“Even as the movie awards season accelerates here, studio chiefs and major producers have been fretting less about Oscars than about job security. A rolling realignment has knocked out top executives, broken apart old alliances and shattered assumptions about corporate loyalties and the industry’s pecking order.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
The Real Problem Millennials Have With Opera? “Our Phobia Of Unblunted Emotion”
Jeremy Polacek: “Rather, we’re more apt to ridicule something for being overly emotional or mock someone who is. … Characters in opera don’t share their feelings so much as disgorge them. Performances teem with huge, unburdened emotions. To [a generation] ironically allergic to such unalloyed sentiment, opera can seem a most strange, outlandish thing.”
Syd Field, 77, Author Of Screenwriters’ Bible
“Screenplay has sold millions of copies; been translated into more than a dozen languages; served as a reference for James Cameron, Judd Apatow, Tina Fey, Frank Darabont and scores of other successful screenwriters; and inspired plenty of sneers from those who insist that art is born of inspiration, not what Mr. Field, … [argued] is the crucial stuff of a good screenplay: plot points.”
Spider-Man To Leave Broadway For Greener Pastures Of Vegas
“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the popular yet beleaguered $75 million Broadway extravaganza marred by injuries and infighting, will close in January and reopen later at a venue in Las Vegas … ‘Economically we have a greater opportunity in the Las Vegas market,’ said producer Jeremiah Harris, who said the show will reopen in 2015.”
National Theatre’s Othello And Iago Share Evening Standard Best Actor Award
Adrian Lester and Rory Kinnear took an unusual joint honor in the annual ceremony for London theatre. Helen Mirren got plenty of media attention for winning yet another prize for playing Elizabeth II, this time in The Audience. And Maggie Smith, receiving a career award, begged from the podium for more stage work.
Former Imelda Marcos Aide Convicted For Fencing Multi-Million-Dollar Paintings
“It took jurors only three hours on Monday morning to convict [Vilma] Bautista on conspiracy and tax fraud charges stemming from the sale or attempted sale of the paintings, which disappeared in the 1980s, when Ferdinand Marcos was ousted as president of the Philippines.”
World’s Most Famous Female Architect Designs Stadium That Looks Like —
Qatar has unveiled renderings of the first of the stadiums to be built for the World Cup tournament the kingdom will host in 2022. Zaha Hadid Architects and AECOM say that their design is inspired by the dhows that traditionally sailed the Persian Gulf, but the collective Internet thinks otherwise.
Science Doesn’t Want To Take God Away From You
“A chance encounter forces [theoretical astrophysicist] Marcelo Gleiser to reconsider his view of the relationship between science and religion.”
The Guardian Launches Dedicated Dance Blog
Judith Mackrell: “For the last few months, I’ve been posting online-only stories, open threads and videos alongside my reviews, booking tips and feature writing, but for the first time these will be gathered together in one place. We’re also hoping to make the blog a forum where readers and writers can discuss a range of issues around the artform, both above the line and below it.”
How Matthew Bourne Learned To Stop Worrying And Stage Sleeping Beauty
“[It] was a project Bourne had avoided for years, despite the success he had found with Tchaikovsky’s other two ballets, The Nutcracker and – especially – Swan Lake … His reluctance to complete the trilogy stemmed from what he saw as Sleeping Beauty‘s tepid love story.”