Tag: 01.17.20

An Israeli Museum Cancelled An Artist’s Talk Because He Identifies As Palestinian

The Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa said that Saher Miahi’s identity did not fit with guidelines from its funders, the Hecht Foundation. The university rescheduled the talk for elsewhere. The artist said, “I was a student at this university and I’m still collaborating with it. Now, this museum is telling me that I don’t belong here.” The move was widely criticized by others on and off campus. – Hyperallergic

Movie Theatres With Shaking Seats Are Gimmicky – And Also A Good Education In Filmmaking

Basically, The NYT says, you could easily tell how bad Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was by going to a theatre with 4DX technology. The experience “should really be considered an intellectual exercise. Sure, the wind occasionally makes it hard to hear dialogue, and the flashing lights take you out of the movie when they light up the theater’s walls. But a lot of thought is required to artfully complement a film by adding multisensory elements. Especially when the film itself lacks artfulness.” – The New York Times

This Austrian Village, Overrun By ‘Frozen’ Tourists, Wants Them To Go To The Salt Mines

Only 780 people live in Hallstatt, Austria – but a million tourists visit each year, hoping for the perfect Frozen-style photo. The town had had enough. “Hallstatt is embarking on a campaign to focus on quality — not quantity — tourism, according to local officials. Tour buses, which tally as many as 90 on the busiest days, will be capped at 50 and must register with the tourism office. Groups that arrange lunches at local restaurants, sign up for boat cruises or visit Hallstatt’s famous salt mines will be given preference.” – The New York Times

Hank Azaria Says He Will Stop Voicing Apu On The Simpsons

But will Apu be retired from the show, or will the show get a new voice actor – perhaps an Indian American voice actor? This has been a long time coming. “In 2017, the comedian Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The Problem With Apu forced Mr. Azaria, who is white, to reckon with his portrayal of the Kwik-E-Mart owner who speaks with a pronounced Indian accent. The film attempted to trace the origin story of Apu and put the character in a broader context of Hollywood depictions of Indians.” – The New York Times

Stephen King’s Twitter Comment About The Oscars Gets At One Of The Academy’s Deepest Problems

These guys just will not accept responsibility. “Diversity is too often discussed as something separate from, or even in conflict with, artistic virtue. It is treated as an abstract concept meant to materialize without industry gatekeepers and Oscar voters, such as King, challenging their own possibly narrow views and instituting different practices. Put more plainly, the lack of representation is regularly talked about as a problem, but one for someone else to solve and for other institutions to address.” – The Atlantic

Norma Tanega, Whose Hit Single Was Covered By Nearly Everyone, Has Died At 80

Tanega’s “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog,” which was truly a recounting of her life with her cat named Dog, smashed through 1966 and was covered by Barry McGuire, jazz artists, Yo La Tengo, They Might Be Giants and many others, has died. Tanega also wrote for Dusty Springfield, with whom she had a relationship. She said as she was touring with her first album, “‘The folkies don’t like me and the rock ’n’ rollies don’t like me.’ … She nonetheless enjoyed performing, she said: “’ just want to sing for people. You might say it’s mass love.'” – The New York Times

Protesters Shut Down The Louvre

The protestors are angry about the government’s proposed pension reforms, and they’ve shut down much of Paris on and off over the past six weeks. “‘Closing the Louvre to prevent tourists from visiting is very important because it’s the most visited museum in the world,’ said Christophe Benoit, 52, a protesting employee of France’s Culture Ministry, although he acknowledged that some visitors were’“very angry.'” – The New York Times

Disney Drops “Fox” From 20th Century Fox Name

The Walt Disney Company bought most of Mr. Murdoch’s entertainment assets last year in a $71.3 billion deal. That included the 20th Century Fox studio and its art-house sibling, Fox Searchlight. On Friday, the employees at the main movie studio arrived to a new email format (@20thcenturystudios) without the Fox. A Disney spokesman confirmed that both labels would drop Fox from their logos. Disney had no further comment. – The New York Times