Scorsese & Sinatra

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this will be pretty damn cool...

Universal City, CA May 13, 2009 ----Universal Pictures has acquired the
feature film project Sinatra from Mandalay Pictures for Academy Award®
winner Martin Scorsese to direct, it was announced today.

Oscar® nominated screenwriter (Field of Dreams) Phil Alden Robinson is writing the screenplay for Sinatra based on the life of the iconic entertainer. Universal Pictures and Mandalay Pictures have been developing the project, after securing the Frank Sinatra life rights and music rights from Frank Sinatra Enterprises (FSE) - a joint venture of the Sinatra
Estate and Warner Music Group.

"We have dreamt of making a movie about Frank Sinatra, and Marty Scorsese is undeniably the perfect vision keeper for this project," said Chairman of Mandalay Entertainment Group, Peter Guber. President of Mandalay Pictures, Cathy Schulman added "In addition to our excitement at having Marty in the director's chair, we are thrilled to be in business with Universal, the
Sinatra estate, Warner Music Group and the talented Phil Alden Robinson on this project about one of our greatest entertainers."

"It's an honor to be involved in this film which will celebrate the amazing life and work of Frank Sinatra," said President of Production for Universal Pictures, Donna Langley. "With Phil Alden Robinson writing the screenplay and Martin Scorsese at the helm, we know that this first feature motion picture adaptation of Sinatra's extraordinary life is in the best of
hands."

"My father had great admiration for the talent of the people he chose to work with, and the talented people who worked with my father had great admiration for him," said Tina Sinatra. "It is personally pleasing to me that this paradigm continues with Marty Scorsese at the helm of the Sinatra film."

Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1915. Over the course of his career, he performed on more than 1,400 musical recordings, was awarded 31 gold records, received 10 Grammy Awards in addition to three special honors bestowed upon him by the Recording Industry Association of America. He appeared in 58 films winning three Oscars® and two Golden Globe awards, in addition to a lifelong legacy of humanitarian work.

Guber and Schulman will produce the film for Mandalay Pictures with Scorsese producing on behalf of Sikelia Productions. Former President of Worldwide Music Distribution at Warner Bros. Pictures, Gary LeMel, Tina Sinatra and Robinson will serve as Executive Producers.

Just Play The Music, Tweedy

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” grumbled Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy before walking off the stage at The Lyric Theater last week. This was after he had repeatedly stopped during the sold-out concert to lambast the crowd for talking (gasp!) during the show, thereby becoming someone who was… talking during the show. He even changed the lyrics to “Hate It Here” to sing “what am I gonna do when I run out of audiences to scold.”



A few weeks prior, Andrew Bird asked the audience (very politely, I might add) at the Lyric to pipe down for a specific song, before later conceding that there was indeed a bar in the venue and maybe he should just have a drink himself. Also at the Lyric, Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock offered not once but twice to fight audience members after his sold-out show.

Are Oxford audiences really that chatty or do these rock stars need to just lighten up?

Some of both. Throughout the history of our species, when alcoholic beverages and music are combined, humans become boisterous. Sometimes in the throes of their happiness, they even want to talk to each other. Revelry is expected in such situations, and should be encouraged. And here in Oxford, we are a social people. After all, we're as well known for "not losing the party" as about anything.

Additionally, It’s a rock show, not a piano recital.

Oxford isn’t a big enough town to populate a 1,200-seat concert venue solely with self-loathing, anti-social shoe gazers. So with a crowd of this size, you inevitably end up with a mixed bag of folks---college kids, townies, artists, university drones. Even lawyers.

Each of them shelled out at least thirty American dollars to attend the Wilco concert. When a monetary exchange such as that takes place, those people are called “customers.” These are the same people who buy albums and t-shirts and posters and DVDs. They are the same people who wait in line breathing tour bus fumes to attend the concert. Should not these people be given enough respect to not be chastised? The argument goes that we should respect the artists and allow them to perform their craft, free from the apparently bothersome din of crowd chatter. But shouldn’t the artist respect their fans? Their customers?

It’s true that the girl who spends the entire show texting her friends across the room or loudly discussing absolutely nothing can by annoying or distracting, if you let her. But you know what’s more annoying than crowd chatter? The pissy guy on stage bitching and moaning about it. Mr. Tweedy mentioned at one point in his rants that 75% of the people in the crowd were behaving in a manner he approved of, and that it was the other 25% who were talking and “not paying attention.” Is this really what he’s thinking about when he’s singing those heartfelt ballads? Statistics? But even if his numbers are accurate, what’s the point in pulling a Debbie Downer on the majority of people who are paying attention to the music. It’s kind of hard to pay attention to the music when you’re not playing the music, Jeff.