Are some making too much of the rich Getty Museum soliciting support in the community? “When they are talking about working with collectors to give fabulous collections a public home, how could one argue with that? That’s a worthy thing. Having collections of art in the public domain is something that every museum should be doing. The fact that these objects would be preserved and exhibited and interpreted would be a net gain.”
Tag: 08.18.05
California Considers Tax Breaks For Movies
California is losing so many movie and TV jobs that the state is considering giving tax breaks to producers, mimicing a strategy that has lured business elsewhere. “The bill would provide a 12 percent tax credit on a project’s spending in California, up to a cap of $3 million per production, according to a draft obtained by The New York Times. Television movies, which are perhaps the most endangered species of Hollywood production, may be given an extra 3 percent credit.”
A New Thesaurus For “Thinkers”
“Peter Meltzer decided the modern thesaurus was so flawed, there was only one way to fix it: He would have to write a new one. Next month, some 10 years and 12,000 entries later, The Thinker’s Thesaurus: Sophisticated Alternatives to Common Words (Marion Street Press), will land on bookstore shelves. Instead of following each entry with five or six more-or-less accurate synonyms, The Thinker’s Thesaurus offers but one choice – an exact, albeit unusual, synonym.”
Eagerly Awaited French Novel “Outed” By Critic Who “Found” A Copy
The most eagerly awaited book in France this year is by Michel Houellebecq, the enfant terrible of modern French writing. But the book has had an early entry into public by a critic who claims he found a copy of the book on a park bench. “M. Rinaldi’s account of how he came by the book was, therefore, treated with some scepticism. The headline above his review read ‘A Houellebecq fallen from a lorry’. M. Rinaldi, one of the best-known and most acerbic literary critics in France and an outspoken enemy of Houellebecq’s writing, claimed he had found the review copy by pure accident.”
Lego My Art…
A couple of artists have made a career of copying some of Brit Art’s most famous works… in Lego. “After experimenting with a Lego take on Damien Hirst’s formaldehyde shark, the pair have now graduated to their own mini-exhibition of modern art at the Walker gallery in Liverpool. Among the interpretations on display are Tracey Emin’s knicker-strewn bed, Salvador Dalí’s surreal lobster phone, and a rendering of the Turner Prize-winning transvestite potter, Grayson Perry, in one of his trademark doll outfits.
American TV Ratings Sink In Summer Heat
TV ratings for this summer have been abysmal. “Despite unleashing a torrent of first-run reality series, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, UPN and The WB drew a paltry 30 percent of all TV viewers during the week of Aug. 8-14.” Last week’s much-hyped finale of “I Want to be a Hilton” lured 3.7 million viewers opposite a Tuesday chapter of the Univision telenovela La Madrastra (The Stepmother), which had 5.3 million viewers.
Vaness Cancels After Car Accident
“Soprano Carol Vaness has withdrawn from a new production of Dukas’ Ariane et Barbe-bleue this fall at New York City Opera because of injuries suffered in a car accident earlier this summer, the company announced.”
Copenhagen Curator Charged With Art Theft
The curator of a Copenhagen museum has been charged with stealing more than 100 items from the museum. “He allegedly stole the items while working at the Danish Museum of Art and Design between 1999 and 2002. Small ‘pocket-sized’ porcelain, glass and metal items were taken, a museum spokeswoman said.”
Movie Solution – Different Movie Theatres For Different Patrons?
Movie execs continue to struggle with how to goose up the movie box office. “The managing director of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Michele Garra, said Hollywood’s focus on “event” movies was limiting the diversity of releases. There was also a trend to “derivative material” that included sequels, remakes, movies made from old television series and comic book adaptations that turned some film-goers off even if they attracted others.”
In Edinburgh – Not Enough Talent For Burlesque
The Edinburgh Fringe is full of burlesque shows this year. “One of the problems in Edinburgh is that, with so many burlesque shows, there are simply not enough good artists to go round. Too many performers seem to think that if they have had years of practice taking their clothes off every night before bed, they won’t find it so hard to take them off in front of lots of people and get paid for it. You only have to spend a couple of grisly hours down at the Cave of the Golden Calf at the Royal Scots Club to see that burlesque is an art form in which the talentless feel they can really make their mark.”