Mara Wilson (Mrs. Doubtfire, Matilda, A Simple Wish, Melrose Place) explains it all, in a sensible and very clever run-down.
Tag: 05.28.13
Leon Wieseltier: Our Culture Is Crumbling Around Us
“In recent years I have come to regard a commitment to the humanities as nothing less than an act of intellectual defiance, of cultural dissidence. For decades now in America we have been witnessing a steady and sickening denigration of humanistic understanding and humanistic method.”
Viggo Mortensen’s Favorite Thing About Acting
“Each time I make a movie, it’s like a paid scholarship to a different university course. … Playing Sigmund Freud for David Cronenberg meant I read work by Jung, by Freud, remembrances, contemporary accounts. Right now I’m shooting a movie set in 1962 in Greece and Turkey.”
Central London Borough Says It Will Proceed With Eliminating Arts Funding
“Westminster City Council has confirmed it will go ahead with its 100% cut to arts funding despite a petition in opposition to the proposal. The petition called on the local authority to reject the proposal that would see £350,000 currently allocated to arts organisations phased out by 2014/15.”
Jailed Pussy Rioter Hospitalized Following Hunger Strike
“A jailed member of the infamous Russian protest group Pussy Riot who went on a hunger strike last week was hospitalized on Tuesday … Maria Alyokhina, 24, is serving a two-year prison sentence for her part in an anti-President Vladimir Putin protest song the group performed last year in Moscow’s main cathedral.”
Oregon Symphony Musicians Give Up Pay To Balance Season’s Budget
“The slow, relentless shrinking of the Oregon Symphony continues as the musicians agreed this week to forgo $315,000 in pay … Faced with a budget gap foreseen last October, symphony officials asked the musicians to waive their annual, end-of-season payment, the equivalent of two-and a half weeks of salary.”
Filmmaker Zhang Yimou Joins Major Chinese Online Media Portal
“By joining Le Vision Pictures, the filmmaking arm of the online film and TV portal LeTV, the 61-year-old director brings an end to his spell as an unattached artist after his acrimonious split last year with longtime producer Zhang Weiping.”
Sergei Polunin, Ballet’s Prodigal Runaway, ‘Pretty Sure’ He’ll Show Up For Next London Gig
Last year he abruptly left his job as principal with the Royal Ballet; in April he abandoned a London adaptation of Midnight Express three days before opening. After apologizing for the latter incident (he blamed a “health issue … I couldn’t even explain”), Polunin says he does plan to appear in Coppélia at the Coliseum this summer.
Broadway Attendance Down 6%, Thanks To Sandy
“Superstorm Sandy was a force behind Broadway’s 6.2% dip in audience attendance – its lowest level in several years, according to end-of-season statistics … Box-office grosses were virtually the same: Shows took in $1.14 billion during Broadway’s 2012-13 season.” (Higher ticket prices made up the difference.)
The Problem With Studies Saying That Studying Music Improves Test Scores
“As we point out regularly here, correlation and causation are very different things. Newly published research concludes those differences reflect the types of kids who decide to participate in music, rather than anything that occurs in the practice room.”