“The Grammys have long suffered a classical credibility gap. The days of know-nothing voters and the Atlanta Symphony block-voting itself honor after honor are long gone. But this year’s classical Grammys are seriously irrelevant. The recording business is no longer just changing. It has changed. Yet the Grammys stoically carry on as before.”
Tag: 02.11.07
The Screen’s New Colorblindness – Is It Realistic?
Many TV shows and movies have included mixed-race couples with little or no fanfare. “Most of the series with mixed couples take a colorblind approach to the romances, downplaying the dynamics or scrutiny that such couples might encounter in real life. The colorful mash-ups that made Lucy and Ricky on ‘I Love Lucy’ so intriguing yet familiar and comfortable have been toned down, largely stripped of cultural conflict and discovery.”
Wheeldon – New Face Of The Bolshoi?
Choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is working on a commission for the Bolshoi Ballet. Many are wondering if this is the start of a longer partnership. “The role of new, international choreography at the Bolshoi, a theater with a reputation built on the grandeur of its productions, is controversial in Russia’s dance world.”
Why Was It Any Of Us Cared About Anna-Nicole?
Her fame was more about us (natch) and our seemingly insatiable appetite for celebrities than it was about her. “The news of her death brought the inevitable jolt that comes when anyone dies suddenly at 39. And there is the inescapable tragedy of a 5-month-old left without her mother. But Anna Nicole Smith’s fame is as sad and shallow in death as it was in life, just as much of a tawdry compact between her and us.”
The YouTube Star And The TV Network
David Lehre and his partners have a deal to make a tv show, and the deal came about based on his YouTube videos. “The question is how far this will take them. Up to this point they have been the beneficiaries of television executives’ aggressive search for programming that will halt the medium’s slide in popularity with younger audiences, even if, as in the case of Mr. Lehre, they’re not sure what they’re getting.”
Why Go To Film School? Just Buy The DVD
“Sold on DVDs and CDs, with names like “Film School in a Box” and “Make Your Own Damn Movie,” these programs, often conceived by people with no formal film training of their own, offer surprisingly detailed tutorials on a variety of film-related topics: blocking, editing, even fund-raising and distribution. Priced roughly from $50 to $500, they can instill confidence without the bother of hundreds of thousands of dollars of a formal education. Whether they can really teach how to make a good movie remains open to debate.”
Art Outside The Marketplace
“The art world is surfing on an international wave of money arguably higher and wider than any seen before. Art fairs — which have changed the market, drastically speeding it up and super-sizing it — are proliferating, from Shanghai to Istanbul to Dubai. And artists, even those still in graduate school, are more aware than ever of the market’s insatiable hunger.” And now – a show of work whose artists decided not to sell.