David Mikics’s “Stanley Kubrick: American Filmmaker” is a cool, cerebral book about a cool, cerebral talent. This is not a full-dress biography — there have been several of Kubrick — but a brisk study of his films, with enough of the life tucked in to add context as well as brightness and bite. – The New York Times
Author: Douglas McLennan
Judge Rules Movie Studios Can Own Theatres For First Time In 71 Years
This game-changing decision could result in a complete overhaul of not only who owns theater chains in the near and long-term future, but how, when and where consumers will enjoy feature film content. – Forbes
Broadway Star Danny Burstein On Struggling With COVID
“The other day, my pal, the brilliant songwriter Tom Kitt, called me. He said he was frustrated by his lack of creativity because of the pandemic and was reaching out to several friends to see if we could write songs together. He said, “Is there something going on in your life at the moment that you just have to express?” And I sat at my computer and wrote the following: “The question we keep asking is how do you have hope when every moment is a struggle? When every second is a reminder.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Reconsidering Poulenc
He was no originator, like Schoenberg or Stravinsky, nor did he possess Britten’s or Shostakovich’s command of manifold genres. He was, however, a composer of rare gifts, particularly in the setting of sacred and secular texts. As the decades pass, he grows in stature, and his aloofness from musical party politics matters less. – The New Yorker
Considering Poulenc – A New Biography
“Poulenc was a composer who melded the incompatible. Famously described as a combination of “monk and ragamuffin”, he wrote music that the mind can mistrust but the heart will adore. He clung resolutely to tonality and melody in a century that had other ideas. His humour and light, his sheer loveliness, have led to suspicion.” – The Guardian
UK Report: Theatres With Proper Ventilation Could Be Safe To Reopen At Full Capacity
Ventilation is more effective at protecting against airborne transmission of the Covid-19 virus than social distancing or PPE – and “many performance venues have the capability to provide good levels of ventilation,” according to Government advisers. – Arts Professional
Philadelphia Museum Of Art To Reopen At Half Speed
Attendance is expected to be between 1,500 and 1,700 visitors per day, or about half of what’s normal, said Jessica Sharpe, the museum’s chief of membership and visitor operations. – Philadelphia Inquirer
How The Aztecs Recorded History
The Aztec historians, creators of a genre called the xiuhpohualli (SHOO-po-WA-lee), developed a highly effective way of keeping satisfying memories alive. The pictographic texts that Itzcoatl burned were only a part of the Aztec way of keeping history. The glyphs served as mnemonic devices designed to elicit volumes of speech. – Psyche
How Rodin Ensured His Museum Would Stay Solvent
When he died in 1917, Rodin left his estate to the museum, including the original plaster molds of more than 100 sculptures. “Rodin gave the economical system so that the museum could live,” museum communications director Clémence Goldberger explains. The museum still uses these molds to recast new bronze sculptures and sell them — and with a projected loss of 3 million euros this year, the molds have never proved more valuable. – NPR
What The Canada Council’s New Chairman Wants To Do
“The way I view work now within colonial structures and institutions is harm reduction. Ultimately, the goal for me is to reduce the harm the Canada Council causes, not just to my community but to any community that suffers under colonialism, which is really all of us on some level, and to make it somewhat easier to exist, work, live and participate.” – Toronto Star