Can Hollywood Make A Comeback?

“Hollywood took 7% less at the box office in 2005 than in 2004 and growth in sales of DVDs has slowed. Internet video threatens the satellite and cable systems of companies such as News Corporation and Time Warner. Dozens of advertisers are shifting budgets from television to such places as the internet and billboards. Brand-owners hate it that people are using digital video recorders to avoid their pitches. And if media firms move on to the internet themselves, they risk losing their films and television programmes to pirates. No wonder that on media island they are downcast. Yet, if Hollywood teaches one thing, it is that stories can be re-made and dreams can come true.”

A New Take On Low Tuition And High Standards

A study shows that only “3% of the students in America’s top colleges come from families in the lowest income quartile and only 10% from the bottom half. Most students are relatively well-off, and their numbers include plenty of racial minorities who receive preferential status independent of their economic circumstances.” The City University of New York is trying something new. “For all its imperfections, CUNY’s model of low tuition fees and high standards offers a different approach. And its recent history may help to dispel the myth that high academic standards deter students and donors. “Elitism”, Mr Goldstein contends, “is not a dirty word.”

PBT To Bring Back Orchestra On A Limited Basis

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has reached an agreement with its 47 musicians to restore some live music to its performances for the 2006-07 season. PBT laid off its orchestra last summer and has been using recorded music this season – the musicians filed an unfair labor practices complaint in retaliation. “PBT leaders have promised to hire the musicians for two of the company’s five productions during its 2006-07 season, which will be announced in two weeks.”

Sundance – The Road To Fame And Fortune? (Maybe Not)

“The festival, celebrating its 25th year as a champion of independent cinema, has certainly helped launched the careers of several top directors (Steven Soderbergh, for one) and marked the debut of numerous hit films (“Napoleon Dynamite” and “The Blair Witch Project”). But over that time span, only a handful of Grand Jury Prize winners have parlayed their honors into fame and fortune.”

A Place For August Wilson’s Legacy

“For reasons ranging from grief and mourning to awe and admiration — and including some celebrity exploitation and publicity grabbing — the world was suddenly full of Wilson proclamations, events, tributes and dedications. Just before he died, a Broadway theater was renamed to honor him. There is a move afoot to rename a Seattle street to commemorate him. Inevitably, there has been speculation about Wilson’s place in history. Will he become a permanent icon, like Eugene O’Neil?”

Morris: Mozart To Move To

Mozart is not the first composer you think of when you think dancing. Mark Morris disagrees: “When I hear Mozart I do hear dance. I maintain that Baroque and early Classical music is almost all dance rhythms. What’s more of a dance than Così fan tutte? Is it easy to choreograph to? That’s the reason I didn’t do much of it when I was young: it seemed too simple. Why bother, you think, the music is square, in straight eights, it’s repeating. But it’s not!”