Writers and agencies are locked in a battle over who should reap the benefits from packaging fees – “the longstanding industry practice of talent agencies taking fees for putting together a lineup of their clients — actors, writers and directors — for a show, rather than receiving the customary 10% commission on each client’s fee.” And for the show The Good Doctor, talent agency William Morris Endeavor “threatened to blow up the deal” unless a packaging fee was included. – Los Angeles Times
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Netflix Is Trying To Solve Dubbing In The United States
USians, unlike Europeans and many others around the world, historically do not like dubbed movies. But Netflix wants to change that with newly dubbed movies and high-quality actors. Will it work? – The New York Times
The Fire At Notre Dame Has Revived A Need For Skilled Stonecarvers
There are two ways to do become a stonecarver in France – travel around to different work sites, apprenticing, or get a degree (the latter is less “mythic” and somewhat more friendly to women). No matter what President Macron says about restoring Notre Dame in five years, they know they’ll be needed for decades to come. – NPR
As The US Moved Into Germany At The End Of WWII, Residents Looted Hitler’s Looted Art Collections
The government of Germany is now – yes, many years after the 1945 looting of art in Munich – making some attempts to recover the stolen and re-stolen art. “It is belatedly reporting the 1945 thefts, painting by painting, to Interpol and to the German Federal Criminal Police Office, and is also listing them on the Art Loss Register and lostart.de, two databases of missing art.” – The New York Times
Sixty-Six Questions About That ‘CATS’ Trailer
Some samples: “2. So clearly this is a town for cats, created by cats—hence the Milk Bar. But what kind of milk are they drinking? 3. Cow milk? Do cows exist in this world? How would cats, which weigh eight to 10 pounds on average, be able to domesticate cows, which weigh—[Googles]—roughly 1,600 pounds? Or … uh … are they drinking cat milk?” – The Ringer
How Did The Mueller Report Become A Live-Theatre Sensation?
Well, there’s this: “Mueller report read-a-thons have become acts of civil disobedience, a way for artists to register their discontent by leveraging their most valuable currency: celebrity.” – Los Angeles Times
Unfinished (again) at the Met
A lone loan of Jerome for Leonardo’s 500th anniversary. – Lee Rosenbaum
The Worlds Of Mark Morris
“Morris plays delicious games with Satie’s variegated material.” – Deborah Jowitt
The Mother Of All Opera Roles
Sure, there are a lot of mothers (or, as The Guardian has it, mums) in opera, but Rosa Mamai in L’arlesiana has a command and power that’s all too rare. – The Guardian (UK)
A Fidelio For Yesterday
“All I managed to say was: ‘It’s over.’ … There will never again be a Fidelio like this.” – Joe Horowitz