London’s Sunday Times submitted two classic Booker-winning books to publishers as the work of newcomers and they were rejected. “One of the books considered unworthy by the publishing industry was by V S Naipaul, one of Britain’s greatest living writers, who won the Nobel prize for literature. The exercise by The Sunday Times draws attention to concerns that the industry has become incapable of spotting genuine literary talent.”
Tag: 01.01.06
Does On-Demand Signal End Of Prime Time?
When any programming is available whenever the viewer wants it, what does that portend for those carefully strategized prime-time lineups?
Will “Bubble” Change The Movies?
The movie industry is anxiously watching the release of Steven Soderbergh’s “Bubble” later this month. It could change how we see movies. “Bubble will be the first feature released simultaneously in cinemas, on pay-per-view television and on DVD. As such, it is widely being seen as a portent of things to come.”
The New Seven Wonders
“The Acropolis in Athens made it, as did Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, China’s Great Wall, the Colosseum in Rome, the Inca temple of Machu Picchu in Peru, Stonehenge and the Moai – the Easter Island statues. Less immediately obvious choices in a final shortlist of 21 contenders for the New Seven Wonders of the World, announced in Switzerland yesterday, included the Kremlin in Moscow, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.”
Mozart – Genius Or Hard Work?
Mozart was a genius, right? Well, “as the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth approaches this month, one film-maker is setting out to prove that such astounding achievements were a product more of hard graft than genius, as has often been assumed.”
English National’s Melodrama (In Three Acts)
The mess at the English national Opera is the stuff of operatic tragedy. “Since the music director Paul Daniel resigned, with cat-calls from another senior executive ringing in his ears, events have taken on a life of their own. The artistic director has gone, and a Greek chorus of the great and good penned a letter of open revolt aimed at the chairman. He duly resigned in December. Then 94 per cent of the staff voted last week to strike.”