Ohio Ballet is on the ropes – artistically and financially. “This is a shocking predicament for a 32-year-old dance troupe that has long maintained a reputation for no-frills productions and fiscal responsibility. Over the years, many subscribers said they preferred the Akron company’s bare-bones style to the extravagance of Cleveland San Jose Ballet, and they also appreciated the skillful management and strong board commitment that kept Ohio Ballet from having to beg for bailouts.” – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
Tag: 08.20.00
MULTIPLEX BLUES
This summer has been a dark one for the movie theater industry. The season is usually the time for the chains to boost their bottom lines, most of which need a lift to pay for all of those state-of-the-art multiplexes the exhibitors have been building across the country.” Instead, several large movie-theatre chains are on the verge of bankruptcy. – Chicago Tribune
WAR’S A WAR…
They don’t have Communists, and the drug war has gotten old. What’s the next “great” issue? “With three major combatants in the nation’s culture wars closely tied to the race, the assault on sex, violence, and sensationalism in the entertainment industry is now very much a bipartisan venture. ‘These censorship crusades are quite cyclical. There may be some differences ideologically in terms of what Lynne Cheney would want to censor and what Al and Tipper Gore want to censor. But I’m not aware of any significant differences’.” – Boston Globe 08/20/00
MEDIA MEANING
“‘The work we have been doing on media and screen dependency has suggested that people have been desensitised. In order to get a better reaction artists have had to go to further extremes. It is about finding a new kick and a new thrill. Very often, these shock tactics are a substitute for real creativity.’ So is there no other purpose behind this ceaseless search for more raw and brutal forms of diversion?” – The Observer (UK)
SUCCESSFUL CULTURES
Do the values of a culture determine its economic success? A new book offers 22 various scholars and authors debating whether the cultural aspects of a people make a difference in their level of economic development. – Boston Globe 08/20/00
GETTING OVER IT
“It’s fascinating the effect a bad review has on you and those around you. Friends and family tend to flap around saying: ‘It’s only one person’s opinion, what does it matter?’ But that’s rubbish. If you get a really good review somewhere, people don’t say: ‘Hey, don’t bother getting excited, that’s only one person’s opinion.’ People tell you to be thick-skinned, to rise above it, but I don’t think you can. Bad reviews hurt like hell and that’s all there is to it. Now I know why so many actors say they never read them at all.” – The Observer (UK) 08/20/00
SIB ART
“While rock has long had a tradition of sibling acts, the film and art worlds, though previously featuring plenty of brothers and sisters working in different areas of the same art form, seem to have only recently hit upon the idea of consolidating the family business. But does working with your brother or sister have any effect on the artistic end product? Is sibling art or music somehow different from other collaborative efforts and, if so, is it rooted in a genetically shared talent or simply the circumstances of upbringing? – The Sunday Times (UK)