Category: today’s top story

“Product placement is almost as old as cinema itself. Brandchannel.com reports that there are 15 ‘featured brands’ in The Dark Knight and a whopping 95 in Sex and the City. But it’s hard to say how much money changes hands in these deals: product placement at the cinema remains entirely unregulated, both in the US and in the foreign markets that screen its films.”

“One smart publisher seems to have devised a way of easing the pain for the millionaire bestseller writer: they have posted an advert on the listing site, Craigslist, inviting a team of part-time workers to fake the signatures and get paid in cash for the privilege.”

“Doctors-in-training who took art classes while in medical school appear to have better skills of observation than their colleagues who have never studied art, according to a research from Harvard Medical School. They released research last week that shows studying art can help students make up to 38 per cent more accurate observations.”

Art Fairs have become such big business, they have changed the way the art world does business…

“The country’s arts sector fears the Conservatives are prepared to slash $50-million in cultural funding after discovering new cuts to federal arts programs. It has been revealed that three programs benefiting the film, television and music industries, totalling $4.3-million, will end as of next March.”

“The line between ‘television’ and video via the Internet already has blurred and may disappear in coming years. At least one industry analyst has declared “TV is dead” and welcomes Americans to a new age of video everywhere. Increasingly, Americans are watching video when they want to, and on the screen that suits them at the time. And more programming is from new sources that threaten to unlock Hollywood’s domination of content.”

“Throughout that flood recovery effort over almost a week, the center, summoned here by the museum’s restoration contractor, found volunteer help invaluable. Locals brought towels donated by a hotel and helped man the washtubs and drying racks.”

“Street theatre, it turns out, is in rude health. With the revival of circus schools and the burgeoning festival scene, an ever higher calibre of athlete, acrobat and artist is joining the increasingly competitive cobblestone circuit. There is now an annual street-performance world championship, in Dublin in June, as well as a raft of sideshow and modern circus tours; and the recent offspring of street theatre, living sculpture, has blossomed into an eye-popping art form.”

“Conventional wisdom in Hollywood has long dictated that the movie business performs well during economic slowdowns because consumers are more likely to spend on less expensive forms of entertainment like movie tickets rather than pricier activities such as sporting events or concerts. But Interpret’s recent study suggests that in the face of financial turbulence, a night at the movies might be one of the first leisure activities consumers give up.”

“If we want to be part of our children’s aesthetic world, then why do we equivocate about bringing them into ours? We wall off grown-up culture behind a barrier of ratings, warning labels, and vigilant software. We leave it to educators to filter the arts for consumption by the allegedly innocent. We are terrified of exposing children to material they might not understand, whether because it’s too crude or too complex. In the process, we shortchange the kids we are trying to protect.”