Tag: 05.20.04

Creativity And The Working City

“The return of cities can only be explained in the context of the rise of the creative age – a long wave of change affecting every sector of the economy, in which competitiveness and wealth have become increasingly determined by the capacity for innovation and creativity. The contrast with the industrial age could not be sharper…”

Reconsidering The Mayans

“Researchers are now moving from establishing facts about the Maya towards understanding the meaning of their rituals. The decipherment of their script has been the greatest achievement of recent years. The Maya invented what may be the most complex writing system ever devised. It had both alphabetic and pictographic characters, and the “spelling” rules seem to have been largely aesthetic. The same word could be written in a dozen ways. The new exhibition contains superb examples of the most florid, which look more like sculpture than writing.”

Little Movies And Their Stealth Marketing

“Increasingly, more independent movies are adopting models of grass-roots marketing. Unable to compete with the multimillion-dollar advertising budgets of studio blockbusters, small movies are instead targeting localized niche audiences as a way to gain traction. That platform allows a film to open small and then potentially build momentum through word of mouth, just as “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” did two years ago by initially making a splash in the Greek-American community. That movie went on to become the most profitable romantic comedy in history.”

Durham Debates Giant Clear Channel Theatre

The Durham (NC) City Council is considering a plan for “a 4,000-seat theater adjacent to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and the American Tobacco complex renovation. Supporters of the proposed American Center for Performing Arts say the region needs a theater of this size, and that it would serve as a permanent home to the American Dance Festival, which has long outgrown crowded Duke University stages.” But media giant Clear Channel Communications would manage the theatre, and a coalition of other arts groups is coming together to oppose the plan.

DNA Action On Acton Estate

Sir Harold Acton was one of the great art collectors of the 20th Century. When he died he left his collection to New York University. “Acton left 40,000 rare books, 5,000 art works, including one attributed to Donatello, and a 57-acre estate with four villas. The biggest is Villa La Pietra, a 60-room Medici family palace, whose former guests include Prince Charles, Winston Churchill, DH Lawrence and Picasso.” Now new DNA evidence has bolstered claims of those contesting the bequest.

Milwaukee Symphony Cuts Budget And Staff

The Milwuakee Symphony is cutting “more than $2 million off its $17 million operating budget” and laying off 17 employees in an attempt to balance its budget. Additional cost reductions will come from other areas of the organization over three years. The layoffs come as the MSO stops the practice of dipping into its unrestricted endowment fund for operating cash.”

TV Networks Drop Reruns

“As they try to stave off fierce cable competition and chase the young adults prized by advertisers, networks are loading up on high-concept reality shows and rejiggering lineups at the last minute. As a result, they’re using reruns more sparingly than ever or, in many cases, banishing them entirely. Admittedly, this is one funeral that might not attract many mourners.”

The Hot Latin Cinema

Where’s the juice in today’s cinema? “You have today in Latin America a generation of directors and actors who grew up after the redemocratization of the continent. That makes a dramatic difference. They are not only talented but socially and politically conscious, and this combination is nurturing a different kind of cinema. The films have a desire for new stories, often stories of identity. We are a young continent, and the countries are in movement, in the process of defining ourselves, and this process creates extraordinary cinematic possibilities.”