The newest Harry Potter book is leading Amazon’s bestseller chart. But it hasn’t even been published yet. The Potter tomes are remarkable – so much so that they almost read themselves. But come on – let’s not confuse them with great literature. And that’s what some awards-folk seem to be doing of late. – The Age (Melbourne)
Tag: 02.07.00
LET’S PLAY THE FEUD
The Canadian province of Newfoundland has a good old fashioned literary feud going. “The affair erupted last month over the rights to a ‘little poem’ allegedly reprinted in a textbook without the author’s consent. Raising the stakes, the ‘textbook’ is a bound pilot document for one of the most ambitious projects in provincial publishing history. – National Post (Canada)
NEW PBS CHIEF —
— Pat Mitchell is a former reporter and a respected documentary maker. Her appointment is expected today. – Los Angeles Times 02/07/00
HOLLYWOOD NORTH
Want to know where all that Hollywood movie and TV industry production is headed? North to British Columbia. The province’s movie industry grew 20 percent last year, making it the third-largest producer in North America. – Variety 02/07/00
- Canada scored record film exports in 1999, but 90 percent of the movie business at home is dominated by American fare. – CBC 02/07/00
DIGITAL DOUBTS
Sinclair Broadcasting contends that the TV industry’s new digital standard delivers less than the clear crisp picture that has been promised, and that the standard should be changed. Nope, says the FCC, in a unanimous ruling. – Variety 02/07/00
BUDDING STAR
One of the hottest new ads on TV isn’t an ad at all, say its creators, it’s a short “indie” film. The Budweiser spot is riding high on a website devoted to commercials – Adcritic.com. Something about the site has traditional ad agencies anxious. – New York Magazine 02/07/00
FIRST THINGS FIRST
“Stories may make plays, but people make stories. People come first. Why, I wonder, do so many playwrights have such a hard time with this seemingly simple notion? Why do their characters seem an afterthought, making little sense and possessing little substance? Why do writers for the stage persist in putting ideas ahead of people, rather than permitting themes to emerge, peekaboo-style, from the welter of human feelings and behavior?” – Philadelphia Inquirer