“The smaller of Hollywood’s two acting unions has approved a new prime time TV contract with Hollywood studios… But the larger Screen Actors Guild (SAG) claimed the agreement undermined its own talks for a richer deal, which are ongoing. AFTRA’s deal won final approval despite an unusual all-out campaign by SAG urging some 40,000 actors who belong to both unions to vote against it.”
Author: sbergman
Readying For The Cultural Spotlight
Istanbul will become the official European Capital of Culture in 2010, and plans are well underway to showcase the city’s existing arts, and build new institutions as well. “World-renowned artists, men of letters, screen and stage directors and musicians will be invited to Ä°stanbul in 2010. Books, films and stage shows themed around the concept will be produced.”
Opera On The Cheap
New Jersey’s Metro Lyric Opera is celebrating a half century of producing opera on a shoestring budget. “The tight budget only allows… one day-long orchestral rehearsal at the Paramount and two for the chorus, plus sessions at a New York studio for the soloists.”
The Trouble With Contemporary Music
Author Joe Queenan has spent a lot of time listening to new music in his life, and he’s come to the conclusion that it’s nothing but pseudo-intellectual garbage. “Having spent most of the last century writing music few people were expected to understand, much less enjoy, the high priests of music [are] now portrayed as innocent victims of the public’s lack of imagination.”
Rebutting Queenan: Outdated And Illogical
Tom Service says that Joe Queenan’s rant against new music conveniently ignores what’s actually being written now in favor of tired attacks on compositional ideas that have long since gone out of fashion.Furthermore, “there is another story in all this, one that Queenan doesn’t even mention. The music of the 20th century now dominates most orchestral concerts you will ever hear.”
Columbus Symphony Still Has Grant Options
“The Ohio Arts Council has provisionally approved the second year of a sustainability grant for the troubled Columbus Symphony. The $136,947 grant — which comes after one of $154,907 — would be issued if the orchestra confirmed a 2008-09 season and developed a debt-reduction plan.” The CSO board has announced plans to shut down the organization unless musicians accept large pay cuts.
Good Times For (Almost) All In Columbus
The Columbus Symphony may be folding up its tent, but other arts groups in the city are apparently doing just fine. “Most notably, Opera Columbus, hampered by a $1.2 million debt only two years ago, has ended its season with a surplus… And BalletMet Columbus, whose leaders about a week ago feared ending the fiscal year with the company’s first major deficit, will balance its budget after all.”
Elvis’s Influence
Elvis Mitchell’s new film criticism TV show, Under the Influence, is attracting attention for its serious approach to the subject in an increasingly personality-driven industry. “The show tries to pretend it’s been shot inside a champagne glass at Cannes and very nearly pulls it off.”
Poe’s NY Home To Get A Makeover
A major restoration is planned for the Bronx apartment where Edgar Allen Poe lived out his final years. “Work is expected to start in the spring and last a year. The cottage will be closed to the public during the work. The restoration will cost about $250,000.”
Thomas Disch, 68
“Thomas M. Disch, an author, poet and critic who twisted the inherently twisted genre of science fiction in new, disturbing directions, including writing his last book in the voice of God, died on Friday in his Manhattan apartment… His friend Alice K. Turner said Mr. Disch shot himself.”