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Grammy Nominations: Song of the Year Comprises Lady Gaga, Drake, Childish Gambino, Maren Morris, Cardi B, Brandi Carlisle

Roger Friedman
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Grammy Nominations: Song of the Year Comprises Lady Gaga, Drake, Childish Gambino, Maren Morris, Cardi B, Brandi Carlisle

Grammy nominations this morning did a lot for Lady Gaga and “A Star is Born.” Her hit single “Shallow” sung with Bradley Cooper was nominated for Best Song and Best Record. The Grammys air February 10th before Oscar voting is over. “Shallow” could win both awards and set up a win at the Oscars for Best Song, as well as help the movie garner votes.

Other nominees this morning include Cardi B, who somehow got Album of the Year nomination along with Drake, Brandi Carlisle, Janelle Monae, the Black Panther soundtrack, HER Music, and Post Malone.

A major contender in Best Song and Best Record is also “Meet Me in the Middle” by Maren Morris et al.

None of the Best Song contenders has just one or two writers, but committees of writers, producers, and miscellaneous people. The criteria for Best Song has obviously changed a lot since the days of real compositions.

Best New Artist: Chloe X Halle, Luke Combs, Greta Van Fleet, H.E.R., Dua Lipa, Margo Price, Bebe Rexha, and Jorja Smith are the nominees.

Full list to come.

Kevin Hart Steps Down from Oscar Host Job After Scandal About Homophobic Tweets Reaches Peak

Roger Friedman
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Kevin Hart Steps Down from Oscar Host Job After Scandal About Homophobic Tweets Reaches Peak

Kevin Hart has just Tweeted: “I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists. I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”

So Kevin Hart has backed down, just 24 hours after he was announced as host of the Oscars. The reason? Uncovered homophobic tweets from 2011 and other years that put into question his appropriateness for hosting the Academy Awards.

The scandal threatened to overshadow the Oscars broadcast in February 2019, and turn the next three months into a long slog of diatribe. Hart is a funny man, and often speaks without thinking.

In 2011 Hart Tweeted: Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.'” In another from 2010, Hart says someone’s profile pic looks “like a gay bill board for AIDS.” And in another written in 2009, he calls someone a “fat faced fag.”

The Tweet remained on his timeline until and just after he was announced as host. That’s when it was deleted. But by then word had spread. There was no way he could continue as Oscar host. On top of that, he wouldn’t apologize.
UPDATE NEW TWEET

Ironically, Hart’s scandal has exploded on the same night his “The Upside” co-star Bryan Cranston is having a huge success on Broadway. The two actors co-star in this movie that was held because of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. But now “The Upside” is coming out in January. Neil Burger’s movie is really great. I hope this episode doesn’t taint it again.

What I would do now about the Oscars is ask Cher and Meryl Streep, maybe with Christine Baranski and Tiffany Haddish, to host the Oscars. Haddish would be a hoot, and the other three would be just the right melange to pull it off.

 

Bryan Cranston Gives a Once-in-a-Lifetime Performance in “Network,” A Play That Predicted Fox News 20 Years Before it Happened

Roger Friedman
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Bryan Cranston Gives a Once-in-a-Lifetime Performance in “Network,” A Play That Predicted Fox News 20 Years Before it Happened

Sidney Aaron “Paddy” Chayefsky’s greatest work was “Network,” a screenplay for a movie that predicted Fox News twenty years before it happened. Chayefsky– who died in 1981 at age 58– wrote “Network” in 1974. It shot in 1975 was released in 1976. It won four Oscars, including Best Actor ({Peter Finch), Best Actress (Faye Dunaway), Best Supporting Actress (Beatrice Straight), and Best Screenplay (Chayefsky). Director Sidney Lumet was nominated for Best Director.

Two decades later, Fox News launched as opinion news run by celebrity newscasters who ranted and raved. Chayefsky foreshadowed Hannity, O’Reilly and the rest of the jackals at Fox News with Howard Beale, a middle aged nut who had a nervous breakdown on live on the air and promised to commit suicide. Beale’s mental illness was exploited by network executives, and led to his murder, also live on the air.

Now Bryan Cranston, of “Breaking Bad” fame, who’s already got a Tony award for playing LBJ in “All the Way,” gives the performance of a lifetime as Beale, elaborating and enriching Finch’s screen take. Cranston won the Olivier Award in London last March for playing Beale. Now, if he stays a bit, he’ll win another Tony Award. He is simply astounding, drawing out Beale’s anger and pathos, his role as a visionary who sees the whole thing in front of him. Howard Beale essentially leaves the blueprints for Roger Ailes of what is to come.

Ivo van Hove stages “Network” busily. On stage left (our right), theatergoers are actually eating dinner, real food, served by waiters, as an audience-in-an-audience. You pay extra for this with your ticket. Some of the play then takes place in this faux functioning restaurant. (I asked everyone, no one knows why van Hove has done this.)

Some of “Network” goes outside onto West 44th St. in front of the Belasco Theater, where co-stars Tony Goldwyn and Tatiana Maslany– who are terrific–  take a stroll mid show. I mean this is really happening, they go on the sidewalk at every performance with a cameraman and we see it on a video screen.  Pedestrians– true New Yorkers– are walking by in both directions. They are unfazed. It is really weird and wonderful.

Back on stage, there is a huge video screen, more screens, commercials from 1976 running on screens in the background. I found them distracting, although you do learn that a year before Roy Scheider starred in “Jaws” he made a Folgers commercial. Cameraman are broadcasting Beale’s show. Chayefsky’s UBS Network presaged CNN and Fox and all-news networks. Chayefsky could not have been more prescient about the carnival our lives would become.

There is so much going on onstage that it can be dizzying. But Cranston, as Beale, who’s supposedly unwinding into madness, is the sane center. At one point he also breaks the fourth wall, comes down and sits on the lip of the stage. Then he sits down between two theatergoers in the first row and improvises his own dialogue. I asked Bryan about this on Wednesday night. He told me it’s all ad-libbed. “I look forward to that bit every night.” On Wednesday– as Beale– he asked two ladies if their stash of candy indicated onset diabetes. The whole theater roared with laughter.

The producers and publicists didn’t want press on their opening night, which is why I can’t tell you anything about what happened Thursday. Some kind of paranoia. But they had nothing to fear. “Network” is already sold out for its limited run. They will have to try and extend. Everyone in the show is top notch. Maslany is earthier than Faye Dunaway. She’s more like a horny, aggressive version of Holly Hunter’s character in “Broadcast News.” Goldwyn has the suave mien of William Holden from the movie. His “Scandal” fans will be more than pleased when he and Maslany go for it big time in the faux restaurant.

So kudos to “Network.” If only Chayefsky had lived longer, maybe he could have also stopped Fox News, Morton Downey Jr. and all the terrors he saw in his crystal ball.

 

 

Despite New 8 Year Deal to Stay on NBC, Golden Globes Give Peacock Network Just 3 Nominations

Roger Friedman
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Despite New 8 Year Deal to Stay on NBC, Golden Globes Give Peacock Network Just 3 Nominations

The Hollywood Foreign Press made a lot of people unhappy this morning with various snubs.

But the most disappointed must be NBC, the home of the Golden Globes. NBC just paid a lot of money for a new 8 year contract with the HFPA and Dick Clark Productions.

But NBC received just three nominations. Two were for acting and one was for Best Comedy. They were Kristen Bell for “The Good Place,” Debra Messing for “Will & Grace,” and “The Good Place” for Best Comedy.

Totally snubbed was “This Is Us” and its entire cast including the best actor on TV, Sterling K. Brown. How did that happen?

Also snubbed was “Saturday Night Live” and all its players including Kate McKinnon, who should get an award just for Being.

And while Debra Messing is wonderful, what happened to Eric McCormack and Sean Hayes?

On the other hand, NBC did manage to get one of its stars, Andy Samberg, as co-host of the show with Sandra Oh.

Golden Globes Nominees: “First Man” and Ryan Gosling Snubbed, “Black Panther,” Spike Lee, “Bohemian Rhapsody” In

Roger Friedman
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Golden Globes Nominees: “First Man” and Ryan Gosling Snubbed, “Black Panther,” Spike Lee, “Bohemian Rhapsody” In

UPDATE:  “First Man,” from Universal Pictures, was snubbed by the HFPA for Best Picture nominations. So was Ryan Gosling. No songs from the new “Mary Poppins” made the grade either.

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a.
BLACK PANTHER
Marvel Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
b.
BLACKKKLANSMAN
QC Entertainment / Blumhouse / Monkeypaw / 40 Acres and a Mule; Focus Features
c.
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Twentieth Century Fox / Regency Enterprises; Twentieth Century Fox
d.
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Annapurna Pictures / Plan B Entertainment / We Pastel; Annapurna Pictures
e.
A STAR IS BORN
Warner Bros. Pictures / Live Nation Productions / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures / Jon Peters Production / Bill Gerber Production / Joint Effort Production; Warner Bros. Pictures
2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a.
GLENN CLOSE
THE WIFE
b.
LADY GAGA
A STAR IS BORN
c.
NICOLE KIDMAN
DESTROYER
d.
MELISSA MCCARTHY
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
e.
ROSAMUND PIKE
A PRIVATE WAR

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a.
BRADLEY COOPER
A STAR IS BORN
b.
WILLEM DAFOE
AT ETERNITY’S GATE
c.
LUCAS HEDGES
BOY ERASED
d.
RAMI MALEK
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
e.
JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON
BLACKKKLANSMAN
4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a.
CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Warner Bros. Pictures / SK Global / Starlight Culture / Color Force / Ivanhoe Pictures / Electric Somewhere; Warner Bros. Pictures
b.
THE FAVOURITE
Element Pictures / Scarlet Films / Film4 / Waypoint Entertainment; Fox Searchlight Pictures
c.
GREEN BOOK
Participant Media / DreamWorks Pictures; Universal Pictures
d.
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
e.
VICE
Annapurna Pictures / Gary Sanchez Productions / Plan B Entertainment; Annapurna Pictures

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a.
EMILY BLUNT
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
b.
OLIVIA COLMAN
THE FAVOURITE
c.
ELSIE FISHER
EIGHTH GRADE
d.
CHARLIZE THERON
TULLY
e.
CONSTANCE WU
CRAZY RICH ASIANS
6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a.
CHRISTIAN BALE
VICE
b.
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA
MARY POPPINS RETURNS
c.
VIGGO MORTENSEN
GREEN BOOK
d.
ROBERT REDFORD
THE OLD MAN & THE GUN
e.
JOHN C. REILLY
STAN & OLLIE

7. BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED
a.
INCREDIBLES 2
Pixar Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
b.
ISLE OF DOGS
Indian Paintbrush / American Empirical Pictures; Fox Searchlight Pictures
c.
MIRAI
Studio Chizu; GKIDS
d.
RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET
Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
e.
SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE
Columbia Pictures / Sony Pictures Animation; Sony Pictures Releasing

8. BEST MOTION PICTURE – FOREIGN LANGUAGE
a.
CAPERNAUM
(LEBANON)
Mooz Films; Sony Pictures Classics
b.
GIRL
(BELGIUM)
Menuet / Topkapi Films / Frakas Productions; Netflix
c.
NEVER LOOK AWAY
(GERMANY)
Pergamon Film / Wiedemann & Berg Film / in coproduction with Beta Cinema / ARD Degeto / Bayrischer Rundfunk; Sony Pictures Classics
d.
ROMA
(MEXICO)
Netflix / Participant Media / Esperanto-Filmoj; Netflix
e.
SHOPLIFTERS
(JAPAN)
Gaga / AOI Promotion / Fuji Television Network; Magnolia Pictures
9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
a.
AMY ADAMS
VICE
b.
CLAIRE FOY
FIRST MAN
c.
REGINA KING
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
d.
EMMA STONE
THE FAVOURITE
e.
RACHEL WEISZ
THE FAVOURITE

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN ANY MOTION PICTURE
a.
MAHERSHALA ALI
GREEN BOOK
b.
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET
BEAUTIFUL BOY
c.
ADAM DRIVER
BLACKKKLANSMAN
d.
RICHARD E. GRANT
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
e.
SAM ROCKWELL
VICE
11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
a.
BRADLEY COOPER
A STAR IS BORN
b.
ALFONSO CUARÓN
ROMA
c.
PETER FARRELLY
GREEN BOOK
d.
SPIKE LEE
BLACKKKLANSMAN
e.
ADAM MCKAY
VICE

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
a.
ALFONSO CUARÓN
ROMA
b.
DEBORAH DAVIS, TONY MCNAMARA
THE FAVOURITE
c.
BARRY JENKINS
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
d.
ADAM MCKAY
VICE
e.
NICK VALLELONGA, BRIAN CURRIE, PETER FARRELLY
GREEN BOOK
13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
a.
MARCO BELTRAMI
A QUIET PLACE
b.
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT
ISLE OF DOGS
c.
LUDWIG GÖRANSSON
BLACK PANTHER
d.
JUSTIN HURWITZ
FIRST MAN
e.
MARC SHAIMAN
MARY POPPINS RETURNS

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
a.
“ALL THE STARS” — BLACK PANTHER
Music by:
Kendrick Lamar, Anthony Tiffith, Mark Spears, Solana Rowe, Al Shuckburgh
Lyrics by:
Kendrick Lamar, Anthony Tiffith, Mark Spears, Solana Rowe, Al Shuckburgh
b.
“GIRL IN THE MOVIES” — DUMPLIN’
Music by:
Dolly Parton, Linda Perry
Lyrics by:
Dolly Parton, Linda Perry
c.
“REQUIEM FOR A PRIVATE WAR” — A PRIVATE WAR
Music by:
Annie Lennox
Lyrics by:
Annie Lennox
d.
“REVELATION” — BOY ERASED
Music by:
Troye Sivan, Jónsi
Lyrics by:
Jon Thor Birgisson, Troye Sivan, Brett McLaughlin
e.
“SHALLOW” — A STAR IS BORN
Music by:
Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt
Lyrics by:
Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando, Andrew Wyatt
15. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a.
THE AMERICANS
FX NETWORKS
Fox 21 Television Studios / FX Productions
b.
BODYGUARD
NETFLIX
World Productions / an ITV Studios company
c.
HOMECOMING
PRIME VIDEO
Universal Cable Productions LLA / Amazon Studios
d.
KILLING EVE
BBC AMERICA
BBC AMERICA / Sid Gentle Films Ltd
e.
POSE
FX NETWORKS
Fox 21 Television Studios / FX Productions

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a.
CAITRIONA BALFE
OUTLANDER
b.
ELISABETH MOSS
THE HANDMAID’S TALE
c.
SANDRA OH
KILLING EVE
d.
JULIA ROBERTS
HOMECOMING
e.
KERI RUSSELL
THE AMERICANS
17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA
a.
JASON BATEMAN
OZARK
b.
STEPHAN JAMES
HOMECOMING
c.
RICHARD MADDEN
BODYGUARD
d.
BILLY PORTER
POSE
e.
MATTHEW RHYS
THE AMERICANS

18. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a.
BARRY
HBO
HBO Entertainment / Alec Berg / Hanarply
b.
THE GOOD PLACE
NBC
Universal Television / Fremulon / 3 Arts Entertainment
c.
KIDDING
SHOWTIME
SHOWTIME / SOME KIND OF GARDEN / Aggregate Films / Broadlawn Films
d.
THE KOMINSKY METHOD
NETFLIX
Warner Bros. Television
e.
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
PRIME VIDEO
Amazon Studios
19. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a.
KRISTEN BELL
THE GOOD PLACE
b.
CANDICE BERGEN
MURPHY BROWN
c.
ALISON BRIE
GLOW
d.
RACHEL BROSNAHAN
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
e.
DEBRA MESSING
WILL & GRACE

20. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
a.
SACHA BARON COHEN
WHO IS AMERICA
b.
JIM CARREY
KIDDING
c.
MICHAEL DOUGLAS
THE KOMINSKY METHOD
d.
DONALD GLOVER
ATLANTA
e.
BILL HADER
BARRY
21. BEST TELEVISION LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a.
THE ALIENIST
TNT
The Alienist / Paramount Television / Turner’s Studio T
b.
THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY
FX NETWORKS
Fox 21 Television Studios / FX Productions
c.
ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA
SHOWTIME
SHOWTIME / Red Hour Productions / Michael De Luca Productions / The White Mountain Company / BZ Entertainment / Busyhands
d.
SHARP OBJECTS
HBO
HBO Entertainment / eOne / Tiny Pyro Productions / Blumhouse Television / Fourth Born / crazyrose Productions
e.
A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
PRIME VIDEO
Blueprint / Amazon Studios

22. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a.
AMY ADAMS
SHARP OBJECTS
b.
PATRICIA ARQUETTE
ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA
c.
CONNIE BRITTON
DIRTY JOHN
d.
LAURA DERN
THE TALE
e.
REGINA KING
SEVEN SECONDS
23. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a.
ANTONIO BANDERAS
GENIUS: PICASSO
b.
DANIEL BRÜHL
ALIENIST, THE
c.
DARREN CRISS
THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY
d.
BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
PATRICK MELROSE
e.
HUGH GRANT
A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
24. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a.
ALEX BORSTEIN
THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL
b.
PATRICIA CLARKSON
SHARP OBJECTS
c.
PENÉLOPE CRUZ
THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY
d.
THANDIE NEWTON
WESTWORLD
e.
YVONNE STRAHOVSKI
THE HANDMAID’S TALE

25. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
a.
ALAN ARKIN
THE KOMINSKY METHOD
b.
KIERAN CULKIN
SUCCESSION
c.
EDGAR RAMÍREZ
THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE: AMERICAN CRIME STORY
d.
BEN WHISHAW
A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
e.
HENRY WINKLER
BARRY

NOMINATIONS BY MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTOR
MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTOR
NOMINATIONS Annapurna Pictures
10 Fox Searchlight Pictures
10 Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
9 Focus Features
7 Universal Pictures
7 Warner Bros. Pictures
7 Netflix
5 Sony Pictures Classics
4 Aviron Pictures
2 Twentieth Century Fox
2 A24
1 Amazon Studios
1 CBS Films
1 GKIDS
1 Magnolia Pictures
1 Paramount Pictures
1 Sony Pictures Releasing
1

NOMINATIONS BY TELEVISION NETWORK
TELEVISION NETWORK
NOMINATIONS
FX Networks
10
HBO
9
Prime Video
9
Netflix
8
Showtime
6
NBC
3
BBC America
2
hulu
2
TNT
2
Bravo
1
CBS
1
National Geographic
1
Starz
1

NOMINATIONS BY MOTION PICTURE
MOTION PICTURE
Nominations
Vice
6
The Favourite
5
Green Book
5
A Star Is Born
5
BlacKkKlansman
4
Mary Poppins Returns
4
Black Panther
3
If Beale Street Could Talk
3
Roma
3
Bohemian Rhapsody
2
Boy Erased
2
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
2
Crazy Rich Asians
2
First Man
2
Isle of Dogs
2
A Private War
2
At Eternity’s Gate
1
Beautiful Boy
1
Capernaum
1
Destroyer
1
Dumplin’
1
Eighth Grade
1
Girl
1
Incredibles 2
1
Mirai
1
Never Look Away
1
The Old Man & the Gun
1
A Quiet Place
1
Ralph Breaks the Internet
1
Shoplifters
1
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
1
Stan & Ollie
1
Tully
1
The Wife
1

NOMINATIONS BY TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM
TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM
Nominations
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
4
The Americans
3
Barry
3
Homecoming
3
The Kominsky Method
3
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
3
Sharp Objects
3
A Very English Scandal
3
The Alienist
2
Bodyguard
2
Escape at Dannemora
2
The Good Place
2
The Handmaid’s Tale
2
Kidding
2
Killing Eve
2
Pose
2
Atlanta
1
Dirty John
1
Genius: Picasso
1
Glow
1
Murphy Brown
1
Outlander
1
Ozark
1
Patrick Melrose
1
Seven Seconds
1
Succession
1
The Tale
1
Westworld
1
Who is America
1
Will & Grace
1

 

 

 

 

The Best Picture Drama noms were Black Panther, Blackkklansman, Bohemian Rhapsody, If Beale Street, and A Star is Born. That means 3 of the 5 were African-American centric, which is a HUGE change for the HFPA.

The Best Picture Comedy noms were Crazy Rich Asians, The Favourite, Green Book, Vice, and Mary Poppins.

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, Willem Dafoe, Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased), Rami Malek, John David Washington

Best Actress: Glenn Close, Nicole Kidman, Rosamund Pike, Lady Gaga, Melissa McCarthy

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, Claire Foy, Regina King, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone

Best Actor, Comedy: Robert Redford, John C. Reilly, Viggo Mortensen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christian Bale

Best Actress Comedy: Emily Blunt, Olivia Colman, Charlize Theron, Constance Wu, Elsie Fisher

 

 

 

 

Here are the Golden Globes nominations, as they are announced.  This is from the first group. Second round at 8:34am.

The big news among this group is that “A Star is Born” was snubbed twice– for screenplay and score. That’s pretty shocking. Also, “Cold War,” the great Polish film, was not included in Foreign Films. But “Never Look Away” was, and I am very happy because it’s a masterpiece.

Foreign Language Film: Capernaum, Girl, Never Look Away, Roma, Shoplifter

Motion Picture Screenplay: Roma, The Favourite, If Beale Street Could Talk, Vice, Green Book

Score: A Quiet Place, Isle of Dogs, Black Panther, First Man, Mary Poppins Returns

In TV, the Best Comedy nominees are: Barry (HBO), The Good Place (NBC), Kidding (Showtime), The Kominsky Method (Netflix), Mrs. Maisel, (Amazon).

TV Best Actress, Comedy: Kirsten Bell, Candice Bergen, ALison Brie, Rachel Brosnahan, Debra Messing

TV Best Actor, Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen, Jim Carrey, Michael Douglas, Donald Glover, Bill Hader

 

Broadway Audiences At “Network” Cheer Bush, Obama, Clinton, Boo Donald Trump at End of Each Show

Roger Friedman
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Broadway Audiences At “Network” Cheer Bush, Obama, Clinton, Boo Donald Trump at End of Each Show

There’s a lot going on in Ivo van Hove’s “Network,” which opens tonight on Broadway after a hit run in London’s West End.

For one thing, Bryan Cranston– who won the Olivier award for Best Actor last March– is giving the performance of his life. It’s funny because I waited with him to meet Elaine May last month after she gave the performance of her life in “Waverly Gallery.” We had no idea, I guess (jokingly), what he really did for a job. Wow. His Howard Beale is just beyond sensational. (Everyone is good in this play: Tony Goldwyn, Tatiana Maslany, et al.)

At the end of “Network,” after the curtain call, there’s a little video tag on like a Marvel movie. von Hove shows in sequence all the US presidents taking the oath of office starting with Jimmy Carter. (The play takes place during Gerald Ford’s short administration.)

The audience, still standing last night, clapped for Carter, then Reagan, cheered for the newly departed George HW Bush, cheered for Clinton, clapped for George W. Bush, really cheered for Obama. Then Trump came up, and the booing boomed through the Belasco Theater. There were catcalls, shrieks, and one woman who yelled “Liar!” over the crowd. Only one man seemed displeased at Trump’s treatment, but he was drowned out.

I asked one of the ushers if last night was a typical reaction. “Oh yes,” she said, same thing. But another woman, visiting from Chicago, told me later Trump would have had a better reaction in the Windy City.

Even With Guest Stars, “The Conners” Posts Its Lowest Ratings Yet– Is Cancellation Near? (Yes)

Roger Friedman
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Even With Guest Stars, “The Conners” Posts Its Lowest Ratings Yet– Is Cancellation Near? (Yes)

“The Conners” aka “Roseanne” without Roseanne has not an easy ratings ride. They are really on a rollercoaster.

Last night “The Conners” posted its lowest ratings yet. Just 6,627,000 people tuned in. That’s down 790,000 from last week.

And that’s despite heavy hitter guest stars Matthew Broderick and Juliette Lewis, as well as Jay Ferguson, coming in to fill up the space left by Roseanne Barr.

Last week, “The Conners” somehow poked up to 7.3 million. It turned out to be a fluke.,

Last night, the show came in with lower demo’s too. That’s not helping. They were all in all the 5th place show of the night.

I am still convinced that episode 11, the only extra one ordered by ABC, will show Roseanne’s death to have been a dream. And that will end the series once and for all.

Roseanne herself has been conspicuously silent all season. Mark my words.

 

Rediscovering Lost Paul McCartney: Wings “Wild Life” and “Red Rose Speedway” Stand Test of Time

Roger Friedman
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Rediscovering Lost Paul McCartney: Wings “Wild Life” and “Red Rose Speedway” Stand Test of Time

So many things were wrong when the Beatles broke up, it’s hard to recount them. Basically, any solo record of any kind was embraced like a message from Moses on the temple mount. They were signs of life, of promise, that the boys were still working, that they might come back, that everything was alright.

Paul McCartney had hits immediately in ’70-’71: “Another Day,” the McCartney album (with “Maybe I’m Amazed” and “Every Night”), the “Ram” album with “Uncle Albert,” and so on. And then, for a bit, McCartney went dark.

What emerged was Wings, a group rock critics liked to slag, with Linda, Denny Laine, and Denny Seiwell. Their 1972 album, “Wild Life,” will be reissued on Friday, all remastered, with a separate CD of outtakes and so on. The original album was just 8 tracks, 4 to a side. There were no singles issued. Paul was suddenly too cool for singles. That was a mistake. But he wanted it to be intimate, and sound home recorded– of all which it was.

But real McCartney fans have always known about “Wild Life.” There was potential for singles. “Some People Never Know” is one of the gorgeous McCartney tracks ever. “I Am Your Singer,” properly arranged, would have jumped off the radio. “Tomorrow” is Macca-catchy, also perfect for radio. All three of them have been left off collections and compilations. With the latter, it kind of completes a set– “Yesterday,” “Another Day,” “Every Night” and so on. Paul cornered the market on ‘day’ songs.

The rest of “Wild Life” is pretty interesting. “Dear Friend” pleads with John Lennon for some peace in their fractured relationship. It’s such a sad song about the end of a friendship, the haunting piano and Paul’s almost moaning in pain still sends chills. “Love is Strange” is a cover of Mickey and Sylvia’s classic, reimagined for Paul and Linda, whom fans did not want to hear singing with him. Somehow it worked. (I asked Mickey about it when I met him– he approved.)

My favorites on “Wild Life” are the uptempo blues rocker “Mumbo,” and the slower, also very bluesy “Wild Life,” which runs over 6 minutes and has stood the test of time. Once you listen to “Mumbo,” you’ll have trouble getting the hook out of your head.

The new box set “Wild Life” also includes one of McCartney’s few political songs– “Give Ireland Back to the Irish.” It was banned everywhere as a standalone single but I still remember Casey Kasem playing it on American Top 40. It was hard to imagine McCartney being critical of the Crown and Parliament, but by that point Lennon was considered such a political activist, McCartney had to do something for the sake of his own relevancy. Remaking “Mary Had a Little Lamb” soon after kind of negated whatever progress he made on that score.  But “Give Ireland Back to the Irish” remains a lost gem.

“Red Rose Speedway,” also reissued Friday, followed in 1973. It was as if someone had come in and said, Paul, time to get back to work. “My Love” was the only single, a worldwide smash, a great ballad. I always thought they’d follow it with “Get on the Right Thing,” a terrific rocker, but one single was it. “RRS” has a lot of personal faves, including the ridiculously beautiful “Little Lamb Dragonfly.” McCartney lyrics can be saccharine or silly sometimes (“Silly Love Songs” being the nadir of everything). But he’s a tremendous composer of suites on all his albums, sticking pieces together like Picasso in which a whole emerges of unexpected melodic grace.

The “Red Rose Speedway” set is worth the price for its extras CD. There’s a solo version of “Live and Let Die” that is going right into my top 10 playlist. There’s a whole new look at the album that makes it grow in estimation with tracks like “Night Out” and “Jazz Street.” They also include the standalone “Hi Hi Hi,” with all its double entendres about sex and drugs. Somehow radio played that one even though it was ‘supposed to be’ banned. (Ha Ha Ha.) There are lots of cool B sides like “Country Dreamer,” “The Mess,” and “Little Woman Love”– the latter is a terrific little rocker– and “Seaside Woman” — an attempt at reggae written for Linda to sing, and she acquits herself very well.

These box sets are very helpful if you are not a wild collector of bootleg material. In the old days, I could walk into Golden Oldies on Bleecker Street (the original Bleecker Bob’s) and pick up all sorts of bootlegs on vinyl. There was a big mail order business, too. But that’s for fanatics with a lot of time on their hands. For those of us who need a little structure, the new McCartney sets give a very complete picture. (And I haven’t even mentioned the rocker “Best Friend.”)

Let’s all get on the right thing!

 

 

 

Oscar Time for Glenn Close: “The most precious thing we have is time, and our lives are the sum of how we choose to spend it, and with whom”

Paula Schwartz
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Oscar Time for Glenn Close: “The most precious thing we have is time, and our lives are the sum of how we choose to spend it, and with whom”

Glenn Close’s long and illustrious career — spanning 45 years and some 85 film roles and countless stage performances — was honored and celebrated by the Museum of the Moving Image last night at a gala tribute in Manhattan on the Upper East Side.

Featured speakers were Ethan Hawke, Christian Slater, Bob Balaban, Michael Barker and Jim Dale, who introduced clips from the actresses many films, including “The World According to Garp,” “Dangerous Liasons,” “The Big Chill,” “The Natural” and “The Wife.” Via video, accolades were flung by Michael Douglas, Kevin Kline, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale and Tiffany Haddish.

Said Kline in his video, “Congratulations on this glorious event celebrating your wonderfully stunning, staggering, moving image — And finally ending up in a museum is absolutely appropriate.”

On the red carpet I asked Close, who looked spectacular in a sharp white pantsuit and cascading diamond earrings, how she found her way into her toughest characters?

“There’s always a period where you go, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get into this character. And then if you’re lucky and you keep at it, and you know your craft, there comes a moment where you can find a common humanity in something in your imagination that feels right for that character. Some are harder than others.”

She found her way into the character of Joan Castleman in “The Wife” — a role sure to earn her the seventh Oscar nomination — by asking herself of the character, who has been writing her insufferable husband’s books, “Why didn’t she leave him?”

I asked Close to share her biggest professional challenge and how it influenced her career? “My first movie for sure.” That would be “The World According to Garp,” back in 1982. And the challenge? “The challenge was how to do it. My background was theater. Film is a very different energy with the camera. I thought I’d blow out the camera because I had an energy that was used to projecting and you had to bring it all in and that was a wonderful exercise.”

At the reminder that in that film she co-starred with the wonderful Robin Williams — improbably as his mother — she sighed before exiting the red carpet.

In her acceptance speech at the end of the evening, Close began by saying, “This is actually a very emotional event for me. Getting an award like this in the town where it started means a lot. Getting this award in the town where I walked into the Kaufman Studios, your neighbor and landlord I understand, and saw the set had been built early for us to rehearse on for ‘The World According to Garp.’ And I realized when I walked in, and when we were in the Kaufman, it wasn’t renovated. It was quite musty and fabulous and, but we walked into the set, and I realized, ‘This set exists because of my character. I’d better be good.’”

Close went on to add, “It’s humbling and, okay, kind of confusing, trying to figure out what to say when given an award like this. I don’t feel wise or particularly insightful. If anything, I feel more aware of the fragility of it all. As far as the choices that are the reason I’m here tonight, I think of something that Stephen Frears said at a big buzzy European press conference for “Dangerous Liaisons” all those years ago.”

“As accolades for the film were pouring in, Frears was the man of the moment and someone got up and started making some very intellectual observations about certain aspects of the film. I think the guy was French. Something like how he had so brilliantly mirrored the complexity of the relationships with his use of light and shadow, or maybe it was his use of the camera, and his choice close of closeups. Then this person concluded by asking Stephen how he’d done it, how he’d managed to get it right on so many levels. And Stephen pondered for a moment, and then said, ‘Well, it just seemed like a good idea at the time.’ And the fact that my very subjective choices that seemed like a good idea at the time have actually added up to a body of work that matters to people, is something I’ll never get used to.”

Closes spoke of moments “where one feels totally devoid of inspiration, and an entire crew is watching, and the minutes are ticking by, and the producers are looking at their watches, and a terrible panic starts grabbing you by the throat because you know you don’t have it, and you have no clue as to what it is and where it will come from. Moments that demand a simplicity of truth because that’s the only thing that connects, and without it you might as well get into another line of work.”

Close reminisced about George Roy Hill, who put her in her first film, “The World According to Garp.”

“When I went up to him I said, ‘I hope you’ll take care of me. I’ve heard that a lot of stage actors can’t make the transition into film.’ He said, ‘Yeah, you’re right, a lot of them can’t.'”

Close singled out stories of some of the many directors who helped her find inspiration for her roles, including, Adrian Lyne, “who thought of the pigeons in the window, and Michael and my greatest sex scene in the kitchen sink.”

Of Mike Nichols she said, “It happened when Jeremy Irons and I were flailing in the second act of Tom Stoppard’s ‘The Real Thing.’ Our director, the wondrous Mike Nichols, stopped the rehearsal, walked up to us, put his arms around our shoulders and whispered, ‘When you feel lost, drown in each other’s eyes.’”

Close thanked also her daughter Annie Starke, who plays the younger version of her character in “The Wife,” especially for her cleavage in “Dangerous Liaisons.” “My beloved daughter Annie who was seven weeks old when we arrived on the set of ‘Dangerous Liaisons,’ and the reason why I had such great boobs. She’s now 30, and a beautiful actress in her own right there.”

Close graciously thanked, it seemed, almost everyone who helped or contributed to her many movies, including producers, actors, directors publicist Kevin Huvane (who attended the gala), best friend Mary Beth Hurt, her make up artists, costume designers and wig maker.

Close concluded her speech by noting: “The most precious thing we have is time, and our lives are the sum of how we choose to spend it, and with whom. For me, the process, the process is everything. Choosing the projects that I can believe in, involving people who I can’t wait to spend time with, to play, to try to get it right. That is the ultimate luxury. To be given an award like this for something that already makes me so deeply happy and fulfilled is truly an embarrassment of riches.”

photo c2018 Showbiz411 by Paula Schwartz

Bruce Springsteen Says No Touring for Him, E Street Band in 2019: “The year will be consumed by a break after our Broadway run”

Roger Friedman
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Bruce Springsteen Says No Touring for Him, E Street Band in 2019: “The year will be consumed by a break after our Broadway run”

Bruce Springsteen made SO MUCH MONEY during his 15 month run on Broadway, he’s going to take 2019 off.

That may not be music to the ears of his fans, or even to the E Street Band and everyone who earns a living from Springsteen tours, but the Boss said it and he means it. According to a post last night, he wrote: “The year will be consumed by a break after our Broadway run.”

Springsteen — who will turn 70 in September 2019– may release a solo album in 2019, but not right away. First comes his Broadway album, due December 14th, and the Netflix version of the Broadway show, launching December 16th. A solo album — which would need promotion — sounds like something for spring 2019. But no tour, got that?

Most weeks during the Broadway run, Bruce averaged $2 million at the Broadway box office. He took a few weeks off, and alternated between 4 and 5 performances a week. Let’s say he grossed a ballpark $100 million. His costs were minimal– rental of the theater, advertising. It’s possible Bruce grossed $90 million in 15 months. Why go back on the road so fast?

PS Bruce has been living in Manhattan not far from the Walter Kerr Theater. When he goes home to New Jersey, it’s to the nice town of Colt’s Neck, where a murder scandal has been unfolding– a man allegedly killed his brother, sister-in-law, and their young kids. It would be safer if Bruce stayed in New York!

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