The film’s director, Peter Berg: “After I came aboard [the project], I jumped into the script, went down to Louisiana – and very quickly realised this was different. We were dealing with a culture of litigation.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Esperanto Didn’t Change The World, But It Has Changed Its Speakers
“It did not prevent a century of wars (many fought, notably, between people who spoke the same language). Instead, Esperanto’s speakers were persecuted throughout the 20th century.” (Stalinists thought they were spies; McCarthyists thought they were Commies.) “Esperanto may not have changed the world. But in both its ideals and its practice, it holds out the possibility of transforming the lives of the people who use it.”
This Human-Rights Museum Has A Problem At Its Heart
“Its backers have praised [the Canadian Museum for Human Rights], which attracts nearly 350,000 visitors a year, for starting important conversations about injustice. But to others, despite a raft of powerful exhibits on the oppression of indigenous peoples in Canada, the museum could do more to address the nation’s uncomfortable truths about its past and present dealings with the descendants of the land’s original inhabitants.”
Why Ang Lee Wants To Shoot His Films At Such A High Frame Rate (And Why Audiences Might Not Go Along)
When he made Life of Pi in 3D, the Oscar-winning director was frustrated by the limitations of the standard rate of 24 frames per second. So, for his latest, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Lee went all-out: 120 frames per second and 4K resolution.
Audience Member At Kansas City Library Lecture Arrested For Asking Follow-Up Question; Library Manager Arrested For Trying To Step In And Defuse
“On May 9, after a question-and-answer session following a public lecture by US diplomat Dennis Ross at the Plaza branch of the Kansas City (Mo.) Public Library, city police arrested and detained an attendee and the library’s director of programming and marketing. … In late September, the library decided to make the incident known to the media, because the city had pressed forward with the case.”
The ‘Just World Hypothesis’ And The Psychology Behind Victim-Blaming
“It’s this idea that people deserve what happens to them. There’s just a really strong need to believe that we all deserve our outcomes and consequences. … As a general rule, Americans [in particular] have a hard time with the idea that bad things happen to good people.”
$255 Million Worth Of Old Master Paintings May Be Fakes
“Experts now believe that there have been a recent spate of forgeries on the market, and that unwitting collectors may have spent up to £200 million ($255 million) on fakes masquerading as the work of Frans Hals, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Orazio Gentileschi, and other artists.”
Juilliard’s President To Step Down After 34 Years
“One of the most influential offstage figures in the New York arts world is stepping down. Joseph W. Polisi, who transformed the Juilliard School during three decades as its president, announced on Wednesday that he plans to leave the post in June 2018.”
Johan Kobborg And Alina Cojocaru Talk About Their Ordeal At Romania’s National Ballet
Kobborg: “Actually, you could say I’m still waiting to hear, because the last thing I heard in the meetings I had in July were that the management was going to contact me with a proposal. But I see they’ve hired someone else [the Italian Renato Zanella]. So I guess that’s it.”
Philly Music Fans Riot, Trash Club After Star Singer Is No-Show
“Gerardo Ortiz, a singer-songwriter from California and winner of several Mexican Billboard Music Awards, was set to perform at the Explanada De Philadelphia … Ortiz never took the stage, and several fans reportedly reacted by throwing things at the stage, knocking over and tossing speakers to the ground, and damaging instruments.” (Tsk – just like Philly sports fans.) (includes video)