A Russian movie is proving an unexpected hit at the box office. “Blood, action and suspense helped “Night Watch” rake in $13 million in the first three weeks after it was released July 8, almost as much as the last “Lord of the Rings” film made in two months in Russia. The previous best-performing Russian film made $3 million.”
Tag: 08.11.04
Clyfford Still Estate To Denver
Clyfford Still’s estate paintings will go to the Denver Art Museum. “Patricia A. Still, the artist’s 84-year-old widow, has chosen Denver as the repository for more than 2,000 works from the abstract expressionist’s estate. Putting an exact value on the gift is difficult, because Still’s paintings are rarely sold, but Mayor John Hickenlooper said the collection’s value could be as much as $1 billion.
Kooser Chosen Poet Laureate
Nebraskan poet Ted Kooser has been chosen as the next US Poet Laureate. “Kooser has written 10 collections of poetry, most recently “Delights & Shadows,” published this year. His 1980 collection, “Sure Signs,” received the Society of Midland Authors Prize for the best book of poetry by a Midwestern writer published in that year.”
A Canadian “Chain” Novel
In Canada, 19 writers from across the country participate in writing a novel – each contribting 600 words before passing it along to a colleague. “As the chapters crossed invisible borders, the initial linear plot took bizarre turns as creative visions clashed, and as they erased and re-introduced plot changes, such as the female protagonist’s ever-changing pregnant condition. ‘The book is not art, it’s a game. I don’t think the writers were very generous with each other, you would do something, and then the next character would undo it’.”
Coming To A Stamp Near You
The US Postal Service produces only 35 new stamp designs each year. But a new service lets consumers design their own stamps. “PhotoStamps allows anyone to design their own image and emblazon a stamp with it. Thus, be prepared to see a wave of stamps with babies, cats, weddings and other personalized images and logos arriving in a mailbox near you.”
Dan Brown – Hanging Upside Down
Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown has a strict routine for writing: “The 39-year-old Dan Brown gets up and starts writing each day at four in the morning. He writes with an antique hour glass on his desk and at the end of each 60 minute period he does sit-ups, stretches and push-ups. He also confesses to wearing gravity boots.”
BookNotes To End In December
After 800 author interviews, Brian Lamb is quitting his BookNotes show on C-Span. Why? “He spends 20 hours each week reading books in preparation for “Booknotes,” he estimates. That’s 1.8 years of his life that have been dedicated to reading since the show debuted April 2, 1989. Now he wants to reclaim some of that time for his personal life. Has it come to this? The author-interviewer, arguably the most quirky and dedicated on television, the creator and curator of one of TV’s few institutions for avid readers — has he finally tired of books?”
Khouri To Sue Over Allegations About Her Book
Author Norma Khouri is preparing to sue over claims about the authenticity of her best-selling book Forbidden Love. “Ms Khouri had been overseas collecting evidence to back her book after the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age published damning allegations last month that her so-called memoir of life and hardship in Jordan was a lie.” The book was pulled by publishers after the allegations.
The Next Big Thing In Video: HD
The next big thing in video? High-definition DVD’s. “On one side, Sony, along with 12 leading companies in the computer and consumer-electronics industries, is pushing a format called Blu-ray. It has the capacity to hold as much as six times the number of TV shows and movies that a current DVD holds. Blu-ray also promises spellbinding clarity…”
TV: The New “Artistic” Refuge?
While TV networks “wallow in reality-TV and makeover pablum, the “highbrow” end of the medium—HBO, Showtime, etc.—has remade itself as the natural habitat for drama that’s as inventive and daring as many films. TV’s new artistic credibility is making the small screen an alluring alternative for directors, offering freedom from the stresses of financing and distribution that beset any adventurous filmmaker.”