Movie companies are considering shortening the window between theatrical release and home video release of movies. But that’s a mistake, says the chairman of Fox. Sending movies to home video markets much quicker than the average four-month exclusive that studios grant theaters could crimp growth. “When people say ‘Re-invent your business model because of the ubiquitous availability of pirated product.’ There’s a huge flaw with that. You can never compete with free.”
Tag: 12.02.05
Purple Pose: Cautious And Pricey
“Earnest and eager to please, the $10 million Color Purple is the latest in a long series of cautious, pricey Broadway adaptations that paint by pallid numbers rather than in arresting new tones. It’s a thankless task, though, making the argument against this musical, which opened last night at the Broadway Theatre.”
Nothing About Artists Is Sexy (Don’t Believe The Study)
A study says artists have more sex? “Don’t expect honesty from artists at any time. Massive delicate egos and a myopic view of reality don’t make for any kind of study. The truth is that artists aren’t that special. People just like to think so – especially artists. They don’t deny it because the industry thrives on this very premise (and it makes them feel loved and important). It is the same argument all the time. They expect you to lead a rock’n’roll lifestyle, but the truth in my case could not be more different: a boring day in the studio, then home to wife and kids and the occasional clean-up-after-puppy-poo-athon.”
A Pakistani Festival Of Change
In Pakistan, dancing was banned for many years, and some clerics would like to do the same to music. A new festival is changing things. “For Lahore, the 10-day festival was a huge, at times startling cultural event. The music ranged from pop to classical but the finest show was the pure Sufi night. Festival president Faizaan Peerzada runs an event that aims to transform Pakistani life. By promoting Sufi music he hopes to ‘counter the extremism of the mullahs who use the mosques to spread ill-will against the west’.”
Art Of The Town
A string of provincial pearls – including Paducah, Ky.; Rising Sun, Ind.; Fergus Falls, Minn.; and Cumberland, Md. – are banking on the arts for economic revival. “The eruption of these rural culture capitals also means more Americans can find original art to view or buy on a weekend or day trip. In recent years, surveys by the Travel Industry of America have called arts- and culture-based travel a strong and growing segment.”
At The Met: Tragedy In The Making
Tobias Picker’s “An American Tragedy” opens this week at the Metropolitan Opera. The story “struck Mr. Picker as the natural choice for his Met debut: an opera by an American composer, based on a great American novel. More to the point, it was a compelling operatic story of love and murder, with a social undercurrent about the dark side of the pursuit of happiness and wealth – the American dream – that continues to resonate.”
Dario Fo For Mayor
“Dario Fo – at 79 still the most subversive man in Italy – wants to be mayor of Milan. The idea of an elderly anarcho-Marxist trying to take over the running of the country’s business capital might provide him with a splendid plot for a play. But this is for real.”
The ENO’s Continuing Mess
Sean Doran’s quick departure from English National Opera this week is only one indication of the company’s deep problems. “So now what we are left with is more of the same mediocrity, with everyone keeping their backs to the wall and nobody in the mood for tackling the radical underlying problems that ENO faces. What, for example, was the point of spending over £40 million on restoring the Coliseum if the theatre is no more productive or efficient than it was? How can ENO reach out to new audiences and restore the buzz it had in the 1980s?”
Aberdeen Starts First Scottish Literary Center
Scotland’s Aberdeen University is establishing the country’s first center dedicated to study of the novel. “It will be Britain’s first dedicated centre for the study of novels and novelists from the English-speaking world, including Scottish, Irish and American fiction, and will use as its main resource the university’s own collection of fiction, said to rival that of any university in the world.”
FBI’s Top Ten Art Crimes
“After much analysis, the FBI has come up with its list of the top 10 art crimes, and it’s asking the public for help in solving them. FBI investigators are on the hunt for Rembrandts, Renoirs, stolen treasures from Iraq, two Van Goghs, and Munch’s The Scream.”