The Federal Communications Commission has approved a controversial plan to allow broadcasters to insert a digital “flag” into their television programs which would prevent consumers from distributing digital copies of the program over peer-to-peer file trading services. Privacy advocates had argued that the plan infringed on the “fair use” rights of the public, but the FCC determined that U.S. copyright law made it legal for restrictions to be placed on just what consumers can do with the pictures that come across their TV screens.
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And A Finn Shall Lead Them
Finland is justifiably proud of its musical tradition, and sometimes, it seems as if the Finns have taken over the conducting profession completely. Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is one of the country’s most successful native sons, and lately, he has been captivating America as well. Following the glittering opening night of the Phil’s new Disney Hall, Salonen’s already-considerable profile has been raised, and many are saying that the conductor appears to have graciously evolved from his early years in LA, when he favored obscure composers and difficult modernist works, into a truly well-rounded leader who skillfully balances the demands of his audience, his musicians, and his own soul.
No More Free Money For Fake Brit Films
“Film-makers who abuse the system of tax breaks for British films are facing a crackdown by the UK Government. Films that are British or co-produced by Britain get tax relief in the UK. But the government suspects some co-productions of falsely claiming to spend more in the UK to qualify, while others do not give value for money.”
Sculptor’s Payday
Henry Moore’s 15-foot bronze sculpture, Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped, sold at auction for $6.2 million this week, the highest price ever paid for a work by a British sculptor. “The previous best for a work by Moore, regarded as one of the UK’s top sculptors, was $4.1m , in 1999. Collectors also paid record prices for works by French painter Fernand Leger Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Tuesday’s auction of impressionist and modern art [at Christie’s in New York] sold pieces worth a total of $117m.”
Denby: Movies Suck, But There’s Hope
New Yorker film critic David Denby began a talk at Yale University this week by flatly declaring that “movies suck.” Specifically, according to Denby, the Matrix trilogy sucks, most other film critics suck, and so does the exasperating tendency of the big Hollywood studios to churn out embarrassing pap masquerading as cinema. But Denby isn’t all doom and gloom, saying that just because there are fewer profound stories being filmed than in the medium’s “golden age,” that doesn’t indicate that Hollywood is dying out.
Will Warhol Market Crash?
So one in six Warhols is said to be fake. Now “New York is bracing itself for a Warhol washout at next week’s sales after a two-year price boom that has seen as much as £4 million change hands for a wallsized Warhol canvas.”
Record For Modigliani
Steve Wynn put down some serious cash for for a Modigliani image of a nude. “It brought $26.8 million, above Christie’s $25 million high estimate. After the sale, art experts were quick to point out that Mr. Wynn had paid nearly $10 million more for the painting when he bought it privately in the mid-1990’s.”
A Lift For “Producers” – Lane And Broderick Return
After months of lagging ticket sales, the Broadway production of The Producers is bringing back the show’s original stars – Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. “The show’s producers want to make the most of the stars’ return. The show’s regular tickets cost $30 to $100, and the producers are also expected to sell nearly a hundred $480 tickets in the best rows of the orchestra for each performance through Broadway Inner Circle. With the new $480 tickets, the show is likely to post the highest box office take on Broadway, as much as $1.3 million a week.”
A Rant Against Multi-Culturalism
“Only two decades ago, the central principle of anti-racism was that all individuals in our society should be treated equally, regardless of ethnic origin or religion. Yet through multiculturalism, the malign ideological spawn of anti-discrimination, we have moved far away from that stance. We are now told that, in the name of ‘celebrating diversity’, we must respect every aspect of every culture in our midst. Not only must we act correctly in word and deed, but, more importantly, we must also be trained to harbour no negative thoughts about the behaviour of any other ethnic group. This outlook is utterly inimical to personal freedom and equality before the law, the very pillars of our civilisation.”
Who Wants Talent? Really!
“My theory is that in all areas of creative human endeavor, the presence of true talent is almost always the kiss of death. It’s no accident that three people who were tragically forced into bankruptcy late in their lives were Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, and Mark Twain. It’s no fluke of fate that Schubert died shortly after giving the world the Unfinished Symphony. You probably wouldn’t have finished it either if you had syphilis and twelve cents in your pocket. Or how would you like to have died at age 29 in the back seat of a Cadillac? If you’re Hank Williams, that’s what talent got you. But what is talent? And why would anyone in his right mind want it? As Albert Einstein often said, ‘I don’t know’.”