Gossip Central

Mike Nichols: Beloved American Master

When PBS announced their American Masters documentary on Mike Nichols, I was relieved. Like so many admirers of his work --as a comedian with his partner Elaine May, as a director of theater (Death of a Salesman starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, to name one) and film (The Graduate, THE film of its era, to name one), I grieved when he died in November of 2014. Perhaps a film would bring closure. Deeply satisfying, the film that airs on January 29, directed by Elaine May and produced by Julian Schlossberg, features so many who have worked with him: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, but best of all, it has Mike Nichols.

Erin Markey’s Main Squeeze: A Ride on the Irish Cream

Opening night for Erin Markey’s new musical, A Ride on the Irish Cream at the Abrons Arts Center was so packed, cushions had to accommodate viewers on the floor. Okay, an opening is usually friends and family, and judging by the crowd, Markey and her partner Becca Blackwell have an ample supply, but now this entertaining romp through Markey’s childhood has been extended, and that’s good news.

David Bowie: In Memoriam

I was a huge Bowie fan back in day, which made it really strange that I did not recognize him when I met him backstage at The Bottom Line during a Steve Reich and his 18 Musicians concert. This light haired, well-groomed guy stood there in an argyle vest and pegged pants. Maybe I was clueless because he wasn’t wearing lipstick or glitter. The preppie guy and I talked about the lizard on top of the Lone Star Café at 13^th Street and 5^th Avenue very near home for me in the West Village. As we chatted, a room full of people leaned in. I could feel the heat of their bodies and curiosity. What were we talking about, rapt and oblivious to them?

Maggie Smith in The Lady in the Van: An Interview with Alan Bennett, Nicholas Hytner, and Alex Jennings

With Downton Abbey back in its final season, Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham is back too, in all her vinegar wit and finery. She’s also back in the movie of Alan Bennett’s stage play, The Lady in the Van, by contrast, an eccentric living in modest accommodations, downsized to her vehicle. Penned by Alan Bennett after a true experience, The Lady in the Van is about a mysterious elderly woman on the lam, perhaps after leaving the scene of an accident. He allowed her to park her van in his driveway in North London for three months that extended to 15 years, in an entrance within view of his writing desk, and a place where visitors became privy to her powerful odors. Of course you cannot really smell her, nor would you want to, but comic and shabby, Maggie Smith gives off a whiff of the irresistible as the cantankerous Miss Shepherd. In November, 2015, Alan Bennett was in town, honored at the New York Public Library Lions Gala. He brought with him director Nicholas Hytner and actor Alex Jennings, who plays him. I met with them at The Four Seasons Hotel. Here is an excerpt from our interview:

Oscar Nominations: Reflections on a Stellar Season

If you’ve been following the Oscar prognosticators, you know the big favorites have been Spotlight, The Big Short, The Revenant, and Carol. All but Carol were honored with nominations this morning. With such a good year, other awards groups, the Golden Globes, the Directors Guild, the New York Film Critics Circle, and more, groups that often give clues to what will happen at the all important Oscars, shed love on these films and other excellent work. Personal favorites: Bridge of Spies and Brooklyn. How pleasing to find some surprises—sort of—on the academy members’ lists!

Leonardo DiCaprio at the Golden Globes: The Revenant’s Secret Weapon

Leonardo DiCaprio had a formidable foe in Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant, and I do not mean the bear, a CGI construct, that some rumor raped him. Throughout the entertaining Golden Globes Awards Ceremony last night, there were murmurings of his real opponent, played by Tom Hardy. Jonah Hill’s cuddly bear head provided comedy that landed flat. DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass was on a revenge mission that gave him super charged strength, and you could say that chasing Tom Hardy’s John Fitzgerald provided the same fuel for DiCaprio’s acting. Leo thanked Hardy who is a friend, but as all the actors in this movie in extreme outdoor conditions were bearded and encased in fur, it was hard to really see Tom Hardy, and many say, that’s just the way he likes it.

Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway: A Blessing on Your Head, Mazel Tov!

Our first glimpse of Tevye at the Broadway Theater in the splendid revival of the much beloved 1964 musical, Fiddler on the Roof, he looks like a tourist in a red parka, much like post-Holocaust Jews scouring European towns for traces of ancestry, and life before--before pogroms and genocide drove them out. Soon this figure transforms, becoming the patriarch of a lively family in “Anatevka,” Russia, a milkman in tzitzis with five daughters, a pious wife, and an ailing horse. As the musical acts go through familiar paces, from “Tradition,” to “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” to “If I Were a Rich Man,” it is hard to contain one’s own delight in celebration of a fictive bygone world of Edenic bliss even when life is tough. But this is not just a trip down memory lane, with fresh choreography from Hofesh Shechter inspired by Jerome Robbins’ original, under Bartlett Sher’s expert direction, and starring Danny Burstein, the latest in the long line of Tevyes to hit Broadway.

Kristin Stewart at the New York Film Critics Circle: Moving toward Oscars, or Not

At Tao on Monday night, at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, Julianne Moore said she has known Kristin Stewart since the Twilight actress was 12, which would explain their close connection in last year’s Still Alice. In an awkward acceptance speech, Stewart found the Best Supporting Actress honor unexpected, given the movie Clouds of Sils Maria came out a year ago, but acknowledged that her work with Olivier Assayas was important to her because he was one of those directors able to “pull it out of me,” even though she is a global star of popcorn movies. While no one would argue with the award-worthy quality of Stewart’s work in this film, the choice to honor her this year may not translate to an Oscar nomination, the elephant in the room this week as academy voters assess the contenders. 

How to Be a Hater: The Hateful Eight at the Monkey Bar

Samuel L. Jackson accepted a special award for The Hateful Eight composer Ennio Morricone at the New York Film Critics Circle 81^st Gala at Tao on Monday night. Morricone was commissioned to compose The Hateful Eight’s elegant overture. Morricone’s note to the critics group for this stellar evening was addressed to all, including “The Haters,” eliciting a chuckle from the ever cool Jackson. I had to wait till the next morning, for brunch at The Monkey Bar to ask Walton Goggins what exactly that meant. The would be sheriff of Red Rock in director Quentin Tarantino’s fictive world explained that the eight of The Hateful Eight are now so close, they text each other multiple times per day to find out where they are, what they are doing; in short, they’ve continued their close knit, claustrophobic connection beyond the movie’s snow-laden log cabin.

Sylvester Stallone’s Burgess Meredith Moment in Creed

Call it anything, but do not call Creed Rocky VII. Explaining why he agreed to come out of Rocky retirement for Ryan Coogler’s movie in which the illegitimate son of Apollo Creed persuades Rocky to train him, Stallone said it was Ryan Coogler’s vision. The occasion was a celebratory dinner at Patsy’s, the legendary Italian restaurant in midtown, and producer Irwin Winkler and co-star Tessa Thompson were there to talk about this movie. What you can say is, this role for Stallone in Creed is paying back big time as the actor makes his way through the award season having garnered several nominations for Best Supporting Actor, including the Golden Globes this coming weekend.