“The success of the annual Comedy Festival — now in its 20th year and one of the world’s Big Three — has become the starting point for most aspiring comics rather than the objective it once was for those who had spent years proving material and building confidence in rough-and-tumble rooms that ran year-round. Has Melbourne lost its reputation for funny bones?”
Blog
Studios Leave Critics Out In The Cold
Hollywood movie studios rae increasingly shutting critics out of advance screenings of their movies. “The practice does not sit well with critics, who either must do without or scramble to catch the movie on opening day and dash something off if their outlets want to have a review over opening weekend. But it makes business sense for studios, which may presume the drawbacks outweigh the benefits if critics are likely to hate a movie.”
Cancelling Out – Disaster Wrapped In Opportunity
There’s been a rash of cancellations in the classical music world this year. A cancelling artist sends an orchestra into a frenzy of looking for a replacement. But it can also be an opportunity; orchestras plan seasons in advance, and a sudden opening can be a chance to check out someone new or hot.
Returned Art – What Are The Obligations?
Maria Altmann successfully sued the Austrian government for return of paintings by Gustav Klimt. Now she’s loaned them to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. “The three-month loan to LACMA of a textbook painting is partly a gesture of gratitude to the city where Altmann emigrated. But it’s also a holding action. With the seven-year legal battle over title to the art now settled, the heirs face a daunting question: What obligations — if any — does the family have in determining the ultimate fate of a painting of monumental cultural significance?”
The Digital Music Corner Store
“In the digital world, small record shops have to find creative ways to market their service. Sometimes, that means giving away their product for free in order to build traffic. Consider Tight Tunes—where, since July 2005, Queens natives Matthew Warren and James Reixach have been building a MySpace where artists can conduct monetary transactions.”
Will Previous Scandal Hurt Hendra’s New Book?
Two years ago author Tony Hendra was promoting his bestselling book when his 39-year-old daughter said Hendra had abused her as a child. “Now, as Hendra prepares to promote his latest, a novel called The Messiah of Morris Avenue (in bookstores today), one question seems unavoidable: Will the new book be hurt by the old scandal?”
Sony Begins Selling E-Book Reader
Sony is beginning to distribute a new e-book reader, which it hopes will popularize the devices. “Ever since they emerged in the late 1990s, when they were widely labeled as the future of publishing, e-books have suffered because there was no popular device to read them on. Previous readers have been criticized for being difficult to look at and for lacking the intimacy of a bound paper text.”
Surprise – Zukerman To Return To Orchestra Early
Pinchas Zukerman, who abruptly left his national Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa in mid-season, says he’ll return early from his announced break. “No reason for the return was given to subscribers. Christopher Deacon, the orchestra’s managing director, said yesterday that Zukerman first broached the idea of ending the sabbatical in a phone call from Europe 10 days ago. Details were firmed up last week.”
Ask The Audience – LOTR Surveys The Crowd
Producers of the Lord of the Rings musical now playing in Toronto are offering audience members bribes to answer questions about the show. “According to LOTR producer Kevin Wallace, the surveys are principally intended to determine the show’s demographic — who’s coming, and where they’re coming from — in order to target media and public relations campaigns more precisely. But it also asks respondents to cite elements they liked and didn’t like about the production.”
More TV/Music, More Teen Sex
“A new study suggests that youths who are exposed to sexually explicit media when they are 12 to 14 are more likely to have sex before they hit 16.”