A growing number of filmmakers have been complaining that movie trailers and ads before movies are too loud. “As a consequence, the Cinema Advertising Council is putting together its first set of sound standards to govern the loudness of commercials and preshow entertainment.”
Tag: 11.08.04
Impressions At Auction
Last week’s New York auctions of Impressionist and Modern art hit records and signaled a strong market. “What detracted from what was in most respects an astonishing sale was that Sotheby’s marketing machine had hyped it so much and set such high estimates to get the business from vendors that the prices almost seemed disappointing.”
Grandage On Top
Ten years ago Michael Grandage was unemployed and broke. Then he directed his first play and there was no looking back. In just a few years he jumped to the top of his profession, succeeding Sam Mendes as director of Donmar Warehouse. “Whereas Mendes’s programming was essentially Anglocentric, Grandage has made it a much more European-based house, with outstanding productions of plays by Camus, Pirandello and Strindberg.”
Report: Taj Mahal Isn’t Sinking
An investigation has concluded that India’s Taj Mahal is not sinking. “Indian authorities launched an investigation in October when historians reported that the Taj Mahal was leaning and in danger of sinking.But the four Taj minarets were observed to be inclined at various angles by the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI’s) first scientific survey in 1941, which examined the position and verticality of the minarets as well as the foundations’ stability.”
The Next Frontier: Elective Neurology?
“Some neurologists have recently wondered whether their field is the next frontier in elective medicine. The specialty now tries to protect ailing brains from conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or migraine headaches. But doctors’ efforts may one day extend to improving normal brains. This is coming, and we need to know it’s coming. There’s even a name for the field: cosmetic neurology.”
Cutting $10 Million From The CBC
Canada’s CBC is facing a government-mandated $10 million cut in its budget. “The CBC is already dealing with other financial pressures, including rising production and health-care costs, renewed contributions to the CBC pension plan and a massive loss of advertising revenue as a result of the NHL lockout (estimated to be about $50-million).”
Bay Area Artists Weigh In On Election
How are artists feeling about last week’s re-election of George Bush? The San Francisco Chronicle asked several…
The Flawed Bestseller Lists
Many newspapers publish their own list of bestselling book. But the methodology of the lists is flawed, and they are not timely (data is often weeks old) “It’s a deeply unscientific — one is almost tempted to call it whimsical — compilation, which has a veneer of a certain kind of science.” So why not use the more scientific Bookscan lists?
Report: 90 Percent Of Iranian, Pakistani Archaeological Sites Looted
A British archaeologist says that 90 percent of major archaeological sites in Iran and Pakistan have been looted. “Although the illegal destruction occurs abroad, much of the looted material is channelled here to Britain and is sold in London. The best material is coming to London. His research found that Iran is being plundered of treasures dating from 3,000BC to AD500, and Pakistan is being robbed of antiquities created between 500BC and AD400.”
Ailey’s New Digs
This week, the Alvin Ailey Company moves in to a new home. “To passersby, 405 West 55th Street may well seem just another sleek new building in New York. But to the dancers who will be moving into it on Friday, it represents something far more significant: the Ailey’s first permanent home and what the company is billing as the largest building in the United States devoted exclusively to dance.”