The US House of Representatives is debating a bill that “would boost the top fines that the Federal Communications Commission could impose on broadcasters from the current $32,500 to $325,000 for each violation. A vote was scheduled for this afternoon. The legislation, expected to be signed by President Bush, is another outgrowth of Janet Jackson’s breast-revealing incident at the Super Bowl that has made the FCC more aggressive in cracking down on indecent and obscene material on TV and radio airwaves and in turn has prompted broadcasters to be more cautious in the material they air.”
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A Scary Summer For Canadian Arts Groups?
Will American tourists refrain from going to Canada because of terrorism fears? Will Canadian arts ventures that depend on American tourists suffer this summer? “And thanks to the shrinking U.S. dollar, Canada is no longer the bargain it used to be. The result could be a summer of discontent for arts groups that flourish only when they draw large numbers of Americans, such as the Stratford and Shaw festivals.”
Canadian Book Buyers Angry About US Markup
Canadian book buyers are grumbling because though the Canadian dollar has risen dramtically against the US dollar, they’re still being charged a premiukm. “It’s very conspicuous to people, so they have been murmuring their discontent. The breaking point came when the Canadian dollar hit 90 cents. The murmur turned into a crescendo. There is no beneficial exposure (to the strong dollar) on the part of booksellers; that windfall is going to someone else. But we are in the line of fire.”
The Dawn Of Live Internet TV?
“Two well-known talk-show names are going head-to-head starting next week with original, high quality, Web-only TV-type shows. Talk shows, specifically.”
A Critic On Board?
Tyler Green reports that New York Times art critic Grace Glueck is on the board of the Berkshires’ Clark Museum. “Would the Times allow its labor reporter to serve on the board of a labor union? Or could a Times science reporter sit on the board of the American Lung Association? What about its religion columnist: Would it allow him to serve on the board of a church, even if, say, he didn’t write about that church? (Glueck last wrote about the Clark in 1991.)”
Getting Ahead With The Circus
“The idea of using circus arts to help troubled youth was the brainchild of the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil. The Montreal-based entertainment empire began its first two “social circus” pilot projects in Chile and Brazil, in 1995. Today, Cirque du Soleil has 50 projects running in 19 countries, many of them in developing nations. Cirque du Soleil says the programs help get kids off the streets, off drugs, and improve their performance and behavior in school.”
Altered Reality – The Play’s The Thing
A reality show tries to pick a play that can be produced in London’s West End. “Is a West End play different? You’d think the answer would be a straightforward no – a play is a play is a play – but if anything emerges from the first episode, it’s that the concept is indeed nebulous. Sonia Friedman and her fellow judges, agent Mel Kenyon and actor Neil Pearson, row spectacularly as they sift through the 30 shortlisted entrants (cherry-picked from over 2,000 submissions: more than double the number of people who applied for Pop Idol, according to Younghusband).”
Believe In Flamenco
“If you assume that flamenco is all phony histrionics, you’ve probably never seen Soledad Barrio in action. Her performances start with a quiet, silky grace, but by the end she is more creature than human.”
Wisconsin Wants To Be In the Movies
The state is offering generous tax incentives. The state will have one of the more aggressive tax schemes in the country, with a refundable credit of 25% of direct production expenditures for feature films, television movies, episodic and miniseries television, video games and broadcast advertising production. Also being offered is an investment tax credit of 25% that can be claimed for investing in Wisconsin-based productions and a 15% state income tax credit for film, television and electronic game production businesses that make a capital investment by starting a business in Wisconsin.”
Jerry Lewis To Direct Nutty Professor
Jerry Lewis is going to direct a Broadway musical version of “The Nutty Professor.” “I’ve had an awful lot of inquiries about it for years, and I never really bothered to pay much attention to it. I saw this kid perform, and he wanted very much to do that, and he had money. I said, ‘With those pockets, we’ll give it a shot.'”