No, you weren’t imagining the tension you saw during the Oscars telecast. “Long before each came away with an Academy Award, … director Steve McQueen and screenwriter John Ridley were embroiled in a bitter feud regarding credit for the film’s screenplay, a fight they kept quiet for the good of the campaign before it came to a head Sunday night at the Dolby Theatre.”
Tag: 03.04.12
The Director Who’s Mixing Up Denver’s Museum Of Contemporary Art
Adam Lerner’s business cards give his title as “Director and Chief Animator, Department of Fabrications.” His popular lecture series offers events like “Nietzsche and Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!” He and his institution are a major hit.
The Little Literary Journal That Could
“As smart as they are, no literary journal has come close to becoming the wide-ranging commercial force that is McSweeney’s. The San Francisco-based company evolved from a brash literary journal – the bad boy in town – into a multifaceted print and online independent publishing house, founded by journalist-novelist-publisher Dave Eggers.”
Alex Ross: Opera In New York At A Low Point
Over and over this season, the city has been treated to one bad production after another. While New York has never particularly been a capital of opera, this is a low point…
Can A New Arts Center Make Las Vegas A Cultural Destination?
“While the glitzy Goliaths populating Las Vegas Boulevard lure out-of-towners, this downtown property” – the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, built on the site of an old railroad switchyard – will cater to locals, “many of whom say they have yearned for this for decades.”
What’s The Problem With The Term ‘Philosophy’? Lay People. (So Let’s Find A New Term)
“They immediately assume you are in the business of offering sage advice, usually in the form of unargued aphorisms and proverbs. You struggle to explain that you don’t do that kind of philosophy, at which point you may well be accused of abandoning your historical calling.” Prof. Colin McGinn suggests a new name for his field – a name that sounds more like a science.
Booing Is A Good Thing, And We Should Do More Of It
“Let’s be clear – booing is not pleasant … And yet booing is also a sign of caring, honest: it’s a sign of direct and passionate engagement that returns us to art’s roots. … Likewise, it’s our responsibility as an audience to appraise, not merely soak up. Applause must be earned.”
Arts In Movie Theatres Is Finding Healthy Audiences
“The growth of live and recorded opera and ballet performance for cinema audiences is providing a bankable boost for many cinemas. This spring, there is an added attraction: more productions will be screened in 3D, bringing audiences even closer to the theatrical experiences at a fraction of the cost of tickets.”
Pity The Poor Accompanist?
“Pity the poor accompanist, condemned to sit in the shadow of the great voices and the even greater egos of today’s singers. Being the pianist who plays for them can feel like the most thankless job in music.”
Why Buy When You Can Rent? Culture, Clothes, Cars… The Consumer Redefined
“Pay a monthly fee. Rent your object of desire. Return it when it bores or becomes useless. It’s easy, on-demand, noncommittal. Consumerism is being redefined for the mobile age, and the model is spreading among professionals and families in ways that were little anticipated, even by the venture capitalists funding this new era of cooperative capitalism.”