“The public row between [Canada’s] National Arts Centre and its employees over a controversial confidentiality policy ended yesterday when the NAC dropped its demand that staff sign a document some considered a gag order… To ease union worries, the NAC at first agreed to soften the letter, but eventually decided to drop it altogether. The policy will now be covered under Canadian common law, which specifies that employees cannot disclose their employers’ secrets even if they haven’t signed a confidentiality agreement.”
Tag: 05.17.06
Snubbing Julia
The most notable snub among yesterday’s Tony nominations was Julia Roberts, who was shut out of the best actress category. But how you view that snub likely depends on who you are. “If you’re, say, a muckety-muck at Creative Artists Agency, which represents Roberts, you’re in a foul mood these days, ranting about ‘out of touch’ nominators and ‘pathetic’ critics who are making Broadway inhospitable to movie stars. On the other hand, if you’re a member of the American Theater Wing, the nonprofit organization that holds the Tony copyright, you point to the snub as evidence that the nomination process has integrity and doesn’t bend to industry pressure to celebrate stars.”
Critic: DaVinci Not All That Controversial, After All
As worldwide protests by devout Catholics continue unabated, The DaVinci Code got its first screening at Cannes last night, and Simon Houpt says that all the hand-wringing isn’t necessary. Opus Dei, the secretive Catholic sect depicted as murderous in Dan Brown’s novel, “is granted some slack in the big-screen version, which opens across the world on Friday. Furthermore, theories about the life of Jesus Christ that have caused consternation in the Catholic world, brought condemnation from the Vatican, and provoked calls for boycotts across the globe, are presented with a measure of skepticism on film that the book does not possess.”
Harper’s Returns To A Serial Diet
Robert Lennon is “becoming the first writer in 50 years to have his fiction serialized in the pages of Harper’s Magazine. While the serialization is noteworthy—the magazine will run Lennon’s Happyland over the course of five issues starting in July—how Lennon’s novel wound up at the magazine is almost more so.”
The New English National Opera (Uh-Huh)
“Watching English National Opera calls for nothing less than a complete renunciation of the critical faculties if one is to imagine that the company has turned a corner since the past year’s upheavals that swept away two music directors, a chief executive and a chairman in less time than it takes to make an opera.”
National Gallery Admits Copyright Violation
The National Gallery of Art, in Washington, DC, has admitted copyright infringement and agreed to pay two Edouard Vuillard scholars $37,500 for publishing a catalogue that uses their research without authorisation or acknowledgement.
Barnes Hits Capital Target, Extends Campaign
The Barnes Foundation has hit its $150 million fundraising target, and now has enough money to complete its controversial move to Center City Philadelphia. But the foundation isn’t stopping there, announcing an extension of the campaign, and a new target of $200 million, to be raised from “national and international” donors. The extended campaign may be due in part to rising construction costs – the Barnes’s proposed $100 million facility is likely to end up with cost overruns, and the museum wants to be prepared.
What Accounts For The Turner’s New Conservatism?
“The Tate has been unhappy about the tabloid hostility the prize encounters, not thinking that all publicity is good publicity, though it was vicious attacks that made the Turner an institution.”
What Makes Cannes Great?
Cannes is on, and with it comes the usual litany of complaints regarding the supposed commercialization of the festival, the Hollywood exploitation, and, on the other side of the coin, the continued insistence on pushing a bunch of low-budget, esoteric art films that no one understands. “But both forms of grousing miss the point and the glory of this festival, which since the beginning — this is its 59th edition —has mingled the lofty and the crass with particular Gallic flair.”
Battling The Ghosts Of Opera
Opera fans are a notoriously conservative crowd, and they tend to have very specific ideas concerning what voice is “right” for what role in the repertoire. But why does there have to be a right vocal type at all? Why shouldn’t a great singer be encouraged to sing any role within her/his range, and to be creative in the interpretation, rather than bowing and scraping at the altar of the past?