“Solid six- or even seven-figure sales for newbie scribes have been coming with regularity during the past few weeks, with nearly every day bringing word of a name that makes rival agents and execs scratch their head and say ‘Who?'”
Tag: 04.01.08
Writers’ Group Protests US Barring of Author
“Sebastian Horsley was questioned for eight hours on March 18 by Customs and Border officials at Newark Liberty International Airport, who barred him from entering the country on grounds of ‘moral turpitude’.”
Is Our Appetite For Celebrity Gossip On The Wane?
The Audit Bureau of Circulations in the United States says sales of four popular celebrity gossip magazines – Life and Style, InTouch, Star and People – flattened or declined in the second half of 2007. Only US Weekly and OK! were continuing to attract new readers.
Aboriginal Paintings Stolen, Then Dumped
“Seven historic aboriginal paintings were stolen Tuesday from an Australian museum then recovered hours later after the thief apparently changed his mind and dumped them in a park, police said. The paintings, valued at more than $460,000 by officials at the Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery, were undamaged.”
Contemporary Auction Blues
“Under the Influence,” the Phillips de Pury sale of contemporary art, failed to cast a spell on buyers yesterday. Of the 354 lots offered for sale, roughly 65% — 229 paintings — found buyers. Buyers still lingering in town after the Armory Show this weekend spent a total of $5.25 million at this sale, but the $4.25 million in hammer prices (the premium price includes the auction house commission which is not factored into estimates) did not measure up against a pre-sale estimate of between $6.2 million and $8.8 million.
A Rainbow Of Themes At This Year’s Humana Festival
“The divisions between the religious right and the secular left, the tech-fueled widening of the generation gap and the ever-relevant question of what makes a modern marriage function smoothly were among the themes explored by playwrights at the festival.”
Leadership Questions At Kirov Ballet
In a sign of unhappiness about his performance, the Kirov Ballet is traveling for an important appearance in New York without its director, Makhar Vaziev.
Newspapers Are Offloading Their Movie Critics
“Losing critics for serious film is like taking away the padding on the crutches of a very sick man with two broken legs and one working eye. It’s not going to keep it from limping along, but yeah, it hurts like hell.”
A Test Of Preserving New York
“Over the last few years the growing clout of developers has gradually chipped away at the city’s resolve to protect its architectural legacy. The agency most responsible for defending that legacy, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, has sometimes been accused of putting developers’ interests above the well-being of the city’s inhabitants. A proposal before the commission to tear down several buildings in the Greenwich Village Historic District is shaping up as a crucial test of whether those critics are right.”
Kevin Spacey Charges BBC Promotes Lloyd Webber Over Other Theatre
“The actor and artistic director of the Old Vic said that the BBC had ‘crossed the line’ with its shows on Saturday nights to find stars for productions written or produced by Lord Lloyd-Webber.”