“Other than school drama groups that used a cut-down version, no one has been permitted to mess with the look and feel of Les Misérables – until now. Overnight, an iconic piece of theater is open to reinterpretation for the first time since its 1985 debut by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London.”
Tag: 05.22.08
Chicago Suing Online Ticket Brokers For Back Taxes
“The city of Chicago is suing eBay and its subsidiary StubHub for failing to collect city amusement taxes on concert and sporting event tickets sold through the Web sites… It’s not clear how much money is at stake, but when the city floated the idea of going after taxes for online sales in 2006, Alderman Edward Burke estimated the city could be losing $16 million a year in taxes on Internet-based sales by ticket resellers.”
Ono In Copyright Fight Over Lennon
Yoko Ono is battling in court to prevent a filmmaker whose documentary challenges the theory of evolution from using John Lennon’s song, Imagine, in the soundtrack. “The filmmakers acknowledge they did not ask Ono for permission to use 15 to 20 seconds of the song. But they argue they are protected by the ‘fair use’ doctrine.”
No Joke: Podcasting Perfect For Comics
Podcasting has been a huge boon for British comics, whose work has lately been dominating the download charts. “Many comedians are using the format to showcase routines, or to try something different from the jokes they would tell again and again at different clubs each week.”
More Records Fall At Spring Auctions
“The monumental Thomas Moran landscape “Green River of Wyoming,” estimated at $3.5 million to $5 million, sold on Wednesday for $17.73 million at a Christie’s sale of American art in New York. The price set a record for a 19th-century American painting.” A record was also set for American Modernist paintings when a Marsden Hartley canvas went for more than $6m.
Banging Heads In Baghdad
“Around 2000, a group of Iraqi school friends weaned on bootleg Metallica and Slayer tapes formed their own metal band with an imposing name, Acrassicauda (derived from the name of a species of black scorpion), and an appropriately do-or-die attitude.” Now, a feature documentary is giving the post-war incarnation of the band newfound fame.