“Fine films heighten experience. They conjure with sound and light–cinematographers were originally called lighting cameramen–and banish humdrum in the editing. Movies manipulate reality the way high-energy physicists manipulate matter, compressing it into hot plasma.”
Tag: 09.19.13
What Ever Happened to Ponyboy?
The characters who survived S.E. Hinton’s instaclassic young adult novel (& later, hit movie) “The Outsiders” would be, hm, well into late middle age by now. What might they be doing?
How Should The Louvre Protect Its Art From Potential Floods?
Why, it should “establish a storage facility in the north of France that would house most of the museum’s vast 460,000-strong collection,” of course.
Did Italy Save The American Western?
“In his mind, Leone saw a movie that would restore to this once-mighty form … its grit, epic grandeur and irresistible danger. Leone felt that the American western had lost its way of late, and that the movie he’d make might point the way back.” (It did.)
The New Literary Season Is Upon Us (Help!)
“Those of us in the business mostly dread the release of the Scotiabank Giller Prize long list because of whom it will exclude and thus throw deep into the sludge of eternal obscurity. The recent addition of a long list, released weeks before the short list, creates, paradoxically, additional terror because now that almost every novel released in the fall makes it onto the list, the ignominy of exclusion is even more significant.”
Strike Averted At Lexington Philharmonic
“The Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra’s management and musicians effectively called a time-out on their contract negotiations Thursday afternoon and are going on with Friday night’s concert. … Contract negotiations had been going on since April 2012 and reached a crescendo in the past week, when musicians voted to authorize a strike.”
British Stage Unions Call For Local Arts Funding To Be Required By Law
“BECTU and Equity put forward a joint motion at this year’s Trades Union Congress, which called for ‘local authority support for the arts to be a statutory obligation’ and was passed unanimously.”
Russia’s Cinema Fund Denies Money To Biopic Of A Non-Gay Tchaikovsky
“A Cinema Fund official told RIA Novosti that the film simply did not get enough votes from its experts who last week approved a shortlist of movies to receive state funding.” The project attracted controversy this week when the screenwriter denied that Tchaikovsky was homosexual.”
Was George Eliot Really Ugly And Horny?
“Still, there’s no getting away from the fascination with Eliot’s romantic life and her looks, both of which presented a challenge to acceptable norms.”
Are Actors Really Being Stifled By Job Insecurity?
Lyn Gardner: “I’d argue that no one ever became an actor expecting long-term job security, and while the freelance way of life does not suit [everyone], uncertainty can be a genuine spur to creativity, rather than stifling risk.”