Names and faces
On Friday night, NBC presented an hour-long telethon, Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together, to raise money for the American Red Cross. It was just four days after the storm made landfall in New Jersey on a course that would smash coastal and riverside neighborhoods all the way up to Rhode Island. “One of the great ironies of this telethon is that the people who need the help most can’t watch it,” said the host, Matt Lauer. “They don’t have power.” Many of the musicians came from places affected by the storm: Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi from New Jersey, Billy Joel from Long Island and Christina Aguilera and Mary J. Blige from New York City, along with an Englishman, Sting, and three members of Aerosmith, from Boston. Between the songs were calls for donations, affirmations of Jersey roots — from Jon Stewart, Brian Williams and Danny DeVito — and news montages of destruction and desperation: surging waters, demolished carnival rides, tearful families sorting the wreckage of destroyed homes. The show took place in NBC’s studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza with a small invited audience. But it was broadcast on many cable networks, on terrestrial and satellite radio stations and on a live Web stream. It was not a fancy production. The musicians were on a somber, darkened stage with a blue backdrop that may have been intended as aquatic. And the microphones were not always working.
Actor and outspoken liberal John Cusack is developing a movie about conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, Cusack’s production company said Friday. The working title is Rush, Cusack’s New Crime Productions confirmed, offering no other details. Hollywood director Betty Thomas, who’s set to work on the film, said the production company is putting finishing touches on a script that will star the actor. Production is set for next year, Thomas said. Cusack as Limbaugh isn’t typecasting, politics aside. Cusack is a slender, darkhaired 46-year-old, while Limbaugh is 61, balding and portly. A publicist for Limbaugh said Friday that he would check with the host for comment. The agency representing Cusack, Creative Artists Agency, declined to comment on the project.