Our consumption of mass media is dropping off. Why? “It can’t be a coincidence that the five major pillars of the American media — movies, television, radio, recorded music and newspapers — are all suffering at the same time. And it isn’t. Something major has changed over the past year, as the availability of alternative sources of information and entertainment has finally reached critical mass. Newly empowered consumers are letting the producers, creators and managers of the nation’s creative and news content know that they are dissatisfied with the product they’re being peddled.”
Tag: 05.10.05
Canada’s Music Brain Drain
Calgary’s best music students aren’t staying in Canada for school. Instead they’re being recruited by music schools in the US, who are offering scholarships. “Yes, it means we are losing our best and brightest, but it is the only way they can achieve recognition on a worldwide basis.”
WTC Memorial Being Compromised
It’s official – plans for anything having to do with whatever replaces the World Trade Center are a big compromised mess. “Bit by bit, elements of Michael Arad’s original design for the World Trade Center Memorial have been whittled away, whether because of logistical realities at ground zero (the memorial will be built above PATH train tracks), client demands (the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation is calling the shots), the many other interests involved (the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site; victims’ families; downtown residents) or the assorted architectural cooks (three other firms).”
Ben Mordecai, 61
“Benjamin Mordecai, associate dean of the Yale School of Drama, prolific commercial theatrical producer and nurturer of playwright August Wilson’s 10-play cycle, died Sunday of cancer at the Yale. Wilson acknowledged his debt to his producer and friend, who helped develop the regional theater circuit where Wilson worked on his plays as they made their way to New York. Wilson said there were only two constants in the 10 plays: himself and Mordecai.”
NY Mag Fires John Simon
New York Magazine has fired longtime theatre critic John Simon. “Jeremy McCarter, theatre critic for the New York Sun, was named as Simon’s replacement. McCarter’s first review for New York will appear June 1. Simon is known equally for his considerable erudition, his longevity as a critic (he is 79) and his vituperative style. His stinging reviews—particularly his sometimes vicious appraisals of performers’ physical appearances—have periodically raised calls in the theatre community for his removal.”
Picking The Tonys
Who will win this year’s Tony Awards? Terry Teachout handicaps the field…
Art Of The (Movie) Deal
Why do movies cost so much to make? “The art of the deal has come to replace the art of movies. To understand how the new Hollywood really works, one need only read stars’ contracts…”
Why Theatre?
“Agreed, commercial theatre is too expensive. And, agreed, theatre, unlike TV and film, doesn’t always look like ‘real life’. And, yes, theatre can seem middle class and unexciting – particularly when, like these critics, you judge the entire art form on the basis of a few middle-of-the-road West End examples. Theatre, though, is alive. The performers are right there, their awfulness (if awful they be) as hard to avoid as beads of their sweat and spittle. Other people are there too, in the audience next to you. Theatre is an inescapably communal, corporeal experience.”
Playwright Turns Down Prize
Quebec playwright Wajdi Mouawad has turned down the prestigious Molière theatre prize to honour the greatest living francophone writer. “He declined the award, given for his play Littoral, saying the gesture was a protest against the indifference theatre directors have displayed toward his work.”
Ford Boosts Public TV, Radio
Public broadcasting in America gets a big funding boost from a major new initiative from the Ford Foundation. “The initiative will funnel $50 million over five years to a baker’s dozen of public television, radio and other media organizations. A major focus of the effort will be to spur the creation and distribution of public affairs programming, particularly programs dealing with international affairs. The Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio will receive the largest grants, $10 million and $7.5 million respectively.”