As part of the transaction, former MGM Resorts International chief executive Jim Murren and Catalyst Capital managing director Gabriel de Alba were named as co-chairmen of the company’s board of directors. – CBC
Tag: 11.25.20
At A Crossroads, Second City Names New Creative Boss
Almost six months after co-owner Andrew Alexander left the company after accusations of embedded institutional racism there, Jon Carr has been named to succeed him as executive producer. A longtime playwright and performer in Atlanta, Carr currently heads Dad’s Garage Theater in that city. He will oversee all creative matters at Second City’s theaters in Chicago, Toronto, and Los Angeles — but, with the company up for sale, he may or may not be there long. – Chicago Tribune
Broadway’s Spiderman Disaster, Ten Years Later
“You had Spider-Man dangling seven feet above the first two rows. It was the worst possible position because no one could reach him. One of the crew members fetched a stick to prod him with, but that didn’t help. It was like a live Spider-Man piñata. But we knew by the end of the night, well, that’s the worst it’s ever going to be. We’ll keep improving it and improving it, and it’s going to be duck soup by the time we open in January.” – BBC
The Era Of The Blockbuster May Be Over, For Now Or Forever
Or perhaps that’s just in the U.S. and other countries that can’t seem to get the coronavirus under control. “Up until now, Hollywood has refused to show its biggest movies first to audiences in Asia, Australia and New Zealand – where many cinemas are open again – partly due to piracy fears … [but] Wonder Woman 1984 will have a full theatrical release in China a week before the film is released in the U.S.” – BBC
My Zoom With Andre
The self-engrossed Gregory of “My Dinner With Andre” was in the midst of a Dantesque midlife crisis. The Gregory who emerges in his autobiographical first book, “This Is Not My Memoir,” is older and more quietly reflective, less prone to grandiose pronouncements and more humbly accepting of the wisdom between words. – Los Angeles Times
Just How Do Latinx Get Traction In Hollywood?
To many Latinos working in Hollywood, it seems that every gain is soon followed by a loss, a continuous ebb and flow that never feels rectified. – The New York Times
Penguin Random House To Buy Simon & Schuster In Publishing Mega-Deal
Penguin Random House, the largest book publisher in the United States, is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Adding Simon & Schuster, the third largest publisher, would create a book behemoth, a combination that could trigger antitrust concerns. – The New York Times
New York Times Film Critics Pick Their 25 Best Actors Of The Century (So Far)
A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis: “We are in a golden age of acting — make that platinum — as we realized when we decided to select our favorite film performers of the past 20 years. There’s no formula for choosing the best (just squabbling), and this list is both necessarily subjective and possibly scandalous in its omissions. … And while there are certainly stars in the mix and even a smattering of Oscar winners, there are also character actors and chameleons, action heroes and art-house darlings.” – The New York Times
La Scala Cancels Staged Opening Night, Will Do Gala Instead
The gala will star Placido Domingo, Roberto Alagna and Jonas Kaufmann on the night of its traditional Dec. 7 season-opener, instead of the planned staging of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor,” in keeping with restrictions imposed to stop the coronavirus’ deadly spread. – AP
Chopin’s Letters Show He Was Totally Gay, So Let’s Quit Pretending, Says Journalist
“Chopin’s Men, a two-hour radio programme that aired on Swiss public broadcaster SRF’s arts channel, argues that the composer’s letters have been at times deliberately mistranslated, rumours of affairs with women exaggerated, and hints at an apparent interest in ‘cottaging’ … simply ignored. The music journalist Moritz Weber, who started researching Chopin’s letters during the spring lockdown, said he discovered a ‘flood of declarations of love aimed at men’, sometimes direct in their erotic tone, sometimes full of playful allusions.” – The Guardian