B.O. Report: Transformers 4 Powers Its Way to $100 Million Bow

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                                                                                                                                                      Da
                                                                                                                                                         i        ly
      B.O. Report: Transformers 4
   Powers Its Way to $100 Million Bow
   By Pamela McClintock

   P
          a r a mou n t ’s Tr ansfor mers:
           Age of Extinction debuted to
           $100 million in North America,
   the best number of the year to date and
   reinvigorating the giant robot franchise.
   Overseas, it was even more massive in its
   initial assault, taking in $201.3 million
   for a worldwide bow of $301.3 million.
     The $210 million summer tentpole,
   which earned an A- CinemaScore despite
   blistering reviews, is easily the biggest
   opening of star Mark Wahlberg’s movie
   career, thanks to a strong turnout by males
   (64 percent).
     Age of Extinction — which features
   a new leading man in Wahlberg, who
   replaced the troubled Shia LaBeouf —          Paramount’s Transformers: Age of Extinction earned $201.3 million in its opening weekend abroad — the top debut of the
                                                 year thus far internationally, even though it won’t roll out in most of Europe and Latin America until after the World Cup.
   broke box-office records in China, earn-
   ing $90 million to set a new mark for the     iconic sights, such as The Great Wall.                         In addition to China, the pic generated
   top weekend opening of all time, accord-         Age of Extinction scored the top debut                      big returns in Russia, where it took in
   ing to sources. The movie went to great       of the year internationally, even though                       $21.7 million, the second-biggest launch
   lengths to prosper in China, including        it won’t roll out in most of Europe and                        ever, with 3D grosses representing 80 per-
   shooting at some of the country’s most        Latin America until after the World Cup.                                                                      s e e pa g e 2

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B.O. Report: Transformers 4 Powers Its Way to 0 Million Bow
JUNE 30, 2014                                                                                                                                         Page 2 of 8

                                                                                                                           movie news
   F r o m pa g e 1
   cent. And it did nearly as much in South
   Korea, nabbing the top opening of the
                                                                         Weekend Box Office Top 10
   year with $21.5 million.                         This                                                  3-day     Percent     # of       Per-     Cume
                                                                         Movie/Distributor                gross                          theater
      Overall, Age of Extinction is pacing          week                                                 (in mil)
                                                                                                                    change    theaters   average   to date

   35 percent ahead of 2011’s Transformers:           1    Transformers: Age of Extinction (paramount)   $100.0       —        4,233     $23,624   $100.0
   Dark of the Moon in its first 37 territories.
                                                      2    22 Jump Street (Sony)                          15.4       -44       3,426     4,495     139.8
      Michael Bay returned to direct the
   fourth installment, considered a reboot            3    How to Train Your Dragon 2 (fox)                13.1      -47       3,750      3,493     121.8
   because of its new cast, including young           4    Think Like a Man Too (Sony)                    10.4       -64       2,225      4,674     48.2
   stars Nicola Peltz and Jack Reynor. Age            5    Maleficent (disney)                             8.2       -36       3,073     2,680     201.9
   of Extinction takes place four years after
                                                      6    Jersey Boys (Warner bros.)                      7.6       -43       2,905     2,620      27.3
   a devastating face-off between the Auto-
   bots and the Decepticons in Chicago in             7    Edge of Tomorrow (Warner bros.)                 5.2       -47       2,535      2,055     84.2
   Dark of the Moon, and introduces the               8    The Fault in Our Stars (fox)                    4.8       -44       2,845      1,687    109.5
   Dinobots for the first time.                       9    X-Men: Days of Future Past (fox)                3.3       -46       2,014      1,639    223.4
      Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore
                                                     10    Chef (open road)                                1.7        -3        801      2,065      19.4
   said Age of Extinction ushers in a new
                                                                                                                                                       rentrak
   era for the series. “Mark is incredibly
   likable and together, Michael and Mark          alone generated $10 million for Imax,                 end with $15.4 million for a domestic total
   have refreshed the franchise,” said Moore.      a record.                                             of $139.8 million, eclipsing the entire run
   You definitely see the great chemistry             In terms of 2014 summer tentpoles,                 of 2012’s 21 Jump Street ($138.4 million).
   between them.”                                  Godzilla debuted to $93.2 million, while                A slew of films opened at the specialty
      Moore went on to say that the movie’s        The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened to                    box office this weekend, including John
   outstanding performance in China came           $91.6 million and X-Men: Days of Future               Carney’s Begin Again, starring Keira
   out of Paramount’s close working part-          Past bowed to $90.8 million. Opening                  Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine
   nership with China Film Group. “It was          weekend numbers don’t necessarily por-                and Hailee Steinfeld. Distributed by The
   very educational,” said Moore, as China         tend how well a film will hang on (Days               Weinstein Co., the movie took in a solid
   becomes increasingly important. He also         of Future Past is the biggest box-office              $148,325 from five theaters in New York
   noted that Age of Extinction is the first       earner to date of the three, with more                and Los Angeles for a per-location aver-
   major studio film to have its worldwide         than $710 million in global ticket sales).            age of $29,665, the best of the weekend.
   premiere in China.                                 Age of Extinction could have espe-                   “It’s a great start. The film played
      The pic marks Bay’s second win of the        cially strong legs given that the pic has             really well, particularly among women,”
   summer along with TNT’s top-rated new           virtually no competition for a month.                 said TWC distribution chief Erik Lomis,
   drama The Last Ship, which he’s execu-          To boot, it opened on the eve of the                  noting that females made up 67 percent
   tive producing.                                 Fourth of July week.                                  of the audience. “It’s also going to be a
      Based on Hasbro’s Transformers toy              No other movie dared go up against                 great date movie.”
   line, Age of Extinction surpassed the           Age of Extinction to open nationwide                    TWC launched French biopic Yves
   $97.9 million earned by the last film in        over the weekend.                                     Saint Laurent over the weekend in two
   the series, Dark of the Moon, in its first         Among holdovers, Disney’s Maleficent               theaters, taking in a solid $24,502.
   weekend in 2011. (That movie, which             and Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2                     South Korean sci-fi epic Snowpiercer,
   opened on a Tuesday, took in a total            both crossed the $200 million box-office              opening in eight locations, grossed
   of $162.6 million in its first six days).       threshold. The former’s showing is espe-              $162,127 for a per-location average of
   Sequel Transformers: Revenge of the             cially impressive, considering it isn’t a             $20,266 for Radius-TWC.
   Fallen grossed $108 million in its first        sequel. Disney also celebrated the fact                 And conservative author and film-
   weekend, a franchise best, although Dark        that Captain America: The Winter Soldier              maker Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary
   of the Moon went on to become the top-          passed Warner Bros.’ The Lego Movie                   America did nicely in its limited bow in
   grossing title in the series ($1.12 billion).   over the weekend to become the top                    three theaters in Houston and Atlanta,
      Age of Extinction generated big returns      grossing film of the year domestically                grossing $39,000 for a per-location aver-
   of $27.3 million for Imax theaters in North     with $257.2 million.                                  age of $13,000. The film, a follow-up to
   America and overseas, and $7 million for           Sony’s 22 Jump Street continues to im-             2016: Obama’s America, is set to expand
   large premium-format screens. China             press, coming in No. 2 in its third week-             nationwide Wednesday.
JUNE 30, 2014                                                                                                                                            Page 3 of 8

                                                                                                                                  movie news
   Sony, Gordon Plotting                                                                                             The fest also bestowed its Showtime
                                                                                                                  Tony Cox Screenplay Competition for

   WWII Pic Indestructible
   By Rebecca Ford
                                                                                                                  Feature Film Award to Clark Carroll
                                                                                                                  for his coming-of-age screenplay Early
                                                                                                                  Plus Infinity. Short screenplay honors
   Son y h a s na bbed f i l m r igh ts                                                                           went to Open Roads by Mimi Jeffries.
   to the upcoming WWII nonfiction                                                                                The hour-long TV pilot award was given
   book Indestructible: How a Pilot’s Quest                                                                       to Jamie Mayer for Tomorrowland, and
   to Rescue His Family Changed the Course                                                                        the half-hour TV pilot winner was Stu
   of the Pacific War.                                                                                            Feldman’s Stiffs.
      Mark Gordon will produce the project                                                                           The Teen View Jury Award went to
   for Sony.                                                                                                      The Hyperglot, directed by Michael Urie
      The book, written by John Bruning,           Ethan Hawke, right, plays Ellar Coltrane’s father in writer-   and written by Michael Levi Harris.
                                                   director Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age pic Boyhood.
   follows the story of U.S. Air Force legend                                                                        This year’s festival also hosted the
   Paul “Pappy” Gunn, an airline pilot whose       Hardball host Chris Matthews.                                  sixth annual All-Star Comedy Round-
   family was imprisoned by the Japanese              Nathan and David Zellner’s Kumiko,                          table presented by Ben Stiller. Host
   in the Philippines at the infamous Santo        The Treasure Hunter was honored for                            Michael Ian Black interviewed Stiller,
   Tomas Internment camp.                          best screenwriting in a feature film, and                      Jenny Slate, Billy Eichner and John C.
      During the Pacific War, he was an ad-        Bernardo Britto’s Yearbook was tapped                          Daly for the event.
   visor to the Air Force, helping to reinvent     for best screenwriting in a short film.                           On Saturday, comedian and former
   aerial warfare and change the tide of the          Rory Kennedy’s documentary Last                             Daily Show With Jon Stewart writer
   war in the Allies’ favor.                       Days in Vietnam received the audience                          and correspondent Wyatt Cenac hosted
      Michael DeLuca, Rachel O’Connor              award for best film, and Moon Molson                           the Screenwriters Tribute Awards from
   and Eric Fineman are overseeing for             and Eric Fallen’s The Bravest, The Boldest                     the Siaconset Casino, where The West
   Sony, while Drew Simon and Michele              was named best short.                                          Wing actor Bradley Whitford presented
   Wolkoff are overseeing for The Mark                Actress, directed by Robert Greene,                         the award to Sorkin. Writer-helmer Mike
   Gordon Company.                                 earned best storytelling in a documen-                         Cahill took home the New Voices in
      Indestructible is slated to hit shelves in   tary feature honors.                                           Screenwriting Award for I Origins, which
   2016 via Hachette Books. Gersh handled             The audience award for best film                            served as the fest’s centerpiece screening.
   the film rights.                                runner-up went to The Case Against 8,                          And Steve James, director of Life Itself,
                                                   directed by Ben Cotner and Ryan White.                         accepted the A&E Special Achievement

   Linklater’s Boyhood                                “This year’s festival boasts more film-
                                                   makers, films and talent than ever before,”
                                                                                                                  in Documentary Storytelling Award.

   Leads Nantucket Fest                            said fest program director Basil Tsiokos.
                                                   “The wide array of programming show-                           Moscow Fest Moved by
   By Tatiana Siegel
   R ich a r d L i n k l at er’s Boyhood
   was among the winners at this year’s
                                                   cased during the festival brought out
                                                   some of the most talented screenwriters
                                                   and directors in the industry and we are
                                                                                                                  Japanese film My Man
                                                                                                                  By Gavin J. Blair
   Nantucket Film Festival.                        thrilled to have been able to share with                       TOKYO — Kazuyoshi Kumakiri’s My Man
      Linklater’s coming-of-age movie,             the Nantucket community. As we look                            won best film honors at the Moscow Inter-
   which is already generating awards-             forward to the 20th-year anniversary of                        national Film Festival on Saturday, with
   season buzz, took home the award                the festival, it’s heartening to see such                      Tadanobu Asano taking best actor for
   for best writer-director at the annual          support for independent film. We are                           his role as a man who becomes romanti-
   Massachusetts fest, now in its 19th year.       excited for what is still to come for this                     cally involved with his adopted daughter.
      The awards were announced on the             vibrant and growing festival.”                                   My Man is based on a novel by Kazuki
   final day of the festival, which drew a            The festival also awarded the eighth                        Sakuraba and stars Fumi Nikaido as the
   phalanx of Hollywood and media guests           annual Adrienne Shelley Excellence                             daughter who lost her family in a tsu-
   including Aaron Sorkin, who was the             in Filmmaking Award, which bestows                             nami that hit Japan’s northern island of
   recipient of this year’s Screenwriters          a cash prize to a female filmmaker in                          Hokkaido in 1993.
   Tribute Award; Mark Ruffalo, who was            honor of the late director. This year’s                          It is the first victory for a Japanese pic
   on hand to present his upcoming roman-          award was presented to Diana Whitten                           at the Moscow fest since Kaneto Shindo’s
   tic dramedy Begin Again; and MSNBC’s            for her film Vessel.                                           Will to Live in 1999.
JUNE 30, 2014                                                                                                                              Page 4 of 8

                                                                                                           awards news
                      Film Academy Tweaks
                     Rules for Oscar Eligibility
   By Gregg Kilday                                of the producing functions” and reserves         A number of the other rule refine-
   T h e Aca dem y of Mot ion Pict u r e          the right to include a fourth producer if     ments concern various factors surround-
   Arts and Sciences has tweaked a number         it so decides. An established producing       ing qualifications in the shorts, docs and
   of its rules as it                             team of two producers is considered a         animated feature categories.
   readies for the 87th                           single “producer” for the purposes of the        In the animated feature film category,
   Academy Awards.                                rule. However, the rule defining a pro-       DVD screeners will now be required
      For the first time,                         ducing team has been altered slightly.        as part of a film’s submission, a move
   there is a limit to the                        Under the earlier rules, the team had to      designed to increase participation by
   number of actors                               have been together for at least the pre-      making smaller animated movies that
   that can be submit-                            vious five years and had to have produced     have not received wide releases more
   ted for each film,                             a minimum of five theatrically released       available to members of the branch.
   although it remains                            features. Under the new rule, the produc-        To qualify for documentary feature
   a fairly generous                              ing team has to have released only two        consideration, films have been required
   one. Under the new                             theatrically released features, potentially   to screen a minimum of four times daily
   rule, studios and                              opening the door to an established team       during their qualifying theatrical releases
   production com-                                that may not have as many completed           in both New York and Los Angeles. The
   panies may submit                              features on its résumé.                       rule now stipulates that screenings must
   a maximum of 10 actors and 10 actresses           A change in the music branch’s rules       begin between noon and 10 p.m., and
   for each movie, submitting their names         for original song reflects the growing        at least one screening daily must begin
   on the Academy’s official screen credits       presence of musical groups who are con-       between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Previously,
   form. Previously, the studios were free to     tributing songs to movies. The new rules      an evening screening was not required,
   submit a movie’s entire cast list.             says that songwriters from established        and some films had been qualifying by
      The change was made in order to             musical groups, instead of submitting a       playing morning screenings, whose audi-
   reduce the length of the reminder list         song under their individual names, may        ences were necessarily limited. The new
   of eligible releases that is given to each     now submit a song under their group           rule hopes to make the contending films
   Academy member before the nomination           name. So, potentially, future best song       more visible to the moviegoing public.
   process begins. The actors and actresses       nominations could carry the name of a            In the two short film categories —
   for each film will also be listed separately   well-known band rather than the names         animated and live action — the existing
   to avoid any confusion when it comes to        of just two or three of that band’s mem-      rule had disqualified any film that first
   sexually ambiguous names.                      bers. If that song wins the Oscar, though,    appeared online or on TV before a quali-
      As was previously the case, the Acad-       only one statuette will be handed out —       fying theatrical release. That rule is now
   emy members themselves will decide             in the name of the entire group.              relaxed a bit — if such a pic wins a festi-
   whether a performance should be con-              Meanwhile, in the production design        val award from one of the events on the
   sidered a lead or supporting role. Also,       category, the rules have been changed         Academy’s short-films qualifying festival
   studios and producers are free to decide       to acknowledge the work that goes into        list, it will now be eligible. But if it fails to
   exactly which 20 actors they submit —          creating virtually-designed worlds for        win an award, the fact that it first appeared
   they aren’t restricted to submitting the       digitally-created movies. The new rule        online or TV would continue to be a dis-
   top 20 actors on the cast list, but can        states, “When the environment of a film       qualifying factor.
   reach lower down on the list to submit         is substantially composed of animation           The Academy’s board of governors
   a breakout performer.                          and digital artistry, a digital artist who    approved the rule changes, proposed by
      The Academy also revisited its rule         is primarily responsible for the achieve-     the awards rules committee, at a meet-
   regarding how many producers can be            ment may now be considered for the pro-       ing last week.
   nominated for best picture. The basic          duction design award. Previously, only           The 87th Academy Awards will be held
   rule remains the same: The Academy             “production designers,” “art directors”       Sunday, Feb. 22, at the Dolby Theatre
   will recognize “three or fewer producers       and “set decorators” were named as            in Hollywood and will be televised live
                                                                                                                                                         AMPAS

   who have performed the major portion           eligible for awards recognition.”             on ABC.
JUNE 30, 2014                                                                                                                     Page 5 of 8

                                                                                                   business news
   Sun Valley ’14 Guest List:                                                                   Obama will hold a private Q&A with
                                                                                             25 donors at Rapino’s Westside home on
                                                                                             July 24, the day after he attends a fund-

   Murdoch, Moonves, More                                                                    raiser hosted by Scandal creator Shondra
                                                                                             Rhimes and co-hosted by Scandal actress
                                                                                             Kerry Washington.
   By Paul Bond                                 Thomas Staggs, chairman of the parks            “Your contribution and participation
   A bou t 250 peopl e a r e ex pect ed         and resorts division.                        will help to ensure that the Democrats
   at this year’s Allen & Co. Sun Valley           New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was also   keep control of the Senate and make
   Conference, including a contingency          invited, as was former New York Mayor        significant headway in winning back the
   from 21st Century Fox that includes          Michael Bloomberg and The Weinstein          House,” according to an invitation sent
                  CEO Rupert Murdoch, his       Co. co-chairman Harvey Weinstein.            Friday to people in Hollywood. “The
                  sons James and Lachlan           Allen & Co. is an investment firm and     truth is, we simply cannot win in 2016
                  and COO Chase Carey,          its yearly conference, while advertised      without building our base in 2014. And
                  The Hollywood Reporter        as a low-key social affair, often yields     we cannot do that without a strong
                  has learned. The gathering,   some notable corporate deals, including      Democratic National Committee. With
    R. Murdoch
                  which began in the 1980s      mergers and acquisitions.                    the Tea Party and other extremists
                  and usually attracts many        Five years ago, for example, execs from   taking ground, the time is now to start
                  of the nation’s most power-   Comcast huddled with GE CEO Jeffrey          raising money, and protect our future.”
                  ful media and technology      Immelt at Sun Valley and five months            Tickets for the fundraiser are $32,400
                  executives, is set to run     later GE announced it was selling its con-   per person, with proceeds being used by
                  July 8-13 at the Sun Valley   trolling interest in NBCUniversal to the     the DNC to bolster the party’s efforts
     Moonves
                  Resort in Idaho.              cable company.                               during this year’s mid-term elections.
                    Also expected to attend                                                     The Rapino event marks a political
   the off-the-record event are DreamWorks
   Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg,            Live Nation CEO Rapino                       coming-out of sorts for the head of the
                                                                                             entertainment company, which became
   Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes, CBS
   CEO Leslie Moonves, Viacom CEO
   Philippe Dauman and Paramount head
                                                to Host DNC Fundraiser
                                                By Tina Daunt
                                                                                             a concert powerhouse after merging
                                                                                             with Ticketmaster in 2010. Athough
                                                                                             he has become increasingly involved in
   Brad Grey, sources told THR.                 Pr e si den t Ba r ack Oba m a h a s         political fundraising in Hollywood for
     Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is also on         added a second high-dollar fundraiser —      the Democrats in recent years, this is
   the guest list, according to Bloomberg,      at the home of Live Nation CEO Michael       Rapino’s first time hosting a major presi-
   as are Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg          Rapino — to his July fundraising trip to     dential event.
   and three top execs from Walt Disney:        Los Angeles, The Hollywood Reporter has         A spokesperson for Rapino declined to
   CEO Robert Iger, CFO Jay Rasulo and          learned.                                     comment on the matter.

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            INDUSTRY COVERAGE
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JUNE 30, 2014                                                                                                                                  Page 6 of 8

                                                                                                                           obituaries
               Legendary Soul Singer,
            Songwriter Womack Dies at 70
   By Roy Trakin                                                                                           him increased acclaim in the U.S. and
   Rock a n d Rol l H a l l of Fa m e sou l                                                                Europe, and he had two more Top 10
   singer-songwriter Bobby Womack, whose                                                                   R&B singles, including the Patti LaBelle
   music was covered by, among others, The                                                                 duet “Love Has Finally Come at Last” and
   Rolling Stones, died Friday. He was 70.                                                                 “I Wish He Didn’t Trust Me So Much.”
      A representative for Womack’s label,                                                                    But throughout most of the ’80s,
   XL Recordings, confirmed the news of                                                                    Womack struggled with drug addiction,
   his death to The Hollywood Reporter.                                                                    eventually checking himself into a reha-
   He was suffering from colon cancer and                                                                  bilitation center.
   diabetes. An obituary first appeared on                                                                    In 1989, he sang on Todd Rundgren’s
   RollingStone.com.                                                                                       “For the Want of a Nail” on the album
                                                  Womack entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
      Born and raised in Cleveland, the son                                                                Nearly Human and in 1998 performed
   of two musicians and the third of five         Mover” and “I’m in Love.”                                George Gershwin’s “Summertime” with
   brothers, Womack began his career as              In 1968, Womack signed with Minit                     The Roots for the Red Hot Organization’s
   a member of Curtis Womack and the              Records and released his debut album,                    Red Hot + Rhapsody benefit album.
   Womack Brothers, who were signed to            Fly Me to the Moon, scoring a major hit                     Womack contributed lyrics and sang
   SAR Records by Sam Cooke. The group            with a cover of “California Dreamin’.”                   alongside Mos Def on “Stylo,” the first
   released a handful of gospel singles,          In 1969, he forged a partnership with                    single from the third Gorillaz album,
   including “Buffalo Bill,” when Bobby was       Gabor Szabo that produced the instru-                    Plastic Beach, where he met Damon
   just 10 years old, before changing their       mental hit “Breezin’ ” for George Ben-                   Albarn in 2010.
   name to the Valentinos and pursuing a          son. Womack also worked on Sly and                          In 2012, Womack began a career re-
   more pop-influenced, secular sound.            the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’                  naissance with the release of The Bravest
      In 1964, one month after the Valentinos     On and penned the ballad “Trust Me”                      Man in the Universe, his first album in
   released their hit “It’s All Over Now,”        for Janis Joplin’s Pearl.                                more than 10 years. Produced by Albarn
   the Stones released their version, which          A string of successful albums included                and XL’s Richard Russell, the album
   went to the top of the U.K. singles chart.     1972’s Understanding and Across 110th                    received critical accolades.
   The Valentinos’ career stalled when Cooke      Street, the latter the soundtrack to the                    Upon his death, Womack was record-
   was shot and killed in a Los Angeles motel     blaxploitation film of the same name                     ing his next album for XL, tentatively
   in December 1964. Just three months            and later used in the opening and clos-                  titled The Best Is Yet to Come, featuring
   later, Womack created a scandal by mar-        ing sequences of Quentin Tarantino’s                     Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart and Snoop
   rying Cooke’s widow, Barbara Campbell.         1997 film Jackie Brown. Those were                       Dogg.
      Womack wrote and originally recorded        followed by 1973’s Facts of Life, with the                  His final performance was on June 14
   New Birth’s “I Can Understand It,” among       Top 40 hit, “Nobody Wants You When                       at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn.
   other songs. As a singer, he is most notable   You’re Down and Out,” an older song                         Womack was inducted into the Rock
   for the hits “Lookin’ for a Love,” “That’s     Cooke had done years before, and 1974’s                  and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
   The Way I Feel About Cha,” “Woman’s            Lookin’ for a Love Again, which featured                    “I can think of no other living artist
   Gotta Have It,” “Harry Hippie” and             a remake of his first hit single, “Lookin’               I’ve had the experience of seeing perform
   “Across 110th Street.”                         for a Love.” In 1975, he collaborated with               or meeting whose music has meant more
      After leaving the Valentinos in 1965,       the Stones’ Ronnie Wood on the guitar-                   to me and given me more comfort,” wrote
   Womack became a session musician               ist’s second solo album, Now Look.                       longtime music executive David Gorman
   at producer Chips Moman’s American                Womack’s career revived in 1981 when                  on his Facebook page. “I’m thankful the
   Studios in Memphis, playing on record-         he signed with Beverly Glen Records                      last time I saw Bobby play was one of the
   ings by Joe Tex, Aretha Franklin and           and had his first Top 10 R&B single with                 best. Losing him hurts bad.”
   The Box Tops, before his work as a song-       “If You Think You’re Lonely Now.” His                       Womack is survived by his wife,
   writer caught the ear of Wilson Pickett,       accompanying album, The Poet, went                       Regina Banks, and four children: Gina,
                                                                                                                                                             AP photo

   who recorded Womack’s “I’m a Midnight          to No. 1 on the R&B charts, bringing                     Bobby Truth, Cory and Jordan.
JUNE 30, 2014                                                                                                                       Page 7 of 8

                                                                                                                 obituaries
   TV, Screen Actor                              got himself into. I miss his vulnerability.
                                                 That’s what’s so nice about playing that
                                                                                               birthday at a party in April.
                                                                                                 He married actress Bianca Ferguson

   Taylor Dies at 67
   By Mike Barnes
                                                 character — he really did care for these
                                                 people so much he was very vulnerable
                                                 because of his feelings, especially Suzanne
                                                                                               (General Hospital) in 1983. Other sur-
                                                                                               vivors include children Tariq, Yasmine,
                                                                                               Tamar and Esme.
   M e sh ach Tay l or , w ho pl ay ed           (Burke) and the situations she would
   the lovable assistant Anthony Bouvier,
   who worked at the Sugarbaker interior
                                                 always involve him in.”
                                                    After Designing Women wrapped,             Freaky Friday Author
   design firm on the CBS hit
   sitcom Designing Women,
   has died, his agent Dede
                                                 Taylor quickly landed a gig on Dave’s
                                                 World, a sitcom based on the life of enter-
                                                 taining Miami Herald columnist Dave
                                                                                               Rodgers Dies at 83
                                                                                               By The Associated Press
   Binder confirmed to                           Barry. Taylor played plastic surgeon          NEW YORK — Mary Rodgers, the daugh-
   The Hollywood Reporter.                       Sheldon Baylor, the neighbor and high-        ter of Broadway icon Richard Rodgers,
   He was 67.                          Taylor
                                                 school best friend of Barry (Harry Ander-     who found her own fame as composer of
      Taylor, who immediately                    son), on the show that lasted four seasons.   the 1959 musical Once Upon a Mattress
   segued to another CBS comedy, Dave’s             Earlier, Taylor was a regular on the       and as the author of the body-shifting
   World, when Designing Women was can-          1983-84 NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill, which        book Freaky Friday, has died.
   celed, died Saturday at his family’s home     starred Dabney Coleman as an egotistical         Rodgers died Thursday at her home in
   in Altadena, Calif., where he was receiving   daytime TV talk show host in Buffalo, N.Y.    Manhattan after a long illness, her son
   hospice care. He “passed away after bravely   And later, he played Principal Alistar        Alec Guettel said.
   fighting a terminal illness. His loving       Wright on Nickelodeon series Ned’s               Rodgers’ hit Mattress, a musical adap-
   family was by his side,” stated Binder.       Declassified School Survival Guide.           tation of the Hans Christian Anderson
      Earlier, his family posted a note on          He most recently appeared on a pair of     fable The Princess and the Pea, made a
   his Facebook page, saying, “It is with        episodes this year of CBS’ Criminal Minds.    star of Carol Burnett. A Broadway revival
   love and gratitude that we sorrowfully           The genial Taylor also hosted his own      in 1996 starred Sarah Jessica Parker.
   announce that our darling, amazingly          series on HGTV, The Urban Gardener;           Her other shows include From A to Z,
   brilliant and dynamic Meshach, the in-        co-hosted a show on Retirement Living         a revue featuring her songs, and two
   credible father, husband, son and friend,     TV with Florence Henderson; and was a         other short-lived productions: Hot Spot
   has begun his grand transition.”              regular celebrity panelist on a reboot of     and The Madwoman of Central Park
      Taylor also played flamboyant window       the game show To Tell the Truth.              West, a one-person musical starring
   dresser Hollywood Montrose in 1987 box-          Taylor’s TV résumé also included           Phyllis Newman.
   office hit Mannequin and its 1991 sequel.     Lou Grant, M*A*S*H, Cagney & Lacey,              Rodgers was also a children’s book
      Designing Women, created by Linda          The Golden Girls, Hill Street Blues, The      author who scored big with Freaky
   Bloodworth-Thomason, aired on CBS             Drew Carey Show and The Unit, and he          Friday, in which a mother and daugh-
   for seven seasons from September 1986         reprised the role of Anthony in a 1995        ter trade bodies. The book was twice
   until May 1993. It starred Dixie Carter,      episode of Bloodworth-Thomason’s              adapted into a Disney movie, most
   Delta Burke, Annie Potts, Jean Smart          Women of the House sitcom, which also         recently in 2003 starring Jamie Lee
   and Taylor, whose characters work at the      starred Burke.                                Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. Her other
   design firm in Atlanta.                          He also appeared in such other films       books include A Billion for Boris, Summer
      The series usually aired on Monday         as Damien: Omen II (1978), The Howling        Switch and The Rotten Book.
   nights and, paired with Murphy Brown,         (1981) and Tranced (2010).                       The daughter of South Pacific and
   another female-centric sitcom, gave              Taylor was born in Boston, raised          Flower Drum Song composer Richard
   CBS an hour of solid ratings.                 in New Orleans and attended Florida           Rodgers and Dorothy Rodgers, Mary
      Taylor’s character Anthony, before he      A&M in Tallahassee, Fla. He joined the        Rodgers was also the mother of a musi-
   arrived at Sugarbaker Designs, was falsely    Organic Theatre group in Chicago, where       cal theater composer, Adam Guettel,
   convicted of a robbery. Toward the end        he worked with Joe Mantegna and Dennis        a Tony Award winner for The Light in
   of the series, he became a partner in the     Franz, and also became a player with          the Piazza.
   firm and earned a law degree. Taylor re-      Chicago’s famed Goodman Theatre.                 Rodgers had been married to Henry
   ceived an Emmy nomination for outstand-          Smart, Burke, Gerald McRaney,              Guettel, former executive director of the
   ing supporting actor in a comedy in 1989.     Mantegna, Franz, Shadoe Stevens and           Theatre Development Fund, who died in
      “I miss that character,” he said in a      Ernie Hudson were among those who             2013. She is survived by her sister, Linda
   2001 interview. “I miss the situations he     gathered to celebrate Taylor’s 67th           Rodgers Emory, and five children.
JUNE 30, 2014                                                                                                                                      Page 8 of 8

                                                                                                                           film review
   Earth to Echo
   By Michael Rechtshaffen
   A i m ed, pr e su m a bly, at you ng
   audiences who have never seen a 32-year-
   old Steven Spielberg movie about a home-
   sick extraterrestrial, Dave Green’s Earth
   to Echo flaunts its obvious influences with
   all the fresh novelty of an app update.
      Still, give novice feature director
   Green and screenwriter Henry Gayden
   credit for more than just audacity —
   despite all those echoes of classic ’80s
   sci-fi fantasy adventures, Earth to Echo
                                                             KIDS FIND THE DARNDEST THINGS: Brian “Astro” Bradley, left, Ella Linnea Wahlestedt,
   proves engaging in its own right.                                Reese Hartwig and Teo Halm make friends with an alien in Earth to Echo.
      Credit a youthful, energetic spirit,
   nicely conveyed by its cast of newcomers,     trio’s cellphones start “barfing” up what              various forms of social media-driven
   a workable raw-footage construct and a        appear to be maps and other gibberish,                 communication keeps it all in and of
   spare but smartly spent special-effects       and they begin to suspect something else               the moment, and that’s also true of the
   budget for the satisfying end result.         could be responsible for attracting all                contemporary dialogue delivered by its
      Getting a jump on the Fourth of July       those shifty-looking construction folks.               likable young cast. As for the homesick
   holiday weekend, the well-positioned             Their attempts at deciphering the cell-             little alien they have come to name Echo
   Relativity Media release (which was           phone images take them to the middle                   — c’mon, who can resist something that
   acquired from Disney) could generate          of the desert, where a strange-looking                 looks like a metallic owl bobblehead with
   some noticeable sparks by claiming the        cylinder embedded in the ground next to                glowing neon-blue eyes and speaks in
   family-friendly PG slot all to itself.        a transformer soon yields a frightened,                cute electronic chirps?
      The movie cuts quickly to the chase        wide-eyed alien inhabitant.                               Sometimes even the most shameless
   as the lives of teenaged longtime best           Even the previously uninitiated will                of knockoffs can’t be denied.
   buddies Tuck (Brian “Astro” Bradley),         know where all this is headed. Aside
   Munch (Reese Hartwig) and Alex (Teo           from the primary source of inspiration,                Opens: Wednesday (Relativity).
   Halm) are about to be uprooted by a new       you’ll also find bits of everything from               Production: Panay Films.
   highway development scheduled to level        The Goonies to Super 8 woven not-so-                   Cast: Teo Halm, Brian “Astro” Bradley,
   their suburban Nevada neighborhood.           subtly into the Earth to Echo tapestry.                Reese Hartwig, Ella Linnea Wahlestedt.
      But as they spend one final night             But having the characters constantly                Director: Dave Green.
   together before the mass exodus, the          rely on video recording, texting and                   Rated PG, 89 minutes.

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