“In the last few years, publishers have taken a cue from the booming world of fan fiction and have begun commissioning novels based on famous games. It’s now such a successful cottage industry that when you wander into any Barnes & Noble, there are shelves groaning under the weight of books written from Resident Evil, Halo, Tomb Raider and MechWarrior. Consider it the ultimate port: cutting-edge digital entertainment delivered via a media platform that’s 200 years old.”
Tag: 09.12.05
Giving Up On Ground Zero Quality?
Project after project has been foiled at the site of the old World Trade Center. “On this anniversary weekend, it may be time to face up to what few have wanted to acknowledge: that nothing of value can be built at ground zero while the anguish and anxiety remain so fresh – nor while political and economic forces are eager to exploit those emotions.”
Bee-ing Profitable
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” becomes the first show of the 2004-05 season on Broadway to become profitable. The show’s producer said on Friday that he had returned his show’s $3.5 million capitalization 18 weeks after opening on Broadway, a remarkably quick return for a new musical. For David Stone, who is also a producer of the hit musical “Wicked,” the success of “Spelling Bee” is a testament to the power of word of mouth.”
Attacking The Premise (Artist Response To Tregedy)
A conference in New York about artists’ responses to 9/11 was attacked in advance. “The conference was built on the solid premise that mourning and remembrance evolve over time, and that art of all kinds – challenging, comforting, even rude – is a valuable element in the process. That doesn’t deny that the grief is still raw for many people, and may always be. But the media attacks on the show were hardly about grief. At best they display a yahooism that says art doesn’t matter, at worst a political agenda that says anti-government opinions have no place in any event linked to 9/11.”
Montreal Symphony Cancels Concerts
The Montreal Symphony has canceled the first four concerts of its season due to a continuing musicians’ strike. “Management announced late last week that its September concerts, including two with Belgian baritone José Van Dam, would not take place. A press release blamed the musicians, who have been on the picket line since May 9.”
Leading Poet On Trial In India For Insulting Goddess
A leading Bengali poet has been ordered to stand trial for insulting a Hindi goddess. “In an article in Bengal’s biggest newspaper this year, Sunil Gangopadhyay was quoted as saying he was “sexually aroused” by an idol of Saraswati. Retired policeman Bhibhuti Bhusan Nandy filed a lawsuit saying the comments had hurt his religious sentiments.”
Pirated DVDs On The Rise In UK
The number of pirated DVDs made and seized in the UK is up 133 perfcent in the first half of this year. Police “seized 386,569 UK-made fake DVDs from January to June, as UK seizures of pirate DVDs from abroad fell. UK criminals earn £600m per year from pirate DVDs, an anti-piracy campaign fronted by TV host Jonathan Ross said.”
The Disappearing Used-Bookstores
“Nearly all of the secondhand bookstores in the vicinity of Harvard University are gone. Some have relocated or become online booksellers. Others are simply out of business. Either way, the decline of secondhand bookstores represents a sad diminishment of the academic community in Cambridge, Mass., and many other university towns.”
Will Venice Film Fest Be Homeless?
The Venice Film Festival has an uncertain future. “Plans to replace the festival’s current home have stalled once again and there is increasing uncertainty as plans for a new iceberg-shaped Palace of Cinema remain at the drawing board stage. ‘It is a question of money, and we should not be ashamed. Cinema is, after all, an industry’.”
Mike Leigh’s New Play Opens
“The preview of Two Thousand Years, Leigh’s first foray into theatre for 12 years, was enthusiastically received at the National Theatre on Saturday night. With all 16,000 tickets for the entire 20-week run of the mystery play sold out, queues formed at 6am for 30 extra tickets. The play zipped across the political terrain of Israel, Iraq, withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and even the floods in New Orleans, as Leigh, 62, perhaps proved why the first performance was suddenly postponed last Thursday: it was clear the author of Abigail’s Party and Secrets & Lies was still writing it.”