see that director John Madden really made that movie. There isn’t an authentic moment in “Ticket to Paradise,” it’s a totally vacant shell that depends on Clooney and Roberts. They come through winningly. You can see they’re enjoying each other, like Hope and Crosby on the road to Mandalay. They are big stars waiting for a script to be delivered in a beautiful locale. The fact that it never arrives is not their fault.

Some people will love “Ticket to Paradise.” It’s soothing in fact that it reminds us of a time long since gone in American movies. (It could be the sequel to Roberts’ “Eat Pray Love.”) It’s part Hallmark, Lifetime, greeting card. George and Julia could be Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood off to save Gidget from Moondoggie, You get the idea. Nothing wrong with that. “Ticket to Paradise” will have a nice opening weekend, and then find an ancillary life on airplanes and cable. And a lot of people will try going to Bali until they see what it costs.

Foot Fetish Flops: House of the Dragon Ratings Take Precipitous Fall Down Another 200,000

Roger Friedman
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Foot Fetish Flops: House of the Dragon Ratings Take Precipitous Fall Down Another 200,000

The big foot fetish scene from “House of the Dragon” didn’t boost ratings. If anything, it hurt them.

Sunday night’s episode turned up just 1.55 million viewers. That’s down 200,000 from last week and 300,000 from the previous week.

What’s going on? At least on the main HBO channel, fans are giving up. The show is dark and hard to watch, yes, as far as the lighting goes. But the show is ‘dark’ in the sense that there is no fun, plots have zoomed by, all the actors but one or two have changed. (I do not understand how Criston Cole remains the same age while everyone else has gotten older.) The show is confusing, it’s hard to know who to root for.

As The “House of the Dragon” comes to a season close it should have increased viewing or at least remained stable. And it’s not football that hurt it. I hope producers are thinking about next season so it’s not just a bloodbath war every week.

By the way, if you go to Leslie Jones’s Twitter feed her commentary is hilarious and right on the money.

PS The foot fetish? Don’t get me started.

Ratings: “SNL” With Megan Thee Stallion Steady at Season Low, No Improvement Over First Week

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: “SNL” With Megan Thee Stallion Steady at Season Low, No Improvement Over First Week

Megan Thee Stallion was not a big draw for “SNL” viewers.

Saturday’s ratings for the second installment of the season remained at a perilously low 3.7 million. The show is off by around 900,000 viewers from its season finale last May.

“SNL” this past week started with promise but fell apart quickly. Some of it was incomprehensible without closed captioning. By the time Weekend Update was over, I checked out at exactly 12:35. There was no reason to continue.

This malaise feels like more than just the transition from the old cast to the new cast. There’s no buzz. And this new strategy of doubling up the host as musical guest isn’t working either. The next episode, with Jack Harlow doing both jobs, doesn’t look promising.

Kevin Spacey Says His Father was a Neo-Nazi: Yes, We Wrote About All of It in 2004

Roger Friedman
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Kevin Spacey Says His Father was a Neo-Nazi: Yes, We Wrote About All of It in 2004

Kevin Spacey announced something in court today that we wrote about in 2004: his father was a neo-Nazi, a white supremacist. Apparently this is part of his defense in his current sex scandal trial with actor Anthony Rapp.

Well, it’s not news, and Spacey has discussed it a lot over the years. We heard this story in the early 2000s at Elaine’s. By 2004 it was well known, and written about in other tabloids. So I don’t know what kind of defense this is, but it’s an old story being trotted out again.

Here’s a link to the original.

“Glass Onion” Director Says Benoit Blanc is Gay, Partner’s Identity Hiding in Plain Sight

Roger Friedman
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“Glass Onion” Director Says Benoit Blanc is Gay, Partner’s Identity Hiding in Plain Sight

The big news today is that Benoit Blanc is gay.

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” director Rian Johnson said in a press conference that his detective, played by Daniel Craig with a sweet potato pie accent, is “queer absolutely.”

I guess this came up after someone somewhere saw the movie. We saw it in Toronto six weeks ago. I guess I forgot all about it. Yes, in “Glass Onion” we do see where Benoit Blanc lives, and who he lives with.

Since “Glass Onion” doesn’t arrive for another month at least, I don’t think I can reveal the name of the actor who plays Benoit’s partner. But I can tell you the answer is hiding in plain sight. And he’s a very good choice. He’s a big name. Maybe he has an expanded role in part 3.

“Glass Onion” is a big entertainment with lots of highlights, but I predict now everyone will be more interested in Janelle Monae’s character than Benoit’s home life. It’s handled so subtly in the movie that you don’t really think about it.

Patti Lupone Gives Up Equity Card, Indicating Possible Retirement from US Theater Career

Roger Friedman
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Patti Lupone Gives Up Equity Card, Indicating Possible Retirement from US Theater Career

I guess Patti Lupone has had enough. The mega Broadway star Tweeted this morning that she’s turned in her Equity card, meaning she’s retired from performing in US theater productions.

She can still perform in Europe, and around the world, and in the US in one woman shows, cabaret, TV, and film. She just won’t be doing Broadway. She recently won her third Tony Award, for “Company.”

During the spring, Lupone famously got into it with an audience member who wasn’t wearing a mask. The incident became viral. But Lupone wasn’t wrong, and I can’t imagine this new turn of events has anything do with that.

Whatever happens next, Lupone’s place in Broadway history and theater lore is secure. She’s one of the biggest stars ever to appear on the New York stage. Nothing can change that.

Critics Choice Doc Nominees Include the Beatles, Lucy & Desi, Bowie, Poitier, George Carlin

Roger Friedman
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Critics Choice Doc Nominees Include the Beatles, Lucy & Desi, Bowie, Poitier, George Carlin

Here are the nominees for the 2022 Critics Choice Documentary Awards:

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Aftershock (Hulu)

The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Descendant (Netflix)

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (Briarcliff Entertainment)

Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

The Janes (HBO)

Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Sidney (Apple TV+)

BEST DIRECTOR

Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio – George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)

Margaret Brown – Descendant (Netflix)

Sara Dosa – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Reginald Hudlin – Sidney (Apple TV+)

Brett Morgen – Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Laura Poitras – All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (HBO/Neon)

Daniel Roher – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Ryan White – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

BEST FIRST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Andrea Arnold – Cow (IFC Films)

Lisa Hurwitz – The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Jono McLeod – My Old School (Magnolia Pictures)

Amy Poehler – Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)

Alex Pritz – The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

David Siev – Bad Axe (IFC Films)

Bianca Stigter – Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Benjamin Bernhard, Riju Das – All That Breathes (HBO)

Magda Kowalczyk – Cow (IFC Films)

Lucas Tucknott – McEnroe (Showtime)

Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, Sam Holling – Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)

The Cinematography Team – Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

Alex Pritz, Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau – The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST EDITING

Jabez Olssen – The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Joe Beshenkovsky – George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)

Helen Kearns, Rejh Cabrera – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

Brett Morgen – Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Langdon Page, Maya Daisy Hawke – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Katharina Wartena – Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST SCORE

Hummie Mann – The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Nicolas Godin – Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Blake Neely – Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

Max Avery Lichtenstein – The Janes (HBO)

David Schwartz – Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)

Marius de Vries, Matt Robertson – Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST NARRATION

Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story (Fin and Fur Films)

   Written by Ben Masters

   Performed by Matthew McConaughey

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

   Written by Shane Boris, Erin Casper, Jocelyne Chaput, Sara Dosa

   Performed by Miranda July

Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

   Written by Helen Kearns, Ryan White

   Performed by Angela Bassett

Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

   Performed by Barack Obama

Riotsville, U.S.A. (Magnolia Pictures)

   Written by Tobi Haslett

   Performed by Charlene Modeste

Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

   Written by Bianca Stigter

   Performed by Helena Bonham Carter

BEST ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTARY

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Nothing Compares (Showtime)

Riotsville, U.S.A. (Magnolia Pictures)

Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

The Automat (A Slice of Pie Productions)

Descendant (Netflix)

The Janes (HBO)

Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (Peacock)

Still Working 9 to 5 (Mighty Fine Entertainment)

Three Minutes: A Lengthening (Neon)

The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS)

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY

George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO)

The Last Movie Stars (HBO Max)

Lucy and Desi (Amazon Studios)

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (Peacock)

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (Sony Pictures Classics)

Sidney (Apple TV+)

Sr. (Netflix)

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song (Sony Pictures Classics)

If These Walls Could Sing (Disney Original Documentary)

Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues (Apple TV+)

Moonage Daydream (HBO/Neon)

Nothing Compares (Showtime)

The Return of Tanya Tucker – Featuring Brandi Carlile (Sony Pictures Classics)

BEST POLITICAL DOCUMENTARY

Aftershock (Hulu)

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (HBO/Neon)

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down (Briarcliff Entertainment)

The Janes (HBO)

Navalny (HBO/CNN/Warner Bros. Pictures)

Retrograde (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom (Netflix)

BEST SCIENCE/NATURE DOCUMENTARY

All That Breathes (HBO)

Cow (IFC Films)

Fire of Love (National Geographic Documentary Films/Neon)

Good Night Oppy (Amazon Studios)

Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)

Return to Space (Netflix)

The Territory (National Geographic Documentary Films)

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

Citizen Ashe (Magnolia/HBO)

Hockeyland (Greenwich Entertainment)

Kaepernick & America (Dark Star Pictures)

McEnroe (Showtime)

The Redeem Team (Netflix)

Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu)

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

38 at the Garden (HBO)

Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices From a Plantation Prison (MTV Documentary Films)

The Flagmakers (National Geographic Documentary Films)

Four Seasons Total Documentary (MSNBC)

My Disability Roadmap (The New York Times Op Docs)

Nuisance Bear (The New Yorker)

Stranger at the Gate (The New Yorker)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES

The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)

Hostages (HBO)

The Last Movie Stars (HBO Max)

The Lincoln Project (Showtime)

Our Great National Parks (Netflix)

The U.S. and the Holocaust (PBS)

We Need to Talk About Cosby (Showtime)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

30 for 30 (ESPN)

American Masters (PBS)

Cheer (Netflix)

The Circus (Showtime)

Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix)

Welcome to Wrexham (FX/Hulu)

About the Critics Choice Awards

The Critics Choice Documentary Awards are an offshoot of the Critics Choice Awards, which are bestowed annually by the CCA to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Historically, the Critics Choice Awards are the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.

The Critics Choice Awards ceremony will be held on January 15, 2023 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, CA, and will be broadcast live on the CW.

Diane Warren Has Smashing Night at ACLU Dinner After Glass Award Shatters on Stage (See Video)

Leah Sydney
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Diane Warren Has Smashing Night at ACLU Dinner After Glass Award Shatters on Stage (See Video)

Famed songwriter (and Lifetime Achievement Oscar winner) Diane Warren had a smashing night in Los Angeles last night at the big star studded ACLU dinner. After receiving her Bill of Rights Award on stage, which was made of glass, she promptly dropped it and the award splintered into a lot of pieces.

Warren promptly thanked the ACLU “for this award, this award and this award.” She quipped, “Mazel Tov,” cracking up RuPaul, who’d just handed it to her. Warren riffed on one of her hits, “please Un-Break my award!” 

See video here

Warren wrote “Un-Break My Heart,” as well as so many other including “If I Could Turn Back Time, ““Because You Loved Me” and so many more classics which were performed by drag queens in a quite the the unusual night for the ACLU, which is more serious minded.  Warren’s songs like “Till It Happens to You” and “Stand Up For Something” are used to advice social justice which is why she deservedly received the award.  

Warren handled the situation fast on her feet and had the crowding roaring.  She then spoke about what is closest to her heart besides her music, which is her love of animals.  She explained, “for me, it’s not just human rights, it’s also animal rights.  As a committed animal rights activist, my heart is with that.  I use my voice to do all I can to protect animals. It’s all about the innocents.  They need us to look after them.  Music is the most powerful thing in the world, because it doesn’t go to the brain, it goes to the heart.  There is a lack of kindness in the world right now. So be kind to all living creatures.  This isn’t just our world it’s theirs too.” 

The evening’s host, “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jason George, had the crowd laughing still when he came on stage with a broom and started to clean. Warren joked, “he’s sweeping my award away!”  Nah, Diane. You are multi award winning, have 13 Oscar Nominations, you’re getting an Honorary Oscar on November 19th, and have a talked about song “Applause” that Sofia Carson sings from the film “Tell It Like a Woman.”  So you’re good! 

The ACLU also gave the same award out to civil rights lawyer Ahilan Arulanantham and Berlanti Prods. Partners Greg Berlanti and Sarach Schecter.  The awards are designed to shine a spotlight “on those who have meaningfully challenged the status quo.” Congrats to the ACLU for the work they do.  They are much needed and truly valued in these crazy times we live in. Watch Diane Warren’s breaking of the award and her funny, moving speech here:

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