Who are these movie critics who always have hyperbolic quotes to fling at even the trashiest sorry lot of a movie? “What I need to know is this: what do the critics get out of this? Is it just about getting one’s name in the paper? Can it be that simple and stupid? I suspect it can…” – The Guardian 11/10/00
Author: Douglas McLennan
WHERE WE CAME FROM
“More than 95 percent of European men today descended from just 10 possible male ancestors, a new genetic study shows. Each of these father figures took part in one of three separate migrations that eventually populated the European continent.” – Discovery 11/10/00
JEKYLL AND HYDE TO CLOSE
It ran for three years and 1,500 performances. But when it closes in January the musical “Jekyll and Hyde” will still be $1.5 million in the red. The show was despised by critics but gained something of a cult following. – New York Times
A TOUGH WEEK ON BROADWAY
Shows closing, new shows jockeying for theatres … – New York Post
A CRY ABOUT BELLOW
James Atlas’ new biography of Saul Bellow has been winning critical praise everywhere. Well, almost everywhere: “Errors and confusions abound, as do misreadings of passages from Bellow’s correspondence, even while passages from his novels never receive the benefit of close interpretation or stylistic commentary. Atlas’s characterisations of Bellow are peculiarly static. From beginning to end he is framed in an unchanging posture, and defined by a very limited and limiting repertory of psychological labels and clichés.” – London Review of Books
WRITING ABOUT WRITING AIN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE
The modern literary biography is wrapped in a paradox. “Only famous writers attract biographies, writers who are famous because their writings are. But the more space a literary biographer devotes to discussing an author’s writing, the less commercial the biography will seem to be, to those who decide which books to publish and push. It looks as though the word is out that readers will happily read about famous writers as long as they don’t have to be troubled much about what they wrote.” – London Review of Books
BUT E-PUBLISHING WAS SUPPOSED TO CHANGE ALL THIS
E-publisher MightyWords sent notices to the 5000 authors whose work it carries. Half of them are to be kicked off the site and the other half will have their royalties reduced. “MightyWords’ decision fits neatly in the trend of downsizing dot-coms. In other words, e-business stinks as usual. But it’s significant in the world of bookselling, where self-published authors are getting a wake-up call. If they didn’t realize it already, they’re largely out there on their own.” – Wired
A COUPLE OF BIG JOBS
Britain’s top two opera company jobs are currently up for grabs. The post of executive director at the Royal Opera House is giving headhunters fits since it’s such an impossible job. Meanwhile, the top job at smooth-as-silk Glyndebourne came open this week. – The Guardian
FORE!
A new opera about golf by a Scottish composer bows in Berkeley. ” ‘Giocatore’ (The Player) tells the tale of a young Italian golfer, Giovanni, living in Scotland, who needs to raise money to visit his dying father back in Italy. He and the owner of the Scottish manor take on two American golfers in a wagered game.” – Sonicnet
RECORD SALE
A rare Picasso from the artist’s blue period sells at auction for $55 million. The price is a record for the artist at auction and the fifth highest price for any work at auction.” – New York Times