One Second, set during the Cultural Revolution, is said by people who’ve seen it to be Zhang’s best movie in years and a sure bet to take a prize in Berlin or Cannes. Yet, even though the completed film was approved by the censors of China’s national film board, officials have blocked it from being shown at festivals — because, say insiders, the government doesn’t want international attention drawn to the subject matter. – The Hollywood Reporter
Author: Matthew Westphal
Rhode Island ACLU Sues Over Tax Law That Discriminates Against Nonfiction Authors
“The suit revolves around a 2013 law designed to help creative workers by offering authors, composers and artists in Rhode Island a sales tax exemption. But in a bizarre twist, state tax officials have decided the law applies only to authors of fiction, because nonfiction is not ‘creative and original.'” – Publishers Weekly
Boston Ballet Is About To Play A Rock Festival
“This Memorial Day weekend, Boston’s hometown ballet company is joining a lineup of major music stars for Boston Calling, a festival dubbed by some an ‘East Coast Coachella.’ It’s the first time in Boston Calling’s 10-year run that dance will be featured — and possibly the first time ballet has ever been given major stage time at such a high profile music festival.” – Dance Magazine
What’s It Like To Play The Clintons On Broadway? Let Laurie Metcalf And John Lithgow Tell You
Lithgow: “Look, I read the script and I wanted to be in it, but my immediate anxiety was, ‘What were these two people going to think?’ Because I admire them, I know them, I care about them.” – The Washington Post
As Ethical Controversies Arise Around Their Donors And Collections, Can Museums Correct Themselves? Can They Afford (Not) To?
“In the space of barely a year, the very foundations of museums — the money that sustains them, the art that fills them, the decision makers that run them — have been called into question. And there’s no end to questioning in sight.” Holland Carter considers the issues. – The New York Times
Developers Who Worked On Violent Video Games Tell What It Did To Their Brains
Says one, who worked on Mortal Kombat 11 all through last year and came out of it with a PTSD diagnosis, “I’d have these extremely graphic dreams, very violent. I kind of just stopped wanting to go to sleep, so I’d just keep myself awake for days at a time, to avoid sleeping. … The scary part was always the point at which new people on the project got used to it.” – Kotaku
Why Alexei Ratmansky Wanted To Choreograph A Shostakovich Triple-Bill
“More than any other composer, his music reflects his life, his situation, his country and his times. … I’ve always felt this very personal connection. It’s hard to explain but when it plays, my brain responds. I have steps in my head, I see images and drama. Even in Shostakovich’s symphonies, which some people consider heavy.” – The Guardian
How Crowdfunding Site Patreon Helps (And Doesn’t) Creators Who Use It
Reporter Mathew Olson: “I interviewed thirteen Patreon users to get a sense how they feel about the platform and the state of crowdfunding more generally. I tried to speak with users across a wide range of creative output and Patreon income levels — though, I’ll admit, folks whose work concerns video games are perhaps overrepresented.” – Digg
Jim Fowler, Co-Host Of ‘Mutual Of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom’, Dead At 89
“He was charged by a herd of 200 elephants, escaping only with the help of a flatbed truck, and was once knocked unconscious by a surly chimpanzee named Mr. Moke who punched him ‘square between the eyes.’ But neither incident compared to the time a 22-foot anaconda swallowed his arm, up to the shoulder.” – The Washington Post
St. Paul Chamber Orchestra Eliminates Its ‘Liquid Music’ Alt-Classical Series
Having just lost $230,000 in corporate sponsorship (due to changing corporate priorities), the SPCO has announced “that it would no longer sponsor the boundary-bending music series beyond three projects next season, a move that will help it eliminate three positions.” – The Star Tribune (Minneapolis)