Crystal memoir to target boomers
He has lived many, many Sundays.
Turning 65 next year doesn’t only mean more nap time for Billy Crystal. The actor and comedian is transforming the milestone into a book, and maybe even a stage show.
Crystal has an agreement with Henry Holt and Company for a book that will be part memoir, part meditation – with jokes – about getting older. Financial terms were not disclosed, but an official with knowledge of the negotiations said the deal was worth around $4 million. Multiple publishers were interested in the book.
“There are 77 million of us baby boomers in the country and this book will speak to them and how we look at the world,” he said.
He’s considering adapting the book for the stage. Crystal had enormous success with the Tony Award-winning “700 Sundays,” his one-man theater show that paid tribute to his late father with whom Crystal has said he spent 700 Sundays.
Crystal said he was currently breaking down his life into decades: “My 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s.”
He stopped and laughed. “That’s a lot of decades.”
Debut single a winner for ex-‘Idol’
Phillip Phillips says he wasn’t that excited about performing his debut single, “Home,” when he won “American Idol” this year. That’s because he didn’t have any creative control over the tune.
“I was trying to fight to get my song (I wrote) on there, but it just wasn’t happening,” said Phillips, who tried to persuade “Idol” producers to let him sing the song “Drive Me,” which he co-wrote with his brother-in-law.
“It was hard for me at first because I didn’t really have any input with the song,” he said in an interview Thursday from Baltimore.
But now, the 21-year-old says he’s “starting to grow a connection” to the song, thanks to its use in the 2012 Olympics.
“Home” has been used in commercials for the “Fab 5,” the five American female gymnasts who scored gold in the all-around team competition last week. As a result, the song’s digital sales have jumped, selling 228,000 in the last week, according to Nielsen Soundscan. “Home” also leaped 80 spots to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week. It’s sold 844,215 tracks since its June release.
The birthday bunch
Actor James Reynolds (“Days of Our Lives”) is 66. Singer-flutist Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) is 65. Singer Patti Austin is 62. Actress Rosanna Arquette is 53. Actor Antonio Banderas is 52. Actress Angie Harmon is 40. Country singer Jennifer Hanson is 39. Actor Lucas Till (“Hannah Montana”) is 22.