“The industry employed 132,200 at its pre-Great Recession peak in 2004. But in the following years thousands of entertainment jobs were lost as the industry suffered along with the rest of the tanking U.S. economy. But in 2012, the number of jobs was back up to just under 130,000–a 3.7 percent increase from 2011.”
Tag: 02.24.13
‘Anti-Oscars’ Track With Oscars (Again) at Independent Spirit Awards
“The persistent irony of the Film Independent Spirit Awards is that as much as they’re positioned as the DIY antidote to the Academy Awards, the indie film with the most Oscars recognition almost invariably reaps the greatest rewards.” This year that film was Silver Linings Playbook (four awards); most of the other winners were also Oscar nominees.
Branding Modern Russian Literature
The new director of the State Museum of Literature in Moscow wants to begin a campaign to market the most promising writers of today – and to encourage readers to use their work as a lens for viewing the great Russian classics.
The Gustavo Dudamel Phenomenon (A Global Brand)
“Rolex has bankrolled a foundation in his name; Salzburg plans a summer extravaganza around him; Hollywood is releasing a film about Simón BolÃvar (Libertador, starring Edgar RamÃrez), for which he wrote the music. Dudamel has become his own brand.”
How Do You Get Museumgoers To Visit The Period Rooms? Food! (But Not Eating)
“The period rooms in art museums have the mustiest, dustiest of reputations. They are often seen as the cultural equivalent of grandma’s overstuffed couch that smelled like a fleet of cats.” (They say that like it’s a bad thing.) “But some museums have discovered at least one secret ingredient to make their potentially snooze-inducing rooms more palatable to the public: a chef of sorts.”
Can There Be Such A Thing As A British Cirque Du Soleil?
“When economists bemoan the foreign drain on homegrown talent and skills, they probably don’t have trapeze artists, acrobats or high-wire walkers in mind. Yet Britain has lost a generation of highly-trained performers to circus troupes based abroad. In response, the first nationwide attempt to keep more skilled entertainers working on these shores will be launched Monday.”
Vienna’s Kammeroper Saved By A (Not Really) Hostile Takeover
“The Austrian federal government’s decision to eliminate entirely its support, which constituted half of the company’s governmental subsidies (the other half coming from the city) [had] effectively put the Kammeroper out of business.” The company’s white knight (to stick with the corporate merger metaphor) was the innovative Theater an der Wien.
The Birth Of Pantone (What Would We Do Without It?)
“In the early 1960s, as Lawrence Herbert drove to work in a blue Cadillac with cherry red seats, he mulled over a problem: How to create a ‘universal language’ of color. … Each company defined colors differently, and when you ordered ‘wheat’ or ‘taupe’ or ‘cream,’ you couldn’t predict what you’d get.”
Paul Taylor Explains (Sort Of) Why He Makes Dances
“I make dances because crowds are kept at a safe distance. That’s what proscenium arches are good for. I make dances … because it’s possible to build a whole universe with steps, because I want people to know about themselves, and even because it’s a thrilling relief to see how fast each of my risk-taking dancers can recover after a pratfall.”
How Napster Sparked A Music Revolution
“Working on a borrowed PC in his uncle’s Massachusetts office, sleeping in a nearby utility cupboard in order to conduct days-long programming sessions, Fanning had a finished product by the spring of 1999.”