“Ashton Kutcher as Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine, the cynical yet courageous Yank? Paris Hilton as Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa Lund, a woman torn between her heart and her duty? Owen Wilson as Paul Henreid’s Victor Laszlo, a man more admired than adored? Topher Grace as Claude Rains’ Capt. Renault, twirling his moustache in mock surprise?” Wow – an all-star cast. And it’s great! Outstanding! Shouldn’t miss it! (catch it quick, though – it’s only playing 4/1)
Month: April 2005
Smithsonian Jumps In To Music Download Business
The Smithsonian is opening a new music download store to offer music from its collection as MP3’s. “Folkways will offer music that ranges from the earliest American folk songs to contemporary groups doing traditional music from Europe, Africa, Asia and South America. The music includes the songs of Woody Guthrie; the music of Mwenda Jean Bosco, the late guitar pioneer from Congo; the sound of the Turkish saz, a stringed instrument similar to a lute; playground songs by Suni Paz of Argentina; and the rich North Indian music of Kamalesh Maitra. Global Sound will charge 99 cents a song, which are available in MP3 format. The Smithsonian will pay royalties to the artists, as its recording label has done with records and CDs.”
The New Chick Lit: He’s Just Not That Into You
A new generation of non-fiction advice books does a disservice to women. “Pink is the colour of chick lit, that universe of trade paperbacks covered in cartoon martini glasses and lipstick tubes. Faced with these new self-help books, each a litany of romantic woes and female humiliations not unlike those that befall Shopaholic and co., it seems apt to borrow phrasing from Sex and the City heroine Carrie Bradshaw: Could it be that non-fiction is the new chick lit?”
Two Unions Try To Take On Rockettes Representation
Two unions – Equity and AGMA – are joing forces and vying to take over representation of the Radio City Rockettes. A Equity representative say that “over the years, the Rockettes have expressed their dissatisfaction with the American Guild of Variety Artists, citing lack of service and regular meetings and the inability to get copies of appropriate documents, including the contract and the constitution, from the union.”
Iraqi Art To Tour World For Five Years
An important exhition of some of Iraq’s most precious art will tour Europe beginning in October. “The Nimrud Gold, a cache of ancient jewellery which was rescued from a Baghdad bank vault, is to open on 23 October, at a venue in Europe to be announced next month. The show will then tour to 11 other cities in Europe, North America and the Far East, raising over $10 million for Iraq’s National Museum. The five-year tour is being organised by United Exhibits Group, a Copenhagen-based company.”
Gioia: The NEA’s New Phase
NEA chairman Dana Gioia testifies to Congress in support of an increased NEA budget. “Having spent the past two years rebuilding and renewing the agency — internally and externally — the NEA has entered a new phase of its history.”
Did Loan Kill Jersey Opera House?
Why did the Jersey Opera House close this year after only six years in operation? Some wonder if a loan negotiated when the house opened proved to be a crippling move. “There are questions over the terms on which the loan deal was granted – whether we launched the project with a total financial liability around its neck with the circumstances of the loan deal, whether it was a mistake to launch the scheme in the first place.”
UK’s New Arts And Humanities Research Council
The UK has set up a research council to study the “cultural and creative industries.” “With an annual budget of £75m the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is still a minnow among the other six research councils that dispense funding to scientists and social scientists – the Medical Research Council, for example, gives out more than £400m a year.”