Content, a seven-episode series produced by the other ABC (that’s the Australian Broadcasting Corp.), “is a comedy about a narcissistic millennial determined to become an online influencer, no matter what it takes … The high concept is that it unfolds in real time, entirely from the perspective of the protagonist’s smartphone.” – The Guardian
Blog
How Barbara Kingsolver Fell In Love With Language Again
It’s fascinating work, but lately, something else is pulling me back to my computer late at night. I get carried away in such guilty pleasure that if my husband walks in unexpectedly, I’m prone to click off my screen as if hiding an online affair, or a gaming addiction. But it’s neither. I’m writing poetry. – Washington Post
Hollywood Director Joel Schumacher Is Frank About A Lot, Including An Astounding Sex Life, But He Will Not Kiss And Tell
In a Q&A, the director of St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, Flatliners, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, and Phantom of the Opera talks about his own wild youth (he began drinking at 9 and having sex, mostly with men, at 11, and he insists he was not a victim of abuse), his celebrity adulthood in fashion and film, the good and the difficult actors he’s directed, and having made critical flops that were box-office hits. But which famous people he’s slept with? No way. – Vulture
The Compelling, Complex Characters Of Charlie Brown
Charles Schulz did not create Charlie Brown and Linus and Lucy to talk—or act—like normal children. He created them to be funny, and to act out what became a deeply personal theater of cruelty. But it is kids, real or unreal, that he put front and center, and it is kids who have been among his most avid readers. – The Atlantic
The Atlantic’s Takedown Of ‘What The Constitution Means To Me’
Staff writer Andrew Ferguson: “By play’s end, it’s become clear that if the young [Heidi] Schreck did indeed love the Constitution, it’s because she misunderstood it; and if her passion for the document has cooled as she’s gotten older, it’s because she’s transcended her earlier misunderstanding to misunderstand it even more.” – The Atlantic
Afghanistan Had A Rich Film History Until The Taliban Came. This Crew Is Rescuing What Survived
“An elite team of film archivists here is working to conserve [reels of film] as part of a years-long government program that aims to digitize about a century’s worth of Afghan documentaries and films over the next six months.” – The Washington Post
Composer Mario Davidovsky, Electronic Music Pioneer, Dead At 85
“Like many of his fellow composers in the 1950s and ’60s, Mr. Davidovsky was drawn to the new possibilities offered by technology. But he was uneasy with the prospect of music that was immune to human interpretation. Beginning in 1963 with Synchronisms No. 1 for flute and tape, he coaxed electronic sounds into partnership with traditional instruments to create musical pas-de-deux that were full of mystery and drama.” – The New York Times
Conductor Daniel Harding Will Take Year Off To Work As Commercial Pilot
“‘I am fascinated by the feeling of flying a plane,” said the 43-year-old, who has just stepped down as music director of the Orchestre de Paris. “In the spring I will join Air France as a co-pilot and in the 2020/21 season I will take a sabbatical as an orchestra conductor … to dedicate myself to flying.” – The Strad
Major Portions Of Paris’s Pompidou Center Closed For Renovation
“The museum said Tuesday that the ‘caterpillar’ escalator as well as the sloping stone plaza in front of the iconic structure were closed to the public Tuesday for work expected to last until September 2020. As a result, the centre’s three million annual visitors will have to use an entrance around back.” – Yahoo! (AFP)
Productions Of New Plays In London’s West End Have Tripled In Ten Years
“A snapshot survey of the West End in 2019, 2014, 2009 and 1999 has revealed the proportion of original plays is at its highest now, accounting for more than a fifth (21%) of all productions. Ten years ago, only three plays in the West End were not based on existing source material, such as a book or film, or were not revivals.” – The Stage