“The federal government announced yesterday that it is streamlining funding for film and television content, in an aim to adapt to the digital age and create fiercer competition among broadcasters for government dollars. Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore unveiled the Canada Media Fund,” saying “that Canadian consumers, particularly younger ones, are demanding greater choice in how they view programming and that both government and broadcasters must adapt.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
A Portrait Of Shakespeare? The Evidence Is A Little Thin.
“On the evidence adumbrated so far, it seems to me to be to be highly unlikely that the Cobbe portrait is a true lifetime portrait of William Shakespeare, as widely reported today. I’m assuming … that Professor Stanley Wells, who has led the charge towards the identification, has something else up his sleeve – because so far the case seems rather unconvincing.”
In Royalties Row, Music Videos Pulled From YouTube In UK
“YouTube in the UK is to be stripped of its most popular music videos after the site failed to agree a new licensing deal with the Performing Rights Society for Music, the trade body that collects music royalties. YouTube said today that after the expiry of its former deal, PRS had proposed new payment terms that would be financially prohibitive for the site and would require YouTube to pay out more than it makes from the ads next to each video.”
Scottish Government Gives £2M To Help Festivals Thrive
“Edinburgh’s 12 festivals are to share £2m of funding to encourage more home-grown work. This year’s money comes from the Scottish Government’s Expo Fund, a £6m pot set up in 2008 to be shared out over a three-year period. The funding was announced by Culture Minister Mike Russell, who said the government was ‘determined’ to ensure the festivals continue to flourish.”
Beauty Queen Tony Winner Anna Manahan Dies At 84
“Anna Manahan, an actress renowned in Ireland who earned belated recognition in the United States for her Tony-winning portrayal of a physically feeble but monstrously manipulative old woman in Martin McDonagh’s play ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane,’ died Sunday in Waterford, Ireland.”
How It Feels When Your Instrument Is Lost
“Missing: An erhu, a two-stringed Chinese instrument made of python skin, bamboo, horse hair and rosewood. Last Seen: Feb. 28, in front of Merkin Concert Hall. The case is reminiscent of Yo-Yo Ma’s leaving his cello in a New York City taxi in 1999. Except that beloved stringed instrument, worth $2.5 million, was found within a matter of hours in a citywide police search. The owner of the missing erhu, Wang Guowei, an esteemed musician, has not had that fairytale ending.”
British Book Awards’ Surprise Contender: Barack Obama
“US president Barack Obama leads the nominations for this year’s British Book Awards by making the shortlist for both author and biography of the year. Obama’s political tract, The Audacity of Hope, and his life story, Dreams from My Father, became UK bestsellers during his 2008 run for office. … Obama’s rivals for author of the year include American [Stephenie] Meyer.”
Georgetown Dean Gallucci To Head MacArthur Foundation
“Robert Gallucci will be the new president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Chicago-based organization announced today, in tapping the veteran Washington envoy and educator to head one of the nation’s most prestigious philanthropies. Gallucci, 63, has been Georgetown University’s dean of the School of Foreign Service for 13 years….”
For Many, Working Project-To-Project Is Untenable Now
“Most of the people I know don’t have regular jobs. They’re writers, actors, musicians, artists, photographers and filmmakers. They also are middle-class taxpayers who carry mortgages and send their kids to public school. They’re used to hard times. … But this is different.”
Synergy’s Downside: Layoffs Amid The Box-Office Boom
“[T]he box office seems to get better as the evening news gets worse. But unlike in the first Great Depression — when Americans would cough up 27 cents to watch Fred and Ginger dance — the bad news isn’t necessarily good news for Hollywood moguls and their employees. That’s because today, movie studios are small divisions in much larger conglomerates. … So what is happening is a strange intersection: a thriving box office, along with serial layoffs at movie companies.”