Simon Heffer: “I am disqualified to an extent by the fact that he was a playwright, and therefore a species I barely understand. But there is one way in which I can grasp Rattigan’s greatness. He wrote screenplays, and some of his finest plays were made into stunningly good films in the golden age of our cinema. In fact, Rattigan wrote five or six of the finest films ever made in this country.”
Tag: 03.19.11
Should Local Governments Sell Art To Raise Money?
“Should councils sell works of art to raise money? Yes, sell the junk, says critic Brian Sewell. No, says Art Fund director Stephen Deuchar, it will have long-term consequences.”
The Politics Of Theatre (Lessons From Spider-Man Edition)
“In the ego-driven world of Broadway, as in politics, you’re simply irreplaceable, dahling — until you’re not. I’ve noticed many similarities between the politics of theater and the theater of politics, but the spectacular fall of Ms. Taymor was a moment that crystallized several of them.”
Can Streaming Save The Music Business?
“As unpaid downloading of overcompressed MP3 files recorded at obnoxiously loud volume continues apace, CD sales keep falling: They were down another 16 per cent in Canada in 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And now, the once-rapid rise of paid downloads is slowing, without ever having fully made up for those CD losses.”