Why do so many great movie directors get involved in forgettable second-rate projects? It goes directly to the way movie projects are made – the money, the power, the complications. “Imagine being, as the director is, in complete charge of hundreds if not thousands of people, to have minions endlessly lining up to (a) ask for your make-or-break opinion and (b) fulfill every fancy you have for what you want to see on the set, no matter how arcane or difficult to procure.” – Los Angeles Times 04/09/00
Tag: 04.09.00
JOCKEYING FOR POSITION
What does it take to be successful in Hollywood? “The basic truth is that everyone wants to stay close to the fire. They don’t know how they got there but they know it won’t last. A great deal of the nervousness of Southern California is based on that understanding; that it’s all going to slip away from them.” – The Globe and Mail (Canada) 04/09/00
WHATFORE ART THOU?
There’s a struggle going on for the soul of the American musical. Is it big, cartoonish and Elton? Or pseudo-operatic, arty and Sondheim? Judging by recent track records, the Disneyites have it. But what succeeds in the long run… – Boston Globe
OF THE FORMER – SUPERSTAR OR PASSING FANCY?
For the moment, the invasion of British musical theater on Broadway has subsided. So let’s take a whack at assessing Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s influence on the genre. His “wide popular appeal has never been matched by high critical estimation. His music has been called derivative, or worse. Today, he is more likely to be taken to task for purveying middle-class sentimentalism (and sensationalism) at the expense of genuine artistic insight. Nor is he personally popular on Broadway, where he has long been seen as an unwelcome foreign interloper. But his effect on Broadway has been enormous.” – New York Times
FROM THE LATTER
Audra McDonald is considered one of the true serious young theatrical artists, an actress and singer of equal strength who is willing to pursue ambitious new work, including operatic undertakings like LaChiusa’s “Marie Christine,” at a time when popular fare along the lines of Disney’s new Broadway “Aida” would probably give her more exposure. – Los Angeles Times
NEXT ON “OPRAH”…
“At this year’s Humana Festival of New American Plays at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, four out of the six mainstage offerings pivoted on incidents of gender warfare and sexual violence. Are hungry playwrights simply aping TV’s lucrative obsession with these sociological phenomena? Or genuinely hoping to cast more light on them in a less-commercialized medium?” – Seattle Times
NO ONE SAID IT WOULD BE EASY
Efforts by the Art Loss Register to repatriate Nazi-confiscated artworks to their rightful owners have been stymied by a little-known German tax code. “We certainly have the impression that there exists a willingness to return property to its legal owners,” says the Register’s director Sara Jackson. “However, it is unclear to us how this willingness corresponds with a German law that went into effect in 1988.” – Haaretz (Israel)
PURE MARKETING GENIUS
Hirst’s new work “Hymn” is at the center of a new plagiarism controversy. The sculpture – a 20-foot replica of a children’s anatomy kit – was bought for an alleged $1.5 million by gallery owner Charles Saatchi, yet no one has yet to see the work in person. – NPR
TAKING THE ELITE OUT OF SELLING ART
By some estimates, there are currently some 20,000 Web sites involved in selling art, and more are on the way. “Marketing experts say these sites will permanently alter the way art is sold and radically expand the market. Whether the sudden flood of art sites is truly the dawn of a new era bringing riches to sellers and creators of art or just a shift down-market disguised as technological progress, only time will tell.” – Washington Post
THE POWER OF ART
Five years ago, a derelict power station on the south bank of the Thames fit right into its desolate surroundings. Now, £135 million later, the building has been transformed to house the new Tate Modern, one of the great modern art collections in the world. – The Sunday Telegraph (UK)