Is Amazon getting ready to enter the online download business? Reports say the company has been in talks with major movie studios. “Amazon has been increasing its spending in research and development. Financial analysts have thus far reacted positively to the prospect of Amazon entering the digital download business, which boasts higher margins than the retailer’s traditional business. Amazon’s investment in technology and content grew 57 percent in the fourth quarter.”
Tag: 03.10.06
Boston’s First New Museum In 100 Years?
Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art is building its new $51 million home, the “first new art museum to be built in Boston in nearly 100 years. Designed by Diller Scofidio & Renfro, the 65,000-square-foot building on the waterfront will have three times the exhibition space of the institute’s current building.”
“Corrie” Goes On In Seattle
A play about peace activist Rachel Corrie might be too hot for New York Theatre Workshop, but a version of Corrie’s life is playing at a small theatre in Seattle…
Rabinovitch: CBC Needs A Makeover
CBC president Robert Rabinovitch says that “CBC television needs a new funding formula that recognizes not just its unique circumstances, but also its unique role,” he said, adding that, with its $7.3 billion budget, the BBC costs about $122 per person. “For less than $1 billion in government money, Canadians get 27 national and international services, in English and French, and eight Aboriginal languages. For that, each Canadian pays annually about $30.”
Guthrie Head To Step Down
On the eve of opening a new home for Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theatre, managing director Tom Proehl says he’ll leave the job. “I’ve been so focused on this new building for the last 2½ years. I thought this was a good time for me to say, ‘I got us here. Let’s move on.’ The new Guthrie will be a very different place, and I think it will do well with a fresh perspective on what it can really be.”
CBC Prez: Network Needs New Canadian Dramas
“Last month the CBC cancelled three of its critically acclaimed but low-rated series — Da Vinci’s City Hall, The Tournament and This Is Wonderland — prompting accusations that the broadcaster was placing too much emphasis on viewer numbers. But in his speech, CBC president Robert Rabinovitch said CBC-TV should be “taking risks and producing programs that innovate — Canadian equivalents to The Office from the U.K. or Six Feet Under from next door.”
Interpreting The Music (Silently)
You think music is all about the sound? Nope. In Seattle, interpreters perform at concerts to translate for deaf fans. “The craft is harder than it sounds: At its best, it’s being prepared and knowledgeable enough to communicate the essence of an artist’s lyrics over the actual words. By law, venues must provide interpreters upon request. And while local ticket sellers report just a handful of requests a year — typically for big-name events — it’s been particularly busy for KeyArena, which has trotted out U2, McCartney and the Stones.”
Audience Challenge On American Spanish TV Network
Spanish language TV in the US is big. “Catering to the country’s growing Latino population — 40 million and counting — Univision now challenges ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, especially in big coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles and Miami, occasionally beating them in the ratings with its sexy, soapy prime-time shows. Any new owner would have to wrestle with the shifting dynamics of the company’s audience. More Latinos are American-born and English-speaking, and their tastes in television are changing more quickly than Univision’s shows.”
Has Liverpool’s Culture Capital Effort Stalled?
When news broke in June 2003 that Liverpool had, perhaps to its own surprise, been names European Capital of Culture for 2008, “the city rejoiced: this would be the crowning glory in the renaissance of a faded seaport finally stirring after a long period of decline. Everyone was behind the project.” But as the date gets closer, preparations have stalled. What will the year actually mean?
The Armory Show, 2006 Edition
This year’s New York Armory Show opens. “This year’s fair looks particularly neat. Certain galleries (Sean Kelly, Zeno X) have gone for an almost arctic spareness. Many adhere to a formulaic display: biggish painting (or photograph), medium-size sculpture, little paintings (or drawings) in a nook. Expensive, less expensive, beginner’s luck. The mix can work great.”