The manuscript of a book critical of Disney was obtained by Disney, and the company is threatening legal action after regretting giving the author access to company execs and records. “Disney dashed off a letter to Simon & Schuster, warning that it would contemplate legal action if the book contained mistakes, according to several people involved in the book’s publication. Simon & Schuster is asking that Disney return the 780-page unauthorized manuscript it obtained, saying Disney should not distribute it to news outlets or other concerns.”
Tag: 01.31.05
Philip Johnson And Fascism
Philip Johnson’s fascist past was mentioned only in passing in most of his obituaries last week. But “Philip Johnson did not just flirt with fascism. He spent several years in his late 20’s and early 30’s – years when an artist’s imagination usually begins to jell – consumed by fascist ideology. He tried to start a fascist party in the United States. He worked for Huey Long and Father Coughlin, writing essays on their behalf. He tried to buy the magazine American Mercury, then complained in a letter, ‘The Jews bought the magazine and are ruining it, naturally.’ He traveled several times to Germany. He thrilled to the Nuremberg rally of 1938 and, after the invasion of Poland, he visited the front at the invitation of the Nazis. He approved of what he saw.”
Foreign Video Sales are Hollywood’s New Cash Cow
“By most estimates and anecdotal evidence, revenues from international home video sales are the fastest-growing part of Hollywood’s business. The most reliable estimate comes from Screen Digest, a British data company, which calculated that the home video divisions of the United States studios garnered $11.4 billion in wholesale revenues from the $24.6 billion that overseas consumers spent buying and renting home video products in 2004. What is more certain is that the windfall from overseas home video sales is affecting how the movie business is run. It is inflating budgets for films with big international potential.”
Sundance Closes, Documentaries Reign
This year’s Sundance Festival closes in a blaze of awards and respect for documentaries. “It was a weak year for the American dramatic competition and a strong one for documentaries, but the contrast between these groups of movies was not just a matter of quality. In any case, the dramatic jury had no trouble handing out prizes – it seems none of the juries did; there were more than 30 awards given.”
The West End’s Best Year Ever
London’s West End theatres had their best year ever at the box office in 2004. “Almost 12m people attended a West End show in 2004, generating receipts of £341,758,566. The arrival of big musicals including Mary Poppins and The Producers is credited with pushing up ticket sales.”
Growing Ballet In Post-Apartheid South Africa
“In the world of dance, one of South Africa’s toughest townships may seem an unpromising place to start an academy for classical ballet. But hundreds of black children have been auditioning for the programme, part of an emerging generation that is taking the country’s arts into a new post-apartheid era.”
China’s First Summer Festival
China is creating its first international summer music festival this July. “The festival, similar to the famous Tanglewood and Aspen music schools of the United States, will be the first large-scale annualinternational professional music summer camp ever held in China orSoutheast Asia.”