“To underscore the boon that entertainment can be to a far-flung number of congressional districts, the MPAA released a report with a state-by-state rundown of the wages produced by the entertainment industry in 2007. While California and New York dominated, Texas, Florida, Georgia and Illinois each posted between $1 billion and $2 billion in wages from the biz.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Can NY City Opera Step Away From The Abyss?
“Lest you think [New York City Opera’s] disastrous financial situation reflects a melting economy, the damage has been largely self- inflicted. A clueless board led by Susan Baker has squandered the company’s endowment and ruined its good name. To top it off, a strike is possible. … Expecting artists to pay for the mistakes of a wealthy board is something Beverly Sills might call chutzpah. Remember her?”
One Day Only: Download Orange Prize Shortlister For Free
“A novel that was today shortlisted for the Orange Prize will be made available as a free download for a day. Burnt Shadows is being offered to anyone who wishes to download it by the publisher Bloomsbury.”
The Producing Genius Of Donmar’s Michael Grandage
“How does Michael Grandage do it? Since he took over the artistic directorship of the Donmar Theatre in 2002, the 46-year-old has eclipsed the reputation even of his illustrious predecessor Sam Mendes,” deploying a string of seemingly unlikely hits around the world: “Piaf with Elena Roger in Argentina, Frost/Nixon, Mary Stuart and the musical Parade in the States, Guys and Dolls in Australia…. Such success only looks obvious in retrospect.”
Oh, Dear: Even At Cannes, Frugality Sets The Tone
“Yes we Cannes? No we can’t. The most glamorous film festival in the world is going to have a touch of the frugal about it this year as it feels the pinch of la crise. The 62nd Cannes festival opens next month, and where film directors and A-list actors previously sipped champagne, this time they may find their flutes filled with sparkling rosé.”
Silvio Berlusconi, Naked, With Wings
“Silvio Berlusconi’s light-hearted dalliance with a television starlet whom he subsequently appointed to his cabinet has been made the subject of an oil painting in which both are shown in the nude. … The artist, Filippo Panseca, made his name in the 1980s as the designer of colossal, pharaonic stage sets for the conventions of the Socialist Party under Mr Berlusconi’s then patron, Bettino Craxi.”
Now In Dallas, Strick Still Owes MOCA On $500,000 Loan
Jeremy Strick, new director of the Nasher Sculpture Center, is still carrying a balance on a loan of more than $500,000 from his previous employer, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. “A written contract required him to repay any balance when his employment ended.” But when he left MOCA, those terms were changed, he said, so that “he owes the money when he sells a house that the loan helped him buy.”
Publishers Ask, How To Find Profits In E-Books?
“A standing room only crowd jammed into the Cromwell Room at Earls Court mid-morning on day two of the London Book Fair, hoping to learn the answer to what moderator Torin Douglas, media correspondent for BBC News, called ‘the $64,000 question: where’s the money’ in e-books?”
Alongside Veterans, Debut Novelist Shortlisted For Orange
“Samantha Harvey’s first novel, The Wilderness, the story of a man in his early 60s struggling to hold on to his identity as Alzheimer’s takes hold of his mind, was chosen by judges for the six-strong Orange shortlist, ahead of Nobel prize for literature winner Morrison’s 17th century slave trade novel, A Mercy. The £30,000 women-only prize looks to reward excellence, accessibility and originality in writing.”
Illegal Downloaders Also Music Industry’s Best Customers
“Piracy may be the bane of the music industry but according to a new study, it may also be its engine. A report from the BI Norwegian School of Management has found that those who download music illegally are also 10 times more likely to pay for songs than those who don’t.”