Category: issues

“I put it to you that there’s something pathetic about all of this. And lazy. We let a corporation that peddles coffee and doughnuts define the culture. It’s phony-baloney but we lap it up, like simpletons.”

“In the ‘parallel universe’ of Mad Black Men, protagonist Ron Rapper gets a job in the Colored Marketing Department at Sterlin Copper.”

“Higher education is becoming a caste system, separate and unequal for students with different family incomes.”

“It all comes down to foreign tax incentives, says David S. Cohen, who covers the special effects beat for Variety. Cohen says California cannot compete with the lavish subsidies studios get from Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand. He says other places can offer about 10 percent to even more than 50 percent back on the labor costs for visual effects.”

“The 27-year-old was killed last week and has inspired the ‘Slate for Sarah’ social media campaign where crew members post photos and comments with Jones’ name written on their film slates.”

“‘Shut up,’ said Helen Mirren, ”cause Mama’s in the house. That includes all you guys over there near the bar.'”

“It’s time to rethink that pesky E word: evidence. Evidence = Observations. The problem is that “evidence” means different things to different people.”

“Happy Birthday” generates an estimated $2 million each year in licensing fees for Warner/Chappell, largely from television and movie producers, and it’s not currently set to lose copyright protection until 2030. Avoiding these fees is why restaurant chains like Red Robin and Joe’s Crab Shack serenade customers with their own unique birthday songs.

The online ticket seller London Theatre Direct “has said it hopes the money it saves by using this type of payment can be passed onto customers, resulting in cheaper ticket prices.”

“Our members have told us that low and no pay work is a growing problem… and action must be taken, including by ACE, before the culture of working for free becomes so endemic that many artists are forced out of the profession.”