A look at February 26th’s “American Idol” program.
See more at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1515728/adam_lambert_allison_iraheto_and_kris.html
A look at Wednesday, February 25th’s “American Idol” performances.
See more at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1512684/adam_lambert_allison_iraheto_steal.html
I can make this short and sweet, or long and drawn-out.
I am selecting short and sweet, which is not normally my style.
On the Wednesday, February 25, 2009, episode of “American Idol” two clear front-runners emerged. Actually, one of them, Adam Lambert from Hollywood, has been out front for the entire competition.
The other, Allison Iraheto, a 16-year-old nearly inarticulate redhead from Los Angeles, blew the socks off the other female competitors. While Allison was not that interesting in her interview segment, the judges heaped praise on her rendition of “Alone” by Heart, saying things like, “You just blew it out of the box. So now we’ve got real singing going on tonight” from Randy Jackson. Or, from Kara, “You don’t even know how good you are.” Paula said, “I think you can sing the telephone book. Congratulations, you did an incredible job.” Simon weighed in with “The competition just started right now.” Clad in a black sparkly strapless dress with a gray belt, the teen-ager reminded of Kelly Clarkson or Pink or any number of other singers who can belt it out, and her remark, tellingly, was, “I don’t even remember what happened.
So, who will the third member of the trio to “get through” be? I don’t know, but I would guess it will be either Megan Joy Corkrey (the girl with one tattooed arm), a 23-year-old Utah native; Matt Giraud, the talented 23-year-old piano bar Kalamazoo, Michigan native, who sang a Coldplay song from Viva La Vida, this year’s album of the year at the Grammies; or Kris Allen, also 23, from Conway, Arkansas, who sang Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.”
The third winner will be the one who (m) the audience voters “like” best. Megan is very likeable, much like Brooke White on another season of “American Idol.” She has a daughter, Ryder, who is 8 years old, and the judges reacted well to Megan’s performance with comments like, “You did everything right” (Paula) to “You look gorgeous, but you oversang at the end.” (I agree with this assessment). Simon pronounced her “relevant, current,” comparing her to Duffy or Amy Winehouse, but said, “I just wish the vocals were a little bit better.” Kara DioGuardi called her “a package artist’ with a smoky jazz quality. If I were a betting woman, I’d bet on Megan Joy Corkrey, save for one factor.
Most of those voting seem to be teen-aged girls. Kris Allen is a very cute 23-year-old Conway, Arkansas boy and did a credible job with his song. Normally, he hides behind a guitar, but, this night, in a totally nondescript outfit consisting of a tee shirt and hair that seemed noticeably darker than when he auditioned previously, he received remarks like,” You showed confidence and personality. It’s very easy to forget someone like you.” Randy said, “Nice jump off, baby.” Only Kara felt that “This was just the wrong song…completely wrong.” Paula said, I’m gonna’ disagree (with Kara) completely. You nailed it.”
So, the vote is split on Kris Allen’s performance this night, but I wonder if teen-aged girls would rather vote for a cute boy than a cute girl?
I could go through the rest of the contestants and parse their performances, but suffice it to say that my original pronouncement that Jasmine Murray (age 17) looked a lot better than she was capable of singing turned out to be true with her rendition of “Love Song” by Sarah Morellis. Jeanine Vailes (age 28) sang a Maroon5 song while wearing short hot pants. It was off-key and the song is pretty monotonous, anyway. That remark summed up a lot of the selections, but not all. Jesse Langseth, age 26, from Minneapolis, Minnesota sang “Bette Davis Eyes” and did “okay” but Randy nailed it when he commented on the “five-note range” that this song and several others have, compared to Adam Lambert’s high notes on the Stones’ “Satisfaction.” Kai Kalama, singing “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” had pitch issues and his performance was panned as “corny, old-fashioned. Nothing distinct. Nothing original. Nothing memorable” (Simon) to Randy’s “Too safe.’ [His hair looked like the Arab guy from “Lost” had been electrocuted in a rainstorm; it was wild and out-of-control, but his singing was neither.]
I really must comment on the Jerry Lewis/Richard Simmons-like split personality of Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle. He sang, “I’m not going” from “Dreamgirls” while wearing white tails, Bermuda shorts, dark socks and tennis shoes. Ryan Seacrest commented, “That is the first time a contestant has gone to second base with our logo,” a reference to Norman/Nick’s shtick, where he hugged the “American Idol” logo and screeched his way through to the end of a very off-key, albeit humorous, performance. Nick/Norman belongs in a revamp of a Jerry Lewis comedy, not in a singing competition. Simon said it best when he commented, “I pray you do not go through to the next round.” Everyone agreed that Norman/Nick’s performance was funny, but, unless we are going to go the Sanjaya Hairdo-of-the-Night route, being funny usually doesn’t get you through to the twelve best singers in the competition. Comments: “Most atrocious horrific comedy. That was funny. At least we remember you. You wear the same shirt, like Simon, every week. You’re fun. You’re memorable.” He was compared to Olivia Newton-John, although I think Jerry Lewis and Richard Simmons are closer. If all of America is dying to laugh at someone for a few more weeks, then Norman/Nick can keep shrieking his way along, but it is quite obvious that he isn’t that great a singer. He could give lessons on how to become less inhibited.
Matt Breitzke, age 28, from Bixby, Oklahoma: “If You Could Only See” by Tonic. Breathy. Weird shirt with embroidery. Sweating bullets. No dancing ability whatsoever. Comments: “Boring. Didn’t suit you. An uncomfortable performance. I really like you, but I absolutely hated that song.” (Simon) It didn’t show you to be the great Matt we saw in Hollywood (Randy). “Not edgy enough. Fell really flat.” (Kara) Not going to be a welder joining the oil rig guy (Michael Sarver), from the looks of it.
Mishavonna Hensen, age 18, from Irvine, California sang “Drops of Jupiter,” another song that was bad, in that it showed little or no range. She wore an odd balloon-skirted outfit and Simon commented, “You act like a 50-year-old.”
I would point out that “American Idol” seems to “save the best for last.” They did last week, with Danny Gokey, and they did this week, with Adam Lambert. Lambert is a pro. He struts around like the spirit of Elvis has inhabited his soul. Some comments: “I don’t’ even have words. You’re in a league of your own.” (Paula) “Brilliant at times, but excruciatingly bad at times. Love it or hate it.” (Simon) “I loved it! One of the most current,” said Randy, citing “My Chemical Romance ” and Robert Tyler and the vampire from “Twilight” as some of the groups or individuals that Adam’s singing summons. Randy said, “Dude, it was the bomb!” Kara commented on the range that Adam showed, which was, indeed, a pleasant change from a night of mostly monotone songs.
Stay tuned for tomorrow night’s (February 26, Thursday, 2009) results.
I can make this short and sweet, or long and drawn-out.
I am selecting short and sweet, which is not normally my style.
On the Wednesday, February 25, 2009, episode of “American Idol” two clear front-runners emerged. Actually, one of them, Adam Lambert from Hollywood, has been out front for the entire competition.
The other, Allison Iraheto, a 16-year-old nearly inarticulate redhead from Los Angeles, blew the socks off the other female competitors. While Allison was not that interesting in her interview segment, the judges heaped praise on her rendition of “Alone” by Heart, saying things like, “You just blew it out of the box. So now we’ve got real singing going on tonight” from Randy Jackson. Or, from Kara, “You don’t even know how good you are.” Paula said, “I think you can sing the telephone book. Congratulations, you did an incredible job.” Simon weighed in with “The competition just started right now.” Clad in a black sparkly strapless dress with a gray belt, the teen-ager reminded of Kelly Clarkson or Pink or any number of other singers who can belt it out, and her remark, tellingly, was, “I don’t even remember what happened.
So, who will the third member of the trio to “get through” be? I don’t know, but I would guess it will be either Megan Joy Corkrey (the girl with one tattooed arm), a 23-year-old Utah native; Matt Giraud, the talented 23-year-old piano bar Kalamazoo, Michigan native, who sang a Coldplay song from Viva La Vida, this year’s album of the year at the Grammies; or Kris Allen, also 23, from Conway, Arkansas, who sang Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.”
The third winner will be the one who (m) the audience voters “like” best. Megan is very likeable, much like Brooke White on another season of “American Idol.” She has a daughter, Ryder, who is 8 years old, and the judges reacted well to Megan’s performance with comments like, “You did everything right” (Paula) to “You look gorgeous, but you oversang at the end.” (I agree with this assessment). Simon pronounced her “relevant, current,” comparing her to Duffy or Amy Winehouse, but said, “I just wish the vocals were a little bit better.” Kara DioGuardi called her “a package artist’ with a smoky jazz quality. If I were a betting woman, I’d bet on Megan Joy Corkrey, save for one factor.
Most of those voting seem to be teen-aged girls. Kris Allen is a very cute 23-year-old Conway, Arkansas boy and did a credible job with his song. Normally, he hides behind a guitar, but, this night, in a totally nondescript outfit consisting of a tee shirt and hair that seemed noticeably darker than when he auditioned previously, he received remarks like,” You showed confidence and personality. It’s very easy to forget someone like you.” Randy said, “Nice jump off, baby.” Only Kara felt that “This was just the wrong song…completely wrong.” Paula said, I’m gonna’ disagree (with Kara) completely. You nailed it.”
So, the vote is split on Kris Allen’s performance this night, but I wonder if teen-aged girls would rather vote for a cute boy than a cute girl?
I could go through the rest of the contestants and parse their performances, but suffice it to say that my original pronouncement that Jasmine Murray (age 17) looked a lot better than she was capable of singing turned out to be true with her rendition of “Love Song” by Sarah Morellis. Jeanine Vailes (age 28) sang a Maroon5 song while wearing short hot pants. It was off-key and the song is pretty monotonous, anyway. That remark summed up a lot of the selections, but not all. Jesse Langseth, age 26, from Minneapolis, Minnesota sang “Bette Davis Eyes” and did “okay” but Randy nailed it when he commented on the “five-note range” that this song and several others have, compared to Adam Lambert’s high notes on the Stones’ “Satisfaction.” Kai Kalama, singing “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” had pitch issues and his performance was panned as “corny, old-fashioned. Nothing distinct. Nothing original. Nothing memorable” (Simon) to Randy’s “Too safe.’ [His hair looked like the Arab guy from “Lost” had been electrocuted in a rainstorm; it was wild and out-of-control, but his singing was neither.]
I really must comment on the Jerry Lewis/Richard Simmons-like split personality of Nick Mitchell/Norman Gentle. He sang, “I’m not going” from “Dreamgirls” while wearing white tails, Bermuda shorts, dark socks and tennis shoes. Ryan Seacrest commented, “That is the first time a contestant has gone to second base with our logo,” a reference to Norman/Nick’s shtick, where he hugged the “American Idol” logo and screeched his way through to the end of a very off-key, albeit humorous, performance. Nick/Norman belongs in a revamp of a Jerry Lewis comedy, not in a singing competition. Simon said it best when he commented, “I pray you do not go through to the next round.” Everyone agreed that Norman/Nick’s performance was funny, but, unless we are going to go the Sanjaya Hairdo-of-the-Night route, being funny usually doesn’t get you through to the twelve best singers in the competition. Comments: “Most atrocious horrific comedy. That was funny. At least we remember you. You wear the same shirt, like Simon, every week. You’re fun. You’re memorable.” He was compared to Olivia Newton-John, although I think Jerry Lewis and Richard Simmons are closer. If all of America is dying to laugh at someone for a few more weeks, then Norman/Nick can keep shrieking his way along, but it is quite obvious that he isn’t that great a singer. He could give lessons on how to become less inhibited.
Matt Breitzke, age 28, from Bixby, Oklahoma: “If You Could Only See” by Tonic. Breathy. Weird shirt with embroidery. Sweating bullets. No dancing ability whatsoever. Comments: “Boring. Didn’t suit you. An uncomfortable performance. I really like you, but I absolutely hated that song.” (Simon) It didn’t show you to be the great Matt we saw in Hollywood (Randy). “Not edgy enough. Fell really flat.” (Kara) Not going to be a welder joining the oil rig guy (Michael Sarver), from the looks of it.
Mishavonna Hensen, age 18, from Irvine, California sang “Drops of Jupiter,” another song that was bad, in that it showed little or no range. She wore an odd balloon-skirted outfit and Simon commented, “You act like a 50-year-old.”
I would point out that “American Idol” seems to “save the best for last.” They did last week, with Danny Gokey, and they did this week, with Adam Lambert. Lambert is a pro. He struts around like the spirit of Elvis has inhabited his soul. Some comments: “I don’t’ even have words. You’re in a league of your own.” (Paula) “Brilliant at times, but excruciatingly bad at times. Love it or hate it.” (Simon) “I loved it! One of the most current,” said Randy, citing “My Chemical Romance ” and Robert Tyler and the vampire from “Twilight” as some of the groups or individuals that Adam’s singing summons. Randy said, “Dude, it was the bomb!” Kara commented on the range that Adam showed, which was, indeed, a pleasant change from a night of mostly monotone songs.
Stay tuned for tomorrow night’s results.
Just a few thoughts on this year’s Academy Awards of Sunday, February 22nd.
Back on February 2nd, I predicted a win for “Slumdog Millionaire” as Best Picture, citing its “Rocky” factor. That prediction has turned out to be true, and “Slumdog”, by my unofficial count, carried off 9 awards, total, with the next biggest vote-getter being “Benjamin Button” with a mere 3.
Most of the winners were as had been anticipated, although Mickey Rourke lost in his bid for Best Actor, losing out to Sean Penn’s portrayal of Harvey Milk. This was very disappointing to those of us who root for the underdog and, in “Rocky”-like fashion, would have liked to have seen Mickey make it all the way back to the top in this role that was tailor-made for him. Still, “you’ve come a long way, baby,” and one can only hope that he continues to be cast in roles that let him show the talent he undeniably possess. Whether any of them will ever again be as strong as this Darren Aronofsky film is a good question, but I hope Mickey “lives well and prospers.”
I was pleased to see Kate Winslet win for Best Actress, and it was a thrill to see the likes of Sophia Loren, looking stunning in a diamond choker and a svelte gown (along with Halle Berry and other previous Oscar winners for Best Actress) salute the nominees. That stylistic change-up was a welcome bit of theater, as was the lack of a long, boring speech by the outgoing President of the Academy, who merely stood and waved.
“Slumdog” could not be stopped in the major categories, carrying off Best Picture, Best Director for Danny Boyle, best adapted screenplay, best song (“Jai Ho”), best film editing, best cinematography, best original score and best sound mixing. Only “Benjamin Button” and “Milk” (with 2) earned multiple awards thereafter, with “Benjamin Button” snagging awards for art direction, makeup, and visual effects, all of which it richly deserved. Sean Penn’s win as Harvey Milk gave “Milk” one of the 5 major awards, and it also won for best original screenplay. It also came as no surprise that “Wall-E” was named the best animated feature, competing against “Bolt” and “Kung-Fu Panda.”
For me, the tribute to Heath Ledger that was provided by posthumously awarding him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor was touching, as it brought Heath’s entire family to the podium to give some very heartfelt and grateful comments. I do have this question, however: where was Heath’s picture during the tribute to those in the Academy who died during the past year, like Charlton Heston, Van Johnson, Paul Newman and Sydney Pollack?
Best Supporting Actress was snagged by Penelope Cruz in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” I had read that she was a favorite, but I was secretly rooting for Marisa Tomei of “The Wrestler.” (Any actress who can play almost her entire part in a G-string and pasties and look that good and do that well deserves to win!)
In the Foreign Language Film category, I rooted for “Revanche,” an Austrian film I saw at the Chicago Film Festival. It was an engrossing story with a complicated plot, and I was sorry that it lost to “Departure.”
Other random comments on the night’s festivities: Why did Jessica Biel wear a dress with a huge bow on it that completely hid her gorgeous figure? And what was up (or out) with Sarah Jessica Parker’s falling-out-of-her-dress cleavage situation? Best presenter of the night? Ben Stiller, who did a lethal riff on Joaquin Phoenix’s recent appearance on David Letterman, complete with mountain man beard, chewing gum, and a genuinely out-of-it demeanor. The other light-hearted moment that all of us at home enjoyed was Kate Winslet telling her father to whistle to let her know where, in the gigantic auditorium, he was seated, which he promptly did.
All-in-all, Hugh Jackman did “okay” in a musical performance that teamed him with Beyonce, although I would have given anything to see Billy Crystal in one of his funny parody songs, instead, and the show seemed to move along more swiftly than in some recent years. The two songs from “Slumdog Millionaire” nominated for Best Song (“Jai Ho,” which won, and “O Sayo,” which did not), allowed for some lavish Bollywood song-and-dance numbers, and the Jackman/Knowles collaboration was Busby Berkeley Redux.
“Man on Wire” won for Best Documentary. While the view from the top (this was the Frenchman who walked the wire between the World Trade Center towers) was fantastic, the film seemed overlong and really boring, to me. However, the acceptance antics of the aerial artist responsible rivaled Jack Palance’s one-armed push-ups, as he even did a little magic disappearing coin trick while at the podium.
All-in-all, with a few questions like the Heath Ledger one posed above, a fairly good Oscar night. Barbara Walters did her usual pre-show interviews, and most choices seemed logical to me, with one exception: why did Barbara interview the Jonas Brothers? Since when are the Jonas Brothers movie stars? With no songs in any of the nominated films, and no reason (other than the desire to attract younger viewers) to be sitting on Barbara’s couch, I found that insertion into the pre-Oscar interview program to be as puzzling as the omission of Heath Ledger from the tribute to those who died during the last year.
During a recent stint on two panels at the “Love Is Murder” writing conference the first weekend in February at the Westin Hotel in Wheeling, Illinois, we shared the space with a re-enacters convention.
Apparently, re-enacting is big and popular business, with all eras and all sorts of costumes depicted. You couldn’t help but smile as you watched a Roman Centurion clanking around in the lobby or a minister chatting with a WWI-clad soldier,
Here are a few of the pictures of the re-enacters I took that weekend. Submit your own captions.
Eric Bogosian read from his third book, Perforated Heart, (Simon & Schuster), which comes out in May at the American Writing Program conference in Chicago at the Chicago Hilton at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 12, 2009 in a ballroom filled with would-be writers. Two ladies “signed” as he read, and that led to one of the more hilarious moments in the presentation, when Bogosian, reading about a sexual encounter, turned to the elderly gray-haired lady who was translating for the deaf and asked her if she was getting all this. He then simulated some sexual moves, in a humorous way. (I had to ask myself: How many of the people in the audience are deaf? I felt like I sometimes do at the movie theater, when, out of a parking lot of 500 spots, it seems like 450 are set aside for the handicapped. I’m all for being handicapped accessible, but maybe they could take a survey, in advance, and find out if there is really a single deaf person in the audience. Hopefully, there were a lot, because the “signing’ people detracted a great deal from my ability to concentrate on the writer, himself, as he read from his upcoming work.
Bogosian is perhaps best known currently for his regular appearances on television’s “Law and Order: Criminal Intent,” but I remember him best from “Talk
Radio,” the movie based on his screenplay about a Howard Stern-like shock jock who was assassinated by a psychotic fan.
Bogosian himself said, “I’m not a born-and-bred writer. I started out as an actor.” And he went on to prove it with a really wonderful reading. He treated the audience this day to a reading in character as Big John, a drug-addled portrayal, and drug use was a common theme, as it is in his books, but the author noted that he has been clean and sober for years.
Bogosian said that his third show, “Drinking in America” was a big hit and was solidly sold out through 1994. As a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for “Talk Radio’ and the winner of 3 Obies, Bogosian was compared to Studs Terkel in that his works “reflect our culture back to us.”
Bogosian lived in Chicago and attended the University of Chicago from 1971 until 1974. He talked about the advent of the Internet and said that he was one of the first ‘bloggers” when the Internet hit in the mid-nineties (For me, Mr. Bogosian, the Internet hit in 1985 when I had to write a book for a New Jersey teacher training firm, Performance Learning Systems, long distance from Illinois. I had to network with One Dupont Circle by computer. Not fun. Not easy. Everything looked like hieroglyphics in those days and had to be converted to regular English words. [Al Gore had not yet perfected the Internet. It required a screwdriver to adjust the teeth on my modem to be in perfect harmony with the teeth on the modem back in New Jersey or in the offices in California. Not fun. Not easy.)
Bogosian noted that the Internet “allows you to find the audience, wherever they may be,” and also commented, “What I write about is important to me.” Bogosian got a laugh with the comment, “Most gold American Express card holders do not share my avlues and defined sex, drugs and what hand Jimi Hendrix picked his guitar with” as being necessary values to put those others “on my wave-length.” He gave “phallo-centric old white guys” a bit of a put-down (a phrase credited to another writer who coined it.)
Of his current book, Bogosian said,” I thought it was coming out this week. It’s coming out in May. At least it’s coming out.” (As a sometimes-author, of books, I can relate. I thought my book “It Came from the ’70s” was coming out April 10th, featuring movie reviews from the decade, trivia, pictures and cast lists. Now, who knows?).
Commenting on his “Law and Order” gig, Bogosian said, “It’s way better than a Macarthur Grant,” which got a laugh from the audience filled with would-be writers.
Bogosian’s latest book is about an author in his fifties who has had some success but is pissed off that he’s not as successful as he would like to be (Bogosian’s own description, not mine). At this point, he praised John Updike and also noted that this character is not his alter ego, with a phrase along the lines of “I’m a dick, too, but I’m a different kind of dick.”
The novel is set in Connecticut and the upper west side of New York City. The protagonist has to have minor heart surgery and, while recuperating, finds boxes of journals that he wrote over a 30-year span between 1976 and 2006. Said Bogosian, “It’s the structure of the book, which I think is brilliant.” (Another laugh).
The first part (my favorite) that Mr. Bogosian read was a dialogue between the author and his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth, with whom he lived for 15 years before they broke up 8 years earlier. In a diary entry dated 1/27/2006, Richard, the protagonist, describes how Elizabeth— a true beauty—is not happy with the book’s portrait of such intimate things as their sex life, when they were together. Richard says, “Even now, as I despise her, I ache for her.” He tries to portray himself in her eyes as vulnerable, as he has just had a heart operation, but notes, “She’s (Elizabeth) never ever thought of me as vulnerable. She wasn’t buying this new Richard.” Richard muses some on “the eternal passport” (beauty) and notes “beauty contaminates any real ability to communicate.”
Elizabeth tells Richard she hates the book.
Richard responds, “You’ll have to get in line, Elizabeth. Many people hate my book.”
Elizabeth replies that Richard has no ability to empathize, that he is unable to feel. “You are a bully. You possess zero empathy. You are pathological.”
Richard responds, “You mean f***** up?”
Elizabeth: “Yes, f***** up.”
What Elizabeth objects to is the depiction of her in the book as a “pathetic, desperate nymphomaniac.” Richard has already told us what an insightful reader Elizabeth could be, when they were together, noting, “Entering her mind was almost as thrilling as entering her body.” (Good line).
The conversation eventually moves on to Elizabeth telling Richard that the book almost made her physically ill when she first read it, but that, although Russell, her lawyer says she could sue Richard, she doesn’t want to bring more attention to the book by doing so. Ultimately, she says, “You want to make things right, pay me. Pay me or I will sue.” A discussion of what % of royalties should be paid ensues, whether Leon should recall the book, and ends with Elizabeth stating the obvious: “I don’t trust you.”
Still, Richard makes a play for the ex-lover, asking her if she wants to come over to his place to rest a bit before going home, which causes her to bolt from the coffee shop after giving him a dirty look and leaving him to pay the check. (I couldn’t help but think, “A true male thing. He says he despises her, but he still invites her over to see if he can score.”)
Big John, the journal entry from 8/03/1977 involving Big John, the drug addict, was in dialect and all about doing peyote buttons. It had a good line: “I know who you are, even if you won’t admit it to yourself.” From that point on, the description seems to be of the drug trip, complete with a girl with long hair who stops by, says “hi” and then glides off, and a python, perhaps (?) and the user saying, “I saw myself off to one side watching myself watching her.” There is a couple from Denmark, nude, making love, that the writer accidentally stumbles upon in a bedroom and he marvels at the muscles the Danish male lover has, wondering if he does tae kwan do.
Bogosian made reference to a script her wrote about Gia, the young model who died of AIDS, although noting it was not the Jay McInerny script that vaulted Angelina Jolie to stardom when her portrait of Gia aired.
The line that seemed to sum up Bogosian’s feelings: “For me, writing is about having experiences that are so intense that I have to write about them.”
The first night of Hell Week for “American Idol” contestants.
The first group I heard that seemed to really have it all together called themselves “White Chocolate” and consisted of India Morrison from Kansas City, Missouri and three guys: Justin Williams of Mesa, Arizona, Kris Allen of Conway, Arizona, and Matt Giraud of Kalamazoo, Michigan, all of whom were excellent. It was a Michael Jackson acappella scat-style tribute that was on key (Justin Williams actually is a voice teacher) and impressed the judges, setting the standard for the rest of group night. The bar was set high.
Maryhn Azoff, Austin Sisneros (Riverton, Utah), J.B. Ahfua, Taylorsville, Utah, Shelby Swartwood of Bountiful, Utah and Julissa Veloz of Orlando, Florida had the bad luck to be declared “an absolute mess.” The girls were done; the boys were put through.
Comments like, “I’m done with worrying about the group. I’ve got to worry about me,” came from Nancy Wilson, who seemed rather harsh in her desire to excel and turned out to not have “mad” vocal skills, after all. Her frustration was easy to empathize with, however, as her team began to fall apart.
Alex Wagner-Trugman of Studio City, California, and Ann Marie Boskovich of Nashville made it through; Ryan Pinkston (Boston, Massachusetts)—who, to be fair, had a very good voice— and Emily Wynn-Hughes of Los Angeles, California did not make the cut. Ryan sounded pretty good, of the four performing “Don’t Stop Thinkin’ About Tomorrow” (Bill Clinton’s campaign song), but the group wandered off-key and never found its way back to the true melody. Ryan did not take his rejection well, saying he felt “manipulated and assaulted” and declaring that he “saw an evil in her eyes” in reference to Paula Abdul. Personally, I was surprised that Emily made it through last night’s (February 3rd) performance. She left tearfully, but not in a hostile way. After all, they cut David Osmond, too, so no one should feel that bad.
The group that sang “Some Kind of Wonderful” is another good one to watch: Jeremy Michael Sarver (the cowboy from the Jasper, Texas oilfields), Adam Lambert (the San Francisco standout), Matt Breitzke of Bixby, Oklahoma and Jesse Langseth (Minneapolis, Minnesota). “I loved it. “It was a hot performance.” “You’re an incredible singer.” “That was a terrific performance.” All good news for the “Some Kind of Wonderful” foursome.
Danny Gokey, the widower from Milwaukee, excelled, as he sang lead vocals, backed by Taylor Haifunu from Hurricane, Utah, Jamar Rogers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and a blonde girl whose name I did not catch. (The Rainbow Coalition).
Rose Flack (blonde) didn’t make it and left saying, “I hated my group so much.” There were excuses from scoliosis in heels from Bikini Girl to “work ethic” issues. Lauren and Katrina got cut. Jasmine did survive her Diva experience, but just barely.
Simon, who said he needed a crateful of Advil, hurled “Horrible,” “useless” and other similar insults at the contestants. As Ryan Seacrest said, “Only the strong survive (d).” Tatiana Del Toro was pretty annoying as she flitted from group to group and attempted to scat her way to the next round. Her group triumphed and all went through as a group. As Seacrest said, “It’s all about Tatiana.” I thought I was watching a bad parody of Sally Fields’ acceptance speech for Norma Rae when she broke into tears and said, “You love me. You really love me,” a sensitive breakdown from which it has taken her years to recover.
“Team Compromise” did some praying, but, as one survivor of the group said, “Nathaniel was so intense that “it’s been very distracting.” Nathaniel Marshall was hilarious. Nancy Wilson of Miami, Florida, who had been trying to get the group to do her bidding all night during rehearsals, was lackluster. Blonde Kristin McNamara of Napa Valley, California will be around in future rounds and showed she had the chops to make it a long way in the competition.
I had a hard time deciding whether Bikini Girl, Tatiana the Terrible Hysteric, or Nathaniel, the Nervous Nelly was the most entertaining this night. [“I tried to make those girls get along. I don’t know what to do.”] A true drama queen, I did I not find it hard to believe that Nathaniel might not know much about controlling women who were at odds, as his team-mates Nancy and Kristin were on “Mercy” by Duffy. Seventy-five move on and try to make it in to the top thirty-six.
“We’ve seen drama before, but never like this.” The speaker? Ryan Seacrest. The event? Tuesday, February 3rd’s episode of “American Idol.” Nothing like a little hyperbole to get things rocking and rolling on the television show that has become our national obsession, which continues tomorrow night with group auditions.
The evening’s auditions put some truly outstanding singers through to the next round, such as Stephen Fowler of Beachwood and Jorge Nunez of Puerto Rico and David Osmond (son of Wayne Osmond, one of the Osmond Brothers until multiple sclerosis cut short his career). M.S. also threatens to cut short the career of his son, David, but, for the moment, David is looking and sounding like a star.
We, the audience, didn’t get to see and hear all of the talent…yet. For example, Adam Lambert, a standout from the San Francisco try-outs, was on for about 2 seconds as the program ended. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing quite a bit more of the handsome Lambert. If he can sing, that would be nice, too.
There were some funny moments on tonight’s show. Case in point: rocker Jackie Tohn of Silver Lake, California tells the camera that an attractive blonde girl standing near her is “my best friend for life” and then says, “What’s your name again?” while high-fiving Deanna, her new BFF.
There is footage of Ryan Seacrest makng out with the candidate dubbed “bikini girl: (real name, Katrina Darrell of Chino, California). Bikini Girl made it through, despite seemingly alienating both female judges and so did the kitschy Norman Gentle/Nick Mitchell, whose Richard Simmons-like schtick made him “ridiculous” and “hilarious,” according to Judges Randy (“You are hilarious.”) and Simon (“It’s just ridiculous.”) Norman/Nick’s schtick also led to an unintentionally hilarious gaffe from Paula Abdul, who said, “It would be very interesting to hear you sing a song all stripped down.” (No, Paula, I don’t think the at-home viewers are up to the task of watching candidate # 95437 “stripped down.” It’s bad enough as it is. Randy’s pronouncement that Norman/Nick “has skills” has not yet been put to the test. I’m inclined to agree with Simon, whose opinion was, “It’s just ridiculous.”
One individual who struck Simon as fairly “annoying” (#70090) was Von Smith of Greenwood, Missouri. Simon declared Von’s audition to be “indulgent nonsense, a horrible song, a horrible performance.” You almost wanted to say, “Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?” when he got done trashing the contestant, who was then put through. (I doubt that he will last long if he doesn’t tone it down.) Von took it all with what seemed like humility, declaring “it is very humbling. I’ll have to work really hard because I really want this.” I feel that this is akin to saying to the leopard, “Lose the spots.” Von can sing, but he was annoying this night.
A few candidates were less-than-thrilled with the auditioning experience. Contestant # 34070 is seen and heard on camera saying, “I screwed myself over. I picked the wrong damn song.” The North Highlands, California fleet manager (age 29), Jeeno Valenzuela, having been cut, said, “I need to catch the first flight out of here and get to Sacramento and get back to work. I’m done with this.”
Erika Wesley of Oregon—who, I felt, got somewhat shortchanged when co-contestant Emily Wynn Hughes was passed on and she was not, although Emily had arguably done a better job…showed a great deal of determination and maturity in asking the judges to hear her out one last time. She was pulling out all the stops (“It’s my husband’s birthday.”) but it was all for naught. The judges were having none of it, and Erika was gone, for this year, anyway. She left In a mature way, which was nice for a change.
Emily, meanwhile, a tattooed pop rocker, sailed through on the strength of a song she did only so-so on, which she picked at the last minute, dumping the original song choice, “I put a spell on you.” The song title may explain why Emily is through and Erika, who was arguably better, is not. (Better luck next year, Erika!)
Contestant #36762, Jeremy Michael Sarver of Jasper, Texas, a good old country boy from the oil fields, made it through. I was not blown away by his audition, but the panel seemed to be.
We didn’t get to know enough about all of the contestants. Candidates like Scott McIntrye and Frankie Jordan (a new mom) and Alexis Grace, Brent Keece Smith, Anne Marie Boskoeicz were mere mentions, while Jamar Rogers of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a 26-year-old bartender, sang a Mamas and a Papas song that had the ironic lyric, “I’d be safe and warm, if I was in L.A.” Jamar is the main cheering squad for his Milwaukee friend Danny Gokey (age 28), who is a recent widower and sang a Seal song (“Kiss from a Rose”). For me, personally, neither one seemed to be the very best singers of those that were showcased, but we will only know by staying tuned for “American Idol.”
“The whole idea of literature is about people holding information that, for reasons of their own—sometimes noble, sometimes not—they are determined not to disclose.” So begins the wonderfully complex plot of Stephen Daldry’s film “The Reader,” adapted from Bernard Schlink’s book by Oscar-nominated David Hare.
Michael Berg, a 15-year-old student (David Kross) gets off a tram and becomes ill in the damp narrow Berlin alley outside Hanna Schmitz’s (Kate Winslet’s) cramped upper-floor apartment. The much older woman takes pity on the poor, drenched wretching teen-ager and, after drawing a bath for him so that he can clean up from his bout of vomiting, gives him a ride home where he is ordered to bed for months for Scarlet Fever.
Michael even tells his mother about this act of compassion on the part of the strange woman and, when he recovers, he decides to thank Hanna by taking her flowers. One thing leads to another and the repressed, spooked woman—who persists in addressing Michael as “Kid”—does more than just give the handsome young man a ride home. She gives him a new passion in his life, a sexual liaison with an older women, which, he later says, lasted only for four weeks over one summer.
One day, Michael goes to see Hanna to discover that she has simply vanished. He does not see her again until 1966, when he is a law school student in Heidelberg Law School.
The Professor in the law seminar tells Michael and the 4 others in his seminar, “Societies think they operate by something called morality, but they don’t.” The professor goes on to say, “The question was never ‘Was it wrong?’ but ‘Was it legal by the laws at the time?'” He then takes his quintet of students to watch the hearings dealing with the question of German guilt in the persecution of the Jews. Michael (David Kross) is stunned to discover that one of the six defendants is his former lover, Hanna Schmitz, and, furthermore, that the other five women are lying outright and trying to pin the blame on Hanna, in an attempt to save themselves.
There are clues throughout the film that Hanna is illiterate. She likes to have Michael read to her. (hence the film’s title). It is reported during the trial that she used to select certain prisoners from amongst the women she was guarding and have them read to her. She cannot read a menu when she and young Michael take a bicycling holiday. She is upset when her superiors on the tram praise her stern work ethic and promote her to office work. We suspect that Hanna cannot read or write, but this becomes a sticking point during the trial, when the five other defendants say that Hanna wrote the report of a fire in a church that killed all 300 women prisoners locked within when none of the female guards, of whom Hanna was one, would unlock the doors and release the prisoners. All but one of the prisoners burned to death. The other female defendants claim that Hanna “wrote the report.” We, the audience, know that Hanna could not have written the report, and Michael Berg, sitting in the gallery, knows it, as well. However, Hanna is so intent on keeping the secret of her illiteracy that she would rather suffer a much more severe sentence than endure the shame of having the world at large know her truth. And she does. While the other 5 defendants receive only 5 years apiece, Hanna takes the fall and is sentenced to life in prison.
There are many questions along the way, questions that the main character wrestles with that we, the audience, debate later. Did Michael remain silent to save his own skin? After all, he is an aspiring law student at this point in time, and consorting with a known Nazi might not be the best path to success in his chosen field. How would Michael explain his relationship with Hanna to others, if he reveals the knowledge that only he possesses? And is it Michael’s choice as to whether Hanna is “outed” as an illiterate or whether her secret remains hers to keep, despite the price she may pay? How much should one woman endure simply to avoid public embarrassment at her lack of formal education?
One of the most poignant lines in the film, as Hanna is bullied and badgered into submission, is her question to the Chief Prosecutor, “What would you have done? Should I never have taken the job at Seaman’s?” It was simply wanting to work hard that turned Hanna from a normal German fraulein into a German guard who literally held the power of life and death in her hands.
Michael Berg’s law professor sums up one of the themes of the film, which is, “If people like you don’t learn from people like me, then what-the-hell is the point of anything?”
Ralph Fiennes plays the adult Michael with his usual sensitivity and intensity. He makes a decision to honor Hanna’s desire to conceal the truth of her situation, but he begins sending her tapes, books he reads onto tapes and sends her, along with a tape recorder, to lighten her burden while incarcerated. We see Hanna begin to teach herself to read, from listening to the tapes over and over.
When Michael (Ralph Fiennes) finally sees Hanna, in prison, for the first and last time, she tells him, “It doesn’t matter what I feel. It doesn’t matter what I think. The dead are still dead.” He says to her, “I wasn’t sure what you had learned?” And Hanna replies, “I’ve learned to read.”
The rest of what happens at the film’s climax I am still mulling over in my mind. Did Hanna—who is now quite elderly and no longer sexually desirable to the adult Michael—feel so rejected by him during their visit that it brought about the finale? Did Hanna always plan for things to end the way they do, or was it a last-minute decision that occurred only after Michael’s visit, as they discuss her plans for a job and an apartment as she is paroled ?
The David Hare screenplay, based on the Bernard Schlink novel, is wonderful, filled with complex layer upon layer of meaning and with profound intellectual decisions that resonate. Hare is Oscar-nominated for Best Screenplay adapted from a novel.
Another thing that resonated for me was seeing the names of the two people to whom the film was dedicated, co-producers Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack, who are both now deceased. They were two professionals who will be sorely missed.
This is a wonderful film, a thought-provoking film, a tour-de-force performance from Kate Winslet, who is nominated for Best Actress and should win. The film also has a brief cameo by Lena Olin, who portrays the sole survivor of the church fire, who is now an adult living in New York City.
If you like your films character-driven and thought-provoking, as I do, put this one on your Must See list. If you only take your films “light,” maybe not.
I’ve finally seen “The Reader,” and it is a wonderful film. It will not win the Best Picture award, in all likelihood, but it is a wonderfully layered film that treats many topics, has many messages, and delivers those messages with layer upon layer of meaning.
The lead performance by Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz makes her the one to beat for Best Actress at this year’s Academy Awards on February 22nd. Winslet has had quite a year, also appearing opposite Leonardo DeCaprio in “Revolutionary Road.”
Before discussing “The Reader” at greater length in another article, I want to make a prediction regarding the Best Picture nominees. Since the awards ceremony itself does not take place until February 22nd and today is only the first of February, you will have over 3 weeks with which to disagree (or agree) with me.
This is my preliminary prediction: “Slumdog Millionaire” will win the Oscar. It will win because it is a “feel good” film in the tradition of “Rocky” and, with the country in the shape it is in right now, a “feel good” film will trump a downer every time. Nearly all the other nominated films have sad endings.
I don’t wish to reveal the specific downbeat ending(s) of the four other films, but it is well documented that “Milk” is the story of the November 27, 1978 assassination of Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone in San Francisco.
“Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt, based loosely on an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story, is about a man who ages backwards. “Benjamin Button” has the next-best shot at an Oscar, but it is far more likely that the film will be showered with well-deserved technical awards and ignored for the biggest prize of the night.
“Frost and Nixon” is the film adaptation of the Broadway play. Hardly light entertainment. Ron Howard’s addition of vintage film footage to the serious topic of Nixon’s Watergate guilt adds to the power of the play, just as the archival footage from a previous Academy-Award winning documentary dealing with Harvey Milk’s assassination enriches the film “Milk.”
Another reason that “Slumdog Millionaire” will have the Academy behind it is that we will want to demonstrate to the world what an enlightened country we are and how open we are to honoring films focusing on non-American culture(s). To honor “Slumdog Millionaire’s” depiction of India’s slums will scream, “Look at us! We’re enlightened! We’re an equal opportunity film appreciation country.” This won’t be the first time we’ve honored Great Britain’s film talent (Director Danny Boyle). The Brits have made a steady practice of carrying off our top film award(s) for years, but it will be an acknowledgement to the world that we are well aware of the upsurge in the film industries of other countries.
It isn’t as though other countries haven’t had their very own thriving film industries. They have had, for years. Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden…and, of course, India’s Bollywood, just to name a few.
What will happen at this year’s Oscars in regards to the selection of the Best Picture will be, in a small way, a microcosm of what is and has been happening to the United States in so many areas, whether it is the steel industry, the automobile industry, the manufacture of clothing, the manufacture of running shoes and electronic goods, or any of a dozen industries that have tip-toed quietly away to thrive in other lands. Whether it is China, North Korea, Russia or some other less-well-known power, my prediction is that “Slumdog Millionaire’s” message of triumph over adversity and hope will trump the sad message(s) of murder, suicide, corruption at the highest levels of power, or lovers doomed by fate that the other films proclaim. (And it hasn’t escaped my attention that the DGA…Directors’ Guild of America…has selected Danny Boyle as their winner.)
This is the year that the United States elected Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States, rejecting the last 8 years of our long national nightmare and expressing our desire for hope and change.
Why should the choice of this year’s Oscar be any different or strike a dissonant chord in the message of harmony the United States has chosen for its new path in 2009?