Tag: Frank Sinatra

The Top 50 SNL Cast Members of All Time: Number 7 – Phil Hartman

The ultimate utility player in a golden age on the show, Phil Hartman’s eight years were filled with terrific impressions and delightfully oddball original characters. His comedic bonafides are undeniable. A Groundlings alum, he co-wrote Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure before joining SNL and would later provide iconic voices on The Simpsons.

Hartman excelled at impersonating two Presidents (Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton) and one First Lady (Barbara Bush). His bit as Clinton visiting McDonald’s is rightfully considered one of the all-timers. A Reagan sketch where he’s shown to be the man behind the curtain unlike his reputation is also a classic. Other memorable impressions include Frank Sinatra, Phil Donahue, Charlton Heston, Johnny Cash, Andy Griffith, and Ed McMahon’s to Dana Carvey’s Johnny Carson. That’s merely skimming the surface.

Fresh creations included Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and Eugene, the Anal Retentive Chef. Hartman was a genuine glue guy on SNL who was often the highlight among many talented costars. #6 will be up soon!

Phil Hartman

Years on the Show: 1986-94

Reagan Box Office Prediction

As the nation is focused on who will be the 47th President of the United States, distributor ShowBiz Direct hopes moviegoers watch a biopic about the 40th over Labor Day weekend. Sean McNamara directs Reagan with Dennis Quaid in the title role and Penelope Ann Miller as First Lady Nancy. Costars include Nick Searcy, Robert Davi, Lesley-Anne Down, C. Thomas Howell, Kevin Dillon, Mena Suvari, and Jon Voight. Heck, we even have Creed frontman Scott Stapp as Frank Sinatra (?!?).

Political pics fave challenges breaking through at the box office. I’m not sure audiences will greet this with arms wide open. Shot in late 2020, it has taken some time to find its way to the big screen. Reagan is catering to a conservative audience as evidenced by the politics of some of the cast.

Perhaps older viewers will turn out, but I’m skeptical the MAGA crowd shows up in force. With the caveat that this could outperform, I’ll say mid to maybe higher single digits is where this lands over the four-day holiday.

Reagan opening weekend prediction: $5.6 million (Friday to Monday prediction)

For my AfrAId prediction, click here:

AfrAId Box Office Prediction

Oscar Watch: Quincy

Focused on the legendary life of musical composer Quincy Jones, a documentary about him has premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Co-directed by his daughter Rashida Jones, the pic about the man behind classic film scores and unforgettable music from Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, and many more has garnered respectable reviews.

That said, I’m not sure that will be enough for Quincy to warrant attention this Oscar season. The Documentary category is already crowded with titles such as RBG, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Three Identical Strangers, and Fahrenheit 11/9 all vying for spots.

Bottom line: this doc about a man who has won 27 Grammys and been nominated for 7 Academy Awards might come up short come nomination time.

Quincy premieres on Netflix on September 21. My Oscar Watch posts will continue…

Music Biopics: The Name Game

A growing trend in movies for the past few years (and a bit beyond) is the musical biopic that incorporates one of the band or artist’s songs into the title. The latest example will come out this fall with Bohemian Rhapsody, the behind the scenes story of Queen.

2019 will bring us Rocketman with Taron Egerton as the legendary Elton John.

We’ve seen this trend in years past. For instance, the 1980s saw La Bamba about Richie Valens.

The 1990s gave us Angela Bassett in her Oscar nominated role playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It?

In 2005, we had Walk the Line with Joaquin Phoenix in his Academy nominated turn as Johnny Cash and Reese Witherspoon winning as June.

More recent ones have been in the hip hop world with Straight Outta Compton (N.W.A.) and All Eyez on Me (Tupac Shakur). There’s also Get On Up with Chadwick Boseman as the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.

So this got me thinking. What would be some other movie/song titles if certain iconic musicians got their biopic? For this blog post’s purposes, I tried to focus on artists where I feel a big screen treatment on them is at least feasible. In other words, while Rico Suave might be a spectacular title, I don’t envision two hours on Gerardo coming anytime soon.

There is already a Madonna flick reportedly in the works and it takes its name not from a tune, but from one of her tours – Blond Ambition. I suppose Material Girl or Like a Prayer could have worked, but Blond Ambition is just about perfect.

Some choices seem obvious. You gotta call the Bon Jovi story Livin on a Prayer, after all. And My Way seems like the natural fit for Frank Sinatra. And Born to Run for Bruce Springsteen. And there’s Piano Man for Billy Joel.

It doesn’t end there. Respect (Aretha Franklin) and Fire and Rain (James Taylor).

When it comes to some recently dearly departed legends, Prince presents a challenge because you can’t call it Purple Rain. And a number of his other massive hits don’t fit. When Doves Cry is probably the name the studio would go for considering it’s his biggest hit. Personally, I rather like the thought of My Name is Prince, taken from his Love Symbol album of 1992.

With Michael Jackson, Thriller would work but it’s hard to imagine Man in the Mirror not being the choice.

For David Bowie, Starman seems like the winner, but that’s also the name of a fairly well-known 1980s science fiction effort starring Jeff Bridges. That may not matter, but if so, Space Oddity or simply calling it Ziggy Stardust might fit.

Tom Petty? How about Free Fallin or Runnin Down a Dream. George Michael? Faith or Freedom. Whitney Houston? Tough one. Perhaps a studio would want I Will Always Love You. Maybe So Emotional works as well.

Some bands have more than one title that seem appropriate. Aerosmith has three great ones: Dream On, Sweet Emotion, or Walk This Way. With AC/DC – Back in Black or Thunderstruck.

Guns n Roses is an interesting one. Welcome to the Jungle is fantastic, but it was just the subtitle for the blockbuster Jumanji reboot. In this matter, you might have to go with their album name Appetite for Destruction, which is ideal.

Metallica could have For Whom the Bell Tolls or Enter Sandman. Nirvana might have Smells Like Teen Spirit as the studio choice, but I’m a little partial to Come As You Are.

I like Runnin with the Devil for Van Halen and I suppose Stairway to Heaven would be the choice for Led Zeppelin.

Let’s move off rock. How about Britney Spears? That may depend on what direction the studio goes. It could be Toxic or Stronger. Maybe Baby One More Time instead.

Stevie Wonder? Superstition or Sir Duke are possibilities, but I like Higher Ground.

With Bob Marley, maybe Get Up, Stand Up or One Love.

Circling back to hip hop, Fight the Power is the clear pick for Public Enemy and the same may hold true for Mama Said Knock You Out with LL Cool J.

And then there’s my favorite… the Rick James biopic Super Freak. Why hasn’t this been made already?

I could go on, but you get the idea. Let’s see if any of these suggested titles end up playing out in the future. Maybe there will be surprises… Barbie Girl: The Aqua Story, anyone?