“New York City has a new exposition center that will primarily launch large-scale, experiential exhibitions. The Discovery Times Square Exposition opens this week with two blockbuster shows. One recounts the poignant story of the Titanic and the other the discovery of the 3.2 million-year-old fossil known as Lucy.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Ed McMahon, 86, The World’s Top Second Banana
Robert Lloyd: “Notwithstanding the dozen years of hosting Star Search, a role in the 1997 Tom Arnold sitcom The Tom Show, a high-profile Cash4Gold ad during the last Super Bowl and all that knocking on people’s doors in the name of American Family Publishers, McMahon was a professional sidekick, a less-than-equal partner in an enterprise of which he was nevertheless a vital part. … But in a world where everyone is innately a star, what does it mean to settle for life as a mere moon?”
Women Beware Women: If Female Playwrights Aren’t Getting Produced, The Fault May Not Be All Men’s
A study released this week found “concrete evidence that women who are authors have a tougher time getting their work staged than men – … [and] that women who are artistic directors and literary managers are the ones to blame.” The research also indicates that there is “a shortage of good scripts by women” and that “[p]lays and musicals by women [running on Broadway] sold 16 percent more tickets a week and were 18 percent more profitable [than works by men] over all.”
Hollywood’s Most Notorious News Blog (No, Not Perez Hilton) Gets Acquired
“Nikki Finke, the sharp-tongued Hollywood blogger, is having her payday. Her Web site, Deadline Hollywood Daily, has been acquired by the Mail.com Media Corporation for an undisclosed amount.” That amount is rumored to be well over $1 million, not including continuing payment for Finke’s services as the site’s editor.
IMG Artists Chairman, Now A Felon, Steps Down
“Barrett Wissman, a businessman who in April pleaded guilty to securities fraud in an investigation into corruption at the New York State pension fund, has stepped down as chairman of IMG Artists, one of the largest firms representing classical musicians, and has been replaced by Charles Hamlen.”
Norman Lebrecht Leaves London Evening Standard
“[The] arts columnist and former assistant editor of the Evening Standard, has announced he is to leave the recently rebranded newspaper this week. … ‘After writing a weekly column for 15 years I owe myself a short sabbatical and my desire for a break coincided with a change of direction at the Standard‘.”
Work Halted On Indy-Area Performing Arts Center
“Construction on Carmel’s ailing Performing Arts Center will be halted for about three weeks. Workers will begin repairing cracked steel in the building’s support columns next week, the city [,which is just north of Indianapolis,] announced in a press release today. … The $118 million project is supposed to be finished next fall.”
Zhang Yimou Shooting Chinese Remake Of Blood Simple
“Filming on the Chinese-language film San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi – which roughly translates as ‘The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots’ – kicked off on June 9.” The project is “the Chinese director’s first film since designing the opening and closing ceremonies of last year’s Beijing Olympics.”
Moscow International Ballet Competition Declines To Award Grand Prize
Gold medals were given in men’s and women’s solo (to Vladimir Shklyarov and Maria Semeniachenko) and duet categories as well as for choreography (to Yury Smelakov). Yet “no single dancer was deemed impressive enough to win the Marina Semyonova grand prix – the competition is dedicated to the legendary Russian dancer – and the $10,000 cash prize that goes along with it.”
Bolshoi Technicians Jailed In Hong Kong For Assault And Robbery
“Two lighting technicians with Russia’s world-famous Bolshoi Ballet [are] beginning 40-month jail terms in Hong Kong Tuesday for beating up and robbing a prostitute.”