Birmingham, Alabama-based arts groups could find themselves in a world of financial hurt if the Jefferson County Commission decides to stop funding its Community Arts Fund. The commission currently allocates $5m per year to the fund, but is considering zeroing out that contribution in an effort to balance the budget. “The Alabama Symphony would lose $502,000, the Birmingham Museum of Art $672,000, the McWane Science Center $536,000.”
Author: sbergman
Strong Start For Young Frankenstein
The new stage version of Mel Brooks’s classic movie, Young Frankenstein, opened preview performances in Seattle this week, where the show is getting a tryout before an expected leap to Broadway, and audience reaction has reportedly been strong. Tweaks are expected, but Brooks himself is heavily involved in the Seattle staging, and says that the show is “75% there.”
Target Market: New Yorker Playing Games
Are you one of those New Yorker readers who pretends to be working your way through Alex Ross’s latest treatise on the importance of Prokofiev, while actually just scanning the cartoons? Well, have we got a board game for you! Yes, we said board game. Yes, they still make those. “In the latest expansion of its brand name into the retail market, the board game version of the New Yorker’s weekly cartoon caption contest has just gone on sale at Target stores nationwide.”
Musicals Are Busting Out All Over
Ten years ago, the movie musical was dead and buried, according to everyone in the know. “Conventional wisdom suggested that musicals were appealing to a niche audience, that mass audiences no longer could stomach people breaking into song.” Now, musicals are once again big box office business, and the industry is poised to take full advantage.
New Line’s Future In Doubt
New Line Cinema just released its biggest hit of the year, but the bigger picture is grim. “Though New Line made a big fuss celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the studio has been mired in a horrific slump… Relations have been rocky with parent company Time Warner, which many people believe is eager to turn New Line into a less autonomous production entity. For now, the studio ranks last in box-office revenue among all majors.”
TIFF Going Beyond Film
Visual arts will be getting some unusual exposure as part of this fall’s Toronto International Film Festival. “A new program called Future Projections will present a series of nine far-reaching installations, interactive projects and other film-related artwork at locations around the city… Eight of the nine exhibitions will be free, non-ticketed events.”
Picasso Thieves Have Their First Day In Court
Two men suspected of having stolen two paintings and a drawing by Pablo Picasso from an apartment belonging to the artist’s granddaughter remain in police custody following their first court appearance yesterday. A third man is being held as a “supervised witness,” and prosecutors expect to issue charges in the coming days. “The paintings – Portrait of Jacqueline and Maya with Doll – were found this week, along with the drawing Marie-Therese at Age 21. They were apparently in good condition and were recovered following a tip-off from a contact in the art world.”
Universal To Try DRM-Free Music
Universal Music is experimenting with the idea of selling CDs and MP3s that do not contain copy-protection technology that has enraged consumer groups and sparked arguments over fair use. “Retailers including Google, Wal-Mart, and Amazon.com, will participate in the DRM-free trial, Universal said. But participants do not include Apple iTunes online music store, the third largest music retailer in the US.”
Famous Italian Film Studio Burns
“A fire has destroyed part of the Cinecitta film studios in Rome, where many classic Italian films were made. However, it did not damage the historic areas where Ben Hur and classics by Federico Fellini were made… The fire began in a store for film sets, destroying sets used in a television series about ancient Rome, produced by HBO and the BBC.”
Subversive Vinyl (Great Name For A Band)
Contrary to everything we’ve been told about the decline and fall of the brick-and-mortar recording industry, indie music stores are thriving in Chicago. What’s the secret? A return to vinyl. “It’s a quest for tangibility that is, in some ways, driving the vinyl craze. To some music lovers, CDs, at about 16 grams, feel less substantial than a 180-gram audiophile vinyl record… There’s something alternative, even subversive, about vinyl, especially when everybody is carrying around iPods.”