“The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced that video games are as important to popular culture as film and television. As a result, what it regards as “one of the principal contemporary art forms” will be rewarded with a beefed-up British Academy video games awards in October.”
Tag: 03.09.06
London’s Wicked Anticipation
Londoners are looking forward to “Wicked”, which opens in September. The show “has broken London box office records to sell £100,000 of tickets in its first hour, with theatregoers queuing from 6.30am in the morning to secure a purchase.”
France Cancels Flat-Fee Download Plan
French legislators have withdrawn a plan that would have imposed a flat fee for music and movie downloads. “Radical legislators had proposed setting a fee on internet usage that would allow users to download both movies and music for a fee of about eight euros ($11) a month. The fee would be used to reimburse artists. The idea was heavily opposed by recording studios and film associations around the world who said it would rob them of income.”
Found – A Lost Michelangelo?
Is a fresco on the wall of an Italian church a Michelangelo? “The inhabitants of the Chianti village have long claimed that the artwork was painted by Michelangelo in his youth. The claim was supported in the 1940 by the scholar Roberto Weiss, who attributed the Pietà to the Renaissance master. However, the first visible evidence for the legend was found only recently.”
Saatchi Art Firm In Court
The company set up to run Charles Saatchi’s art gallery in London has landed in court, unable to pay its bills. Meanwhile, Saatchi has already announced plans to set up a new gallery…
Da Vinci Code Plaintiffs Concede Major Claim
One of the historians charging Dan Brown with stealing key elements of their work for the Da Vinci Code, concedes a major point. “Your castigatory assertion… that Mr Brown reached all the same historical conjecture as you is untruthful,” said Brown’s lawyer. Mr Baigent replied: “I would concede that ‘all’ is far too strong. I would say ‘most’… We over-egged [exaggerated] that one.”
Peruvian Prez May Press Bush On Yale’s Machu Picchu Collection
The dispute between Yale University and the nation of Peru over antiquities from Machu Picchu is getting hot, and Peruvian authorities are quite serious about forcing Yale to return objects they claim were illegally looted. “This showdown over national patrimony, private property and academic inquiry comes as Alejandro Toledo, the first indigenous president of Peru, is scheduled Friday to meet with the Yale graduate who inhabits the White House.”
New Toronto Opera House Gets $5m Gift – Finally
A former president of the board of the Canadian Opera Company has stepped forward with a $5 million gift toward the construction of a new opera house in Toronto. “In the tradition of the melodramatic, [Hal] Jackman waited until the final act to make his move. Toronto’s long-awaited opera house at Queen and University is now within months of completion, with opening gala concerts set for June.” The project still needs to raise another $30 million before all is said and done.
NDP Takes On CBC
Canada’s third political party (the New Democrats, or NDP) is calling for changes to the CBC’s governance structure, with the intention of ending the tradition of choosing the broadcaster’s chief executive through patronage.
Montreal’s FilmFest Phoenix: Alive And Quite Angry
The legal battles are continuing between two Montreal-based film festivals, each of which wants to be known as the city’s signature fest. The longtime director of the Montreal World Film Festival alleges a widespread conspiracy to ruin him and kill off the festival, and the fact that he appears already to have won the war hasn’t stopped the seemingly endless parade of lawsuits.