Tag: 03.06.05

Oscars: Of Entertainment And Community

Th Oscars are about more than just entertainment, writes Michael Wilmington. “Citing the need for even higher numbers for one of the world’s top-rated programs (41.3 million viewers in this “off year”) would be an idiotic excuse to wreck its meaning. The Oscars, of course, are a show producers hope will draw huge numbers. But they’re also a great communal binding event for the industry itself: an annual celebration of the fact that it takes many different talents and many kinds of artists to make great movies.”

Andre Previn, Composer

Andre Previn is better-known as a conductor than a composer. But he’s working on changing that. “Temperamentally, Previn is probably unique among American composers in that he has nothing to prove. Thanks to all those years on the Hollywood treadmill, he writes with speed and fluency. Whatever the reason, some of Previn’s music is wonderful, and some of it meanders. You could wonder to what extent Previn knows the difference – or if he takes his composing life seriously enough to revise more rigorously.”

McCrum: Stop Whining About The State Of Publishing

Enough of these tracts about there being too many books published and too few classics, writes Robert McCrum. “In an age of rampant capitalism, in the middle of a colossal information-technology revolution unparalleled since Gutenberg, it would be surprising if there was not a colossal overproduction. No more classics? Possibly the hyperactivity of the marketplace makes good books harder to detect, but there’s no evidence that good books are missing their audiences or that writers today are any worse, or any better, than 50, even 100 years ago.”

Is There A Link Between Art And Violence?

“There is, like it or not, a deeply held suspicion that fictional representations of violence steadily rub away at our sensibilities, so that when the real thing comes along we’re too numb and jaded to react as human beings. The issue is as ancient as creativity itself, but it has lost none of its urgency over the centuries: Just what is the impact of art? Does watching stories about terrible acts desensitize us to the horror of those acts when they actually occur?”

Birmingham Ballet’s New Shine

The Birmingham Ballet has had a rough few years. A £1 million deficit built up. Programmes shrank and full-length classics reigned, showing up the callow youth of BRB’s company. A couple of artistsic flops didn’t help. Several top dancers left. But suddenly, the sun has come out, and this season’s programs have burst with new life…

Will Henry Moore Arch Ever See The Light Of Day Again?

What happened to grand marble arch created by sculptor Henry Moore that used to reside in London’s Kensington Garden’s area? “A note in the guidebook Buildings and Monuments in the Royal Parks says that the Arch (as the sculpture is officially called) has been “temporarily removed and dismantled for repair”. But it has been broken up for nearly a decade. Nor is there much prospect that this grand piece, made in 1980 by Britain’s most famous sculptor for the people of London, will be repaired – or indeed seen by the public again.”

Film: Power Language Of The Future?

“At a time when street gangs warn informers with DVD productions about the fate of “snitches” and both terrorists and their adversaries routinely communicate in elaborately staged videos, it is not altogether surprising that film school – promoted as a shot at an entertainment industry job – is beginning to attract those who believe that cinema isn’t so much a profession as the professional language of the future.”

TV News In Crisis

What’s wrong with TV network news in Australia? “It’s clear there is something of a crisis in TV news and current affairs. Big money is being spent to secure personal stories, talents are being shuffled around like the proverbial deckchairs, presenters are being cosmetically overhauled and yet, still, the viewers are turning off.”