Ever wake up and immediately there's a earworm playing in your head? This was mine a few minutes ago, about 3 hours after I usually get out of bed:
"Some people like to stay out late. Some folks can't hold out that long. But nobody wants to go home now. There's too much going on."
Thanks, Henley, Frey, Walsh, et al. Like I need to be reminded that I have another screening this morning (Coraline) and other assorted stuff. Then an early beddy-bye since tomorrow morning Princess Di and I are hitting the NFL breakfast at USF (can't wait to hear the cheer for Tony Dungy), then spending some time at the NFL Experience at RayJay. We've hit that event before in Tampa and once in New Orleans and it's great fun, especially for kids or immature adults like us.
Saturday will wrap up and Sunday morning will begin at the Saturday Night Extravaganza party hosted by Kevin Costner and former New York Giants star Michael Strahan, plus Conan O'Brien, Nickelback, NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson, Cal Ripken Jr, Patricia Arquette and dozens of other celebs expected to attend. More about that later on the tampabay.com Everything's Super blog.
Oh, man... now there's another Eagles tune working into my ear:
"Life in the fast lane, surely make you lose your mind."
... you count 10-year-old Justin O'Phelen of Fort Myers, who stuck out like a prepubescent thumb in the crowd of 17,143 screaming Eagles fans. Justin is 10 years old, and many in the crowd probably own hedge funds older than that.
Justin showed off his haul from a backstage visit before the show: guitar picks personalized for Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, three used drumsticks autographed by Henley, and a whopping bag of cotton candy, proving that backstage treats aren't what they used to be at an Eagles show. Hey, they probably don't get the AARP discount on the recreational stuff.
Did I mention that Frey is Justin's uncle? That helps to explain his treasures. I saw plenty of women who'd still make Frey their daddy if they could.
Pretty good show, if nostalgia is your thing and it is for me. Name an Eagles hit and it probably made the set list.
Favorites: Hotel California, opening with a spaghetti Western trumpet solo and rattlesnake maracas; anything putting Walsh up front (Life's Been Good, In the City, Funk 49, Walk Away); a razored rendition
of The Long Run closing the first half; Henley ripping through Dirty Laundry late in the show while a montage of gossip rags and JerrySpringer clips were projected on the semicircle scrim behind the stage; and a soaring version of Take It to the Limit.
My unofficial count was 30 songs, including seven from the band's Grammy-nominated CD, Long Road Out of Eden that sounded like they could've been composed back in the days when Linda Ronstadt was size 2. I don't know how many more times hell can freeze over for these guys but they're still capable of thawing it out.
This is the kind of day I love: a little bit of this, a little bit of that, a little bit of Monica in my life...
Whoa. Went a little Lou Begathere for a second. Sorry.
Don't have time for a mambo of any number today. Movie in the morning, TV in the afternoon and tonight I'll be reviewing the Eagles concert at St. Pete Times Forum. Somewhere in-between I need to get some writing done, and stop somewhere to get a brake light replaced because the last thing I want is to be driving around Tampa these Super days with a reason to get stopped by the po-po.
The movie is The International, starring Clive Owen, the man who might have been James Bond if Daniel Craig didn't take the role. Looks kinda entertaining in preview trailers. But like I always tell Princess Di: Every team looks like a Super Bowl contender in the highlight reels.
A little after 4 p.m. I'll do the usual weekly segment on WTSP Ch. 10, this time chatting about Renee Zellweger'sNew in Town, the latest reason to believe her Oscar should be returned to the academy. If you're not near a television, you can log on to the station's Web site for live streaming coverage of the telecast. I'll be in the studio with Marty Matthews while co-anchor Dave Wirth broadcasts from Gaspar's Grotto in Ybor City, the hub of Super Bowl partytime.
They know better than to put me in a bar.
But it's the concert tonight that has me revved up. Haven't seen the Eagles live since the old Rock Super Bowls (they were called that until the NFL got protective of the name) at the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando in the late 1970's. Saw them twice, and I recall one bill was the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, John Cougar (before going all Mellencamp on his fans) and, I think, Robin Trower. Tickers cost around $20 as I recall. Those were the days.
Tonight the Eagles flying solo will cost the highest rollers $187.75 per ticket. Those are the times.
Oddly enough, over 43 years of Super Bowls there isn't a single movie entirely dedicated to the day the Earth stands still.
Pro football's splashiest event has always been an extra in the background: a target for terrorists in the final reel of an overlong thriller (Black Sunday), the motivation for a dolphin kidnapping (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), another reason for Vincent Gallo to brood (Buffalo '66) and a place where Bill Murray as Hunter S. Thompson finds yet another reason to catch a buzz (Where the Buffalo Roam).
Where are the Joe Namath or Jim McMahon biopics? Or something even juicier, like the vice-fueled heydays of the Dallas Cowboys? (Although North Dallas Forty is a reasonable facsimile.) I'd settle for Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as tailgaters trying to sneak in the big game. Heck, make it Dane Cook and Tom Green and I'd be happy. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating there.
Nope, if you want to see Super Bowl action on screen - as something besides window dressing - the closest you'll come is Heaven Can Wait, starring Warren Beatty as an L.A. Rams (yes, L.A.: this is 1978, after all) quarterback named Joe Pendleton, mistakenly dragged to the afterlife before his time. Mr. Jordan (James Mason) tries correcting the problem by inserting Joe's soul into the body of a tycoon set up for murder by his wife (Dyan Cannon) and "personal private executive secretary" (Charles Grodin).
Beatty also co-directed with Buck Henry and co-wrote with Elaine May, but more impressively looked pretty darn good tossing around the pigskin. He's also sexy as usual with then-lover Julie Christie, playing an environmentalist falling in love with the old codger she believes Joe to be. Don't forget Beatty's terrific chemistry with Jack Warden as Joe's best friend and coach, who eventually believes in miracles, even if nobody believes him.
Heaven Can Wait has fairly authentic gridiron action, even in hindsight. And it's flat-out one of the best romantic comedies ever, with a finale that never fails to get me choked up. YouTube offers that post-game dramedy, after Mr. Jordan's final soul-shifting move. Enjoy!
I know pop music critic Sean Daly thought he was punking me when he handed over an advance CD release from Sally Kellerman, the original "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's 1970 classic, M*A*S*H. That's his way of thanking me for loaning him my Slumdog Millionaire screener DVD, providing his most recent obsessions: the Jai Ho dance (now on Melonhead's blog) and the exquisite Frida Pinto.
The joke's on you, Mr. Daly. Kellerman's eponymous second release - who knew she had the first? - is a sexythrowback to nights of smoky cabarets and mornings recovering from the sins of the evening before. Kellerman is, unbelievably, 71 years old now (airbrushing helps on the cover but a more honest photo is in the liner notes) and mostly sounds great. A bit heavy on the breathiness and croak-moans at times but a fine selection for audible seduction.
It helps that Kellerman has a cadre of SoCal pros surrounding her: Grammy winning producer Val Garay (Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Neil Diamond), an invaluable rhythm in bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel and keyboardist/songwriter Cris Caswell (a Grammy nominee for directing Karin Allyson's jazz CD).Caswell penned the jaunty opening track, Nobody's Perfect that I'm talking my musician friend Sandy Atkinson into adding to her act.
Sally is end-to-end sensuality, playful enough to avoid sounding like a horny old lady on the make yet serious enough to make her snagging you not such a bad idea. Kellerman is a bit too derivative sometimes - her mimicry on Nina Simone'sSugar in My Bowl, for example - can be viewed as an actor getting into a role, rather than an artist creating. I love the slow, chugging groove she lays on Love Potion #9, turing a novelty song into a tribute to aphrodesiacs.
A little Bonnie Raitt here, a smidgen of Etta James there, and everywhere the devotion to old-school grind music for older listeners (like me, and Daly in a few years when he stops smirking at gray hairs). Sally is a CD I'll play again, when the moon is right and time is tight so let's get down to business.
Unfortunately, YouTube doesn't have any video clips from Sally (to be released Feb 10). But I found these audio samples from the CD on Kellerman's Web site, to give you a taste of what she does.
Slumdog Millionaire moved into the pole position in the annual Academy Awards race, picking up the best ensemble cast prize at the 15th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Four of the past six best picture Oscar winners also earned that SAG honor.
The cast of Slumdog Millionaire – almost entirely unknown to U.S. audiences, and several in their first movie -- was chosen from a list of nominees nearly matching the recent Oscar nominations for best picture, including The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
That film is the overall leader in Oscar nominations with 13, while Slumdog Millionaire is second with 10.
You have to wonder why the Screen Actors Guild awards don't have a friendlier name, like Oscar, Emmy and Tony. They're simply called "Actors," which can sound redundant: "Here's your best actor Actor, actor."
The SAG show was simulcast on TNT and TBS, which is an odd idea since the ratings will be split and, really, what household that gets one of those channels doesn't get the other?
Six categories were devoted to feature films. Television gets nine categories but since the Emmys won't be news until September and Oscar ballots are in voters hands right now (due back to the academy on Feb. 17), tonight's results matter.
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I always enjoy the SAG's opening schtik, with guild members telling how they got their start. I just wish tonight's memories weren't so heavily weighted to TV stars: Eva Longoria Parker, Victor Garber, Phylicia Rashad, Jenna Fischer, Tom Cavanaugh, Will Arnett and Steve Carell (who has a nice movie career going but is nominated tonight for NBC's The Office, so we'll count him in this group).
The only film star allowed to speak? Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire), which is a nice nod to a terrific movie, not to mention overdue props to India's film industry. But how about a few more major leaguers?
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As much as I'm pulling for Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) this awards season, would it kill him to buy a tux that doesn't look like Cirque du Soleil costume?
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Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)just said in his acceptance speech for best TV comedy actor that he doesn't know who he wants to make out with more: Diane Lane or Anthony Hopkins. I think he was kidding.
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Evan Rachel Wood looks much better these days, after dumping Marilyn Manson and the pasty death-rock routine. But the montage of acting "trailblazers" she introduced feels uncomfortably like the kind of padding that the Oscars uses in the final hour, not the first 20 minutes.
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Big night for 30 Rock, after Baldwin and Tina Fey swept the lead comedy actor awards and the cast just copped the best ensemble comedy cast Actor.
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After a half-hour, finally a movie award but it doesn't do anything to make the Oscar forecast clearer. Kate Winslet's was voted best supporting female actor for The Reader but her performance is nominated for a best actress Academy Award.
The only sure thing is that SAG nominee Amy Adams(Doubt) won't pick up an Oscar. She isn't nominated. The other three SAG nominees - Taraji P. Henson(The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Viola Davis(Doubt) and Penelope Cruz (Vicky Christina Barcelona) are in the Oscar running. Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler) grabbed the fifth slot but wasn't nominated tonight.
This is one of those situations when revealing vote totals - and none of the major awards shows do - would be helpful in filling out Oscar pools. But how would it look if Adams finished second? The academy would be settling for sloppy thirds.
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You have to admire best TV lead dramatic actor Hugh Laurie's (House) honesty. In his acceptance speech he recalled his agent warned him: "The more films you do, the harder it is to break into television." Even if that conversation didn't happen, conspiratorial laughter from the audience makes it seem true.
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Pushing an hour into the show and still only one movie award. But the announcer just promised the lifetime achievement award for James Earl Jones is coming up next. Get ready for lots of Darth Vader and CNN gags.
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Now I'm bummed. Just caught a news item on the Internet Movie Database saying the stunt ensemble awards were announced before the show. The Dark Knight (feature films)and Heroes (television) were named by SAG president Alan Rosenberg and actor JoBeth Williams on the red carpet.
That means I need to take back the opening line in today's Etc. page preview: "Two reasons why the Screen Actors Guild is cool: stunt men and stunt women. The SAG throws the only Hollywood backslap party honoring the real movies heroes..."
Yeah, but without giving them their due onstage. That isn't cool at all.
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Nice tribute to James Earl Jones, one of those occasions when well-edited clips are reminders of how a great artist can be taken for granted after years of peerless work. His singular voice delivered two classy gems in his acceptance speech, while other actors at the podium proved how much they really do require writers.
Jones quoted a passage from the Biblical book of Genesis, about God shaping man from dust and breathing life into his nostrils. "Now, I don't need to embarrass anybody by comparing the actor to God. But once we've taken a role we have a similar responsibility; to breathe life into that character and only the actor can do that."
Then with his final words, Jones offered a salute to one of SAG's most beloved members, now deceased, putting a twist on the star's early role in Somebody Up There Likes Me: "Paul Newman, somebody down here likes you."
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Newman received the loudest cheers during the traditional memorium clips for actors who died during the past year. The list included movie stars ranging ranging from legendary (Newman, Charlton Heston, Sydney Pollack, George Carlin. Cyd Charisse) to workmanlike (Richard Widmark, Pat Hingle Roy Scheider, Ricardo Montalban) to incomparably affable (Harvey Korman, Bernie Mac, Edie Adams).
One name conspicuously absent from the tribute: Heath Ledger. That pretty much guarantees he'll win the supporting actor award, conveniently coming up right now.
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As expected, Ledger (The Dark Knight) won the best supporting film actor prize, still revered after dying of an accidental drug overdose a year ago. Co-star Gary Oldman has apparently been designated as his official award acceptor, after Sunday and the recent Golden Globes. (Correction: Oldman accepted an award for Ledger at another awards show. I saw it on TV but apparently every other reporter considered it unremarkable, too.)
Oldman's respectful but dry comments about Ledger are nice. But they make one hope that rumors of Ledger's former wife Michelle Williams or a Ledger family member doing the honors at the Oscars come true. Viewers will need to wipe their TV screens with Kleenex.
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Finally, a stunner. The shocked look on Meryl Streep's face when her name was announced as best dramatic actress for Doubt was priceless and genuine. She didn't even dress up for the occasion, probably expecting Kate Winslet(Revolutionary Road) or Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) to claim the Actor, as professional guessers like me predicted.
"I didn't even buy a dress, Streep said in her acceptance speech, pulling at her pants suit and putting on the crowd: "I'm really, really really shocked, even though awards mean nothing to me anymore."
Don't believe it. But Streep always like to puncture the mystique that has enveloped her talent over the years. her acceptance speech was another chance.
"Can I just say that there's no such thing as the best actress," she said. "There's no such things as the best living actress. I am in a position where I have secret information that I know this to be true. I'm so in awe of the work of the women this year, nominated or not nominated. I'm so proud of us girls. Everybody wins when we get parts like this."
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Almost as stunning as Streep's win was Sean Penn(Milk) grabbing the Actor for best dramatic actor, playing slain gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk. Penn has his own acceptance speech routine. Unlike Streep's modesty, Penn takes digs at opponents of his political beliefs.
"Thank you and good evening comrades," Penn said at the podium, raising chuckles in the crowd. "That was for (Fox News anchor Bill) O'Reilly."
Just got back from Orlando, where T-Bone and I paid $58 each to play an executive golf course. That means half the distance and holes of a real course, for all you folks who don't play golf but probably could hit the ball better than we do. Apparently $40 of the greens fee pays for the right to have PGA star Nick Faldo's name on the joint.
Anyway, after a nap I'll be watching the Screen Actors Guild awards show and keeping up with the results on this blog. I'd link to my Etc. page story on the awards that ran on the Etc. page (2-B), including the list of nominees, the SAG awards influence on the Oscars and assorted fun facts, but apparently this new-fangled Interweb stuff can't handle it.
See, I told you newsprint isn't dead.
You can find the SAG nominees list here, and me here after 8 p.m. with updates and analysis from the show.
As sure as winter turns to spring (sometime, I guess... geez it's cold), publicists flood my e-mailbox with quotes from Academy Award nominees. Just once I'd like to see one from someone who got snubbed.
Anyway, here are a few of today's diplomatic Oscar nominees:
“It is such a thrill to be recognized in this category with these remarkably talented women. I was with my parents and my dog when I got the news and we were all overjoyed- although I'm not sure my dog knew what was going on. This is a great day to be an actress!"- Anne Hathaway, best actress nominee for Rachel Getting Married.
“I still feel like the little brown skinned girl from Central Falls, Rhode Island who dreamed the biggest dream. And how great that all of my fellow actors were recognized with this incredible honor.” - Viola Davis(Doubt), Best Supporting Actress Nominee.
“This is the fourth time I've been nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and once again I'm honored and delighted that the quality of writing I and my actors work so hard to achieve has been recognized and respected by my fellow Writers in the Academy.”
- Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
"I am so thankful, so humbled, by The Academy for the nominations they have given our film - I'm so proud of our screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin and our incredible team, Danny Glicker, Danny Elfman, Elliot Graham, and our amazing producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. These nominations ensure that Harvey Milk's legacy will live on." - Gus Van Sant (Nominee/Achievement in directing for Milk)
“It is very special because of this movie. I am happy Milk received so many nominations and that people are paying attention. The subject matter is so timely and important right now because of what is happening in California with Prop 8. When I think about my life a few years ago, being happy just to feed my kids, never in a million years would I have imagined I would be up at 5 in the morning getting phone calls saying I was nominated for an Academy Award. There is no reality to it.” - Josh Brolin (Nominee/Performance by an actor in a supporting role for Milk.)
"I'm ecstatic! Thank you to the Academy from the cast and crew here in Mumbai where the film was made and where it's being premiered tonight. It feels like you've given us a billion nominations!" - Danny Boyle, best director nominee for Slumdog MiIllionaire.
“I'm extremely happy to have been nominated. And very fortunate. Playing Hanna Schmitz will always remain one of the biggest challenges I've ever been blessed with. I'm genuinely thrilled not just for myself but for the wonderful Stephen Daldry and David Hare. These nominations are a testament to their unwavering commitment to this film. And I'm also very happy for all the people in Germany whose hard work on The Reader has been rewarded by these nominations. Surely (the film's late producers) Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack are smiling down on us today!” - Kate Winslet, Oscar nominee for Best Lead Actress in The Reader.
“This nomination is such an unexpected honor and I am grateful to the Academy for the recognition. I’ve been awed by the work of my fellow nominees this year and am truly humbled to be in their company. Having been an actor for many years now, I am moved by the fact that something like this can happen at this point in my career, particularly for a film that has meant so much to me.” - Richard Jenkins, best actor nominee for The Visitor.
A lot can change over the next 27 days before the final Academy Awards ballots are due back to the home office. Mickey Rourke could decide to be a boxer again. Anne Hathaway might follow Grace Kelly's lead and marry a prince (or someone claiming to be). People might realize that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is Forrest Gump Dark.
But here goes with Day 1 predictions of what will happen when the Oscars are handed out Feb. 22 in Hollywood. As usual, please, no wagering.
Best picture:Slumdog Millionaire. Hey, I've got to stick with my No. 1. Same as I did with Babe, Sideways and Pulp Fiction.
Best actor: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler. Best of the bunch. And the bunch is terrific.
Best actress: Kate Winslet,The Reader. She's overdue.
Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger,The Dark Knight. Wouldn't you hate to be in this category this year?
Best supporting actress:Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler. And this time, no controversy about whose name is in the envelope, okay?
Best director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire. Usually goes hand-in-hand with best picture.
Best adapted screenplay: Simon Beaufoy,Slumdog Millionaire. What a story.
Best original screenplay: Dustin Lance Black, Milk. This year's Oscar political statement.
And quickly:
Visual effects:The Dark Knight.
Sound mixing: Wall-E.
Sound editing:The Dark Knight.
Original song: One of the two nominees from Slumdog Millionaire. Hey, where's Bruce Springsteen's The Wrestler?
Original score:Slumdog Millonaire
Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Foreign language film: Waltz with Bashir (maybe my favorite nomination of the day).
Film editing:Slumdog Millionaire.
Documentary feature:Man on Wire
Costumes: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Art direction: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cinematography:The Dark Knight
Animated feature: Wall-E.
Animated short, live short, documentary short: Who the heck knows? We never see them around here until after the fact.
Steve Persall is the movie critic for the St. Petersburg Times. He was conceived behind a drive-in movie theater his father operated and raised in projection booths and concession stands. He doesn't care how you did it up north.
Thanks, Henley, Frey, Walsh, et al. Like I need to be reminded that I have another screening this morning (Coraline) and other assorted stuff. Then an early beddy-bye since tomorrow morning Princess Di and I are hitting the NFL breakfast at USF (can't wait to hear the cheer for Tony Dungy), then spending some time at the NFL Experience at RayJay. We've hit that event before in Tampa and once in New Orleans and it's great fun, especially for kids or immature adults like us.
Steve Persall is the movie critic for the St. Petersburg Times. He was conceived behind a drive-in movie theater his father operated and raised in projection booths and concession stands. He doesn't care how you did it up north.
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