Each year the claim is made that the annual Oscar telecast is watched by billions of people worldwide. Is it true? Not even close. “These numbers are hopelessly exaggerated, usually the product of adding together each broadcast-licensed nation’s entire population, rather than an estimated, Nielsen-like figure approximating actual viewers. Even if the Academy Awards were to be broadcast in China and India – which, as of press time, they were not to be this year – it certainly would not mean that every citizen from Bombay to Beijing would be able to tune in the program. Or even give a crap.” – Salon 03/22/00
Author: Douglas McLennan
FILMS WITHOUT BORDERS
All except one of this year’s Oscar nominations for foreign language films were set outside the director’s native country; scriptwriting and financing are commonly becoming multinational ventures; and filmmakers are finding the freedom to explore and adopt foreign countries as their own. What does all this signify? The “internationalization of the national film.” – Los Angeles Times 03/22/00
“I CAN’T NAME ONE CRITIC I TRUST”
Last week the American magazine Variety polled four dozen filmmakers to see what they thought about film critics. It wasn’t a happy report. Most lament a decline in review standards, saying many critics had turned into little more than “blurbmeisters.” – The Guardian 03/22/00
MYSTERY SANTA
An mysterious Australian woman who died in a nursing home without any of her fellow residents knowing she was wealthy, has left $12 million to artists – included in the bequests were a $60,000 fellowship for a pianist to study abroad and $6 million to Australia’s National Gallery to buy art. – Sydney Morning Herald
AN OUTSTANDING PROPAGANDIST
Pierre Boulez turns 75 this year, and the fuss and attention celebrating him in the musical world is astonishing. But the man is dogmatic and a propagandist of the first order, writes Norman Lebrecht. And while we’re at it, he adds, Boulez has been in a major creative slump for decades. What, exactly, are we celebrating? – The Telegraph (UK)
MODEL FARMER
Twenty years ago a farmer in Suffolk decided to build a model of the famed Second Temple of Jerusalem. “He began at a leisurely pace, immersing himself in the necessary books and fitting the handiwork in around the long hours demanded by his farm near Fressingfield.” But the model has evolved well beyond its original ambitions, and archaeological experts say the farmer, working from historical records, has made some fascinating discoveries. – The Telegraph (UK)
HELEN HAYES AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED
A dreadful year for new musicals last year, and this year’s theater awards confirm. Studio Theatre’s “Indian Ink” and Signature Theatre’s “Sweeney Todd” lead the pack. The awards will be presented May 8 at the Kennedy Center. – Washington Post
A NEED TO REMEMBER
After initial plans to create a Holocaust memorial gallery within the new Canadian War Museum drew protests from veterans, the Canadian Jewish Congress is renewing its demand that the federal government fund a national Holocaust museum in Ottawa. – CBC
VISUAL CONSUMPTION
The Whitney Biennial Exhibition, which opens tomorrow, is reminiscent of the Paris Salons of the 19th century – a smattering of collected art crammed under one roof. With an added abundance of film, video, and Internet art, there’s no way any of the projects will get the attention they deserve, but the “Salons, both old and new, are about visual consumption — a breezy shopping trip for mind and eye in the art world’s megamall.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada)
FEELING THE SQUEEZE
Berlin’s state-subsidized opera houses, theaters, and orchestras are straining to make ends meet due to the city’s crippling budget deficits. “If we cut any more staff, we’ll not be able to function,” laments the State Opera House’s general manager. Rumors are spreading that renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim may leave Berlin when his contract at the State Opera House expires if the government doesn’t allocate more funds to support the arts. – Die Welt (Germany)