“Britain’s small and independent film distributors are today facing serious financial problems in the wake of last night’s fire at the Pias/Sony distribution centre in Enfield. A large portion of the DVD stock belonging to UK film distributors has been destroyed.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Abel Ferrara Booed By ‘World’s Most Respectful Film Fans’
“Veteran US director Abel Ferrara arrived in Switzerland’s lakeside resort of Locarno last week to receive the highest honour awarded by the town’s 64-year-old film festival – the Leopard of Honour. He ended up the butt of catcalls and whistles of anger after outraging festivalgoers” – by singing to them (at length).
Those Jeering Swiss Film Fans? Abel Ferrara Thought They Were Calling For Encores
“It wasn’t my idea to sing. I was asked to. But give someone like me a microphone and a captive audience of thousands, and what do you expect? … I thought they were calling for an encore.”
Looking In On The Construction Of The New Barnes Foundation Building
The new home for the museum “has been rising on the [Benjamin Franklin] Parkway for a year and a half, but with the addition of its beautiful limestone cladding, it’s beginning to show us what the finished product will look like when construction is complete by the end of the year.”
Merce Cunningham Company Selects Its Final Artist Collaborator
“The final visual artist to collaborate with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company – a list that includes heavyweights like Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol – will be Daniel Arsham.” His “‘clouds’ of colored spheres” will be used in the company’s farewell performances, at the end of this year.
Santa Fe Opera Announces Three High-Profile New Works
Despite the difficult economy, the company will present premieres in three consecutive summers: Oscar (2013) by Theodore Morrison, starring countertenor David Daniels as Oscar Wilde; Judith Weir’s Miss Fortune (2014), which has its world premiere this summer at the Bregenz Festival; and Jennifer Higdon’s first opera, Cold Mountain, based on Charles Frazier’s best-selling novel and starring Nathan Gunn.
L.A. MOCA’s ‘Art In The Streets’ Show Sets Attendance Record*
“MOCA said the exhibition about the history of graffiti and street art was the most attended show in its history – but closer inspection shows that the record comes with a caveat.”
The Paradox Of Dance Photography
Martha Graham’s father once told her, “Martha, never lie to me, for if you ever do lie I will know. Your body will tell me.” And even though “a single frame can only begin to intimate movement,” a great dance photo “can help us understand who is lying and who – like Miss Graham – was telling the truth.”
New York City Ballet Replaces Jettisoned Low-Cost Ticket Program
“The program, called Society NYCB, will be the same as it was last season for the Fourth Ring Society, which was discontinued. There will be a $20 annual membership fee, and tickets will cost $15 (plus a $2 facility fee). They can be purchased by phone or at the box office; … tickets will not be available online.”
Marketers Manipulate Our Deepest Animal Instincts
Diane Ackerman: “Is no mood safe from marketing and manipulation, you may wonder? Apparently not. They can ambush your animal senses, whatever state your brain may occupy, no matter if you’re in the dumps or riding high. If the meringuelike hand cream doesn’t entice you one day, the Eiffel Tower-shaped box might on another.”