Virtual Reality Can Be Compelling (Try It, You’ll See). But Whether It Survives As A Medium Is A Challenge

Looking back, every successful medium has either “killed” a predecessor (in the manner that television displaced radio in the home, or that streaming video is chipping away at cable) or “colonized” time and attention that was unused or used for something else. However, that was somewhat easier when people actually had free time. Today, we live in a media environment where billions of dollars are spent fighting for the time spent “waiting at the bus stop.”

Why Do Wizards, Monarchs, Ancient Greeks And Romans, And Similar Characters In Fantasy Movies Always Have British Accents?

“Wizards like Gandalf and Romans like Russell Crowe’s gladiator share a common trait: Hollywood’s insistence that all of its fantasy and epic heroes speak like a Brit. And it’s not just because the British accent sounds grandiose and glorious. Well, a little bit. The real answer is rooted in the obsession with Empire – and how accents were actively cultivated by society elites as signifiers of global power and stature.” (video)

Inside The Audition That Lets Dancers Try Out For Ten Ballet Companies At Once

“‘Our main goal is really to help dancers,’ says David Makhateli, a former principal with The Royal Ballet who launched the Grand Audition with his wife, dancer Daria Makhateli. With 10 artistic directors from a wide range of countries present, a dancer who might not fit one company’s requirements has many more opportunities to be noticed. … Most [participating] companies are based in Europe, but American directors have also taken part in past editions.”

Nicholas Von Hoffman, 88, Washington Post Columnist And ’60 Minutes’ Commentator

“When reporter Nicholas von Hoffman joined The Washington Post in 1966, he brought with him a flair for controversy that eventually triggered a resignation threat from a top editor, a boycott from advertisers and, according to Post historian Chalmers M. Roberts, ‘produced more angry letters to the editor than the work of any other single reporter in the paper’s history.'”

Broadway’s Smallest Theater Is Reopening, This Time As A Nonprofit

“The theater was so small, it was named the Little Theater. That was 106 years ago, and since then it has been reincarnated many times – renamed, repurposed, rehabilitated. Now known as the Helen Hayes Theater, … the 589-seat playhouse has a new mission: … to present work by living American playwrights, a form of counterprogramming at a time when Broadway is dominated by musicals, revivals and British imports.”

Actor John Mahoney, Of Steppenwolf Theatre Co. And TV’s ‘Frasier’, Dead At 77

He didn’t begin his acting career until his 40s, but he worked steadily ever since – winning a Tony for John Guare’s House of Blue Leaves, earning several Emmy nominations for playing the Crane brothers’ father on Frasier, taking character roles in such films as Moonstruck and Say Anything. Above all, he was one of Chicago’s favorite stage actors; he took more than 30 roles with Steppenwolf alone, and he performed with many other companies there, large and small.