The reality TV phenomenon was a bad idea from the start. And there are signs it is fading in the ratings. But a program scheduled for the fall just might be one of the dumbest yet. “As we speak, producers for a Pepsi-sponsored WB Network contest are telling animal trainers what they want from potential candidates for a mid-September sweepstakes show. The chimp is supposed to pick the $1billion winner.”
Month: August 2003
Will Toronto Literary Fest Survive?
Will Toronto’s Harbourfront Reading Series survive the departure of impressario Greg Gatenby, who’s now decamped for Berlin? “It is a sad departure for the man who built Toronto’s Harbourfront Reading Series and the International Festival of Authors into the premier stop on the North American literary circuit. This is not the first time Gatenby has embarked on a dangerous game of chicken with government funding agencies, publishers and his own employers, but it may well be the last.”
I Pronounce Thee…
More and more products (movies, cars, perfumes…) are being launched with odd, hard-to-pronounce names. “A name that’s different, that’s unfamiliar can be a plus because it sparks some memory code in people’s brains. They remember it, if only to ask someone else if they’ve ever heard of that word and what it means. Another factor driving the weird-word name trend is the difference between older and younger consumers. For the generations coming-of-age with the Internet, all this media access and interactivity have transformed pop culture into a global playground – what was once foreign and remote is now cool and exotic.”
Broadway – Where Are All The Plays?
When “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” and “Enchanted April” close on Broadway at the end of this month, there will be only one play left running on Broadway. “Nineteen musicals will be around in September, but plays are never very plentiful on Broadway. Last season, though, was particularly dire for new work, and the coming drought is unusual.”
Who Is Adam Weinberg?
The new director of the Whitney Museum is well-regarded as a curator. “What the Whitney needs to do is define its terrain. It must set itself apart from the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the New Museum of Contemporary Art, and a host of other smaller museums in New York, all competing for the same audience. The idea is for the Whitney to help shape the dialogue about what American art is and will be.”
Minority Roles Up In US
This past season saw a record number of African-American and Latino actors cast in US TV and movie roles. “Along with Asian-Pacific islanders and native Americans, they accounted for almost a quarter of all theatrical and TV roles – up 2.1% on 2001, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) said. Black actors accounted for 15.5% of all roles – exceeding the black population of the US which stands at nearly 13%. Latinos, who account for 13.6% of the population, were cast in 6% of roles, particularly TV series.”
Oscar Peterson At 78
Many of the jazz greats are dead. “All this weighs heavily on Canada’s jazz colossus Oscar Peterson, who will celebrate his 78th birthday on Friday. He’s been an international star for more than half a century, the work of his trios and quartets a grail for jazzers to pursue. The deaths of the jazz greats he moved with colours his views of today’s music. Peterson is from the golden age of jazz, when swing and bebop and the territory in between that he ploughs with such dazzling dexterity spawned hordes of mighty players whose genius is apparent even to contemporary listeners under assault from the forces of musical dreck.”
Are Music Pulitzers Getting Better?
The music Pulitzer has long been derided for its lack of insight into the best of American music. But, writes Dean Suzuki, “perhaps real change is afoot in the Pulitzer music category, first awarded in 1943. You can, as I did, go on the Pulitzer website and find a list of all winners, as well as nominees (the latter for each year dating back only to 1980). And while it has been slow in coming, there is a perceivable transformation that is taking place. Not only has the past few years seen prizes awarded to composers who would not even have been nominated ten years ago, the stylistic range of nominees has expanded.”
Is Art The Best Investment?
“In a recent survey investors ranked art second only to property as the best place to park one’s hard earned cash. But just like any other asset it might not turn a profit.”
Wholesale Makeover Of Boston Ballet
Boston Ballet will look very different this fall. That’s because 32 of the company’s 55 dancers will be new to the company. “Any time you have a big bunch of new dancers,” artistic director Mikko Nissinen said, “it changes the company’s chemistry.” To find his new hires, he held auditions in London, New York, and Boston. “I saw over 1,000 people in the process. They’re going to enhance the qualities I’m emphasizing onstage: more musicality; clean technique; simple, fresh presentation; and quality, quality, quality.”