“Dreamed up in 1978 by the Diagram Group founder Bruce Robertson as a way to pass the time at a dreary Frankfurt Book Fair, the prize goes from strength to strength. Last year’s prize – awarded to If You Want Closure In Your Relationship, Start With Your Legs – received more votes than the Best of the Booker Prize, won for a second time last month by Salman Rushdie for Midnight’s Children.”
Tag: 08.08.08
London Actors Reject West End Producers “Best Offer”
“A huge majority – 90% – of those polled have refused to accept the deal and demanded that producers improve their offer.”
Opera Turns To Movies For Its Subjects
“As marketing becomes more crucial for the survival of the art form, the appeal of an established title becomes more important. This is what we’re looking at in opera — whether the franchise can deliver a reliable product.”
George Orwell Online (In A Blog?)
“The diaries will be published as a sort of a blog, with entries added daily, exactly 70 years after Orwell wrote them. Running from 1938 through 1942, the diaries cover the early days of World War II as well as Orwell’s travels in Morocco, where he recuperated from injuries he received in the Spanish Civil War. There’s also a lot about chicken farming.”
Good Mark Morris Vs. Bad Mark Morris
“Why do some Morris works thrill while others irritate? The dichotomy has grown only more marked. I find it striking that no overemphasis on choreography has ever bothered me when Mr. Morris himself is dancing.”
Canadian TV Industry Gets New Life As Americans Buy Series
“It’s the shot-in-the-arm that the Canadian production community needed. It really might be the dawning of a new era. There was a real doom-and-gloom attitude, but it really does feel like this last year has given people hope that they can play on the world stage.”
Is The West End Ailing? (Or Is It A Seasonal Thing?)
“Some theaters are currently dark, but that’s because no producer in his or her right mind would consider an opening in August when local auds want to be outside enjoying summer heat and tourists want known quantities — not previews of shows they know nothing about. And it’s not as if the current state of affairs is terminal.”
Orange County Performing Arts Center Loses Big In Bonds
“The Orange County Performing Arts Center suffered $13 million in losses during its recently concluded fiscal year because of crises in the bond market. The center is heavily invested in bonds, which are financing the nonprofit institution’s $240 million expansion, completed in September 2006.”
If It’s A Big Sports Event, Ya Gotta Have Those Three Tenors!
“Music traditionally looms large at the Olympics, and the original Three Tenors lent their support to Beijing’s bid in 2001. Now, though, it seems that it doesn’t matter who the tenors are, as long as there are three of them.”
The Fastest-Growing Hobby? Professional Eating
“In the US, home of professional food consumption, the governing body Major League Eating (MLE) presides over a pastime that, it claims, is the world’s fastest growing sport. Last month, 1.5 million people tuned in to ESPN to watch 23-year-old Joey “The Jaws” Chestnut defeat Takeru “Tsunami” Kobayashi in a tie-breaking eat-off at Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, the biggest event on the eating calendar.”