Krista Vernoff: “It was hard to part ways with [my agent] when the deadline expired for talks between the guild and the agencies. I say ‘part ways’ because I did not fire my agent. Instead, I quoted Lin-Manuel Miranda: ‘See you on the other side of the war.’ In response, my agent did what agents do: he tried to sell me. He tried to sell me on the idea that it is my guild that is being unreasonable here. He tried to sell me on the idea that this action by my guild is damaging and irresponsible to lower and mid level writers. He hit me with the sentence, ‘Your guild didn’t even counter our offer.'” – The Hollywood Reporter
Blog
Night At The Museum
Sure, Hyperallergic was joking about overnights at the Met Museum, but this is real: The Louvre is offering a one-night AirBnB experience. Why? To try to make the museum “cool.” – Le Monde (France)
When The Star Of A Ring Cycle Is The Traditional Villain
At the Met, “the typically villainous Alberich — the dwarfish Nibelung of the title — is portrayed with nobility and nuance by Tomasz Konieczny, in a stunning company debut.” – The New York Times
Mathematicians Just Discovered The ‘Perfect’ Way To Multiply
Basically, this is the fastest way … so far. Things still might change, but “it splits up digits, uses an improved version of the fast Fourier transform, and takes advantage of other advances made over the past forty years.” – Quanta Magazine
Brazilian President Who Says The Holocaust ‘Can Be Forgiven’ To Be Honored In A Private Event At NY Museum
The American Museum of Natural History said on Twitter that it was “deeply concerned” and “exploring its options” as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is set to be honored at a gala at the museum. “In a statement Friday, the museum said the event ‘does not in any way reflect the Museum’s position that there is an urgent need to conserve the Amazon Rainforest, which has such profound implications for biological diversity, indigenous communities, climate change, and the future health of our planet.'” The gala is a month away. – The New York Times
Author Beverly Cleary Just Turned 103, And Her Most Important Creation Helps Kids And Adults Make Sense Of The World
Ramona Quimby “is a plain girl in the suburbs. Nothing remarkable happens to her, no one notices her particularly, nor does she have the power to make her own magic.” And yet. – LitHub
Gary Stewart, Who Turned Rhino Records Into An Essential Label, Has Died At 63
Stewart did a lot more than run Rhino and help get playlists onto iTunes as an Apple exec. He “advocated for lesser known, unjustly dismissed or overlooked music by artists including the Monkees, Love, Dionne Warwick, the Neville Brothers and hundreds of others, and in doing so helped reframe cultural conversations by bringing into the present recordings considered to be long past their expiration date.” – Los Angeles Times
Yeah, We Were Lied To: Emily Dickinson Was Actually A Trailblazing Rebel Artist
Molly Shannon, an actor who spent years on Saturday Night Live, didn’t think much of or about Dickinson until she got the chance to play her in a new movie. Then things changed. Shannon: “We have this story that she wanted her poems burned upon death when in reality she’s an L.G.B.T.Q. hero. She’s a model for new wave feminism, which talks about equality for all. [Screams] It makes me want to start a riot.” – The New York Times
This Is The Director Who Sued Her Government For The Chance To Show Her Film In Her Own Country
Wanuri Kahiu isn’t happy with how much trolling and nastiness she’s gotten since her film Rafiki was banned in Kenya because it positively depicted a same-sex relationship. But middle fingers up to the haters: “Days before Rafiki was banned, it was selected for Cannes. Now she has two Hollywood projects on the go: a sci-fi series for Amazon Prime, and a gig directing Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things, in a young adult drama produced by Reese Witherspoon, making her the first African woman to get a studio deal. One article bills her as ‘the next Kathryn Bigelow.'” – The Guardian (UK)
Propwatch: The glasses in ‘A German Life’
Dame Maggie Smith has to deal with glasses continually during her 100-minute monologue. – David Jays
