But what’s keeping “Gatsby” from he top spot on amazon? None other than TV star Zooey Deschanel’s new album with partner M. Ward. They call themselves “She and Him.” It’s their third edition of songs together. Interesting–that the likeable Deschanel is holding Jay Z and friends back.
In physical sales of CDs, amazon has “Gatsby” at number 12. Combined with iTunes and whats left of record stores, “Gatsby” should finish in the top 3 when sales are added up beginning tomorrow.
What’s interesting about the “Gatsby” soundtrack: many of the tracks are only available if you buy the whole album for download. Customers can’t cherry pick nine of the 14 tracks and call it a day. I often wonder why this isn’t usually the case for albums. This was a smart move on the part of Interscope. And so while you can get Lana del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” off of “Gatsby” as a single, tracks by Florence and the Machine, will.i.am, Beyonce, Jay Z and Emeli Sande are “album only.”
PS all the “She and Him” tracks are available singly or as a collection.
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

Robert DeNiro ran the Cannes Film Festival jury in 2011. He told me that when Steven Spielberg was named the head of this year’s jury, the “Lincoln” director called him for advice. “I told him, Have fun with it. It’s hard work but he’ll enjoy it.”
DeNiro also says Spielberg will not be able to screen the movies on his yacht anchored off of Cannes that resembles a floating country. “You have to be in the theaters,” said DeNiro, who as a constant and genial presence in 2011 all over the Croisette. “He can’t watch them on a boat.”
Spielberg has chosen an all star jury to help him cast ballots this year. Among his choices: Oscar winner Nicole Kidman and two time Best Director Ang Lee, as well as two time winner actor Christoph Waltz. The jury is as well known this year as the stars in the movies say some wags.
But in reality, Cannes is going to be jam packed with stars and parties for movies. Forget about the Paris Hilton type events that have nothing to do with the festival. Cannes is so busy that those tabloid celeb gatherings don’t really register. It’s not that Cannes isn’t fun. But it is about real stars and real movies, not sideshows.
To wit: movies by the Alexander Payne, Sofia Coppola, Joel and Ethan Coen, James Franco, James Toback are tops on the lists. Hollywood legends Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Jerry Lewis and Kim Novak are all coming to town. Petra Nemcova is hosting a fund raiser for Haiti. Amy Sacco is bringing Bungalow 8 to a yacht. Denise Rich is hosting an all star party for Toback’s “Seduced and Abandoned.”
Popular publisher and p.r. consultant Charles Finch is throwing his annual dinner for the A list at the Hotel du Cap’s Eden Roc– plus he’s behind the New York Film Festival’s new filmmaker venture with Jaeger LeCoultre now under way. Naomi Campbell has her famous fashion show. And the very in the know crowds will be buzzing around Antibes hot spots Michelangelo, Tetou, and Bacon, as per usual.
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

For its first two thirds, Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” is busy busy busy with nary a minute to avoid an onslaught of stylized metaphors. People keep asking me Is it like “Moulin Rouge”? Well no, it’s not nearly as unruly because Luhrmann has to stick– more or less- to the F. Scott Fitzgerald text. He has a structure and a story and at some point he has to get with the program. And he does. The last third of his Gatsby is one of the most beautiful, moving films I’ve ever seen. And the first two thirds? They are a joyride through the director’s wild imagination.
So we’ve got Leonardo DiCaprio as the mysterious and pained Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as the narrator Nick Carraway, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton as Daisy and Tom Buchanan. And then are the secondary roles: Elizabeth Debicki making quite an impression as golf playing Jordan Baker, Daisy’s friend; Jack Thompson (“Breaker Morant,” anyone?) as Nick’s doctor; and Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson. Everyone is quite good. The only real mistake—and it’s a doozy—is Indian superstar Amitabh Bachchan as the Jewish gangster from Chicago, Meyer Wolfscheim. I don’t know what anyone was thinking. Yikes. He stands out like a sore thumb.
Maguire as Nick, of course, has to carry the film. I’ve seen it twice and he is very strong. As in “The Cider House Rules,” Maguire plays a very good observer. (I laughed when Edgerton’s Tom said to Nick: “I know you like to watch.” That is really Maguire’s talent. He’s great at it.) Even though he was the hero in “Spider Man,” Maguire’s skill is in setting himself apart from a story. That makes him a ready-made Nick. He has some things to overcome though: This screenplay tries to make it out that the author of the book is really the main character, who has authored the story we’re seeing as a memoir. They tried this in “On the Road,” pretending Sal was Jack Kerouac typing furiously onto a scroll.
It didn’t work there and it’s not such a good idea here. There’s nothing to suggest that Nick wrote a book about Gatsby after all the incidents of this story. It’s more than a little annoying but I guess they felt it had to be done as a framing device.
DiCaprio is the wild card here. [...]

The Rolling Stones kicked off their 50th anniversary tour — in their 51st year– with lots of action. That included guest stars Gwen Stefani and Keith Urban, who sang and played, respectively, on “Wild Horses” and “Respectable.” Jack Nicholson was among the stars spotted in the Staples Center. And the show was sold out, despite what some naysayers might think.
The fact is, the Stones always sell out in the end even if they have slow starts to sales. That’s just the way it is. They sang “This may be the last time” last night, which may be true for once. And as far as the show itself goes: my experience seeing them last December in Brooklyn and then Newark was that show was quite amazing, the group was beyond expectations. Not only are Keith and co. superbly rocking as if they were in their 20s, but I challenge anyone to do what Mick Jagger does on that stage. Cannot be done. He’s like a panther, he never stops, never stops, never stops.
And get this: I told you that AEG Live had booked 18 shows in the US and Canada. They announced nine in the first release. But in the end, they are playing those 18 shows including the one at the Echoplex. If you don’t count that one, it’s 17. But New York hasn’t been booked yet. And it will be, for the final dates. So get off my cloud.
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

“Iron Man 3″ did MUCH better than anyone predicted last night. It made over $68.3 million and scored the 8th biggest opening night of all time. The third installment of the Robert Downey Jr. franchise already has $350 million in the bank from foreign sales.
The total by Sunday night worldwide could be easily $550 million. That’s sort of crazy. But expert marketing and really great reviews pushed it into a new realm. “Iron Man 3″ far exceeded the openings for “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2.” And to think– Iron Man, aka Tony Stark– was no Spider Man in the comics. But Downey and the producers and directors and writers have turned him into a gigantic worldwide phenom. “Iron Man 2″ only took in $51.2 million on its opening night. How will tonight play? And tomorrow?
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

Tom Hanks got a wildly enthusiastic standing ovation last night as he made his Broadway debut with Nora Ephron’s “Lucky Guy.” The response was not just from friends and fans because they like Hanks, but because his portrayal of Mike McAlary is such a moving, funny, and lovely experience. This was my second time seeing “Lucky Guy” and I do admit to having a soft spot for it. Ephron captured life in a New York newsroom between 1985 and 1998 perfectly. A lot of the specifics of McAlary’s life have been telescoped to fit a normal running time. But even taking dramatic license, Ephron worked in enough to capture the triumphs and the hubris.

And Hanks broke down in tears at the end of the show, when a curtain pulled back on stage to reveal a large portrait of Ephron, who died last July. “Nothing like sharing a personal moment with 11,000 strangers,” Tom said to me later at the afterparty at Gotham Hall. But those were real tears. “Nora and I were always showing each other what we were writing. I ran into her in London last year, and she said, ‘You know I finished that thing.’ I read it and said, What can we do with this now?”
Hanks is not alone on the stage. And under George C. Wolfe’s heartfelt direction, the supporting cast each gets a chance to shine, from Peter Gerety to Courtney B. Vance to Peter Scolari and Christopher MacDonald.
So was there? Who wasn’t there? Loads of folks from the New York tabloids, starting with eminence, Pete Hamill. The Times was represented by current editor in chief Jill Abramson and past legend Gay Talese. The News was there in the person of Mort Zuckerman, who is referred to in “Lucky Guy” as “the owner.” He may have winced at some of the references.
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

“Jobs” or “jOBS” or however you want to spell it, will not be coming to a theater on April 19th. The movie about Steve Jobs, starring Ashton Kutcher, has been yanked from its April 19th opening date.
Open Road Films says it needs more time to market the film. But “Jobs” received lukewarm reviews from its opening at Sundance. And now Apple is having stock problems. They’re also being pelted by Samsung and other companies.
Suddenly, Apple — hard to believe — is getting baked. Open Road says it chose April 19th because it’s the Apple anniversary date. But if they wait until May, they’ll be butting up against summer releases. Until August, the schedule is not that conducive to releasing a middling movie with a so so TV actor. We may not see “jOBS” for a while. Maybe they should time it to the release of the iPhone 6. Or 7.
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

Critics are divided about Sam Raimi’s “Oz, the Great and Powerful.” But audiences love it. Last night, “Oz” took in more than $24.1 million. For the weekend, it will bring in $70 million plus. That includes rotten weather on the east coast last night, so today and tonight may be bigger than thought. “Oz” is coming to a third biggest ever March opening.
Bravo! The movie looks great, and the actors are all terrific starting with James Franco and the three witches–Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, and Mila Kunis. Moreover, Disney has ordered up the sequel. I don’t know what some people thought the movie would be–the actual “Wizard of Oz” cannot be duplicated and no one tried to do it. The movie was made in 1938, kids. That this “Oz” approximated its charm in a modern way is the accomplishment.
For those who want to see Franco in a less conventional role, wait til you see him in “Spring Breakers.” Harmony Korine’s wild saga is a week away. Franco is a rapper-drug dealer into three-ways. He steals the movie from all the so- called “kids.” A couple of white rappers are already say they inspired his look. But the character is all original, and very adult. In “Spring Breakers,” we are not in Kansas anymore.
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

Oscar voting has closed, so I can say this: Robert DeNiro can do anything. And so now, the nominee for “Silver Linings Playbook” is taking on his bravest project yet. He’s going to direct the Broadway musical of “A Bronx Tale,” the movie he directed in 1993.
Chazz Palminteri, who wrote the original movie and acted in and the Broadway play (which he also wrote), is writing the book for the musical now. David Bryan of Bon Jovi, who won the Tony for “Memphis,” is writing the songs. (Expect a lot of doo wop– they should call Richard Perry.) Sergio Trujillo — of Jersey Boys and Addams Family fame– is working on the choreography.
I know all this because the one and only Tommy Mottola is producing the musical, and he told me all about it yesterday. (Mottola is in partnership with Broadway’s The Dodgers.) Tommy and I were talking about his own musical memoir, the autobiography called “Hitmaker” in book stores now.
Mottola called me from Miami where he’s working on two more books–including one about the Latin culture and “the whole demographic.” Mottola is also working on a musical version of Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly,” directed by Bill T. Jones– aimed for Broadway next winter. Curtis Mayfield is hot hot hot–first “Sparkle,” now “Superfly.”
To read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News

The next Oscars? The new season begins, like, now, with “The Sapphires” opening on March 22nd. Pencil it in for Golden Globe Comedy/Musical, and if it takes, off, well, who knows what else?
Mainly next winter we will be looking hard at Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep in “August: Osage County” and Nicole Kidman in “Grace of Monaco.” Streep will probably go into Supporting. Kidman is said to on track to win. Naomi Watts will be back as Princess Diana, and Leonardo DiCaprio will make a bid for Best Actor in Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
The Weinstein Company has 14 films for 2013, with lots of potential nominees. But Tarantino is off duty this year, so don’t count on him. The Coen Brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis” could bring gold for the bros, plus Oscar Isaac and John Goodman. There’s a new Woody Allen movie said to be “one of his greats” like “Midnight in Paris.” Pedro Almodovar is back in form with a comedy. Robert Redford directed “The Company You Keep” and stars in JC Chandor’s new film. Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling are superb in Derek Cianfrance’s “Place Beyond the Pines,” which was screened in Toronto.
Then there’s Kristen Wiig in the very funny retitled “Imogene” now called “Girl Most Likely.” Wait til you see Matt Dillon steal that show. Sundance will contribute “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” with Casey Affleck. There’s Terrence Malick’s “To the Wonder” (forget it) and maybe a better one called “Knight of Cups.” George Clooney acts in “Gravity” with Sandra Bullock and directs “Monuments Men.” Luc Besson could have a good film with Robert DeNiro, Tommy Lee Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Cross your fingers.
T read more go to www.showbiz411.com
Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information.
Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News