So … Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” is sitting at number one in the UK – and in the US, but despite its utter yeehaw-ness, not on the country charts because Billboard claimed it didn’t “embrace enough elements of today’s country music.” Riiiiight. The genre has a bit of an issue with Black musicians (and other musicians of color), and women of any race as well. “The gravity of this discrimination really hits home when you consider that country is the biggest radio format in the US.” – The Guardian (UK)
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The Path From Dancer To Artistic Director In Dallas
Melissa Young began her career as a dancer with Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and since then, she’s been rehearsal director, academy director, associate artistic director, and interim artistic director – and now she’s got the job permanently. She saw the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater when she was a teenager, and, she says, “from that moment on, I knew THIS was what I had to do. There was no turning back. There was no plan b to fall back on.” – Paper City Magazine
A 1615 Bible, Stolen From Pittsburgh Library Two Decades Ago, Is Recovered In The Netherlands
And yes, it was an inside job: “The Bible was among hundreds of rare books, maps and other items, worth about $8 million in total, that the authorities have said were stolen by the archivist in charge of the collection over nearly 20 years.” – The New York Times
Harvey Weinstein’s Trial Is Postponed Until September
Media were removed from the courtroom for a while during Friday’s proceedings as well. Why? “Prosecutors want to call additional women with similar allegations to help establish a pattern of misconduct. The number and identities of those women has been kept secret. The defense has argued that calling such witnesses would prejudice the case, and asked the court to close Friday’s hearing on the subject to avoid tainting the jury pool. The prosecution also asked that the hearing be closed.” – Variety
Most Of The Books We Own Bring Us Joy, But That Doesn’t Mean We Need To Keep Them
A woman who keeps only 5-10 physical books in her personal library at any time wonders, “Why are we so attached to our books? As I held and decided the fate of each book, I kept coming back to this question. Why was I attached to these physical objects? Paper, binding glue, a cover. Fairly simple and commonplace. I knew I could easily find replacements for my discarded books, and that … the true connection I felt was to the stories themselves. The books were mere vessels. So why didn’t I want to part with them?” – The Millions
Just When You Thought Bundling Was Dead, The New Disney And Hulu Discussion Began
When every site, production company, and channel seem to be creating their own streaming services, and when Disney decides it might want to sell its own bundle, it’s time to acknowledge that murdering cable with streaming might only have created a Night King. – Bloomberg
How To Translate ‘King Lear’ Into ASL
First, of course, you need to be familiar with the original. Russell Harvard, who’s playing the Duke of Cornwall to Glenda Jackson’s King Lear on Broadway, also had to help figure out how good Cornwall would be at lip-reading – and how that might change the play. – American Theatre
The Ever-Growing Imbalance Between Stars And Critics
You’d think an ill-conceived, badly written mini-screed might not be worthy of worry for critics. You’d be wrong – dangerously so, when it comes to stars “taking on” the low-paid people who cover their art. Check out this week’s Dumpster fire of a screed, for instance: “Using the hard-earned clout of the Me Too movement to deflect critique of the fashion-celebrity industrial complex is not a feminist crusade.” – HuffPost
The Software Hollywood Writers Use For Scripts Now Has ‘Inclusivity Analysis’
Final Draft, a widely used software for screenwriters, now has a free add-on to help writers measure everything from gender and race to age, ability, and more The software can even analyze whether the film would pass the Bechdel Test. – The New York Times
Man Shouts Spoilers At Crowd Waiting To See Avengers: Endgame, And Then They Beat Him Up
Well, the directors did ask people not to spoil the movie. (Obviously, the answer is not violence, but it does indicate the seriousness with which audience members treat spoilers for movies like this one.) – Deadline