The movie “Patriot” hasn’t even opened in Britain yet but the English are boiling about the revisionist way the movie interprets them historically. “Hollywood has a habit of taking away the character of notable English people and demonizing them. With their own record of killing 12 million American Indians and supporting slavery for four decades after the British abolished it, Americans wish to project their historical guilt onto someone else.” – Dallas Morning News (AP) 07/10/00
Author: Douglas McLennan
BLOOD SPILLS AT BBC
The BBC will ax 900 jobs over the next three years. The corporation says the move will result in “a flatter, more coherent and more co-operative BBC. Overall we are now confident that these new changes…will give us a great deal more money to spend on our programmes and services over the next five or six years, something like £750 million over the period.” – BBC 07/10/00
RADIO FROM THE SKY
The first satellite radio broadcaster is in orbit. “The satellite is one of three that Sirius will use to broadcast its 100 CD-quality music, news, sports, and talk radio channels for a monthly charge of $9.95.” Will it kill conventional radio as we know it? – Wired 07/10/00
ALL THINGS CULTURAL
Chicago’s WTTW public broadcaster reinvents as a multi-media local portal, putting its emphasis on local cultural programming and throwing out a challenge to other public broadcasters. – Chicago Tribune 07/10/00
FEATHERWEIGHT ENTERTAINMENT
The surprise 1997 hit movie “The Full Monty” is set to open on Broadway this fall as a full-fledged musical comedy, which has some observers wondering whether Broadway really needs one more “musicalized” version of a slight tale. “There’s nothing new in Broadway musicals adapting featherweight entertainment. Back in the ’50s, shows like ‘Damn Yankees’ or ‘The Pajama Game’ were based on light novels. Today, those light novels are more likely to be TV shows or movies.” – Salon
STANDALONE THEATRE
Is theatre in Los Angeles merely a showcase for movie talent? A ghetto where actors toil until they get discovered by the movies or TV? Not hardly. “Local stages are a resource that the industry has been able to exploit with virtually no outlay of cash.” But the thriving LA theatre scene exists quite apart from the commercialism of the Industry. – Los Angeles Times
LOSING MONEY IN SUCCESS
Judging by most of its statistics, the musical “Footloose,” which closed last week on Broadway, was a pretty good success. It staged 737 performances, played for well over a year and half, was seen by hundreds of thousands of people, and produced a cast album, a national tour (with another planned) and the possibility of future companies in London and Australia. So why did it still lose money? – The Star-Tribune (Minneapolis) (NY Times)
COLONIAL THEATRE UNEARTHED
Archeologists have uncovered a colonial theatre at Williamsburg that counted Washington and Jefferson among its patrons in the 1760s. – Chicago Tribune (AP)
FROM PAPER TO THE REAL WORLD
He’s one of the world’s most celebrated architects, but so far he hasn’t had much built to show for it. Now Rem Koolhaas’s buildings are starting to pop up everywhere and he’s at the forefront of what has become “arguably the most exciting branch of culture.” – New York Times Magazine
THE MAN REMAKING LONDON
Architect Norman Foster got his “gherkin” tower approved by the City of London last week. “Foster is a tough cookie; some of his competitors might go as far as to say he is ruthless. None doubts his genius as a designer.” – The Independent (UK)