Here's the Scoop...

Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and the surviving members of the Reservoir Dogs cast gathered at the Tribeca Film Festival Friday night for a 25th anniversary screening of and panel discussion about the movie.

Appearing alongside Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel and Michael Madsen for the "Tribeca Talks" panel at the Beacon Theatre in New York, Tarantino said he vividly remembers how he felt when they had just finished their two-week rehearsal before shooting the picture and Keitel hosted a cast dinner at his house in Malibu.

"I was living in Glendale with my mom at the time. So, if you're from California, you know you can just take Sunset Boulevard down from Glendale all the way to Malibu. It's a long drive, but it's a cool drive. So, I'm at Harvey's place and we're all sitting around and we really like each other now. We've had our rehearsal and we're sitting there and we're having a great time, and I really realized that, 'Gosh, a lot of the pressure was off my shoulders cinematically,'" Tarantino said. "These guys were so perfect in their parts. They were so vibing with each other. They so understood the material. By rehearsing two weeks, they knew the material. We [were ready] to shoot it. I was like, '[Expletive,] if I just keep this movie in focus, I've got a movie.' Anything else I bring to it will just be frosting, but the cake is here. It's these guys. I've got that. I watched it at dinner that night. It was a really nice thing for Harvey to do. But I remember that night, getting in my car, and just taking that drive all the way from Malibu to Glendale, just on Sunset, never getting off Sunset, all the little, windy roads. And that was the happiest time of my life. That was the happiest moment of my life. ... This thing that I had thought about for so long. Not just Reservoir Dogs, just making movies in general. It was, 'This might just work out.'"

Reservoir Dogs was the first feature Tarantino, now 54, had ever helmed. He is also famous for writing and directing The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds, Kill Bill, Jackie Brown and Pulp Fiction.

Man, do I wish I could have been there!

Be Well,
Steve

Comments? Questions? Nooz? Email Steve



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Val Kilmer says he's 'healing' after cancer battle
Val Kilmer says he's "healing" following a battle with cancer.

The 57-year-old actor confirmed he's recovering from the disease in a Reddit AMA last week after denying Michael Douglas' claim that he has advanced oral cancer.

"He was probably trying to help me cause press probably asked where I was these days, and I did have a healing of cancer, but my tongue is still swollen although healing all the time," Kilmer said of Douglas' remarks.

"Because I don't sound my normal self yet people think I may still be under the weather," he explained.

Douglas, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1996 movie The Ghost in the Darkness, was at a Q&A in October when he commented on Kilmer's health. The 72-year-old actor beat stage 4 oral cancer himself.

"Val was a wonderful guy who is dealing with exactly what I had, and things don't look too good for him. My prayers are with him," he said. "That's why you haven't heard too much from Val lately."

Kilmer denied Douglas' claim in a Facebook post in November, calling the star "misinformed." He later told fans Douglas personally apologized for his remarks.

"Michael Douglas wrote me a nice note apologizing for suggesting to the press overseas, I 'wasn't doing too well...' and was grateful to hear I am doing well. He's a classy guy," the actor said.


Francis Ford Coppola: Today's Hollywood wouldn't make 'The Godfather'
The Godfather may be considered a film classic, but its director Francis Ford Coppola says he doubts he would have been able to get a studio to back it if it was made in 2017.

The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II were screened Saturday as part of New York's Tribeca Film Festival. In celebration of the first movie's 45th anniversary, Coppola and actors Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, James Caan and Diane Keaton reunited to discuss their Godfather memories in front of a crowd of about 6,000 people at Radio City Music Hall.

"This film could be made today, but it wouldn't get a go-ahead. ... The first Godfather cost $6.5 million, the second Godfather cost about $11 or $12 million, which if you convert that for the money [it would cost today,] it would take a major studio. But it would never get through the process of getting an OK or what they now call a 'green light,'" Coppola explained. "Nothing can get a green light unless it's a movie that they can have a whole series of them and pretty much a Marvel Comics type of thing."

Coppola then recalled a studio executive once asked him how to make a film that is "successful financially and also artistically."

"And I said to him, 'Risk,'" Coppola laughed. "Nobody wants the risk when you get into business."


LOOSE LIPS:
"I wanted to dig deep and say, 'Who am I now? What do I have to offer? What do I have to learn?'"
--Goldie Hawn, on taking a break from acting, to Interview



??? Guess Who ???
Which music superstar received the Icon Award at the Radio Disney Music Awards?


Hanks, Springsteen talk 'Philadelphia' and its director Demme
Tom Hanks and Bruce Springsteen opened their "Tribeca Talks" conversation Friday night by discussing their shared experience of working on the 1993 drama Philadelphia with director Jonathan Demme.

The event at New York's Beacon Theatre was part of the Tribeca Film Festival. Among the attendees were former first daughter Malia Obama, filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, broadcast journalist Gayle King and actress Rita Wilson, Hanks' wife.

"I think probably the strongest union of our two names is from the motion picture Philadelphia. God bless Jonathan Demme, we just lost him," Hanks said of the renowned director who died this week of complications from cancer at the age of 73.

"He was such an inspirational guy. No Jonathan Demme, no Philadelphia. No Philadelphia, no 'Streets of Philadelphia,'" Springsteen said of the anthem that won him the Best Original Song Oscar.

"He had Neil Young working first," Springsteen continued. "Neil came up with 'Philadelphia,' which ended the film and [Demme] wanted a rock song for the beginning, so I said, 'I'd give it a shot.'"

Springsteen said he went into his studio and tried to come up with something, sending the song to Demme even though he wasn't confident it was what the filmmaker wanted.

"I said, 'What do you think?' He said, 'It's great.' And that was it. It took about two days," the music icon recalled.

"If you ever want to have a great moment in a motion picture, walk out a door and make sure they just put on a Bruce Springsteen song," said Hanks, who won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the film.


Eminem sues New Zealand political party over use of 'Lose Yourself'
Eminem has taken a New Zealand political party to court over the unauthorized use of his song "Lose Yourself."

The ad, which aired in 2014 for National Party candidate Steven Joyce, featured an unlicensed instrumental rendition of the song that was first released in 2002 as part of Eminem's soundtrack to the film 8 Mile, Rolling Stone reported.

"The song 'Lose Yourself,' is without doubt the jewel in the crown of Eminem's musical work. Not only did the song win an Academy Award for Best Original Song in a movie, it also won two Grammy Awards," Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers' lawyer Gary Williams said in court Monday.

"In short, 'Lose Yourself' is an extremely valuable song. The licensing of the song has been extremely carefully controlled. Despite many requests, it has only rarely been licensed for advertising purposes. When licensed, it can command in the millions of dollars. That's how valuable it is," he said.

The National Party denies being responsible for any copyright infringement claiming that the song used is not "Lose Yourself" and instead is a track titled "Eminem-esque." It was taken from a library made by production music company Beatbox, BBC reported.

Greg Arthur, a lawyer for the National Party, said the copyright was "not in any way proven by the name given to a piece of music."

The trial is expected to last for six days.


??? Guess Who ???
Which music superstar received the Icon Award at the Radio Disney Music Awards?

The 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards has honored Britney Spears with its first Icon Award.

"What a pleasant surprise, my goodness!" Spears said onstage Saturday as she accepted the award.

"This is such an honor," she continued. "I want to thank Radio Disney so much for giving me their first-ever Icon Award. What can I say? This is such an honor! Your support throughout my career has meant so much to me."

The award presentation was preceded by a tribute concert dedicated to Spears and some of her biggest hits that featured Kelsea Ballerini performing "Oops!... I Did It Again," Hailee Steinfeld singing "Circus," Sofia Carson covering "...Baby One More Time" and sister Jamie Lynn Spears performing "Till The World Ends."

Disney said the Icon Award was created to recognize "a distinguished artist whose career transcends popular culture and whose music is loved by generations of Radio Disney fans."

Other big winners of the night included Ariana Grande winning Best Female Artist, Niall Horan winning Best Male Artist, Camila Cabello wining Best Musical Collaboration for "Bad Things" alongside Machine Gun Kelly, 2016 America's Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal winning Best New Artist and Nick Jonas, who was honored with the Special Hero Award for promoting awareness of Type 1 diabetes.

Headlining performances included voice actress from Disney's Moana Auli'i Cravalho performing from the film "How Far I'll Go" alongside Jordan Fisher and Alessia Cara, Noah Cyrus, who performed a new arrangement of her debut single "Make Me (Cry)," and Julia Michaels, who performed her single "Issues."