“[T]he lead character … is usually played by a jaw-droppingly attractive star, who wins positive press for being willing to subvert her beauty in order to portray one of the great unwashed doing whatever it is they do out there in the dull diabetic landmass between Los Angeles and New York City. (Hiring ugly people to play working class is a job best left to the English.)”
Tag: 02.02.10
The Met’s Thomas Campbell Looks Back On His First Year
“With hindsight, Mr. Campbell now sees a ‘silver lining’ to the turbulence of his inaugural year. He acknowledged, when asked, that the crisis had given him the opportunity to appoint a hand-picked team much sooner and less controversially than would have otherwise been possible.”
Is It Really Necessary To Attend Sundance In Person?
“Between Google alerts and Twitter, [a non-attendee] can get immediate feedback on his iPhone about what films and performances are generating buzz. More films than ever are quietly traded on DVD in Los Angeles before or during the festival, or screened outright for distributors in Hollywood. … [E]ven some of the bold-face names who had films screening at this year’s festival were absent.”
Billionaire Michael Dell Buys Magnum Photos Print Archive
“While no price was disclosed, the collection has been insured for more than $100 million” and includes about 185,000 prints. MSD Capital LP, Dell’s investment firm, “will lend the photos for five years to the Harry Ransom Center, a humanities research library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin.”
Politicians Like CultureLabel’s One-Stop Museum Shopping
“Dubbed an ‘Amazon for the arts’ by its creators, the Web aggregator is satisfying consumer appetite for art-related gifts, and boosting museum revenue at a time when subsidies are heading lower.”
In Obama Budget, Arts Funding Holds Steady
“Should the Obama administration get its way, funding for the nation’s major arts and cultural institutions will stay largely flat, although a few organizations … will see increases over what the president requested last year. In general, arts organizations seemed grateful that things didn’t turn out worse.”
Va. School System Won’t Ban Anne Frank’s Diary After All
A parent’s very specific request that her eighth grader not be required to read aloud from “The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition” sparked a swift, blanket decision to ban the book from the school system. After intense criticism, it’s reversing course.
Lang Lang Signs $3M Deal With Sony Classical
“The Chinese musician Lang Lang, 27, has signed for Sony Classical for $3 million, an executive familiar with the move at his old label Deutsche Grammophon told me. A Sony spokeswoman in London said that the company wouldn’t comment,” but it’s an advantageous move for the label.