Letters From Bobby

I reviewed The Game Plan this morning on “Wake Up With Whoopi.” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson becomes a Disney babydaddy this weekend in that kiddie comedy. He plays an NFL pro whose bachelor days are ended when he discovers he’s a dad. During the review, Whoopi told us that she was up for the role of the superstar quarterback’s agent. I had said that I’d love to see them work together because she loves Johnson. Then, come to find out, she almost did. For reasons I’ll not reveal here, Disney ultimately went with Kyra Sedgwick. Whoopi was glad Kyra got booked because the movie was shot pre-The Closer and we love it when talented actresses such as Kyra get work when they need it.

But, if The Game Plan was done before cable TV’s hit show The Closer became a hit for Kyra, that lets you know how long Disney had it ready for release. Since it was completed, Dwayne Johnson has become a more relaxed and better actor. Just thought I’d share some inside Hollywood scoop with you. I do hope he and Whoopi get together on the big screen at some time. That could be pretty cool.

This Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 26th and 27th, the Ziegeld Theater on West 54th Street here in Manhattan will present the rarely-seen movie musical adaptation of George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. The score is lush and beautiful, the lavish Goldwyn production was directed by Otto Preminger, and the stars are — Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis Jr., Brock Peters, Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll. There’s a lot of Black History on that screen…and off. Poitier’s operatic singing voice in the 1959 film was dubbed by the late Robert McFerrin, father of Bobby (”Don’t Worry, Be Happy”) McFerrin.

So, if you’re in the New York City area, that’ll be at 8p at the Ziegfeld Theater. I love a Gershwin tune. How about you? How sad that racism of the time only allowed us one teaming of Dorothy Dandridge and Sidney Poitier — the first two African-American performers to be nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor Academy Awards.

Into The Wild — OK, the performances by Emile Hirsch as the young traveller and Hal Holbrook as the kind old widower who helps him along the way are excellent, but c’mon already. Nearly 2 1/2 hours of watching some goyishe rich runaway have an existential meltdown in the back of bus? Puh-leeze!!!!

That’s why people make movies like Knocked Up. But the photography of our national landscape is terrific. And there’s that rich white kid killing a moose for only to discover that he couldn’t eat it. 2 1/2 hours.