OLD SCHOOL AT THE A
LADDIN
Thirty years of music hit the Las Vegas stage for the final appearance of the reunion of RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN and EARTH, W IND AND FIRE concert series. The old schoolers stepped in the house and represented all walks of life, from the housewife to the executive. We all remember when it was their time!
After over twenty years of controlled chaos, the wild-haired diva still has it and everyone waited for Chaka Khan to throw her leg up. Chaka kept it lady like on stage in her red lace dress and leggings outfit. She comfortably sang all the hits, belted out ALL the high and low notes and flirted with her "ex", Rufus. Unfortunately, the younger folks in the audience didn’t get to hear Chaka’s songs, "I’m Every Woman" remade popular by WHITNEY HOUSTON and "I Feel For You". Chaka more than made up for it by performing the get out of your seat jams, "Do You Love What You Feel" and "Tell Me Something Good".
After a short intermission, EARTH, WIND and FIRE closed the show with the same energy that made the baby boomers fall in love with them in the first place. Even though many of the band members recently celebrated their 50th birthday’s they still know how to make the crowd squeal with delight. Bassist, VERDINE WOODBINE ran and leaped across the stage with his black mane of hair flying while PHILIP BAILEY’s perfect falsetto sent the audience reminiscing about all the EWF party times. Pyrotechnics exploded sending the temperature up 10 degrees and sexy young dancers made the mercury rise even more. Yes, these old pros made sure there was something for everyone, even teenage movie star RAVEN SIMONE and Michael and Janet’s big-sister, REBIE JACKSON were on hand to lend their voices to some of EWF’s most famous songs.
Let’s go for thirty more years of soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock, dance and pop music from these talented musical veterans. Now that the tour is over both Rufus and Chaka Khan and Earth, Wind and Fire, respectively, will be back in the recording studios producing more meaningful classics.
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INSIDE ACTOR’S STUDIO CELEBRATES 100th EPISODE
Of all the celebrity interview shows on the tube, and there are many, few really offer any insight into celebrity. So many of the so-called talk shows, like OPRAH, LETTERMAN, and LENO on the TONIGHT SHOW do little more than smaltzy sales promos for whatever vehicle the superstar of the moment is driving. LARRY KING once insightful, has been losing his edge in lieu of being a star, himself, for some time now. CHARLIE ROSE allows viewers a unique glimpse primarily of ROSE himself, and who wants that. Let the guests talk for goodness sake, CHARLIE!
JAMES LIPTON, the host and creator of INSIDE THE ACTOR’S STUDIO is also one who loves to hear himself talk. So much so, that WILL FARRELL has created a recurring character on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE which paints this host as a pompous, self-absorbed groupie. The portrait may not be entirely inaccurate. LIPTON certainly gushes over his guests, and he gets them all from AFFLECK to WILLIAMS with BANDERAS, CAINE, DOUGLAS, HACKMAN, KILMER, MOORE, PALTROW, ROBERTS and STREEP thrown in, to cite a few. He is not constricted by marketing angles or publicists attached to the interviewee. It is more like THIS IS YOUR LIFE, as he walks each guest down his or her career, good choices and bad. Interspersed are key clips; all with reactions form the celebrant on hand.
The show is quite revealing, particularly since the actor is seated, rather, empanelled before the Master’s students of the ACTOR’S STUDIO. One can only conclude that this serves as both truth serum and posterity quotient, as the stories and emotions spill out, almost uncontrollably. Actors giving back; it’s just so beautiful. LIPTON playing the ultimate fan only hastens the cascading spirituality. The show works.
With one possible exception-the close of the interview, where LIPTON dutifully poses a questionnaire originally drafted into use by Frenchman BERNARD PIVOT. Personally, I am not aware of PIVOT’S apparent marvelous contributions to journalism, or philosophy, or even television, because the significance of these questions nearly always escapes me. But the ceremony does not vary. Whether it is SHARON STONE or JACK LEMMON, all of the guests must answer what their favorite sound is, what their least favorite sound is, what their favorite drug is, pharmaceutical or otherwise, what they want God to say to them in heaven, the biggie-what their favorite curse word is. This PIVOT must have been, or perhaps still is, some kind of clever guy.
The routine most always is goofy, rather than revealing. It takes itself way too seriously, and puts too much pressure on the poor helpless guests. They are, after all actors, not writers (for the most part). INSIDE THE ACTOR’S STUDIO is nevertheless a celebrity talk show unlike the others, with much merit, PIVOT notwithstanding. BRAVO will pay tribute to this series, and its milestone with a special 2-hour episode Sunday night. In it WILL FARRELL, playing LIPTON interviews the master himself. Word is, we finally will get his answers to the obnoxious questionnaire, including "What is your favorite curse word?"
MANMADE, of course knows the answer to this question, as we asked JAMES LIPTON the very same, backstage at the now defunct CABLE ACE AWARDS in 1997, some 50 episodes ago. Do you care to know his answer? Tune in Sunday, or click below.
EMMY DEVOLUTION NEARLY COMPLETE
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The devolution of THE EMMY AWARDS, and metaphorically of the entire
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entertainment community is nearly complete. As a result of the unthinkable terrorist events of September 11, 2001, the EMMYS were first postponed, from September 16 to October 7. A streamlined, less ostentatious format was adopted, with attendees "prohibited" from the showy designer gowns in lieu of "business attire". The red carpet was significantly curtailed, with E! yanking JOAN RIVERS from her customary perch doing fashion assassination. HBO never committed its nominees to the new date, saying it wouldn’t be appropriate, and that many of their luminaries didn’t feel secure attending the gaudy ceremony. That would have left stars from THE SOPRANOS and SEX IN THE CITY, among others out of the event.
It was announced last week that the ceremony would go bi-coastal, to accommodate those New York nominees who might not want to jet out to Pasadena for the show. On Saturday, the difficult decision to cut the many network parties, which traditionally followed the broadcast, was made, to the dismay of party planners and caterers citywide. Rehearsals and other preparations continued throughout the weekend, with WALTER CRONKITE taping his introductory remarks, dedicating the show to the firefighters and policeman who lost their lives in the heroic efforts
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after the terrible attack. ELLEN DEGENERES planned a heartfelt tribute to the men a
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nd women poised to retaliate against terrorism. And then it happened. Mid-morning Sunday, the United States began its assault on Afghanistan, and the show’s producers decide to once again pull the plug on the show.
CBS President LES MOONVES summed it up in an answer to a reporters question during a news conference to announce the decision: "it was not the day to accept the best supporting actress in a comedy series, it seems trivial." Well, hello! When wasn’t it trivial? It was always the height of triviality and pseudo self importance that made everyone watch in the first place. Not just the EMMYS, but all of Hollywood’s grandiose awards ceremonies have little real importance for
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the country at large, other than to be trivial, and trite, and fantastic.
What better time to have the television community that makes us all feel at home each night, to address the nation, impromptu and sincere, from the heart. Didn’t many of these same people hurry together a nationwide show TRIBUTE TO HEROES under nearly the same circumstance. It was only watched by 50 or 60 million viewers. Eliminate the ridiculous laundry lists of agents and fellow actors, and producers and wives and husbands, and have each of the presenters and winners actually talk to America, in business attire, or underwear for God’s sake. Talk about must see television. It would have been real! CBS and the entertainment community missed an great opportunity here. They could have been heroes in their own trivial way. Make the appearance, show a little emotion, reach out on the screen and continue the "family" thing that has been going on since the attacks. They really blew it. Besides, didn’t reruns of EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND and KING OF QUEENS seem trivial to MOONVES. Come on!
We interviewed JANE KAZMAREK, one of those "trivial" nominees in a comedy series MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE on Thursday last, in a warm-up to Sunday’s non-event. She and husband, BRADLEY WHITFORD from THE WEST WING, had an idea that would have been much better than another cancellation of the show-have each of the participants wear the typical, gaudy designer get-ups-the bolder the better. JOAN and all the rest could talk up the fashion until foam runs from their mouths. Then those same fashion items could be auctioned off during the show, with the proceeds going to charity, or the war effort, or gas masks or small pox vaccines. Whatever. Now that would have been a nontrivial show about which even BOB HOPE would have been proud.
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Frankie Muniz
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Patricia Heaton
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Send hatemail to bill@manmademultimedia.com.
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