What? Oscar voters aren’t going to get DVD copies of nominated movies this year because of fears of piracy? Critics “claim that a blanket ban on screeners will suffocate independent films, and they’re absolutely right. When the crunch comes for end-of-the-year screenings, there’ll be no time–and nowhere near enough screening rooms–for Academy voters to see “American Splendor,” “Winged Migration” or “Whale Rider,” to name but three of the many superb films that lack the budgets to promote themselves. And so the elephantiasis that afflicts the movie business will proceed apace, as the most heavily marketed films–though often the least interesting ones–lumber toward Oscar glory.”
Blog
Wal-Mart’s Magazine Clout
Wal-Mart is the biggest single retailer of magazines’ newsstand sales, “accounting for what industry executives peg as at least 15% of all such sales. It holds that place despite some selectivity in choosing which magazines to stock in its stores.” That “selectivity” includes a “moral” standard that now has a big impact on how magazines are sold.
Why Does An Author’s Ethnicity Matter?
Booker favorite Monica Ali is the object of much speculation about her ethnicity. “The cult of the ethnic author is infuriating for the simple reason that it takes the focus away from the work. Who cares if Ali is ‘black’ or ‘white,’ or whether she was closer to her Mum or her Abba? People have been so wrapped up in Ali that few have bothered with critical examination of the book.”
A Carnegie, NY Phil Merger That Never Made Sense?
“To many minds, the merger never made sense. Looked at solely from the perspective of the New York Philharmonic, the primary advantage was obvious: instead of being a tenant in the acoustically challenged Avery Fisher Hall, the orchestra would have become a co-resident at America’s most storied and acoustically excellent auditorium. But it was much harder to see how Carnegie Hall was supposed to benefit from the merger, unless you viewed it essentially as a business venture that would have combined two endowments and two subscriber bases at a time of economic uncertainties.”
SF Conservatory’s New Home
The San Francisco Conservatory is entering a new era with a new building. “The new building, designed by the San Francisco architectural firm Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein Moris with the involvement of acoustician Lawrence Kirkegaard, will mark a huge expansion for the Conservatory. The plans call for a building nearly twice the size of the existing facility, with no fewer than three performance spaces and a wealth of new classrooms, practice rooms and teaching studios. And all at a cost of only $80 million.”
NY Phil & Carnegie – Calling Off The Marriage
“The much-heralded union between America’s oldest orchestra and its most prestigious concert hall – announced for the 2006-07 season – would have created a gigantic nonprofit corporation with an endowment of around $350 million. But there were problems from the beginning, both legal (Lincoln Center had indicated that it would seek to hold the Philharmonic, its tenant for the past 41 years, to a contract that ran until 2011) and aesthetic (the merger would have greatly diminished the variety of programming at Carnegie Hall).”
Turners Rescued By Newspaper Reader
A fan of JMW Turner gives £13,000 to the Victoria & Albert Museum to repair two of the artist’s paintings after reading in the paper that they were disintegrating.
Philly Opera – Blasting Out The Half-Price Tickets
The Opera Company of Philadelphia finds its season subscriptions on the decline. So it’s trying something new – four days before a performance, the company releases remaining tickets at half-price. “The availability of half-price seats is made known through periodic e-mail ‘blasts’ much in the fashion of last-minute airline deals. The question remains whether opera fans are the type who will make last-minute plans. Last week’s Il Trovatore opening sold 100 half-price tickets on 24-hour notice.”
The (Bad) Language Of TV
“Bad” language is on the increase on American broadcast networks. “It’s not hard to understand why these increases have occurred on the networks during prime time. First, there is the competition from cable. Popular programs such as ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Sex and the City’ use vulgar and explicit language that makes network shows seem prim by comparison. Then there is pressure on entertainment programs to keep up with their own network news divisions.”
Artist Sues Company To Keep Work Intact
In 2000, artist David Phillips created his biggest work – a park installation for a big insurance company in Boston. Two years later, the company wanted to add some trees and sidewalks, but Phillips protested that the plan would change his work. Now the artist and the company are in court. Phillips wants to prevent the company from changing anything; the company wants to remove the work altogether…