German officials are warning that Mel Gibson’s controversial epic, The Passion of the Christ, could stir up anti-Semitism in the country when it opens on 400 screens today. In contrast to America, where Catholic bishops embraced the film and declared it to be a vivid but accurate representation of Jesus’s last days, “German Catholic leaders called the film problematic, and the German Bishops’ Conference said: ‘We urgently warn against using the suffering of Jesus as an instrument for anti-Semitism.'”
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The $500 Million Pariah
Charges of anti-Semitism aside, Mel Gibson is cashing in on his personal faith to a degree that would make a televangelist blush. In fact, when all is said and done, Gibson could make a cool half a billion on his violent little tribute to ultra-orthodox Catholicism. And in Hollywood, where money talks louder than morality, that kind of moneymaking ability is likely to keep Gibson a major player for quite a while, regardless of how many people he offends.
I, Disney – Welfare Queen
“Scrooge McDuck would be proud. Few have panhandled for taxpayer dollars as successfully as Disney during Eisner’s reign. It has received at least $4.5 billion in subsidies, low-interest loans, land grants and “joint venture” investments from governments in Florida, Pennsylvania and Hong Kong. It even managed to get a handout from the French government—not exactly a fan of things American—which sold 4,800 acres just outside of Paris to Disney at a 90 percent discount so the company could build Euro Disneyland. Disney has gotten even sweeter deals closer to its home base in Southern California.”
Satellite Radio’s Catch-22
The satellite radio industry is in a pickle. “In order to get permission to exist, XM and Sirius had to swear off local content. But in order to survive, they need to find a legal way to deliver it to subscribers.”
Ten Irish Playwrights Who Got It Right
What is it about Irish playwrights? “No one seems to know what makes it happen. Some claim it’s the weather, others insist it’s the whiskey. But if one of the major qualities that a good stage writer needs is the ability to create sparkling dialogue, then the legendary “gift of the gab” that comes with an Irish heritage must surely be part and parcel of the deal.”
The NYTBR’s New Leader
What will Sam Tanenhaus’ appointment as editor of the New York Times Book Review mean for the publication? “Tanenhaus said he would re-examine the Book Review’s approach to fiction, which he said had long been ‘the great conundrum of the Book Review.’ And while he has no plans to abandon fiction—contrary to the fears of many in the publishing world—his enthusiasms seem to lie more in nonfiction. ‘We’re living in really an exemplary age of nonfiction narrative, and to some extent nonfiction has taken over some of the earlier attributes of the novel, which is story-telling’.”
Thieves Hit Elvis Museum
Thieves have raided the Las Vegas Elvis Presley Museum – known as Elvis-A-Rama. “Police said the suspects stole a tow truck and drove it into the museum’s rear door, then used lead pipes to break open three Plexiglas cases. The bandits were in the museum less than five minutes, police estimated. Among the stolen inventory: a gold-plated handgun, a custom scarf, a bracelet and watch, Presley’s Humes High School ring from 1953 and a Louisiana Hayride “E. Presley Day” ring from 1956.”
A New Orchestra, And A Lot Of Russian Politics…
Two years ago Vladimir Spivakov resigned (or was let go) as music director of the Russian National Orchestra. Within hours, Vladimir Putin heard about it and asked Spivakov to form a new orchestra. Many of Spivakov’s former players joined him, and a new orchestra was born, and now …
Brilliant: I’m Naked On A Plinth In Trafalgar Square
After 150 years of debate, the sculpture for the fourth, hitherto empty, plinth in Trafalgar Square was chosen on Monday; the winning artwork was Marc Quinn’s marble statue of Lapper, naked, eight months pregnant and as smooth and exposed as a newborn chick. ‘I think it’s absolutely brilliant. I don’t feel the least bit embarrassed about everyone staring at me naked – I wouldn’t have done it if I felt like that. I hope it opens their eyes’.”
The Case For A Jazz Museum
Harlem will get a jazz museum, and the need for it is great. “Since the music has long been an international language, tourists from around the world will be coming to Harlem in ever greater numbers. They won’t see a statue of Charlie Parker, but they’ll be in his presence, along with that of his progenitors. They, and visitors of all ages, will learn, interactively, dimensions of American history through the lives of embodiments of what Ellington called the ‘unhampered expression of complete freedom reflecting the ideals of American Independence’.”