“At a time when pay-TV services are supposed to grow, Dish Network, operator of Echostar,actually lost 25,000 subscribers last quarter. Why? The competition is fiercer than ever. Satellite providers aren’t just competing against each other, they’re competing against former partners — such as AT&T and Verizon, both of which are rolling out premium television services.”
Tag: 08.20.08
The Odd Ritual Of The Author Autograph
“It’s not clear when the humble autograph – that early trace element of the cult of celebrity – went up-market to become the signed first edition; I suspect it was the early 1970s, when literary festivals were becoming popular and Edward Heath signed so many copies of his book Sailing, bookish types sneeringly wondered how much a rare unsigned copy might fetch.”
Met Opera Expands Movie Venues By 30 Percent
The number of theaters and performing arts venues nationwide will hit 440, up 30% from last year, and the number of operas is rising from eight to 11. The 2008-09 season will be the third featuring the “Live in HD” simulcasts.
Film Critic Manny Farber, 91
“During the ’40s and ’50s his jazzy movie commentaries were published in The Nation, The New Republic and Commentary. Wordplayful and alert to form, these essays struck readers attuned to Swing as a kind of literary Be-bop. He sang of undersung filmmakers like Howard Hawks and Don Siegel at the same time fledgling French critics Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard were doing same in Cahiers du Cinema.”
The Magic Of Enid Blyton
“Blyton wrote more than 800 books in her 50-year career – 37 of them in 1951 alone, during which productive peak she was estimated to be churning out about 10,000 words a day. Blyton was a one-woman mass production line, turning out workman-like units to serve a particular need at a particular time in a child’s life, not finely wrought pieces of art destined to have their secrets delicately unpicked over the years by a gradually maturing sensibility.”
Hollywood Talent Agency Settles Age-Discrimination Suit With Writers
“The Hollywood talent agency International Creative Management agreed on Tuesday to pay $4.5 million to settle an age-discrimination suit brought by TV writers, the first of 23 such class-action cases to be resolved.”
China Refuses Loans For Show On Cultural Revolution
“The Chinese government has attempted to censor an exhibition about the Cultural Revolution opening next month at New York’s Asia Society, The Art Newspaper has learned. The Chinese government has refused to allow museums in China to lend works to what is expected to be the most significant show yet on this subject.”
Free Chicago Dance Fest Packs In The Crowds
“The free event even attracted a long line of hopefuls waiting to grab any last-minute cancellations Monday, illustrating that problems attracting a dance audience just might be solved by more funding and lower ticket prices.”
Should Kids’ Books Be Rated For Age?
Children’s books published in the UK will carry appropriate age recommendations. “Research within the book industry suggests people buying books for children would welcome the guidance. But it is a scheme which has already enraged a number of writers, leading to the creation of a website to protest against the plans.”
Canada’s Conservative Government Cuts Arts Funding By $45 Million
“The Conservatives have earmarked 10 programs and parts of another to be eliminated and will reduce spending on two others, after a “strategic review” process that audited all Canadian Heritage programs for efficiency and effectiveness.”