Author: Douglas McLennan

FILMING FRIDA KAHLO

“No Mexican cultural figure has ever been as sought after by Hollywood. For years, filmmakers here have tried to make a movie based on Kahlo’s gripping and tragic life story, but they have found their projects derailed by bickering parties, mediocre scripts, lack of financing and controversy about casting decisions.The latest chapter in the making-of-the-Frida-Kahlo-movie saga is the fierce competition between three bio-pics rushing to be the first in production. They involve some of the biggest Latino names in filmmaking.” – Los Angeles Times

ART BEHIND THE POLITICS

News stories are almost never about the art itself; they’re almost always about the people that make art happen, or try to take it down. That’s why I had my doubts about the artistic interest of the stuff I was likely to see in Dust on the Road, the show of Indian art activism now on at Toronto’s York Quay Gallery; despite its very modest scale and ambitions, it has sparked a widespread controversy over the last few weeks. Many of the pictures on display were no great shakes, but the issues that they raised are so important to how art works these days that the stuff is worth a good close look.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)

SHELL GAME

Heritage preservationists and music lovers are pitted against one another over the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s proposal to replace the famous Hollywood Bowl’s outdoor orchestra shell. The 71-year-old shell has notoriously poor acoustics and is so small sometimes one-third of the musicians have to sit outside. – CBC

WHERE MONEY TALKS

“Everything boils down to money in Dallas,” at least in the eyes of conductor Andrew Litton who became music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 1994 and has been fighting to bolster the DSO’s reputation ever since through an ambitious touring and recording schedule. – The Times (UK)

E-CONSOLIDATION

  • Big players in the e-publishing business are beginning to align to compete with one another and pirates. “The publishing industry must establish an honest market for electronic content before pirates find alternative markets.” – Wired

“PERFORMANCE” ART?

Austria’s annual digital arts festival, Ars Electronica, this year includes what might be the world’s most bizarre arts festival activity – “sperm racing.” “The idea of Ars Electronica is always to deal with areas where new technologies are starting to have an impact on culture and society.” – Wired 08/29/00

LIEBERMAN TO TESTIFY

US vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman will testify as early as Sept. 13 about a Federal Trade Commission report that reportedly claims “that film, record and video game producers are pushing their wares on children while pretending not to.” The Gore campaign is unfazed: “I think he’s brought to the ticket some real credibility on this issue. And it’s an issue that’s real important to people, especially to families. And where you find this level of concern is with working families – families where both parents are working, and the kids have a lot of time on their own where they’re unsupervised.” – Salon 08/29/00

GETTING WHAT YOU WANT WITHOUT SAYING WHAT YOU MEAN

Tactics used by Britain’s culture secretary Chris Smith to secure a record amount of funding for the arts this year have been revealed in confidential minutes from a meeting between Smith and his Irish counterpart. “The aim appeared to be to get the cash without mentioning the dreaded word ‘arts’ to Treasury mandarins.” Instead, Smith stressed the economic returns of “educational funding” and “niche tourism” (read: museums). – The Guardian 08/29/00

FLICKERING FORTUNES

Cineplex Odeon, Canada’s biggest movie theatre chain, may be forced to shut down many screens as its U.S. parent negotiates with lenders. Parent company Lowes, the movie-theatre company, is in debt for some $635 million, and said that it plans to close up to 250 money-losing screens in North America in fiscal 2000. – The Globe and Mail (Canada)