“He’s extremely sure of what he believes in, so much so he doesn’t need to push it on people. He’s very open and non-dogmatic. His confidence about how good he is gives him a “fuck you” quality. People are clearly not going to take his career away from him because he speaks his mind.” – The Guardian
Tag: 01.31.19
How The ‘Saturday Night Live’ Cue Cards Get Made
“Wally Feresten, who runs the cue card department for the show and has been there for decades, explains everything from how cast members can tell their lines apart, why they’re written in a certain way and with certain spacing, how they’re positioned, and how they pull off the trickiest camera shots with them.” (video) — Gothamist
Why Ritual Is So Important: It Works
“No culture and few individuals live without ritual. … And here’s the thing. Rituals work – even for people who say they do not believe in them. [Researchers have found that] rituals alleviate grief, reduce anxiety, increase confidence, … [and] aid self-control.” Jay Griffiths examines the power of ritual in action, especially on an island where one sees it everywhere. — Aeon
There’s A Fundamental Problem With Trying To Justify Why The Arts Are A “Good” Thing
Carter Gillies: “Either we say that improving health, wellbeing and social outcomes is our proper motivation, or we admit that the value of the arts is different to this. If instrumental benefits are what truly matters, then it may be necessary to sacrifice some art that doesn’t meet these criteria. We can hold on to the ideal of instrumentality, or to art that does not show evidence of instrumental benefits. But we can’t have it both ways.” – Arts Professional
Iran’s Greatest Movie Director Is Becoming A Global Star
Asghar Farhadi on the impact of censorship in Iran: “Each director finds his own way of dealing with it. It’s claimed restriction can lead to even greater creativity. I believe that’s true in the short term, but in the long term it destroys creativity.” – The New York Times
Margo Rodriguez, Who Turned The Mambo From Nightclub To Popular Craze, Has Died At 89
Rodriguez, together with her husband Augie, brought the mambo to life on TV, including on The Ed Sullivan Show and Broadway Tonight. “At the height of their fame, they danced in London for Queen Elizabeth II and at the White House for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon.” – The New York Times
National Opera House Boss Fired For Allowing Computer Game Tournament In Building
The Kyrgyz National Opera and Ballet Theatre is funded from the always-strapped budget of Kyrgyzstan, a small and mountainous ex-Soviet republic wedged between China, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. So director Bolot Osmonov took the opportunity to make some extra money by renting the premises out for a national tournament of Dota 2, a notably violent online video game. Alas, pearls were clutched in horror and Osmonov lost his job. (And this wasn’t even the first time that sort of thing happened.) — Global Voices
Iran’s Leading Filmmaker Turns His Lens Onto The Wider World
Asghar Farhadi has won two Best Foreign Language Feature Oscars in five years: in 2017 for The Salesman and in 2012 for A Separation, which became the most profitable Iranian film in history. He ventured to Spain to make his latest film, Everybody Knows, starring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem, but he continues to live and work in Iran, even as his compatriot filmmakers have been silenced by the authorities or have fled into exile. — The New York Times Magazine
Charles Dutoit Hired For Substitute Gig At National Orchestra Of France, And Controversy Ensues
The Swiss conductor lost his various positions during the winter of 2017-18, after several women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment and assault. Now the Orchestre national de France has engaged him for this weekend’s concert performance of Berlioz’s Damnation of Faust after scheduled conductor Emmanuel Krivine withdrew on short notice. It’s Dutoit’s highest-profile performance (outside of Russia) since the scandal broke, and there has been pushback on the decision to hire him. — AP
UK Decriminalizes Pornography Made By Consenting Adults (Only Now?)
The Crown Prosecution Service announced, “We do not propose to bring charges [under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959] based on material that depicts consensual and legal activity between adults, where no serious harm is caused and the likely audience is over the age of 18.” (That law will remain on the books, though.) — The Guardian