A study released this week found “concrete evidence that women who are authors have a tougher time getting their work staged than men – … [and] that women who are artistic directors and literary managers are the ones to blame.” The research also indicates that there is “a shortage of good scripts by women” and that “[p]lays and musicals by women [running on Broadway] sold 16 percent more tickets a week and were 18 percent more profitable [than works by men] over all.”
Tag: 06.23.09
Hollywood’s Most Notorious News Blog (No, Not Perez Hilton) Gets Acquired
“Nikki Finke, the sharp-tongued Hollywood blogger, is having her payday. Her Web site, Deadline Hollywood Daily, has been acquired by the Mail.com Media Corporation for an undisclosed amount.” That amount is rumored to be well over $1 million, not including continuing payment for Finke’s services as the site’s editor.
IMG Artists Chairman, Now A Felon, Steps Down
“Barrett Wissman, a businessman who in April pleaded guilty to securities fraud in an investigation into corruption at the New York State pension fund, has stepped down as chairman of IMG Artists, one of the largest firms representing classical musicians, and has been replaced by Charles Hamlen.”
Norman Lebrecht Leaves London Evening Standard
“[The] arts columnist and former assistant editor of the Evening Standard, has announced he is to leave the recently rebranded newspaper this week. … ‘After writing a weekly column for 15 years I owe myself a short sabbatical and my desire for a break coincided with a change of direction at the Standard‘.”
Work Halted On Indy-Area Performing Arts Center
“Construction on Carmel’s ailing Performing Arts Center will be halted for about three weeks. Workers will begin repairing cracked steel in the building’s support columns next week, the city [,which is just north of Indianapolis,] announced in a press release today. … The $118 million project is supposed to be finished next fall.”
Zhang Yimou Shooting Chinese Remake Of Blood Simple
“Filming on the Chinese-language film San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi – which roughly translates as ‘The Stunning Case of the Three Gun Shots’ – kicked off on June 9.” The project is “the Chinese director’s first film since designing the opening and closing ceremonies of last year’s Beijing Olympics.”
Bolshoi Technicians Jailed In Hong Kong For Assault And Robbery
“Two lighting technicians with Russia’s world-famous Bolshoi Ballet [are] beginning 40-month jail terms in Hong Kong Tuesday for beating up and robbing a prostitute.”
Opera As Therapy For Heart Attack Or Stroke Victims
“Researchers analyzing how listening to classical music affected the study’s participants found that songs that alternate between fast and slow sections – like opera – induced dynamic and somewhat predictable change in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of the volunteers.”
‘Why Does That Chocolate Chip Cookie Have Such Power Over Me?’
Former US Food and Drug Administration head David Kessler posed that question, which most of us have asked ourselves. “Is it the cookie, the representation of the cookie in my brain? I spent seven years trying to figure out the answer.”
The Death Of The Exhibition Announcement Card
“Of all the things going the way of the Internet these days, one is the gallery exhibition announcement card. … In most cases environmental concerns shield a certain, shall we say, cost-cutting desperation. ‘Sculpture Center is Going Paperless.’ ‘Francesca Kaufmann is Going Paperless.’ ‘Going Green’ (from P.P.O.W.). … Sometimes you wish they’d just come clean.”