Public sector workers, dancers, and musicians have been on strike since December, with cancellations costing the Paris Opera nearly 15 million euros. But Saturday night, the production of Tales of Hoffman went up. “‘To preserve the economic integrity of the Opera, we have made the decision to go ahead with the performance this evening, but we remain mobilised for the withdrawal of this bill,’ said a union representative at the start of the performance, in a statement recorded by a spectator and posted on Twitter.” – France24
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Netflix Is Betting On First-Time Filmmakers In The Streaming Wars
That may sound weird when Netflix also has Scorsese and Noah Baumbach out with Oscar-nominated movies at the moment (not to mention last year’s Roma), but: “The idea is to forge relationships with up-and-coming directors before they become big names. Last year, Netflix released 19 original movies from first-time directors on its streaming platform; another 11 have already been announced for 2020. About half of the first-time directors last year were women, and several titles hailed from directors of color whose films had diverse casts and characters.” – Los Angeles Times
When Fast Food Picks Up Larger Society’s Civil Rights Slack
You’ve probably heard of Harry Belafonte’s connection to the Civil Rights Movement, but … McDonald’s? Yes. The history of McDonald’s includes a large number of Black-owned franchises that also employ a lot of young (and not so young) Black women. But of course, there are issues: “Any time we have communities that have to rely on a business to be the place of refuge, to be the place for wifi, to be the sponsor of youth sports, to be the place where the youth job program happens, for the college scholarships to emanate from, then we have a problem.” – NPR
The Game-Changing Documentary ‘Honeyland’
Not to be confused with the autobiographical Shia LaBoeuf feature Honey Boy, of course. But seriously: The film, a documentary about a woman in North Macedonia living in isolation with her dying mother and keeping bees – and what happens when a Turkish family moves in next door – is the first film nominated both for best documentary and best international feature. A.O. Scott chose it as the best movie of 2019. – The New York Times
One Massive Problem With Blockbuster Art Shows
They create, sustain, and promote inequality – and a lack of public funding is increasing the issue. “The trend of putting on safer exhibitions by established artists to guarantee high visitor numbers and offset a decline in state funding could make it even harder for experimental and minority artists to break through.” – The Observer (UK)
Margo Lion, Proudly Independent Producer Of ‘Hairspray’ And Others On Broadway, Has Died At 75
Lion was the main producer for Hairspray and Jelly’s Last Jam, and she also played a major role in bringing Angels in America to Broadway. The artists she worked with remember how warm and how invested she was in their shows, and how absolutely committed. “She stuck with shows she believed in despite the considerable risk of losing money, as most Broadway productions do. She often put up her West Side apartment as collateral in support of a project.” – The New York Times
A New Revenge Movie Perfect For – But Not About – The MeToo Era, Written And Directed By A Star Of ‘The Crown’
She’s a rising star of Season 3 (and 4) of The Crown, an executive producer for Killing Eve, and – oh yes – a writer and director of a movie whose trailer has been viewed more than 3 million times. And she’s written the story and book for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Cinderella. About that new revenge thriller, Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan, Emerald Farrell says: “I really wanted [it] to come out on Valentine’s Day, and I don’t mean that as a joke. I think what I wanted to make — and the stuff I always want to make — is popcorn, like great proper popcorn, Hollywood movies.” – Los Angeles Times
A Fire Tears Through New York’s Museum Of Chinese In America, Destroying 85,000 Irreplaceable Works
In the heart of Chinatown, the collection was central to the history of Chinese Americans – and, because the building is structurally unsound, no one can go in to retrieve the water-soaked items to save at least some of them. “Among the thousands of items in the collection believed to be lost is a document from 1883 about the Chinese Exclusion Act. Other irreplaceable pieces included the carefully written letters of bachelors working in the United States to send money home ‘even though they didn’t live a full life because of discrimination,’ said Ms. Maasbach; traditional wedding dresses from the early 1900s known as cheongsam; items brought by emigrants in suitcases that in some instances were later left anonymously outside the museum’s front door; and photographs from Chinatown in the 1980s.” – The New York Times
Next Week, The World’s First ‘Grime Ballet’ Premieres
Grime is a music style that came from London hip hop and electronic dance music – and now a grime artist, Lionness, has decided to team up with a London ballet company to “merge two worlds together.” – BBC
The Conductor Of Countless Harry Potter Symphony Match-Ups Explains Why He Does It
This is a hot time for symphonies showing Harry Potter movies while performing, live, John Williams’ scores. But, well, why? John Jesensky, who works for CineConcerts and has conducted many orchestras performing movie scores as the movie plays above their heads, explains. “I see so many young faces out in the audience experiencing the orchestra and live classical music for the first time. If there is one thing I hope I accomplish in all of our performances, it is to inspire a youngster to pick up an instrument, or for an adult to decide they would love to come back and visit the orchestra again.” – The Madison Capital Times (Wisconsin)