“When the Museum of Modern Art hired Kathy Halbreich, the respected director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, to be its associate director, art-world insiders wondered if MoMA was seeking a successor to Glenn D. Lowry, its longtime director. But on Tuesday afternoon the Modern’s board approved a new five-year contract with Mr. Lowry.”
Author: sbergman
Documentary Rising
“Not so long ago, the documentary feature category was among the snooziest at the Oscars, the target of jokes that said you couldn’t lose by making a film about the Holocaust… This year all five nominees are politically charged, four are about war, and amazingly, only one feels like homework.”
Piano’s “Uninspired” New Museum
Nicolai Ouroussoff isn’t a fan of Renzo Piano’s new Broad Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. “It had been viewed as a way of cleaning up what many saw as a muddle of mismatched buildings… [But] as a monument to the civic aspirations of Los Angeles, Mr. Piano’s design is remarkably uninspired.”
Recognizing A Musical Visionary
The founder of Venezuela’s remarkably successful “El Sistema” music education program has won the $50,000 Glenn Gould Prize. “Dr. Jose Antonio Abreu took the triennial award in a unanimous decision. He is the first to win the prestigious prize without having had a major career as a performer or composer.”
Jacksonville Symphony Prez Out Following Lockout
Weeks after the end of a bitter lockout of the Jacksonville Symphony’s musicians, the organization’s president and executive director has resigned. Musicians had been harshly critical of Alan Hopper during the lockout. The JSO’s board chair says that the decision to leave was Hopper’s.
Oscar Making Up For Lost Time
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences isn’t wasting any time getting ready for the Oscars, unveiling the list of presenters, performers and scripters only days after the end of the writers’ strike. The Academy is clearly thrilled to be able to present its usual glam-heavy show, and acknowledges that a show without writers or stars would have been tough to pull off.
Fat Green Ogres Apparently Hard To Find On Broadway
A musical stage version of the hit film franchise, Shrek, is scheduled to open on Broadway this fall after a summer tryout in Seattle. But casting the two lead characters is apparently quite a challenge – producers have yet to find a pair of actors who can both fit the roles of Shrek and Donkey physically, and reproduce the onscreen chemistry of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy.
Grammy Ratings Continue Decline
“Viewership for the CBS telecast of Sunday’s Grammy Awards was the second lowest since figures began being complied in 1977, but it was still enough to be the week’s fourth most-watched program.” The ratings dropped 14% from last year’s telecast.
Spielberg Won’t Advise Beijing
“US film director Steven Spielberg has withdrawn as an artistic adviser at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In a statement, he accused China of not doing enough to pressure its ally Sudan to end the ‘continuing human suffering’ in the troubled western Darfur region.”
Canada Knocks Down Video Piracy, Debates Future
Following major crackdowns by Canadian authorities on illegal bootleg copies of feature films, the availability of such illicit material has apparently plunged. But the prosecution of some high-level offenders has sparked a debate over whether Canada should really be implementing US-style copyright laws.