Movies
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George Clooney Is a Conflicted Dad in “The Descendants” (Review)
The Descendants is a crackling good movie from Alexander Payne with a rather disturbing plot. For example, critics are justified in saying George Clooney as the hapless middle-aged dad Matt King shouldn’t enlist his 17-year-old daughter Alexandra (the very talented Shailene Woodley) to help him find the man his wife’s been cheating with. True, his motive is ostensibly to inform the lothario that he has only limited time to come to the hospital to say goodbye to his lover, as she’s dying after a boating accident. But still, one cringes at the dad’s lack of judgment. But maybe that’s the point. The marriage was effed up and it’s left both parties in a similar state….
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Fran Drescher Was Abducted by Aliens
Yes, you read that correctly. Okay, I actually have two new related but sort of completely random things I now know about Fran Drescher, star of The Nanny and one of my favorite totally horrible romances, Beautician and the Beast; not only does she believe in aliens (and that they abducted her), she also uses high school romance rules to determine whether or not she’s destined to be with someone: “You know, it’s funny because Peter (Fran’s ex-husband) and I both saw [aliens] before we knew each other … We were both in junior high. A few years later, we met, and we realized that we had the same experience. I think that somehow we…
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“The Worst Pies in Jackson”: Theatre fans like “The Help” for Great White Way
Attempting to turn a successful movie into a Broadway show is par for the course these days. It seems more musicals on the boards are based on film properties than not. So for its weekend poll, Broadway.com asked its followers which Oscar-nominated film from 2011 would make the best stage production. The civil-rights drama The Help won by a large margin over runners-up The Artist (nothing says “Broadway musical” like a silent film) and Midnight in Paris (“You’re lookin’ swell, Dali!”). Apparently, few Broadway.com fans thought The Descendants might make a fine Don Ho jukebox musical. I think The Help is a good fit for Broadway. Minny’s special chocolate pie would certainly give Mrs. Lovett’s…
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Another Winning Opener in “The Grey” (Updated)
Novelty is paying off with moviegoers this season! This was the fourth straight weekend when a new film came in at #1. The Grey with Liam Neeson made an estimated $20 million to top the listings for January 27 – 29. The film is in the wilderness survival mode as plane crash survivors fend off various threats including grey wolves. Last week’s box office topper, Underworld Awakening, came in #2 at an estimated $12.5 million. Another opener, Katherine Heigl in One For the Money, came in third at an estimated $11.75 million. This one is based on the Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich, and it did well with older women–exit polling showed the audience at…
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2012 SAG Award Winners
Best Cast of a Motion Picture, The Help Best Actress, Motion Picture Viola Davis, The Help Best Actor, Motion Picture Jean Dujardin, The Artist Best Cast, TV Drama Boardwalk Empire THE BEST SAG FASHION COVERAGE, RIGHT HERE Best Actor, TV Drama Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire Best Actress, TV Drama Jessica Lange, American Horror Story Best Actor, Miniseries or TV Movie Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail Best Actress, Miniseries or TV Movie Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce Best Cast, TV Comedy Modern Family Best Actress, Miniseries or TV Movie Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce Best Cast, TV Comedy Modern Family Best Actress, TV Comedy Betty White, Hot in Cleveland Best Actor, TV Comedy Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock…
Hot Topics
Courtney Love’s pets die after eating the drugs she left laying around
Courtney Love is planning to file a lawsuit against the person who leaked sealed court docs that allege (according to her own daughter) that two of Love’s family pets died due to her reckless behavior. The cat apparently died from eating God knows what recreational drugs was laying around and the dog died from a prescription pill overdose. Those poor animals! Love’s daughter Frances Bean Cobain also states via this 2009 depo that her mom “basically lives on Xanax, Adderall, Sonata and Abilify, sugar and cigarettes.” The papers also claim Cobain worries about Love’s prescription drug use and that she’ll start a fire because she falls asleep in bed while smoking. Looks like we have…
30 Rock’s Tracy Morgan turns back on his own mother
Tracy Morgan’s mom, Alicia Warden wiped away tears as she explained that she’s about to lose her home due to fourscore and her celebrity son refuses to help. “He would rather see me homeless in the street than to help his own mother,” said Warden. “I’m in dire straits right now. I need help. I’m not ashamed to ask my son for it.” When she called her son Tracy Morgan for help (Morgan’s worth an estimated 18 million), her son said he’d “call her right back.” But the call back came from one of Morgan’s assistants. “‘Tracy said he’d give you $2,000 in a one-shot deal. Morgan’s heartbroken mom told Morgan’s handler, “You tell Tracy…
All New Madonna! Give Me All Your Luvin’ (Feat. M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj) [VIDEO]
Madonna has JUST released her new football-themed video for “Give Me All Your Lovin’” featuring saucy cheerleaders Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. Lucky star, boy toy, the chunky cross…we’re buying whatever Madonna is selling. The lady’s still got it. I wouldn’t quit Madonna even if I knew how.
Joe Francis threatens the Material Girl over “Girls Gone Wild” trademark
Joe Francis, the guy that preys on silly drunk girls (who for reasons not known to sober people agree to pose topless in exchange for a free t-shirt), is threatening legal action against The Queen of Pop, Madonna, according to TMZ. Joe Francis — the mastermind behind “Girls Gone Wild” — is sending Madonna a cease and desist letter, threatening that he’ll take legal action if she sings the song from her new album — titled “Girls Gone Wild” — at the Super Bowl.
Is Adam Lambert Becoming Queen’s New Frontman?
If you believe the UK’s Daily Star – YES! The British mag caught up with Glambert and he revealed his plans to headline the Sonisphere festival with original members Brian May and Roger Taylor in a newly reformed version of Queen. Adam first met the surviving members of one of the greatest rock bands of all time when he performed “We Are the Champions” on American Idol in 2009 (the season where he was totally robbed of the win), and then met up with them again last November at MTV’s EMAs in Belfast. “The intention is to pay tribute to Freddie and the band by singing some f*****g great songs. It’s to keep the music…
Must read: “10 things my White Friends should do for me during Black History Month” [VIDEO]
I just love this… 10 things my White Friends should do for me during Black History Month by Nikki Lynette Whoopi’s reading is hilarious… –Help me catch a cab. –Explain to me why so many white people are named Matt and John –Quit touching my hair. Stop it. For more, check out Nikki’s blog @ ChicagoNow.com. P.S. One of the many reasons I love Whoopi. Check it here.
Food & Drink
Rosie’s New Obsession: Chicago’s “Girl and The Goat” [VIDEO]
If you’re fortunate enough to dine at Girl & The Goat, you’ll be obsessed too. It’s simply one of the best restaurants I’ve ever had the pleasure of dining at. I’m not exactly easy to please, either, so when I say my experience at Girl & The Goat was perfection from start to finish, I really mean it. I actually heard of G & G after Rosie talked about her experience on The Rosie Show. I literally was online seconds later, making the reservation. Girl and The Goat. Send! My chubby fingers could not type fast enough (That’s exercise, right?). Look, if you’re in the Chicago area or plan on visiting, you’ve got to check…
Enough is enough: Leave Paula Deen alone
It was easy to understand the harsh, almost gleeful coverage that followed Food Network chef Paula Deen’s admission of what some viewers had long wondered: The self-crowned queen of Southern cooking, the doyenne of deep fried, has Type 2 diabetes. And, in an effort to “bring something to the table,” she had signed on as a paid spokeswoman for the diabetes drug Victoza, made by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, Jane Black wrote for The Washington Post With a name like Jane Black, it’s easy to understand her innate bitterness. What’s not easy to understand is her acceptance, her expectation rather, of women being bitches to other women. More fun photos of Paula Deen riding…
Fifty percent of the most expensive restaurants are in the Windy City [VIDEO]
Bundle.com reports that 50% of the most expensive resturants in America are located in Chicago. Second City, what? Alinea Restaurant takes the cake at about $736 for dinner. Charlie Trotter’s, which closes this Summer, has an average check of, get this, $666. Les Nomades, TRU and Everest will set you back about $500 for dinner. One of Oprah’s favorite restaurants didn’t make the cut. (Thank goodness, because I enjoy eating there!) It’s Ralph Lauren Restaurant, AKA RL, just off The Mag Mile. Snoops tell me Lady O has her own private table at the ready, tucked away from prying eyes.
Kathy Griffin Molests Paula Deen’s Gardener as Liza Minnelli looks on [Update: VIDEO!]
Paula’s Best Dishes, indeed. Liza Minnelli and Kathy Griffin visited Paula Deen’s butter-laden kitchen on the same night. As you can imagine, the gaydar was off the charts!! Liza sang, Kathy groped, and everyone was hard — in the arteries, that is. Dinner is served!
CBS Sunday Morning features new hangover product “Mercy” [VIDEO]
‘Mercy’ claims to “replenish key nutrients and jump-start your body’s natural detox process helping to prevent hangovers.” Haven’t tried the stuff myself, but I just ordered some online so expect a review in the near future. So far, they are only for sale in NYC. Don’t you LOVE that there’s a magazine entitled Modern Drunkard? I do. They had me at drunkard.
What the Heck’s Going on at Chik-Fil-A?
One of America’s most popular fast-food chains is under fire again after an apparently racist joke backfired on a Chik-Fil-A employee. Three students in Irvine, CA were appalled when they received their receipts from a local Chik-Fil-A. It appears the cashier, opting not to simply ask them what their names were, decided to make up names for two of them, and the results weren’t pretty: Yeah, you’re reading that right – she put their names in as “Ching” and “Chong.” What the hell?? The third member of the group, who happened to be the two kids’ RA at UC Irvine, promptly snapped a pic of the offending receipt and sent it to Kelvin Lee, a…
Vacation Like a Celeb @The Waldorf-Astoria — Boca!
When one thinks of The Waldorf-Astoria, one thinks of old-world New York, right? Well, put that NYC imagery on the back burner and forget all about Boca Raton’s senior community. Boca is the it spot for the rich and famous, according to InStyle magazine. Boca Beach Club, Boca Raton, Florida WHY IT’S HOT This Waldorf-Astoria property boasts rooms for every traveler: poolside lanai, sky deck, ocean vista suites and more. WHAT TO DO Indulge in a Sevruga caviar facial, cranberry pomegranate skin polisher or customized tropical sugar scrub at the spa palazzo. For those looking for adventure, arrange for a morning of deep sea fishing at the 32-slip marina. WHO’S BEEN THERE Jennifer Lopez relaxed…
“Not Lovin’” the “alleged” corporate cruelty, McDonald’s
McDonald’s (and Target) dropped one of the nation’s largest egg suppliers — “Sparboe Farms” — after an animal rights group released an undercover video of the egg producer’s farms in three states. Mind you, they didn’t drop the inhumane egg supplier — “Sparboe Farms” — because it was the right thing to do, but because they were caught. You know what they do to the baby chicks? They CUT THEIR BEAKS OFF so they won’t peck at each other in the hideous close quarters Sparboe Farms puts them in… I, for one, used to love the “Egg McMuffin.” Now the thought of it triggers my gag reflex. I really don’t give a rat’s ass if…
Interviews & Exclusives
It’s a wrap: Eli Olsberg of “Morning After” podcast on new condom regs for L.A. porn performers
We hear a lot about where the rubber meets the road. This may be a case where the guys who reject the rubber hit the road. On January 17, the Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that would deny shooting permits to producers of pornographic films that don’t require actors to wear condoms in their productions. In the past, the industry protected performers’ health through regularly administered HIV/STD tests. The council and L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa felt this wasn’t good enough. Days after the council vote, the mayor signed the regulations into effect. Details regarding the enforcement of the new ordinance were not immediately sifted out. Some insiders have speculated that the ordinance will…
Jazz vocalist Nicole Henry finds soul, R&B “Embraceable”
Singer Nicole Henry will return to The Metropolitan Room in Manhattan on December 19th with a program that promises to be both eclectic and electric. The singer, whose 2008 album The Very Thought of You went to #7 on the Billboard jazz chart, has expanded beyond the jazz realm with her most recent CD, Embraceable. At the Met Room, Henry will include versions of some of Embraceable’s cuts, which encompass a wide-ranging contemporary pop sound, tinged with R&B, soul, and gospel influences. “Before jazz, I’d sung popular contemporary R&B,” Henry told me over the phone from Miami Beach, which she has called home since her college days. “I was a child of MTV, so I…
Taking it to Les Boulevards: Jean Brassard pays tribute to Yves Montand in NYC show
Who, these days, remembers Yves Montand? The French singer, actor, and politico (who was, in fact, born in Italy) has been gone now for two decades. And many of those who came of age listening to him sing are likewise departed. In the English-speaking world Montand lives on in his movies—not just his American ones (Let’s Make Love with Marilyn Monroe, My Geisha with Shirley MacLaine, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever with Barbra Streisand) but also his French classics, including Z, Jean de Florette, and Manon of the Spring. He is also recalled by some moviegoers as the husband (and later the widower) of actress Simone Signoret, and as the lover…
From this day forward: Brian Shnipper, “Standing on Ceremony,” and the fight for marriage equality
In the general election on November 4, 2008, Californians helped elect Barack Obama as president. They also passed the infamous Proposition 8, which eliminated the recently won right of same-sex couples in the Golden State to marry. Theatre director Brian Shnipper remembers sitting in the kitchen that night in the L.A. home he shared with his partner. The household’s dogs rested at his feet. “It came to me—I thought, ‘How [are we] any less normal than any other couple in the country?’ And I thought at that point about what I would do. I started to call playwrights I had worked with before. I thought, ‘What if I asked them if they would be interested…
Mama’s doin’ fine: Nancy Opel of Broadway’s “Memphis”
Nancy Opel gets a heaping helping of audience hostility each night at the top of Broadway’s Tony-winning musical Memphis. Opel plays a character billed simply as “Mama”—the bedraggled, monumentally unenlightened mother of rising 1950s music promoter Huey Calhoun (Chad Kimball). When Huey begins an interracial romance with black singer Felicia Farrell (Montego Glover), bad feelings erupt. The love between Huey and Felicia may see no color. But Mama sees red. It is not until Act 2 of the show—after she has been inspired by the music of a black gospel choir—that Mama begins to lose her stubborn streak of prejudice. “You really feel the audience disliking her…” Opel told me recently. “It’s palpable at the…
Cary Hoffman of “My Sinatra”: Let him be (perfectly) Frank
Off-Broadway’s My Sinatra is performer Cary Hoffman’s autobiographical exploration of a life-long obsession with Hoboken, New Jersey’s most famous native son. Through song and narration, Hoffman explains to audiences at the Midtown Theatre (at the Ha! Comedy Club in Times Square) about how—while growing up as an introverted Jewish kid in the Queens, New York in the 1950s—he spent countless hours in his bedroom trying to find the musical key to the Frank Sinatra sound and attitude. Eventually suffering through the deaths of both his biological father and a suave, Sinatra-like stepfather, young Cary looked increasingly to the Chairman of the Board as a surrogate dad. In his late teens, Hoffman began his own show-business…
Supper-club serenade: Two new gigs for Manhattan singer Barrett Taylor
The life of a singer-pianist working in the eateries and bars of New York City is measured by opening nights. For Barrett Taylor—an enduring musical presence in the Manhattan restaurant-and-lounge scene—this month marks two memorable first-night performances. This past Friday, Taylor appeared for the first time at a new venue called WALLE Restaurant and Lounge, at 249 E. 53rd Street; he’ll continue there Fridays, 7:30-11:30pm. WALLE features elegant presentations of modern Chinese cuisine, and management has recently introduced a musical component to the menu as well. “I had a great time that night,” Taylor says of his opening WALLE show. “It’s just a happy vibe…. It’s pretty. And everyone really liked it and thought it…
Off-Broadway’s Rita Gardner recalls “The Fantasticks”–and Much More.
New York City’s Off-Broadway theatre is not the only turf on which singer-actor Rita Gardner has flourished. She’s taken roles in film and television, including three different branches of the Law & Order franchise. She’s done voice-over work for animated cartoons (lately, as a grandmother in Dora the Explorer). She has played in regional theatre and on Broadway, most recently in the musical The Wedding Singer in the mid 2000s. It is with Off-Broadway, though—specifically the Off-Broadway of lower Manhattan—that Gardner has always been most tightly linked. In the late 1950s and early 1960s she appeared in several notable Off-Broadway productions, including the Jerry Herman revue Nightcap with Charles Nelson Reilly, the play To Be…
Rebecca Kilgore to explore the Marilyn Monroe songbook in Feinstein’s appearance
One of the biggest pleasures of living in Portland, Oregon in the 1990s was the luxury of stopping by the Heathman Hotel of an evening to hear singer Rebecca Kilgore and jazz pianist/songwriter Dave Frishberg make music. The duo’s longstanding engagement at the Heathman ended in 1997, with the finale captured as the splendid recording The Starlit Hour. I wasn’t there for the taping of that set, but Starlit Hour has become one of the most-listened-to CDs in my collection. Now that I’m in New York, getting my Rebecca Kilgore “live” fix has become something of a challenge, although I’ve tried to catch her whenever I visit Portland. Kilgore only occasionally performs in Manhattan, but…
Grammy Award-winning, “Rosie O’Donnell Show” Alum, John McDaniel
Conductor, pianist, composer, arranger and Grammy Award-winning record producer John McDaniel is now working as music director and conductor for Broadway’s Catch Me if You Can (starring Aaron Tveit and Norbert Leo Butz). He talks to Simply-Showbiz, in this exclusive interview by Mark Dundas Wood and Michael Roman… How did you get started in the biz? My mom was and is a piano teacher so I learned how to play very quickly and began playing piano for shows when I was in junior high. I did all the high school musicals and played piano at a Japanese restaurant lounge on the weekends all through high school. I am fortunate to be able to say that…
Oregon troupe stages U.S. premiere of forgotten Shakespeare spin-off
Scott Palmer, artistic director of Hillsboro, Oregon’s Bag & Baggage Productions, was asked recently about the company’s upcoming summer production. “You’re doing Shakespeare’s The Tempest,” the gentleman remarked. “No, no, no,” Palmer answered. “We’re doing an adaptation of an adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.” The man looked at the director and responded: “Why on earth would you want to do that?” “Well, why not?” said Palmer. He pointed out that one can see various productions of Shakespeare’s famous late-career comedy, in theaters and Shakespeare festivals across the continent. “But you can’t see this one—nobody else is doin’ this one.” That’s not to say that no one else will ever again stage The Tempest, or The…
Rich little person: Remembering singer/actress Alice Playten
Alice Playten passed away late in June at age 63. She was a Broadway and TV veteran. Though not universally a household name, she amused Americans in many households. She began performing as a child, playing Baby Louise in Gypsy opposite Ethel Merman. A few years later she originated the role of Ermengarde in the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! Her name also graced the playbills of other landmark Broadway musicals of the 1960s, including Oliver! and George M. One of her most memorable performances, though, was in a 1967 Broadway flop: Henry Sweet Henry, a musicalization of the film The World of Henry Orient. She was tiny of stature but highly spirited. I…
A Conversation With Celeb Photographer, Marc Hauser
Marc Hauser is a take-charge kind of guy. He began his career as a photographer at age 13. A few years later he landed his first job — apprenticing with Playboy magazine’s contributing photographer, Stan Malinowski. But before accepting the job, he had to ask his parents. After all, he was only 15. Shortly after that he was on a plane to California to shoot Carly Simon. “She was very nice. I shot her a few times. She doesn’t like to have her picture taken, though. She said, ‘You know, Marc, I’m just going to dance in front of my house, and you just bring you camera, and if you get something…good.’ Even for her…
He’s the mensch: Mike Burstyn and the quest to keep Yiddish alive
When entertainers say they have “international careers,” it often means they’ve made one or two excursions away from their home turf. In the case of Mike Burstyn, though, the claim verges on understatement. Burstyn, who was born Mike Burstein in New York City in 1945, is fluent in eight languages and is currently learning a ninth (Russian). The singer/actor has performed in French in France, in Spanish in South America, and in Hebrew in Israel. In the 1970s he hosted a variety program in Holland where he spoke Dutch. His English-language roles include the title character in Broadway ‘s musical Barnum (replacing Jim Dale, who originated the role). The language that Burstyn is perhaps most…