“Who’s to say how much the filmmakers and playwrights of today were affected by NEA-funded plays and workshops at a young age, or to what extent the creators of tomorrow will suffer by missing out on such formative experiences if the NEA is defunded? Moreover, though NEA naysayers claim private expenditure can fill that void just as ably, there’s no free market mechanism to match the NEA’s stated and concerted efforts to reach low-income and minority communities.”
Author: Douglas McLennan
A Projection Mapping System That Transforms Dancers In Real Time
The University of Tokyo designed a high-speed projector that projects 1,000 frames per second — which they say is the world’s fastest. By using the projector alongside a 3D-mapping system and precise sensor tracking, the video creators were able to change the look of the dancers and the aesthetics of the video in real time.
What Actors On Broadway Earn
“If you are a performer who is also a dance captain, your minimum salary increases by $300. If you are an assistant dance captain, it increases $150. For each principal role that you are understudying, your minimum increases $33. For every performance in which you, as an understudy, actually end up playing that principal role, you get an extra 1/8 of your weekly salary. Tony nominated lead actors normally see a $500 per week pay bump while winners can see that number climb to $1000 per week.”
The Great Theatre Of “Killing” The NEA
“Ironically, Trump is cutting the arts because it’s great theater. It’s such an easy target: low-hanging fruit that’s also high visibility. The artists know how to put up a fuss that’ll get noticed, and he’ll look like a hero to that supposed rust-and-Bible-belt antiart constituency. A statement will have been made about what America does and doesn’t value. If it doesn’t actually happen—if the NEA survives—it won’t matter. Trump’s base will have already seen the show.”
The Weird Public/Private Lives Of Writers
“The line between public and private selves is different for different writers. Some are comfortable sharing many details of their lives. Neil Gaiman tells fans about his book projects, encourages people to get involved in refugee relief and tweets pictures of his wife and baby son. Other writers prefer relative anonymity. Thomas Pynchon famously doesn’t give interviews and is rarely photographed. Most writers probably fall somewhere in between.”
Miami Herald Repurposes City’s Best Movie Critic As A Real Estate Reporter
In his memo announcing the move, first published by Bill Cooke’s Random Pixels, Herald managing editor Rick Hirsch wrote, “Rene’s assignment obviously means that he will no longer be working as a film critic. That decision is one of several coverage shifts we’ve made to reflect what our audience is telling us about the news they value most.”
Rare Bookstores Are Becoming Rarer Than Rare Books
“Susan Benne, executive director of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America, says the organization has about 450 members but estimates 60 percent of those do not have an open storefront, and the overall number of dealers continues to drop. Lost, too, is that dusty aura of something vanished, gone like smoke from steam engines in the American landscape. The digital age of Amazon.com, e-readers and online research has its advantages, but for parishioners of the Church of Old Books, it has also relegated a way of reading, and finding the book of your fever dreams, to a dust-mote-enchanted memory.”
Why Netflix Is Getting Rid Of Ratings
“People rated aspirationally, but they watched situationally. Yes, you did give That Important Documentary five stars when you got around to watching it, but at the end of a trying day at the office, you more often settled on viewing some pleasing pap like “The Ridiculous 6.” This sort of virtue signaling, often undercut by divergent behavior, is everywhere — witness the discrepancies that sometimes occur between polling and actual voting in elections.”
Creator Of “Smash” Writes About Getting Fired From The Show
“Let me tell you something. When Steven Spielberg calls your agent to say he is infatuated with your writing, that is a good day. The saga of what came next is so long and complicated it would take a book to write it all out. Sometimes I think of writing that book and sometimes I think that writing that book and reliving the whole thing would be somewhat akin to shooting myself in the head.”
A Move To Kill The US Antiquities Act, Which Protects Historic Places
“Representative Rob Bishop, a Republican from Utah and chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, are ramping up a campaign to strip away the president’s authority under the Antiquities Act to designate monuments. Mr. Bishop complains that it allows the federal government to “invade” and “seize” lands. But that’s not true. The act authorizes the president to protect only lands already “owned or controlled by the government of the United States,” not state or private land.”