“Q: I also wanted to ask you about the difficulty of actually writing something that is connected with real history.
A: Well, I never tried anything like that before, and I’m not sure that I would ever want to try again, because, man, it was too much like work.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Writing On The Wall: Ben Brantley Considers Supertitles In Live Theater
“A movie (or television or computer) screen is a self-contained space, and the subtitles generally appear within that frame. … Supertitles for plays are usually projected on separate screens, above or to the side of the stage. And if the stage is large, your eyes are forced to leave the live action to read the words.” (There are compensations, however.)
Academy Changes Oscar Rules Yet Again
“The much-ballyhooed expansion of nominees in the best-picture category to 10, in place for two years, has been retired. Limits also have been placed on campaigning – the age-old process where studios throw lavish parties and work the media in an attempt to gin up buzz for their nominees – during the period after the nominees are announced in late January.”
Mitt Romney Would Cut US Federal Cultural Agencies By Half
The persistent Republican presidential hopeful, an off-again-on-again frontrunner, says that “he doesn’t want to eliminate the NEA, NEH or the two other agencies but would cut their aggregate funding by half. The NEA and NEH now receive $155 million per year each – among the smallest agency appropriations in the federal budget.”
Corruption Is Endemic, And We Humans Are All Corruptible
“Most of us think of ourselves as pretty honest, seeing corruption as something that involves other people. But new research shows that anyone can be corrupted at the drop of a hat.”
Why People Eat Too Much
“Human beings are notoriously terrible at knowing when we’re no longer hungry. Instead of listening to our stomach – a very stretchy container – we rely on all sorts of external cues, from the circumference of the dinner plate to the dining habits of those around us.”
Norwegian Airline Backs Off Plan To Ban Cellos From Cabin
“Norwegian Air Shuttle, known simply as ‘Norwegian’, had cited ‘security risks’ when it announced that from November 1 cellos would no longer be allowed into its cabins, even when booked into seats as passengers.” Cellist Truls Mørk led the opposition, which was strong enough to make the airline reconsider.
How Weird Al Yankovic Comes Up With His Song Parodies
“I’m very analytical, I’m very precise. I make charts of songs that are good candidates, good targets, so to speak. Then I try to come up with ideas for parodies. And 99% of those ideas are horrible. But every once in awhile I come up with an idea and I think, ‘Mmmm. That just might work.’ And if the next morning it still seems like a good idea, then I try to flesh [it] out.”
Dance Critic Takes Trockaderos Seriously
“The question is, to what extent is it possible to laugh at the dance before it slips into cheap parody, and to what extent does the fact that men are dancing women’s roles here add to the performance? … In their rendition of Swan Lake, the Trockadero dancers attempt to elicit laughter by force.”
Be An iStage Manager At Your Own iCovent Garden
The Royal Opera House and game developers Hide&Seek have created an iPhone/iPad game called The Show Must Go On, “in which players become a beleaguered goatee-bearded stage manager with a whole heap of problems.”