‘The controversial nude wrestling scene in the 1969 film Women in Love was passed for release only as the result of a secret pact between the then British Board of Film Censors and director Ken Russell, it has been revealed in archive correspondence released by the BBFC.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
3D Is Unworthy Of Decent Movies Like The Lion King
John Patterson: “3D should be cheap-ass. It should be a gimmick. It needs to be wasted on violent, sleazy and stupid movies like Friday The 13th Part 3 or The Final Destination.“
New South Miami-Dade Arts Center A Smash Hit
“The occasion may have been the formal inauguration of a major government arts facility. But with dancers shaking, drums pounding, and a gospel children’s choir shouting into the sun-filled air, the atmosphere at the long-awaited opening of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center in Cutler Bay on Sunday afternoon was more like a community pep rally slash church picnic slash throw-down family party.”
The Problems Of Choosing A Nobel Literature Laureate
Swedish Academy permanent secretary Peter Englund “talks about the difficulty of balancing literary quality and cultural significance, the Academy’s undercover translation project, the awkward lack of women laureates and whether Philip Roth will ever win the Nobel prize.”
War Horse Income Makes Up For Budget Cuts At England’s National Theatre
“The theatre’s annual report showed in detail just how much of a cash cow the production has become – and how the forthcoming play One Man, Two Guvnors could prove just as lucrative. ‘We have not had to make any cutbacks because of the Arts Council cuts,’ the NT’s director, Nicholas Hytner, said.”
Alexander Grant, 86, Royal Ballet Star And National Ballet Of Canada Head
“[His] portrayal of childlike suitors, muddled husbands, English eccentrics, pirate chiefs and Shakespearean rustics made him one of British ballet’s most beloved stars … [He] also played an influential role in international ballet … [serving] as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 1976 to 1983.”
‘The Closest Thing The Dance World Has To An Online Museum’
“Since 1932, companies from around the world have performed at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, located on a former farm in Becket, Mass. Just this past March, the Pillow launched a performance video collection (danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org) … A priceless treasury of history and art, this movable feast could very well suck you in by surprise.”
Eight Of London’s Major Theatres Joining Forces For Olympics Festival
“Composer Jonathan Dove, playwright Tanika Gupta and directors Peter Brook and Rufus Norris are among the artists creating productions for World Stages London … [The] event is a collaboration between Battersea Arts Centre, the Bush Theatre, the Lyric Hammersmith, the Royal Court, Sadler’s Wells, Somerset House, Theatre Royal Stratford East and the Young Vic.”
Beijing Has An International Fringe Festival (Who Knew?)
The event “was conceived in 2008 as a small local festival using university performance spaces to give voice to young directors and young talent. Back then it comprised a mere 10 productions. This year there were 54 productions in 11 venues around Beijing.”
How Noah Webster ‘Fixed’ The King James Bible
“Webster considered the King James ungrammatical, obsolete, and filthy. He also thought Americans didn’t need any king’s bible; they needed their own translation … Webster’s Holy Bible … with Amendments of the Language appeared in 1833. In it, Job no longer eschews evil; he shuns it” – and there is no slaying, spewing, or suckling, either. (And then there are all the prepositions.)