Fans have taken to the “extras” found on DVD’s. Now recording companies are trying something similar with music. “DualDiscs are two-faced contraptions that feature a full CD on one side and a DVD packed with extra stuff on the other. They have begun to take off dramatically.”
Blog
“Rings” To Toronto?
Lord of the Rings, The Musical is a $30 million production waiting to happen. But where? Plans were to open in London, but that’s been problematic. Latest wod is the show might land in Toronto. Producer Kevin Wallace’s problem is that “the musical Rings has been finished and ready to be cast and mounted for some time. Rather than wait indefinitely for a London theatre to come open, he may have finally decided to opt for Toronto.”
FCC Says Monday Night Football Ad Not Indecent
The FCC rules unanimously that a “steamy introductory segment to ABC’s “Monday Night Football” featuring actress Nicollette Sheridan jumping into the arms of football player Terrell Owens” last fall was not indecent. “Although the scene apparently is intended to be titillating, it simply is not graphic or explicit enough to be indecent under our standard.”
Art (And Artists) Versus Infrastructure
Singapore is building an arts infrastructure. That’s good, writes Audrey Wong. But what about art? What about the artists? She worries that more attention is going into building up a commercial structure for art than is being spent on developing artists and their work.
The 24-Year-Old And The Big-Time Play
A 24-year-old in Minnesota, tired of seeing what he considers the same old thing on stage, decided to produce his own play. But this is no small production. “He has rented the thousand-seat Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. He has hired union actors, musicians and technicians. He has built his financial structure like a Broadway production, courting three dozen investors to raise a budget estimated at more than $400,000 — more than what all but the largest theaters in the area spend over the course of an entire season. For tickets, he’s charging something close to Broadway touring show prices.”
Leaders Gather For Israel’s Holocaust Museum Opening
World leaders are gathering in Israel for the opening of the new Holocaust Museum. “Over 40 heads of state and ministers will attend the opening of the museum which details the annihilation of six million Jews during World War II and also aims to reinforce Israel’s message that its existence is essential to prevent a repeat.”
Aussie Government Might Not Reduce Orchestras
The Australian government indicates it won’t go along with key recommendations in a report that recommended downsizing several of the country’s leading orchestras. “The Government is now negotiating with the states over funding so the current size of all three orchestras can be maintained.”
Diana As Dance
How to represent your favorite Royal in art? Danish choreographer Peter Schaufuss has chosen ballet for “Diana the Princess.” “This is Diana as she would have liked to be remembered: dashing around for an hour and a half in a tight white catsuit. On every hand, there are men and women literally dancing attendance upon her: Beefeaters, aids patients, paparazzi—the usual crowd. Also present are Her Majesty the Queen and her close family.”
Language-As-Power
“The top 20 global languages – defined in terms of their use as a first or second language – provide an interesting reflection on the fortunes of those languages that have spread by organic growth and those that have expanded by means of mergers and acquisitions. At the top of the league table is Mandarin Chinese, which has 1,052 million speakers, more than twice as many as the next highest, English, with 508 million. Third is Hindi with 487 million and fourth Spanish, with 417 million. Of course, English is a far more global language – though primarily as a second language – than Chinese, the vast majority of whose speakers live in China. But with the present rise of China – and indeed India – it would not be difficult to imagine Mandarin and Hindi becoming far more widely spoken by 2100.”
Coming Up: TV-Over-Internet
Is TV over the internet the next big thing? “Now that broadband networks are bedding down, and it is becoming essential for millions, the big telcos are keen to start shooting video down the line. Software giant Microsoft thinks IPTV – Internet Protocol TV – is the future of television, and it sits neatly with its vision of the connected entertainment experience.”