“In our current state of affairs, especially in the entertainment business, we’re living in a time when we’re making — in my humble opinion — the worst movies in history.”
Tag: 11.24.10
Stephen Sondheim Disses His Forbears
In an excerpt from his new book Finishing the Hat, Sondheim discusses his “quibbles” with Irving Berlin, Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter, Noël Coward, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II and even poor old W.S. Gilbert.
Why Sondheim Is Wrong to Diss His Forbears
“Nellie Forbush [in South Pacific] … is not Susan Sontag. The daffy nature of the lyric seems in keeping with the mood of the song, the girl singing it and the nonsensical guff people come up with when they’re deranged and in love.” And it’s “true that Coward is brittle and bloodless, … [but] if you can understand his accent, when he sings something not in this vein, it has more depth than a straightforward love song.”
Another Cache of Forged Master Paintings Found, This Time Near Lisbon
“A recent raid in Portugal has uncovered a large hoard of fake pictures” – some 130 canvases, each one with a forged authentication certificate. The artists being mimicked include Picasso, Mirò, Munch, Toulouse-Lautrec, Chagall, Kandinsky, Botero – and even Leonardo da Vinci.”
Penguin Classics to Be Published in Arabic
“Penguin Group is set to sign a joint venture with an Egypt-based publisher on Wednesday to bring its Penguin Classics to Arabic-speaking countries … [The] deal will make many of the classic Western titles, such as Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, easily obtainable in up-to-date Arabic translations for the first time.”
Why Chicago’s Superstar Directors Stay in Chicago
Mary Zimmerman: “[In Chicago] it all feels scaled. Here I have the Goodman, Lookingglass and Northwestern University. … This is where people I work with live.” Robert Falls: “I love having an active life in New York as a director, but only because I feel I have a home here” – without the commercial and scheduling pressures of New York.
International Museum Directors: Museums Selling Art For Cash Is Wrong
Leading international museum directors have restated their opposition to the financially motivated sale of works of art from public collections when the proceeds are used for “anything other than acquisitions or the direct care of the collection”.
Toronto Symphony Posts A Deficit (But Cheers)
“It’s a strange year when red ink can look like success, but that’s how the Toronto Symphony Orchestra sees its $475,490 operating deficit for 2010.”
Can You Hear The New Royal Shakespeare Company Stage?
“The new, more intimate house addresses that problem brilliantly. The big test is whether it aids audibility. During the RSC’s occupation of the temporary courtyard, with a thrust stage that offers a rough prototype for the new theatre, I have received a number of readers’ letters complaining about actors not making themselves heard.”