Hollywood is drawn to China as a new production center. “Drawn by China’s fast-growing economy, inexpensive film production sites and its increasingly popular martial arts and feature films – most notably “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” in 2000 – Western studios are stepping up their presence here and looking to eventually turn China into a major film production base.”
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The 90-Minute Magic Flute
Mozart’s “Magic Flute” cut down and performed in English at the Met? “Is the cut-down, 90-minute version a first step at commercializing the Met? Some opera purists may think so. But the plan has merit. That even the brightest children have limited attention spans is a given. A family version of “The Magic Flute” at the Met would have to be done right, though. Will the run be presented at family times (matinees and early evenings), and, more important, at family prices? In principle, this is a good idea.”
Hooked On The Advance Sale
Broadway’s “The Odd Couple” has already sold $18 million in advance sale. That leaves few tickets available when they go on sale this week to the general public. “The type of advance sale that “The Odd Couple” offered through American Express is increasingly popular among producers, guaranteeing money in the bank long before the reviews come in. It also cuts down on costs, reducing the need to advertise after the show opens.”
West End’s TV Stars Leave Town Empty
It’s been fashionable for American movie and TV stars to try their hand at theatre in London’s West End. But “their performances refute the seemingly self-evident principle that human flesh generates more heat than celluloid. These actors are all playing the sorts of irresistible sexual enchanters from whom a wink is as good as a kiss.” But what works on screen doesn’t necessarily translate to the stage.
Coming To A TV Near You – 3D
Next generation TV sets promise some serious geek bling – and 3D. “Ordinary TV sets deliver 500 lines of resolution. Most high-definition screens reach 1,050. The HD3D hits 1,280 lines and counting – which means better picture quality than that of any TV available today, all in a convincing impression of the third dimension. And here’s the seriously trippy part about the new screen, which Deep Light plans to introduce at next winter’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: multiple “blades” of video enable one screen to show different programs to different viewers, at the same time.”
At The Opera – The English Debate
A debate rages at the English National Opera about whether using supertitles is necessary for operas sung in English. Anthony Tommasini appreciates the arguments on both side: “In my passions and my ideals, I side with the purists about the threat titles represent to opera in English. Having this crutch is bound to undermine the heritage slowly but steadily: audiences will look to the screens rather than pay attention to the singers; singers, knowing that audiences are relying on the projected texts, will cut corners on diction so that they can linger on a luscious sustained tone. Yet the pragmatist in me understands the frustrations of sitting through an opera in English when you cannot make out the words. Nothing induces passivity, even hostility, to opera more than that.”
Paris’ New Dance Festival
Paris has a “new three-week festival, Les Étés de la Danse de Paris (Paris Dance Summers), which will be inaugurated with three world premieres on Tuesday by the San Francisco Ballet. Despite an intense interest in the art form, the city has lacked a summer dance festival since 2001, when it withdrew its underwriting. The Paris Opera Ballet shuts before Bastille Day and nothing in dance happens after that for both tourists and the Paris public.”
Cheap DVD Sales Booming
“While overall DVD sales are robust – last year retailers sold $15.5 billion in discs – the low-end market is positively booming. Recently, 19 of the 50 top sellers on the Nielsen VideoScan national sales charts were budget DVD’s.” How budget? There are plenty on offer from 99 cents to $1.99.
Where Art And Biology Meet
“Called bioart or wetware by some of its practitioners, the field is growing rapidly in the United States and Europe, and it is producing bizarre and sometimes disturbing work that seems sprung right from the pages of Philip K. Dick or Koji Suzuki, except that the science involved is not fiction. In many ways bioart represents a logical next step in contemporary art, which has eagerly embraced new approaches and nontraditional materials: video and computers beginning in the 1960’s and 70’s, digital technology and the Internet in the 90’s. But bioart can credibly claim to have made a more revolutionary break with tradition.”
A Tale Of Two Lloyd Wright Houses
One Los Angeles Frank Lloyd Wright house renovated, another falling down a hill. “If only it were that simple. It turns out that Ennis-Brown, once you get past the gaping holes on its lower flank, looks surprisingly good, particularly its stunning split-level living and dining room space — though that shouldn’t dissuade you from making a donation to help shore it up. And at the Barnsdall House, the handsome renovations can’t disguise the dispiriting mess the city has made, and continues to make, of its site or that behind its low walls is one of Wright’s least appealing domestic interiors.”