The Chilean student who shot to fame when she wrote her own Harry Potter story, has published a debut novel. “Francisca Solar began her writing career when she found she was so disappointed with JK Rowling’s fifth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Order ff the Phoenix, that she wanted to write her own sequel to it. The Decline of the High Elves became a massive online smash, generating 80,000 views and positive reviews from Harry Potter fans around the world.”
Tag: 01.10.07
Those 2% Raises Will Cripple You Every Time
The Cincinnati Symphony is projecting a $2 million-plus deficit for the current fiscal year. “The short-term culprit for the deficit is a reduced contribution from the orchestra’s $73.1 million endowment… Two years ago, the CSO raised ticket prices but saw a bigger drop in its subscription sales than it anticipated, Reynolds said. And it negotiated a three-year musicians’ contract that froze salaries the first two years. But wages are scheduled to increase 2.4 percent this year.”
Directors’ Guild Nominees Announced
“Little Miss Sunshine, an offbeat comedy about an unlikely young beauty queen, emerged as a serious Oscar contender Tuesday as its first-time filmmakers were nominated for the top award of the Directors Guild of America. Iconic director Martin Scorsese also clinched his seventh DGA nomination… while Bill Condon earned a nod for his lavish musical Dreamgirls.”
Salary Demands Putting A Strain On Moon
When Kevin Spacey brings his production of A Moon for the Misbegotten from London’s Old Vic to Broadway this spring, it could quickly become the hottest show in town. And it had better, because Spacey is apparently demanding a salary of $25,000 a week plus a hefty chunk of the box office take for his services, which is causing some nervous investors to wonder whether, on a limited 10-week run, they have any chance of seeing any profit.
TV’s Bizarre Notion Of Decency
The basic cable network A&E paid $195 million for the rights to show old episodes of HBO’s acclaimed mob drama, The Sopranos. But before the episodes could be shown, of course, A&E had to edit out much of the foul language that peppers the show’s dialogue. But did they actually have to? The whole process “reiterates the culture’s lingering hypocrisies (it’s OK to show assassinations, but the F-word is verboten and strippers must be in bikinis.)”
ACTRA Strike Overshadows Genies
The nominations are out for this year’s Genie Awards, Canada’s answer to the Oscars. But an ongoing actors’ strike is casting a considerable pall over the proceedings.”It is ironic. This is all happening after a year in which box-office successes were as much a part of the story as the usual critical acclaim.”
A Better Year Than Anyone Expected
2006 was supposed to be a rough year for Denver’s main performing arts center. But the center bucked expectations, posting significant attendance gains and an increase in subscriptions. Still, “the fiscal year ending June 30 also included 18 layoffs, $1.4 million in administrative cuts and deferrals to badly needed facility improvements. So wary company officials were talking Tuesday more in terms of stabilization than full recovery.”
Architecture Foundation Gets New Exec
“Seeking to fill the void left by the departure of its first full-time curator, the Chicago Architecture Foundation has named Gregory K. Dreicer as vice president of exhibitions and programs. Dreicer, the founder and director of a New York City-based exhibition design firm called Chicken & Egg Public Projects, starts next Monday.”
Serial Disappointment
This was supposed to be the season that appointment TV made its comeback, in the form of several high-profile serial dramas on major networks that everyone hoped would entice viewers to keep coming back for more. Instead, the serials have been dropping like flies, leaving what few loyal viewers they had to wonder how the story would have ended.
Met’s Simulcasts Winning Fans
Donald Rosenberg says that the Metropolitan Opera’s new high-tech simulcasts, which allow opera lovers across the country to view live productions at their local movie theaters, is a revolutionary idea that is long overdue. “The close-ups allow us to take in facial expressions we might miss when sitting in an actual opera house. The shots from the stage into the theater provide perspectives most audience members never see. The experience is no substitute for the real, visceral thing, but it’s far better than merely listening to the matinee on the radio.”