The producers of the Uzbek film Daydi (“Rogue”) put Freeman top and center in the poster, but the movie doesn’t feature him (or even, evidently, anyone who looks like him). So Uzbekistan’s film board denied a license to show it.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Top Posts From AJBlogs 02.15.17
Is The Institutionalization Of Our Arts A Dead End? In his essay looking back on Lincoln Center on its 50th birthday, Joe Horowitz suggests that the cultural citadel built optimistically to be a launching pad for the American performing arts, might have turned out … read more
AJBlog: diacritical | Douglas McLennan Published 2017-02-16
Is artistic leadership at America’s arts institutions lacking? Is this at the root of declining relevancy? Joe Horowitz has written a stirring essay on the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, and New York Philharmonic on the … read more
AJBlog: Jumper Published 2017-02-15
Lincoln Center 50 Years On – An Experiment In American Dance? Reading Joseph Horowitz’s essay, “Bing, Bernstein, Balanchine,” and then re-reading the passages that apply to ballet at Lincoln Center, I’m suddenly thrown back to the 1960s and a different view of tradition and innovation. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2017-02-15
Uh-Oh: Trouble at the Brooklyn Museum?
I’m not sure, but I just received an email announcing that Nancy Spector, who had joined the Brooklyn Museum just last April as Deputy Director and Chief Curator, is moving back to the Guggenheim Museum … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2017-02-15
Does Depression Have An Evolutionary Purpose?
Researchers in the field are having a lively dispute over the question. Matthew Hutson lays out the arguments.
Here’s An Idea That Can Give Us Some Hope For The World: The Contact Hypothesis
“It’s the simple, inspiring idea that when members of different groups – even groups that historically dislike one another – interact in meaningful ways, trust and compassion bloom naturally as a result, and prejudice falls by the wayside.” Jesse Singal offers an explication and a history of the concept.
Lost In Translation: The Unexpected Pleasures Of Foreign Comedy
Using Toni Erdmann, Cristian Puiu’s The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, the orignal British version of The Office, and a new Canadian comedy (yeah) from VICE Media as examples, John Semley argues that not quite getting the joke is half the fun.
‘Trainspotting’ (The Original One): An Oral History
“With the sequel – finally – upon us, the director [Danny Boyle] and star [Ewan MacGregor] plus author Irvine Welsh, producer Andrew Macdonald and more look back on the 1996 Cool Britannia flagbearer and how it all happened.”
‘Newsies’ – It’s Not Just A Disney Show, It’s A Call To Resistance
Cassie Tongue argues that, in the age of Trump, the musical about striking newsboys in 1899 New York is newly relevant – “urging grassroots action to organise, protest and agitate for change, and emphasising the importance of a fearless fourth estate.”
That Study Saying Hip Movements Make People Think Women Are Good Dancers? It’s The Very Model Of A Bogus Science Story
“This is just the sort of science story that shimmies to the top of newsfeeds. That is to say, it’s of little consequence, and it’s very likely wrong. Those two traits aren’t unrelated.” Daniel Engber gives us the debunking.
The Most Infamous Ticket-Scalper In History Is Now Fighting Against Scalping
Ken Lowson’s company, Wiseguy Tickets, used one of the first-ever bots to buy up and resell millions of tickets to shows and stadium concerts. “Seven years after his Los Angeles office was raided by shotgun-wielding FBI agents, Lowson [says] he’s switched teams. Now, he’s out to expose the secrets of the ticket industry in a bid to make sure tickets are sold directly to their fans.”
How Do You Treat A Mass Shooting Onstage?
There are three new plays in New York dealing with the Sandy Hook school massacre. Alexis Soloski and Erik Piepenburg speak with the playwrights about how they depict gun violence in their scripts.