An American archaeologist says he’s found the long lost city of Atlantis. “Robert Sarmast said sonar scanning of the seabed between east Cyprus and Syria revealed man-made walls, one as long as 3 kilometers (2 miles), and trenches at a depth of 1,500 meters (1,640 yards). ‘It is a miracle we found these walls as their location, and lengths match exactly the description of the acropolis of Atlantis provided by Plato in his writings’.”
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Ailey: Home In Kansas City
For 20 years, the Alvin Ailey Company’s second home has been Kansas City. “Mr. Ailey saw Kansas City as a great environment for his ideas of bringing dance back to the people. He loved the whole communal part of it, he loved those lecture-demonstrations all over the city and the master classes, and he went to them.”
Balanchine In The Desert
Former New York City Ballet dancer Ib Andersen now leads the nine-member Arizona Ballet. On recreating Balanchine’s work: “I teach the steps and I teach what I think his intent was. It’s what I think he intended, which is of course not [necessarily] what he intended. And, like everyone else who stages Balanchine’s ballets, I put something of myself into it—because what else can you do?”
The End Of Copyright As We Know It?
This week the US Congress could vote on a major copyright bill that would radically redefine the legal use of creative work. “The Senate might vote on HR2391, the Intellectual Property Protection Act, a comprehensive bill that opponents charge could make many users of peer-to-peer networks, digital-music players and other products criminally liable for copyright infringement. The bill would also undo centuries of “fair use” — the principle that gives Americans the right to use small samples of the works of others without having to ask permission or pay.”
Rejecting “Reality”?
There are signs that “reality” TV is losing its appeal with American audiences. “Inspired by the success of such blue-chip franchises as Survivor and American Idol, the networks have increasingly loaded up on unscripted knockoffs as cheap prime-time alternatives. With quantity comes failure. It becomes a combination of mediocre shows or shows that are so similar to other shows, they don’t stick.”
Smithsonian Museums Get $25 Million Boost
Washington DC’s historic Old Patent Office building gets a $25 million gift to help transform it into a new museum complex. “The Kogod money will enable the museum to proceed with a dramatic glass enclosure over the courtyard of the building, which will reopen in 2006 as the restored home of both the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery.”
Music To The Max
Composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies is 70 this year and being feted in a style befitting a man who has transformed the Scottish music world. “When he announced a few years ago that he had written his final symphony, and that his focus would now be centred on the intimate world of chamber music and a cycle of ten string quartets, many wondered if this was a euphemism for early retirement. In fact, as the quartets roll off the Maxwell Davies production line with remarkable ease and efficiency, a phenomenal rejuvenation process is taking place.”
Threepeat – Coming To A Theatre, DVD and TV Near You
“Noel,” a Christmas movie starring Susan Sarandon, Penelope Cruz and Robin Williamshasn’t attracts interest from mainstream distribution companies. So the film’s distributor is staging a “trimultaneous” rollout, releasing the movie in a few dozen theatres around the US, making it available in the disposable EZ-D format for $4.99 on Amazon.com. On cable, it will air once, on TNT, during Thanksgiving weekend.
Hollywood’s Tyranny Of The Box Office Gross
Movies used to spend weeks and months in theatres building audiences. No more. That all important opening weekend box office pretty much defines whether or not a movie is a hit. “Over the years, America’s dream factory has sent thousands of different stories out into the world, but every weekend Hollywood itself endures exactly the same tale: One movie is crowned the box-office champ, another is tagged a big loser, and some of the city’s biggest actors and producers, watching years of work end in crashing commercial disappointment, reach for the Maalox.”
UK Children’s Theater On The Ropes
London’s Unicorn Theatre, which is constructing a £12.6 million new home on the banks of the Thames, is running out of available cash for the project, and needs to raise £1.6 million immediately if the building is to be completed in time for next year’s planned opening.