18,000 Cultural Objects Seized In Massive International Sweep

The grand-scale operation, code-named Pandora III, was coordinated by the Spanish Civil Guard (Guardia Civil) and supported by The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), Interpol, and the World Customs Organization (WCO). Since October 2018, these authorities assigned thousands of Police and Customs officers to the investigation, which included a special focus on illicit online trafficking of cultural goods. – Hyperallergic

A Wave Of Closings On Broadway

What’s unusual is that instead of hanging on until Labor Day to cash in on tourist dollars, five musicals are closing in the next two weekends: King Kong (which bumped up the losses significantly because it cost a staggering $36.5 million), The Prom, Pretty Woman, The Cher Show and Be More Chill. – NPR

Why Netflix Is Throwing In With Hollywood Over Silicon Valley

Netflix has been evolving its public policy strategies in recent months to align itself more with Hollywood and less with Silicon Valley, a shift driven by the streamer’s maturation into a full-fledged film and TV studio, by its international expansion and by the intense scrutiny Washington is now applying to the tech companies. – The Hollywood Reporter

When Actors Play Roles Of Another Race – Pressure’s On

Peter Marks: “I was curious about how an actor of color might approach entering a world not written for someone who looked like them, but I realized the question was riddled with absurdity. Isn’t musical theater intrinsically make-believe? Why do we sometimes persist in applying the strictures of realism to a platform on which characters interrupt conversations to break out in show tunes? Whose expectations are being served?” – Washington Post

Tolkien Estate Throws Large Monkey Wrench Into Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Series: Report

“Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey, who is supervising the show’s development, told German fansite Deutsche Tolkien that the estate has refused to allow the series to be set during any period other than the Second Age of Middle-earth. This means Amazon’s adaptation will not cross over at all with events from the Third Age, which were dramatised in Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning trilogy and sees hobbit Frodo Baggins destroy the One Ring.” – The Guardian