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In Development: First Case of a Transgender Woman Who Was Recognized Officially as an Army Spouse

Roger Friedman
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In Development: First Case of a Transgender Woman Who Was Recognized Officially as an Army Spouse

Peak TV is about to bring us quite a story. You know when someone says ‘this should be a mini-series’? Hah!

This one will about Tiffany Johnson’s saga as the first transgender woman to be officially recognized as an Army spouse. The project is now in development from producer Dick Atkins who’s secured Tiffany’s life rights and is putting together a limited television series. Atkins is working with producing associates George Gallo and Jeb Brien.

Here’s the story:

In 1979, a troubled young man, Stephen Davis, entered the US Air Force. This story is about him. In 1983, Tiffany Johnson became an Army spouse when she married Sgt. William Dillahunt.  This story is about her. In 1990, the Army Criminal Investigation Command, with help from the State Department and the Pentagon, discovered a shocking fact: Stephen Davis and Tiffany Dillahunt were the same person.   

A combination of “The Crying Game” meets “M Butterfly” in the US Military – call it a true story and you wouldn’t have half of the extraordinary adventure of this charismatic young man who longed for life as a woman. This is believed to be the first Army case of transgender woman who was recognized officially as an Army spouse.  Tiffany met Dillahunt after transitioning to a woman in Texas. During their seven-year marriage, Tiffany “loved him more than anything in the world with all her heart.” said Stephen Davis.

Producer Atkins, through his A-Films production company, searched for and found Tiffany. Through many days of travel, discussions together and discovery for them both, he was able to piece together Tiffany’s amazing journey from young man to woman, against the backdrop of the most unlikely of places… the United States Military. And they have become longtime friends in the process.

PS I’m told Tiffany has been married 7 times! A friend says, “She’s still looking…”

NY Film Fest Follows Venice with Opening Night Film, “White Noise” from Noah Baumbach

Roger Friedman
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NY Film Fest Follows Venice with Opening Night Film, “White Noise” from Noah Baumbach

This is different.

The New York Film Festival will have the same opening night film as the Venice festival a month earlier: Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise.”

Usually, the New York fest goes for something different than Telluride, Toronto, and Venice because they’re the last of the important bunch in that time frame.

But “White Noise” is hot, it’s Netflix’s big Oscar movie, and there’s a lot of buzz. Tickets for opening night are on sale for $450 now on the Film Society’s website.

“White Noise” stars Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig and is based on Don DeLillo’s best selling novel. The Film Society will also choose Centerpiece and closing night films to be announced soon.

The NY Film Festival always chooses quality films for its opening nights. But they haven’t lined up with the Oscars since “CHariots of Fire” in 1981. Maybe “White Noise” will break that record.

New York Film Festival Opening Night Films

2021 The Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen, US)
2020 Lovers Rock (Steve McQueen, UK)
2019 The Irishman (Martin Scorsese, US)
2018 The Favourite (Yorgos Lanthimos, Ireland/UK/US)
2017 Last Flag Flying (Richard Linklater, US)
2016 13TH (Ava DuVernay, US)
2015 The Walk (Robert Zemeckis, US)
2014 Gone Girl (David Fincher, US)
2013 Captain Phillips (Paul Greengrass, US)
2012 Life of Pi (Ang Lee, US)
2011 Carnage (Roman Polanski, France/Poland)
2010 The Social Network (David Fincher, US)
2009 Wild Grass (Alain Resnais, France)
2008 The Class (Laurent Cantet, France)
2007 The Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, US)
2006 The Queen (Stephen Frears, UK)
2005 Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney, US)
2004 Look at Me (Agnès Jaoui, France)
2003 Mystic River (Clint Eastwood, US)
2002 About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, US)
2001 Va savoir (Jacques Rivette, France)
2000   Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, Denmark)
1999   All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain)
1998   Celebrity (Woody Allen, US)
1997   The Ice Storm (Ang Lee, US)
1996    Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, UK)
1995    Shanghai Triad (Zhang Yimou, China)
1994    Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, US)
1993    Short Cuts (Robert Altman, US)
1992    Olivier Olivier (Agnieszka Holland, France)
1991    The Double Life of Véronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski, Poland/France)
1990    Miller’s Crossing (Joel Coen, US)
1989    Too Beautiful for You (Bertrand Blier, France)
1988    Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodóvar, Spain)
1987    Dark Eyes (Nikita Mikhalkov, Soviet Union)
1986    Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, US)
1985    Ran (Akira Kurosawa, Japan)
1984    Country (Richard Pearce, US)
1983    The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan, US)
1982    Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, West Germany)
1981    Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, UK)
1980    Melvin and Howard (Jonathan Demme, US)
1979    Luna (Bernardo Bertolucci, Italy/US)
1978    A Wedding (Robert Altman, US)
1977    One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (Agnès Varda, France)
1976    Small Change (François Truffaut, France)
1975    Conversation Piece (Luchino Visconti, Italy)
1974    Don’t Cry with Your Mouth Full (Pascal Thomas, France)
1973    Day for Night (François Truffaut, France)
1972    Chloe in the Afternoon (Eric Rohmer, France)
1971    The Debut (Gleb Panfilov, Soviet Union)
1970    The Wild Child (François Truffaut, France)
1969    Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (Paul Mazursky, US)
1968    Capricious Summer (Jiri Menzel, Czechoslovakia)
1967    The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy/Algeria)
1966    Loves of a Blonde (Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia)
1965    Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, France)
1964    Hamlet (Grigori Kozintsev, USSR)
1963    The Exterminating Angel (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)

Diane Warren Is Right: Great Songs Do Not Have 24 “Writers,” They Are Intimate Collaborations

Roger Friedman
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Diane Warren Is Right: Great Songs Do Not Have 24 “Writers,” They Are Intimate Collaborations

The great contemporary songwriter Diane Warren, who’s getting the first Lifetime Achievement Academy Award this winter for songwriting, got in “trouble” yesterday. She wrote on Twitter, “How can there be 24 writers on a song?”

Warren was immediately upbraided by the hip hop community defending Beyonce– whose current album boasts upwards of 15 to 24 listed writers per song. Hip hop producer and songwriter The Dream — who has plenty of hits under his belt — was one who came after her, and Warren backtracked to say she admired and respected Beyonce.

But Warren was right. The reason for the 24 names is because the songs are all “sampled” and “interpolated.” They are pieced together, as I said yesterday, from particle board. They include bits and pieces of existing music, old songs, obscure compositions. Nothing about them is original except for pasting them together like mixed media. How does it get to 24? So-called producers, people who supplied the ingredients, most of whom couldn’t “write” an original song if their lives depended on it.

Race was thrown into this discussion. There was some idea that Black musicians didn’t have access to the same resources as white, so they had to make samples. This is a specious argument, especially in pop music. Most of the great writers have been Black. They wrote all original music. Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Smokey Robinson, Valerie Simpson and Nik Ashford, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Holland-Dozier-Holland — none of them sampled anything. Let me go on: Stevie Wonder, Al Green & Willie Mitchell, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Sylvia Moy and Teddy Randazzo. And on and on and on…Eugene Record of The Chi Lites, let’s not forget, wrote “Are You My Woman,” the basis of Beyonce and Jay Z‘s biggest hit, “Crazy in Love.”

If these legends hadn’t written the pop music songbook of our lives, there would be no hip hop now. While the genre has soaring moments, it’s also based largely on the work of others. Beyonce’s new album is entirely that. Kanye West‘s albums, and Jay Z‘s, are chockablock with “beats,” melodies, hooks, etc derived from that songbook. Warren is expressing her frustration for all of them. She labors alone in a studio every day for 8 to 12 hours. The result has been a slew of hits and 13 Oscar nominations. She has a hit now with Jon Batiste called “Sweet.” They wrote it. That’s it. No team. Writing is an intimate business. It’s not created like Frankenstein.

This is why, by the way, the Grammys had to institute a new award called Songwriter of the Year. It solves a problem that had to be dealt with. And while sampling has been lucrative for writers whose songs are properly licensed for samples, it’s painful for those who wake up one morning to hear their old work incorporated into a contemporary star’s “new” work. Case in point; Kelis, who was surprised to find her 2003 “Milkshake” hit woven into Beyonce’s new “Energy.” She’s complaining, and rightly so. Her point is, Let’s respect the actual authors of material. After 40 years, it’s time.

By the way, The Dream (Terius Nash)– who is also a “real” writer of songs that he composed without sampling — wisely concluded this conversation with this observation: “It’s about Art, not one artist or writer me or them. With all due respect and love for those who came before and will come after. Im truly Sorry if I disturbed the force today that’s not my purpose. Peace”

Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train” Premieres in Hollywood with Shout Outs to Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Ryan Reynolds

Leah Sydney
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Brad Pitt’s “Bullet Train” Premieres in Hollywood with Shout Outs to Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, and Ryan Reynolds

“Bullet Train ” had its premiere in Hollywood tonight, after having multiple international premieres.  After the cast was introduced, Brad Pitt stood out, of course, in a dapper green suit (he wore a brown knee length skirt to the Berlin premiere) along with a burgeoning salt and pepper goatee. 

The director, David Leitch, said, “We made this at the height of the pandemic before the vaccine.  It was a crazy, cathartic experience for everybody.  It’s been so much fun making it, and it’s been like a reunion these last couple of days.”

Leitch then paid tribute to the crew some of who were there. He thanked all the “reps who made the deals so that everybody could be on this stage.” He then enthusiastically added, ” Enjoy the ride, you have your whole seat, but you’re only going to need the edge!” Brad led the crowd to raucous applause.”

“Bullet Train “is based on the 2010 novel by Kotaro Isaka, “Maria Beetle,” which was adapted adeptly by writer Zak Olkewicz.  Set to be released this Thursday August 5th,  this high-octane film takes place in supposedly serene and polite Japan.  But appearances are deceiving as we quickly find out.  Pitt plays Ladybug, an assassin with extensive expertise.  He desperately wants to get out of his chosen profession (he longs for Zen gardens) but keeps on being pulled back in. 

On his one last mission, Ladybug is on a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto to collect a briefcase.  But Ladybug constantly laments over his lifetime of bad luck, and woe is him, there are plenty of other assassins that will fight to the death for the same silver case.  The coterie of criminals includes Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon, Bad Bunny, Zazie Beetz and more. There are Easter eggs for everyone: eAs part of their deal from Pitt’s appearance in “The Lost City” earlier this year, Sandra Bullock plays Brads understanding “handler.”  Channing Tatum also pops in and there’s a shout out to Ryan Reynolds hearkening back to “Deadpool 2.”

The atomic-paced action spirals out of control throughout, which is what makes this film one of those where you don’t want to go to the bathroom as you would miss some other twist.  Brad’s quips are nonstop, the script is funny and clever.  Brad has said the he and Leitch were both big fans of Jackie Chan and it shows, it’s an homage to the old-time beat-everyone-up-and-just-get-up action flicks. 

“Bullet Train” is never boring, ridiculously silly at times but you don’t care that the film embraces gleeful and comic violence. Leitch’s movie is what it wants to be and more than succeeds. Pitt has his Oscar from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” This is meant to be nothing more than a popcorn entertainment. “Bullet Train” is destined to be a fast-speeding summer hit for Sony. 

RIP Mo Ostin, 95, Gave Us Jimi Hendrix, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, The Doobie Brothers, Prince: Clive Davis Recalls Their Long Friendship

Roger Friedman
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RIP Mo Ostin, 95, Gave Us Jimi Hendrix, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, The Doobie Brothers, Prince: Clive Davis Recalls Their Long Friendship

Mo Ostin is one of those people who are on the Mount Rushmore of Rock and Roll along with Ahmet Ertegun, Clive Davis, Seymour Stein. He died today at age 95 with an enormous legacy.

Ostin basically invented what was Warner Bros. Records, eventually turning that into Warner-Elektra-Atlantic or WEA as it became known, the home to hundreds of successful recording artists and many great labels.

In the late 60s, all through the 70s and into the 90s, Warner Bros. Records was a towering giant. More than half of anyone’s record collection would be full of Warner labels on albums by Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, the Doobie Brothers, George Benson, Prince not to mention Mo’s early signing, Jimi Hendrix, plus Neil Young and Frank Sinatra whose Reprise Records he founded eventually merged with Warners in 1967. He would serve two years running Warner/Reprise and then become head of the vast WEA until 1994.

Ostin also brought in under the umbrella Elektra Records, gaining acts like Carly Simon, Bread, the Doors, and so on. In 1967, Atlantic Records was purchased by Warner’s owner, Steve Ross, and a dynasty was born.

Under Mo there were also a slew of great producers like Lenny Waronker, Russ Titelman, Ted Templeman, and Tommy Lipuma, among others.

When WEA was sold to Edgar Bronfman Jr. — who killed it — Ostin decamped to start Dreamworks SKG Records under Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Geffen. He was considered a king in the music business, beloved (and probably feared in some quarters). But during those halcyon Warners days, it’s hard to imagine another greater entity.

Did I mention that Ostin also brought in Seymour Stein’s Sire Records, which gave birth to Madonna, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Pretenders, and so on?

Mo Ostin was a gentleman and a scholar of music. He will be forever missed. Condolences to his family.

Clive Davis posted this to Facebook:

“Mo Ostin was one of a kind. The company he chaired was truly unique in its very special management of artists and the extraordinary depth and range of talent on its roster. Mo’s artists deeply impacted contemporary music and culture profoundly and historically. Yes, he and I competed with each other for many years but my friendship with him was very deep and extended to our respective families. I will always cherish our very close relationship.”

Beyonce Bust? “Renaissance” Anything But as Sales Predicted Down 60% from 2016’s “Lemonade”

Roger Friedman
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Beyonce Bust? “Renaissance” Anything But as Sales Predicted Down 60% from 2016’s “Lemonade”

Beyonce is not having a great time right now.

Her “Renaissance” album was released Thursday night and has not been a wild success. Indeed, the album has faced a lot of criticism. We’ll get back to that in a minute.

The bigger news is Beyonce has not turned the lemons from “Renaissance” into Lemonade. That was the title of her last album, in 2016, and it sold 650,000 in its debut week. “Renaissance” is not going to come near that number. Hitsdailydouble.com has predicted today between 275K and 315K copies. The number will fall on the low side. It’s about a 60% decline in sales.

Today’s scandal concerns a “song” on the album called “Heated” in which Beyonce warbles the words “spazzing out.” Using this expression is called “ableist” now in the PC world, but frankly it’s just stupid, coarse, and mean. Who would sing such a thing? A 10 year old?

Then we have Kelis, the female singer songwriter, complaining that Beyonce “interpolated” or covered a song she wrote with Pharrell but wasn’t credited for in the first place. And then there are all other samples and “interpolations” on “Renaissance.” The entire album is like musical particle board, the kind of junk wood you wouldn’t allow in your walls or furniture for fear of it falling apart.

And let’s not forget– I can’t even use the album cover of a nearly naked Beyonce on a clear horse. Google’s ad company censored it, calling it “sexual material.” I’ll have to find a horse with no name or no rider.

Pop Fizz: Johnny Depp’s Rock Star Career Won’t Pay the Bills as Album with Jeff Beck Flops

Roger Friedman
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Pop Fizz: Johnny Depp’s Rock Star Career Won’t Pay the Bills as Album with Jeff Beck Flops

In Hebrew, the number 18 spelled out translates into “life.”

But naming Johnny Depp and Jeff Back naming their album “18” hasn’t given any life to sales. Johnny Depp’s record with guitar ace Jeff Beck is not going to pay any legal bills, either, that’s for sure. Total sales after two weeks is just under 13,000 according to Luminate.

About the half sales were from streaming. The individual tracks haven’t gotten much traction, either. The most streamed song, “Isolation,” sold the equivalent of around 31,000 copies. The other tracks, not so much. The one named for actress-inventor-spy Hedy Lamarr didn’t sell at all. One reason might be no one who’d buy a single knows who Hedy Lamarr was.

Depp has always imagined that he’s a rock star, but that was only in his mind. He’s an average guitarist and not much of a singer, but he has the look. And that’s something!

As for Jeff Beck, he’d be smart to erase Depp’s vocals and re-record the “18” songs with a real singer. It could be called “18.2.”

Box Office: “Super Pets” Fall Short, “Nope” Takes Big Drop, “Crawdads” Still Singing

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Super Pets” Fall Short, “Nope” Takes Big Drop, “Crawdads” Still Singing

The weekend box office is an omen for the rest of August: these are the dog days of summer.

“DC League of Super Pets” made $23 million, which is a lot less than an animated movie should make mid summer. Where did all the parents dump their kids? Not here. This movie cost a reported $90 million. Kind of a big disappointment.

“Nope” is a horror. Well, not really. Jordan Peele’s third film has already made a shocking $80.5 million in two weeks, but the drop off in week 2 was 58%. While $100 million is lurking out there, the numbers could have been higher if the movie had been, uh, good.

But the big hit is “Where the Crawdads Sing.” Not well reviewed but popular because of the book. The movie cost $25 million and has made $53 million. There’s no sign of major slowdown. Nice bit of counter programming.

What’s next? “Bullet Train” is coming this Friday. And then, not much through Labor Day.

RIP Pat Carroll, 95, Emmy Winner, Tony Nominee, Drama Desk Winner, Grammy Winner

Roger Friedman
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RIP Pat Carroll, 95, Emmy Winner, Tony Nominee, Drama Desk Winner, Grammy Winner

Pat Carroll has died. The earthy actress with a roaring laugh was also a drama star as well. I cannot forget seeing her in 1980 at the Provincetown Playhouse in Greenwich Village as the star of a woman show called “Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein.” She won the Drama Desk Award for Best Actress. (She won a Grammy award for the play’s recording.)

Carroll was a fixture on TV through the 60s, 70s, and 80s. She won an Emmy Award in 1957 appearing on Sid Caesar’s “Caesar’s Hour” and was nominated again the next year. Her career was comprehensive and long lasting. In 2001, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award in the movie “Songcatcher.” In 2005 she had a recurring role on NBC’s “ER.”

With all those credits — she was a regular on the classic “Danny Thomas” show in the early 60s (her character, Bunny Halper, was somehow related to the “Dick Van Dyke” show characters with the same last name), Pat Carroll is being remembered today for being the voice of Ursula in “The Little Mermaid.” Okay.

Condolences to her family and friends. She will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.

“Royal Pains” Star Mark Feuerstein Joining Natalie Portman Limited Series at Apple TV (Exclusive)

Roger Friedman
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“Royal Pains” Star Mark Feuerstein Joining Natalie Portman Limited Series at Apple TV (Exclusive)

Mark Feuerstein is one of Hollywood’s hardest working actors. He starred in the TV series, “Royal Pains,” on USA Network for 8 seasons. He just wrapped two seasons of “The Baby Sitters Club” with Alicia Silverstone on Netflix, and two more seasons of “Power Book II: Ghost” on Starz.

On Saturday night I ran into Mark with his charming parents and brother all dining at Nick and Toni’s in Easthampton. Mark informs me that he’s joined the cast of a new limited series on Apple TV Plus called “The Lady in the Lake” starring two Oscar winners– Natalie Portman and Moses Ingram. The director is Alma Ha’rel, who made a sensation directing Shia LaBeouf’s “Honey Boy” film a couple of years ago.

In the Hamptons, Nick and Toni’s is where the stars the power players go. So I wasn’t surprised to find that the table next to the Feuersteins was filled with the Broadway A list. The table itself needed a Playbill of its own! Two Lifetime Tony Award winners — the Shubert Organization’s Robert Wankel and Jujamcyn Theaters’ Paul Libin — Broadway giants were joined by their beautiful wives, Tony winning lighting designer Ken Billington (“Chicago” plus only eight other nominations) and one more special guest: the living legend director and choreographer Susan Stroman. She’s won just five Tony Awards.

Susan’s latest hit, “POTUS,” is finishing its limited run at the Shubert Theater. Her famed Gershwin musical, “Crazy for You,” is having a rave review revival at the Chichester Theater in the UK right now, which means it could be headed back to Broadway soon.

And this all before appetizers were served!

PS On the way out, I spotted comedian and actor Leslie Jordan darting over to a table on the terrace. Quite the scene for one night in the post-pandemic Hamptons!

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