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Oscar Movies Lining Up: Penelope Cruz Wows in “Parallel Mothers,” “Belfast” Jumps Out Front, Clifton Collins Jr “Jockeys” for Position

Roger Friedman
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Oscar Movies Lining Up: Penelope Cruz Wows in “Parallel Mothers,” “Belfast” Jumps Out Front, Clifton Collins Jr “Jockeys” for Position

After months of inertia, we’re finally getting real Oscar movies. My full reviews are coming, but for the moment:

Penelope Cruz closed the New York Film Festival last night with Pedro Almodovar’s “Parallel Mothers.” This is my favorite of Almodovar’s films since “Volver.” Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and Actress should be in its future. What is set up as story of babies switched at birth becomes something far deeper and more profound.

Pedro has never been nominated for Best Director, which is a crime. Cruz, winner of Best Supporting Actress for “Vicki Cristina Barcelona” could actually win Best Actress this year. (She won Venice.) This is a performance of magnitude. Forget that Almodovar has filmed her again like Sophia Loren. Her beauty is stunning. But her acting matches it. The audience in Alice Tully Hall gave two real standing ovations.

Hamptons Film Festival this morning: Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” wasn’t at NYFF but it’s here, and it’s an enormous Best Picture player. Jamie Dornan, Catriona Balfe, and Dame Judi Dench are doing their best work. But it’s Branagh, known for Shakespeare and Agatha Christie, who finally has his breakthrough moment. Political and romantic at the same time, “Belfast” dances between the serious and the sublime. More to come, but I told you last year about “Nomadland” as a front runner, and this year it’s “Belfast.”

Clifton Collins, Jr., who made his name in “Capote” several years ago, is back with Clint Bentley’s “Jockey” playing Hamptons tonight. I saw “Jockey” last winter via Sundance and like many others, cited Collins’ extraordinary performance. Gold Derby and all the other prognosticators will do everyone a disservice if they don’t get on board with with Collins in this gem of a film.

The Hamptons Film Festival has blasted off, managing to screen very big films for great audiences who want to see films. All protocols are being observed. The Creative Coalition threw a lobster brunch at a private residence in East Hampton, and the Festival itself gave the annual luncheon at Nick and Toni’s where the owner, Toni Ross, also a terrific artist, signed her original festival poster — and got rave reviews.

And there’s more: stay tuned….

Bond Box Office: No Time to Die Scores $23 Mil Opening Night

Roger Friedman
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Bond Box Office: No Time to Die Scores $23 Mil Opening Night

After taking in $6.3 mil in previews, Daniel Craig’s final  James Bond movie had a huge Friday night.

No Time to Die earned $17 million last night bringing the total to $23million.  The weekend total will be a decent if not spectacular $60 million.

Stay tuned…

Adele’s New Album Will Sound a Lot Like Her Last Album with Most of the Same Songwriters

Roger Friedman
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Adele’s New Album Will Sound a Lot Like Her Last Album with Most of the Same Songwriters

Adele’s “30” album is not going to sound all that different than her “25” album when it comes to us next month.

Indeed, the snippet of her first track, “Easy on Me,” with just a few piano chords, sounds very reminiscent of her big hit, “Hello,” the opening track from “25.”

That’s because it’s written by Greg Kurstin, who’s got a signature sound. He’s been one of Adele’s go-to songwriters for her later records.

Kurstin is one of several songwriters returning for the “30” album. The words may be different, and the arrangements. Adele’s vocals will be swell, no doubt. But the overall sound of “30” will be in keeping with “25.” You don’t change what ain’t broke.

Adele says in Vogue she also has songs by Tobias Jesso Jr., Max Martin and Shellback. No doubt also included in some way will be Paul Epworth, the author of “Rolling in the Deep” and “Skyfall,” and Ryan Tedder. All of them made up the success of “25.”

The big question will be if anyone else made it onto the record. A few years ago Adele is said to have recorded several Diane Warren songs, but so far none of them have surfaced. There’s also a world of potential covers for her to try. It’s been eons since she tried something like Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love.”

But the key to Adele’s financial success now is publishing more than anything else. Like Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, Adele has learned that she must have her name on a songwriting credit so that she can reap the rewards from the material.

Singers who sang other people’s songs — huge chunks of pop stars from the 60s and 70s especially — learned the hard way that they don’t get any royalties from airplay. Only the writers do. That’s why legislation is always pending for Performers Rights Royalties, something radio stations don’t want to pay.

 

 

No Time to Wait: Box Office Boffo for James Bond Preview Night with $6.3 Million

Roger Friedman
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No Time to Wait: Box Office Boffo for James Bond Preview Night with $6.3 Million

After the longest wait in history– almost two years — “No Time to Die” landed in theaters on Thursday night for previews. (There were some on Wednesday as well.)

Box office was boffo as expected after record breaking numbers in the UK and Europe. The US total last night was $6.3 million.

All signs point to a big weekend. IMAX rooms and Dolby theaters have strong advance sales already, more than regular theaters. But “No Time to Die” is eminently watchable on all screens.

 

Justin Bieber Dates His Grandmother (Oscar Winner Diane Keaton) In Strange Video for Song, “Ghosts”

Roger Friedman
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Justin Bieber Dates His Grandmother (Oscar Winner Diane Keaton) In Strange Video for Song, “Ghosts”

What is going on in this video? Justin Bieber, looking like Anne Murray, seems to have an inappropriate relationship with his grandmother, played by beloved Oscar winner Diane Keaton.

The whole thing is mystifyingly bad. Keaton is luminous, as usual, but what is she doing in this mess? I know everyone wants to remain relevant, but whoever talked her into this should be fired. I hope she got a lot of money for it.

Bieber drones on in his usual monotone of a singing voice. Who’s dead? His father? His grandfather? This is part of some Amazon release for a new Bieber concert film. I wish we could have been there when Scooter Braun explained who Keaton was to Bieber.

Review: “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” Has Made $106 Mil in Six Days and There’s a Good Reason

Leah Sydney
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Review: “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” Has Made $106 Mil in Six Days and There’s a Good Reason

“Venom; Let There Be Carnage” just went over the $106 million mark at the domestic box office.  There’s a reason for that; audiences are clamoring for a fun, bizarre and messy time at the movies and “Carnage” indeed delivers.

Director Andy Serkis has directed this Marvel sequel with brisk (it runs 90 minutes) campy flair, Kelly Marcel (“Cruella” “Fifty Shades of Grey”) wrote the script from a story by Tom Hardy.  Disgraced journalist Eddie Brock is played super appealing by Hardy, whose career is on the upswing thanks to his superpower symbiote comic book monster buddy Venom sharing his body and mind.  Eddie is constantly bickering with Venom’s inner monologue and trying to tame his uncouth ways, like his love of snacking on human brains.

Even though they both are mending each other in way weird ways, their ‘relationship’ quickly turns rocky.  The upside is that Venom helps Eddie solve an old unsolved murder case involving Cletus Kasady, in the person of a menacing Woody Harrelson.  Cletus grants Eddie his final interview before he is set to be put to death, and well, stuff happens.  Cut to Venom and Eddie are still bickering as Cletus escapes death row after he is transformed into Carnage.

First on Cletus’s list is to oust his longtime lost love, Shriek (Oscar nominee Naomie Harris) from her  padded psych ward cell.  Next on the monstrous menu for the pair is revenge of all kinds.  Eddie’s understanding ex fiancée Anne, played by Michelle Williams, comes back into his life to help bail him out once again, although now Anne is set to wed Dr. Dan Lewis, a funny Reid Scott, late of “Veep,” that makes Eddie more nuts than he already is.

The CGI hijinks begin and wow, what a ride. With that said, devotees who are expecting epic battles won’t be fully satisfied. “Carnage”  does lack the hugeness of the explosions and battles and violence  we’ve seen in other Marvel flicks.  But the actors are so appealing, quirky and mean and fun, that in itself worth watching.  So, if you are hankering from some wacky, silly, weird goings on, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” as the audience has shown, does the trick.

Ratings: “The Conners” Drops 9% to a Series Low, “CSI” Returns in Las Vegas and Loses a Bet

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: “The Conners” Drops 9% to a Series Low, “CSI” Returns in Las Vegas and Loses a Bet

TV is a dicey game these days. Between baseball, football, and other distractions– like Dick Wolf’s “Chicago” juggernaut– older shows are struggling.

On Wednesday night. “CSI” returned to CBS set in Las Vegas. They advertised original leading man William Petersen, but he didn’t show up until the end of the episode. The result was a squinty 4.1 million viewers, not really enough to raise a flag over. NBC’s “Chicago PD,” part of the Wolfian onslaught, knocked them cold at 10pm.

I’m still not sure why “CSI” returned. Almost no one was watching it when it ended a few seasons ago. And Petersen is always an X factor.

Meantime, ABC’s destruction of “The Conners” continues. A nice hit on Tuesdays at 8, the “Roseanne” spin off was moved to 9 on Wednesdays last year and started spinning out of control. Last night the show was down 9% from the previous week and hit a series low at 3.1 million. They’ve lost 400,000 viewers in three weeks. If this is a trend, and “The Conners” is going below 3 million, they are in big trouble. If ABC would move them back to 8pm, they might see a surge. But someone at ABC doesn’t like them, that’s clear.

The wild card in last night’s ratings was the Cardinals-Dodgers game on ESPN. They grabbed 6.67 million viewers from 8 to 11pm. That last hour is key, and it’s what gave “CSI” a kick in the pants. Cable was busy last night. Tucker Carlson lied to 3.3 million people for an hour from 8 to 9pm, whether they were asleep, in comas, or counting out their weekly liver pills.

Adele Covers Vogue for November, Mega Marketing Push Begins for “30” Album Coming Next Month (Song Details Here)

Roger Friedman
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Adele Covers Vogue for November, Mega Marketing Push Begins for “30” Album Coming Next Month (Song Details Here)

UPDATE: Adele is on the cover of both Vogue US and Vogue UK. Of the two stories, the American one is far superior. Hats off to Abby Aguirre for at least getting some information about the new music (although it sounds a little like the old music). But both Vogues simultaneously? The push is on!

Adele is on the cover of November Vogue.

The mega splash is tied to the release of her “30” album on November 19th,and the single on October 15th.

The single is called “Easy on Me.” But no one’s going easy with this album. The push is on to make “30” a monster hit. (The idea is that Adele isn’t going to make it “easy for you” the person she’s singing to, likely her ex husband.)

The album has songs produced or written Danger Mouse disciple Inflo, plus the Swedish pop wizards Max Martin and Shellback; the Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson; and the Canadian singer-songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr., on a “very powerful song” she describes as “an Édith Piaf-y moment.” As with her previous albums, the vocal tracks are original demos because, she explains, demos have a charisma and an urgency that get lost if you rerecord them. “I never redo my vocals. Never. Never ever.”

Greg Kurstin, of “Hello” fame, wrote “Easy On You.” It seems like most of the songwriters on “30” are the same as on “25.” Why mess with a successful formula?

From the story: “The first song she plays is the first song on the album, a gut-wrenching plea of a piano ballad, the chorus of which goes: “Go easy on me baby / I was still a child / Didn’t get the chance to / Feel the world around me.” Her voice does different impossible Adele-ish things with the refrain “go easy,” and although it starts to take on a euphoric tone…”

Another song: “A certain combination of elements—sexy ’70s groove, heavy strings, heavier lyrics—immediately calls to mind Marvin Gaye. (What’s Going On was a “very big reference” on the album, turns out.) “My little love,” Adele sings in a low, smoky register. “I see your eyes / Widen like an ocean / When you look at me / So full of my emotions.”

More:
I’m not sure I will survive another of Adele’s new songs, but as she plays four more, it becomes clear that they are mapping a progression. The next one is cathartic, a soulful promise of new love that has her repeating variations of: “I just want to love you for free / Everybody wants something from me / You just want me.” The fourth song is downright upbeat, meant to be a laugh-while-you’re-crying respite from the heaviness—“Otherwise we’d all kill ourselves, wouldn’t we?” Then comes a joyous anthem. Over gospelly organ she sings: “Let time be patient / Let pain be gracious.” Toward the end a chorus of her friends chimes in, chant-singing, “Just hold on, just hold on,” over and over. “The thing that they’re all singing is what my friends used to say to me,” Adele explains. “That’s why I wanted them to sing it, rather than an actual choir.”

“The last song she plays is the final song on the album. It was written and recorded while a TV in the studio played Breakfast at Tiffany’s on mute, she explains. “As it finished, we were trying to work out how to end the song, and I said, We should write it as if we were writing the soundtrack—you know, at the end of the movie, where it pans out.” The arrangement is whimsical and wall-of-sound retro, full of strings and vibrato and midcentury romance, but the lyrics deliver a subversive twist. The first line: “All your expectations of my love are impossible.”

Bravo: Jane Fonda Receives Inaugural Annual Award Named for Her from Women in Film

Roger Friedman
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Bravo: Jane Fonda Receives Inaugural Annual Award Named for Her from Women in Film

Bravo!

Last night in Hollywood, Women in Film inaugurated the prestigious Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award by bestowing it on the lady herself, two time Oscar winner Jane Fonda.

It’s about freaking time.

Fonda, who will be 84 in December, deserves the award being named for her. Her philanthropic and activist work is legendary, from fighting for social justice to bringing new awareness of climate dangers to the forefront. Fonda’s been a trailblazer for 50 years.

At the ceremony she was given the award by RuPaul Charles. She said, “This award I think is a torch that will be handed off year after year to new generations of activists who will I hope do a better job than my generation did.”

But she’s underplaying the foundation that she’s set for generations of women who followed her and still do. And not just as an activist. As an actress and producer, Fonda started producing her own movies in the 1970s when she couldn’t find the roles she wanted. A string of hits followed from “Coming Home” to “On Golden Pond.” She has helped steer “Grace and Frankie” on Netflix to seven seasons, the longest in the platform’s history.

Jean Smart, Marlee Matlin, Zendaya, Hannah Einbinder, Siân Heder, and Jenny Yang each received awards this year, too.

 

Ratings: Yankees-Red Sox Playoff Game Boom! Scores Huge 7 Mil Viewers, Second Place on All of TV (Including Cable)

Roger Friedman
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Ratings: Yankees-Red Sox Playoff Game Boom! Scores Huge 7 Mil Viewers, Second Place on All of TV (Including Cable)

The Yankees painfully lost to the Red Sox on Tuesday night. But the winner was ESPN. The single playoff game scored 7.1 million viewers and finished second for the night of all shows, broadcast and cable. “The Voice” beat the fabled rivalry by only 100,000 viewers.

So that’s some consolation, a record breaking audience watched the Yankees implode on national TV. When Aaron Judge was ridiculously waved to steal home and was called out, everyone should have turned to something on the CW. But they didn’t.

Nothing on cable came close in the ratings. And on broadcast, the game beat the whole CBS FBI lineup easily. The game also slaughtered NBC’s “La Brea,” a new show much mocked for its silliness. But “La Brea” managed over 5 million viewers, which is amazing for a new show’s debut. “New Amsterdam,” which follows, lost over half its audience.

If there’s a sequel to the Yankees- Red Sox game next season, we’d better win, that’s all I can say. Garrett Cole must get his act together!

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