The station “has reached an unusual agreement with Eyetronics Media and Studios, based in Encino, Calif., which will provide up to $50 million in financing for original productions, acquisitions and distribution over five years.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Writing Up A Storm: Daniel Defoe And The Birth Of Modern Journalism
On November 24, 1703, “a violent tempest with no name – and no meteorological forewarning – ripped through England. It was probably the fiercest storm in British history … Yet it left more than a legacy of destruction. It also became a source of creative inspiration, giving birth to the first substantial work of modern journalism: The Storm, by Daniel Defoe.”
Shammi Kapoor, 79, ‘The Elvis Of Bollywood’
With his first hit film in 1957, Kapoor “changed the face of Bollywood cinema … By dancing in the big musical numbers, the hip-swinging Kapoor bucked the Bollywood trend of a stationary hero” and a decorous, innocent approach to romance. He “became arguably the first male pin-up of the Indian subcontinent.”
Can City Living Actually Drive You Crazy?
“The fact is that there is a higher concentration of psychiatric illness in the city than in the country. There is increased risk for anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia. Of course, there are lots of possible reasons for this. … But there is also some evidence that living in a city can ‘bring on’ mental disorders.”
Creating The National Ballet of China’s Peony Pavilion
“Adaptor and director Li Liuyi, choreographer Fei Bo and producer Zhao Ruheng talk to Andrew Dickson about the piece and the company’s tumultuous history, and describe their hopes for the future of dance in China.”
The World’s Latest Landmark Arts Center Is In … Iceland
Harpa, the Reykjavik Concert Hall and Conference Center, is made of more than 10,000 glass windows, including a south-facing double glass façade that refacts sunlight like a prism. The building officially opens this weekend, but preview performances in May attracted 100,00 visitors, equal to nearly one-third of the entire country’s population.
Construction Of Orlando’s New Arts Center Finally Underway
After several years of delays due to financial fallout from the recession, “workers have been scurrying [since late June] to keep to an aggressive 37-month construction schedule that would have the first phase of the complex building opening in summer 2014.”
Metropolitan Opera Demanded Met Futures Blog Be Taken Down
“Drawing on information in the public domain and tips from sources” – regularly updated and corrected, and with no personal speculations – Brad Wilber had run the online list of future Met repertory and casting since 1996. In May, the Met’s general counsel asked Wilber to close the blog, and last week he did so.
James Levine Will Return To Conducting In September
After two back operations over the summer relieved “the excruciating pain that has plagued him over the last several years because of back problems, Mr. Levine is planning to begin rehearsing at the Met right after Labor Day and has not canceled any performances, said his brother, Tom Levine.”
Infiltrating The Audience: How Actors Blend Into A Crowd
“In all kinds of shows, it’s fascinating to watch how actors convince us they are not actors and, in some cases, how they give themselves away. Sometimes all it takes is a bare-faced lie.”