“For about a decade, the United States has implanted ‘beacons,’ which can map a computer network, along with surveillance software and occasionally even destructive malware in the computer systems of foreign adversaries.”
Tag: 01.19.14
Outside Auditors Slam Dublin’s Alley Theatre
“Reports by an independent panel of assessors suggest that the Abbey is struggling to meet its aim of being a world-class theatre. The assessors, appointed jointly by the Arts Council and the Abbey Theatre itself, gave just four of 12 productions marks that would rank them as very good.”
Suchitra Sen, 82, ‘The Greta Garbo of Indian Cinema’
The first Indian actress to win an international award, she was a major star in Bengali film, and one of her Bollywood roles led to a major political controversy.
Mannequins of the World (And What They Tell Us)
“We can actually learn a lot about a culture’s values based on how mannequins reflect or distort the human body. Let’s take a look at some of the recent stories from around the world.”
A Formula For Picking Oscar Winners
Two researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have looked into “Oscar baiting,” making films that are reliable picks for Oscar nods. Along the way, Gabriel Rossman and Oliver Schilke came up with a formula to predict Oscar success.
NPR 01.19.14
Hollywood Loves A Good “True” Story To Work On
No fewer than six of the nine films nominated for the best picture Academy Award are based on true events — possibly the biggest proportion ever vying for Hollywood’s highest honor.
Why Would Any City, Much Less A Bankrupt One, Subsidize Housing For Novelists?
“Priced out, writers move out of the boho enclaves and the corporate crowd moves in. The city – in not supporting artists – becomes a more homogenous less diverse place.”
How A Hugely Popular Crowdfunding Initiative Hurt Zach Braff’s Movie
“Just about all of the ‘compromises’ that Braff says he’d have been forced to make [without the Kickstarter] would have made Wish I Was Here a better film.”
One 27-Year-Old Producer Is Saving The Movies
“Megan Ellison is Hollywood’s newest darling. She has been touted as the ‘new Harvey Weinstein’ for a couple of years now, but this week her status was confirmed: films she produced and financed were nominated for a staggering 17 Academy Awards.”
Beautiful Old Movie Theatres Were Holding Pakistan’s Movie Culture Back [Video]
Bring on the multiplexes.