“There seems to be enough data now to demonstrate that the Battleship Met has indeed turned around. Just two years ago, every indicator for the Met Opera was pointing down. And now they’re all pointing up — attendance, subscriptions, sellouts, philanthropy. And if one looks at that ephemeral quality associated with success — buzz — the Met now has it again. In fact, the Met has become the hot cultural ticket in town.”
Tag: 06.10.08
You Can Sell My Art; Just Don’t Use The Pictures
“Juan Pablo Fernandez has been selling–or, rather, reselling–Alex Grey’s work online. Last month, the artist filed a copyright-infringement suit against him. Grey doesn’t dispute his fan’s right to resell the prints, which Fernandez bought at retail price straight from Grey’s gallery before framing them, marking them up, and advertising them online. Rather, he is suing Fernandez for posting online photos of the art.”
Disney Puts Movies Online For Free Streaming
A Disney spokesman said the decision to stream movies for free marks an “evolution” in the company’s online strategy. Fox, Universal, Lionsgate and MGM have all previously placed titles on Hulu, the NBC Universal/News Corp.-owned site, while Disney has gone the pay route and kept its films, for the most part, on iTunes.
Merchandise Tie-Ins Make Billions For Disney
Driven by such franchises as Hannah Montana, “High School Musical,” “Cars” and Disney Princess, retail sales of merchandise licensed by the Walt Disney Co. are on track to rise 12% to a record $30 billion-plus globally this fiscal year, which ends September 30.
Study: Met Opera Movie Broadcasts Are Building Opera Audiences
“The digital theatrical transmissions have been hugely popular over the past two Met seasons. That’s good news for Hollywood studios and exhibs as they begin to look to alternative digital content to fill theater seats, particularly since they can charge more per ticket for special events.”
Brief Harry Potter “Prequel” Sells For $49,000
“An 800-word hand-written story by bestselling author J.K. Rowling, which she describes as a prequel to the Harry Potter boy wizard books, sold for 25,000 pounds ($49,000) at a charity auction on Tuesday.”
Antiquities Returned To Iraq
“A set of 11 agate and alabaster seals, which date from between 3,000 B.C. and 2,000 B.C., was returned after having been snatched during the widespread looting at the museum in 2003. The cylinder-shaped seals were turned over to Iraq’s antiquities ministry at a ceremony in Baghdad on Monday.”
SAG V. AFTRA
“With Hollywood on edge at the prospect of an actors strike, SAG’s negotiating committee has been accused of dragging its feet at the bargaining table in order to wage war against the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.”
So Where Are The Other Movies For Women?
“Is there a stampede to knock off other hit TV shows, figuring that TV is to women what comic books are to men? You would hope, given the success of ‘Sex and the City,’ people will remember there is a huge female audience out there, and, judging by these numbers, they’re clearly starved, for the most part.”
Trend: Fewer Women’s Colleges In US, More In Rest Of World
“U.S. women’s colleges have sometimes struggled to find a new role in the era of coeducation. As their numbers decline in the United States, women’s colleges are booming in much of the developing world _ places such as Africa, Asia and the Middle East. They’ve become a trendy tool for jump-starting economic growth and political development, and for helping break down barriers in the same way their U.S. counterparts have been doing since the 19th century.”