“Thousands of New Zealanders took to the country’s streets on Monday to protest against possible plans to move production of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movie overseas.”
Tag: 10.25.10
Turkish Publisher on Trial for Obscenity Gets ‘Freedom to Publish’ Award
“Irfan Sanci, owner of publishing house Sel, is being prosecuted under article 226 of the Turkish penal code, an anti-obscenity law, for publishing a translation of Apollinaire’s Les exploits d’un jeune Don Juan (The Exploits of a Young Don Juan).”
Colm Toibin Won’t Stop Writing Graphic Gay Content for Your Sake
“[It’s] actually an important part of me and it’s an important part of the world and here it is, and I’m not ashamed of it and I’m certainly not going to hide it, and it’s going in my next book and if you can’t deal with that I can’t … I’m certainly not going to do anything about it.”
Are We Allowed to Laugh at Ibsen?
Mark Fisher: “In my review of [a Glasgow] production of Ibsen’s Ghosts, I wrote that Pastor Manders’s ‘homilies about marital fidelity’ produced ‘derisory laughter’, a response the director believes the playwright intended. In Norway, he said, they stage Ibsen more as domestic comedy than the weighty drama we assume here.”
London’s Planned ‘Cheesegrater’ and ‘Walkie-Talkie’ Towers Back on Track
“Decisions taken by property developers to go ahead with the ‘Cheesegrater’ and the ‘Walkie Talkie’ towers in the City will see London’s skyline transformed … [by] the tallest and the most striking skyscrapers in the capital since Swiss Re’s Gherkin opened in 2004.”
Fake ‘Maya Plisetskaya’ Ballet Co. Tours Israel; Plisteskaya Sues
“An on-going tour set up by the REST International Company claimed to bring the ‘Russian Classical ballet of Maya Plisetskaya’ to audiences throughout Israel from Oct. 24 – Nov. 2. But Plisetskaya herself, who now lives in Spain, said she had no involvement in the production and is taking legal action against the organisers.”
Sony Ends Production of the Walkman: Reports
“Sony announced on Monday that it is shutting down production of the Walkman. Talk about ending with a whimper: Who knew that portable cassette players were still being made at all? But, please, a little respect. As bulky, cheesy, and crude as they may seem [today] … the Walkman players were a revolutionary product – perhaps the seminal innovation in the popular culture of our time.”
UK Museums Start Hiding Mummies, Fearing Religious Offense
“Museums are hiding away mummies and human remains for fear of offending pagans and other minority groups, it has been revealed. They are putting up warning signs, closing previously opened coffins and displaying exhibits in darkened cases. This is despite the fact that such displays are among the most popular attractions.”
Rupert Murdoch Threatens Actors, Musicians…
“The world’s largest media company, News Corporation, is threatening to deny coverage of movies starring artists who routinely refuse to give interviews to its outlets, one of its senior journalists has revealed.”
Parents Television Council Loses Ground In Culture Wars?
“The organization now finds itself damaged, defanged by court challenges to the F.C.C.’s hard-line position, by its own dwindling finances and by internal troubles that resulted in its accusing a former senior employee of extortion. Meanwhile, the entertainment industry — once so afraid of the council’s wrath that Fox blurred the naked behind of an animated character — is pushing the boundaries of taste with renewed intensity.”