Disney officials are accusing filmmaker Michael Moore of using their decision not to release his latest film as a publicity stunt to get his film noticed at Cannes. Moore admits that he knew about Disney’s objections nearly a year ago, but says that he has been working “behind the scenes” for a solution, and only went public after determining that Disney was not willing to negotiate.
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New Hampshire Pulls Out Of Money Woes
The New Hampshire Symphony has announced it is close to solving its money problesm this year. “Back in February, the orchestra warned it could be forced to shorten its performance schedule or let go musicians should it fail to raise about $250,000 by June 30. Since that time, though, the position of the group’s finances has improved.”
Good Grief! 50 Years Of Schulz
It wasn’t political, it had no cultural agenda, and it never really pushed the boundaries of what was considered permissible on the comics page. So how did Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” endure for 50 years in countless American papers? Perhaps it was the simplicity of the art and the humor, or the tender way in which Schulz portrayed the most hapless characters, or maybe it was just that Charlie Brown seemed to represent a bygone era of innocence for which many Americans long. This week, the first edition of what will be a complete reprinting of every Peanuts strip ever drawn is being released, authorized by Schulz’s widow against his previously expressed wishes.
Nabokov Collection Sold, Dispersed
The memorabilia collection of Vladimir Nabokov was auctioned off by his son this week. “That son, Dmitri Nabokov, who turns 70 on Monday, felt his own death approaching, he said in an interview, and he wanted to leave no loose ends… The collection, a few items excepted, sold on Wednesday for nearly $750,000, a lower price than anticipated. Various private collections, most from France and Switzerland, bought parts of the collection, which will now be scattered to the breeze.”
Is It Art Or Theft?
Jon Routson creates his art by going to his local multiplex, hauling out a handheld video camera, and taping a bootleg version of the latest Hollywood blockbuster. He then shows the distorted films, complete with audience coughs and shaking camera, at art galleries as his own work. He does not sell his works, thus avoiding charges of piracy, but his days as a video artist may be numbered, nonetheless. The act of appropriating pieces of another’s work is always a touchy subject in the art world, but Routson’s particular method is illegal in five states, and is about to become illegal in his home state, as well.
Making The Space Fit The Art
Most art collectors will only buy artworks that they know they have room to display. But for Tony Podesta and Heather Miller, two powerful Washington lobbyists whose passion is art, the space must adjust to the art, and if a newly purchased statue requires a renovation of their home, complete with structural support for the floor, well, so be it. “They are known for buying ‘awkward’ works, such as video installations that many other private collectors will not consider… To get around the [display] problem, the couple have excavated a huge subterranean vault beneath their house outside Washington – a white space five metres square and four metres high in which it will be possible to show ‘very complicated video pieces’ on all four walls.”
Putting Real Money Into The Arts
In the Australian state of Victoria, legislators have added an extra AUS$52 million to this year’s arts budget. The Melbourne Festival, which has been in precarious fiscal position recently, received a funding commitment for the next four years, allowing it to plan future editions of the fest without wondering whether they’ll actually be presented. The Australian Centre for the Moving Image also received a big bump in funding, to AUS$16 million per year, and several other museums and theaters will see increases as well.
Jumping From One Twin To Another
The James Sewell Ballet, which moved its home base to the Twin Cities from New York a decade ago, has always received rave reviews and enthusiastic audience reactions when it tours around the U.S. But packed houses at home have been harder to come by, and this week, the company announced that it will be moving across the Mississippi River, from a college auditorium in St. Paul where Sewell has performed for years to the big, lavish State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis. The State will be hard to fill – it seats 2,100, as compared with 656 seats in the St. Paul venue – but the company is counting on the extra drawing power of the Minneapolis theater district, as well as on research that suggests that most of their audience lives in Minneapolis and its suburbs.
UK Theatre Worth £2.6 Billion To Economy
A new report says that theatre is worth an annual £2.6 billion to the British economy. That makes the £121.3 million in public money spent on UK theatre each year seem like a good investment.
Great Choreographer Stamps
Some of America’s greatest choreographers have been honored with postage stamps, unveiled at a ceremony Tuesday. Alvin Ailey, George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille and Martha Graham were recalled in words by family and associates while dancers performed some of their best-known works.”