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Ontario – Is Censorship On The Way Out? (Goody!)

A Canadian court has ruled that the province of Ontario’s ability to censor movies might be unconstitutional. “Not that the disappearance of the Ontario Film Review Board’s powers of censorship would be anything but welcome, wise and way overdue, just that the constant possibility of censorship — the very idea that you lived in a province where some anonymous citizen had the power to decide what you could and could not see — was a kind of galvanizing fact of life in those days.”

A Bribe To Make Canadian Drama

Canadian TV producers have all but stopped making dramas. So the CRTC is hoping a little bribe might help. “The carrot will be more allotted advertising minutes per hour in return for more home-grown content, and increased viewership of that content, the broadcast regulator said yesterday as it released details of a three-point package.”

Opera At Pop Festival? Really?

Opera at the pop orgy that is Glastonbury? And Wagner yet? What a concept. “All agreed that this was a landmark event, a marriage of opposites, the very thing that the word ‘crossover’ had been invented to describe. I’m surprised, frankly, that it’s taken the festival organisers this long to make their point.”

What You Get For $100 Mil In Hollywood These Days: Average

“The cost of making a movie at a major Hollywood studio rose 9 per cent last year to an average $64-million. Add to that the average $39-million spent on TV commercials, print ads and other promotions, and you’ve got a per-film total of $103-million, the first time in history that an average movie’s costs — the ordinary, the median, the norm! — top $100-mil. I reiterate, these are now our average films.”

Who Bought $104 Million Picasso?

The name of the person who bought a picasso painting for a record $104 million hasn’t been revealed. “Buyers identities do trickle out, however, as there are only a handful of very rich people in the world who consistently spend this kind of money and get approaches from galleries to display their wares. Unless you believe in Dr No keeping his pictures in a cave, it’s going to be very hard to hide this picture. It’s always secret if only because the world’s very richest people are hiding from two kinds of character – thieves and burglars, and they are also hiding from the taxman.”

US – Shutting Out Cuban Artists

More than 150 Cuban artists have recently been refused visas to perform in the United States. “U.S. officials say the restrictions implemented in November are among a series of measures designed to further isolate the hemisphere’s only communist regime and pressure Cuban President Fidel Castro to make democratic reforms. The officials contend that Cuban artists are using concert tours in the United States to promote the sales of CDs and other products, with a majority of the profits ending up in Cuban government coffers.”

David – A Refreshing Bath

Michelangelo’s David is being unwrapped this month after his first bath in 130 years. “The cleaning has left David’s complexion a little pearlier than it has been in a very long time. It has also highlighted some of the colossal nude’s less obvious imperfections, nicks and discolorations. “David” is showing his age.”

Movie Piracy – Inside Job

The movie industry is vigorously trying to stop digital pirates. But some say industry indisers are the biggest source of piracy. “People want to buy good-quality films, and insiders are the only ones who can really provide that. It’s usually someone inside in need of some extra money who’s willing to do this.”

Cincinnati Arts Fund Raises Its Way To No. 1

Cincinnati’s Fine Arts Fund became “the largest united arts fund-raiser in the country this year, raising $10.4 million in its annual pledge campaign. That’s 4 percent more than last year, faster growth than 59 similar regional campaigns in cities such as Milwaukee, Charlotte and Louisville that also raise money for a number of arts organizations at once.”