Authorities searching for Edvard Munch’s stolen masterpiece, The Scream, may finally have a solid lead. The getaway car used in the robbery has been exhaustively examined, and police say that they now have knowledge of “persons with connections to criminal circles in eastern Norway” who are known to have used the car after it was seen parked on a farm last year.
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Is Canada Really Stealing Hollywood Productions?
A new study commissioned by the Canadian film industry disputes the idea that “runaway” movie shoots are hurting U.S. interests. “Despite claims of U.S. job losses, employment in the U.S. production industry has actually increased by 6.6 per cent since 1998.” The report also disputes the figures in an earlier study backed by American actors and producers, which claimed that Canada had caused $10.3 billion worth of economic loss to U.S. film interests.
Arts PAC Prepares To Up The Ante
Americans For The Arts has announced that it will create a political action committee to directly lobby politicians for greater arts support. The new PAC is funded by a $120 million grant from the Lily Foundation, and “one of the group’s first moves will be to issue congressional report cards on individual legislators’ support of the arts and arts issues. Another of the group’s functions will be training advocates on how to promote bond, tax or other arts-funding issues in their communities.”
Maybe They Didn’t Factor In The Exchange Rate
“A Toronto production company has failed to come up with the mil lions of dollars it had planned to in vest in several of this season’s new Broadway musicals, leaving the producers of those shows scrambling to fill significant last-minute gaps in their budgets.” Affected shows include a revival of La Cage Aux Folles, and the new musicals Brooklyn and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Miami Losing Classical Radio (Again)
The AM radio station that stepped into South Florida’s classical music void when the local public radio station abandoned the genre three years ago has been sold to a religious broadcaster, and will likely cease its classical programming by the beginning of 2005. WKAT had struggled to attract advertisers since going classical in the fall of 2002, and even arts benefactors in the area weren’t terribly interested in helping the station out. Eventually, the station’s owners were forced to sell in order to pay outstanding bills.
Puppetry Getting Over The ‘Kids Only’ Hump
Puppetry is suddenly hot again, with marionettes playing leading roles at the movies, on Broadway, and even at the Metropolitan Opera. These days, students at the University of Connecticut can even major in puppetry. “But all this sophistication can be a bit jarring for some audiences. For many, ‘puppet show’ doesn’t suggest existential crises – just something fun for their kids. And when they get something else, there can be problems.”
Taking Poetry’s Name In Vain
Fans of high-minded pop singers like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Billy Corgan like to talk of lyrics as poetry, and to celebrate their favorite performers as not only musical geniuses, but literary lights as well. But such trite assessments may be selling the art of poetry short, says Robert Everett-Green. “Rock poets who break out of their medium and into published poetry are still rare… And yet the cachet of calling oneself a poet continues, even as poetry declines as a subject of public interest.”
Everybody’s Favorite Color
There’s just something about the color blue that seems to excite people. “Remember how cool it was when scientists declared the universe turquoise? What a letdown when they admitted their mistake and pronounced it beige instead. Interesting how a color can be traditional, exciting or electrifying as well. Despite its basic ordinariness as a primary color, blue often manages to be startling or unnatural… Similarly, blue is what stirs the hearts of collectors because, for whatever reason, blue has not been the go-to hue for most creators of things (unless you’re talking Smurfs).”
Author Of Pop Music Encyclopedia Dies
“Robert Lissauer, a music historian whose vast encyclopedia of American popular song, considered the definitive reference book in the field, settled innumerable arguments and started innumerable others, died yesterday… The first edition of Lissauer’s Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America listed more than 19,000 songs, from Aaron Loves Angela to Zsa Zsa.“
Shrek Moving To Broadway
The director behind the runaway Broadway hit, Avenue Q, has been tapped to produce a stage version of the Dreamworks movie Shrek. The production will begin with a non-New York run in 2006, and then move to Broadway shortly thereafter. Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire will write the stage play, and theater and film veteran Sam Mendes will produce.