10.06.16 – Page 2 – ArtsJournal Wayback

How Amazon Is Remaking The Half-Hour TV Show

“At most studios and networks, [Joe] Lewis would be thought of as the head of comedy. At Amazon, he’s in charge of what the streamer more vaguely characterizes as half-hour programs – perhaps a more accurate descriptor, given how blurred the lines are between comedy and dramas these days. … Vulture recently spoke with Lewis for nearly an hour about how he approaches series development … and why the definition of an Amazon half-hour is likely to evolve over the next year.”

Our Diversity Debate Has Been Going On For Decades. So What’s Changed?

“Again and again, the same answer: maybe it’s not fair to say that nothing has changed, but here we are, answering the same fundamental questions about diversity. Very few people seemed wholeheartedly optimistic about change.”

When Her Best Friend Was Killed, She Had AI Engineers Create A Bot Of Him

“It had been three months since Roman Mazurenko, [Eugenia] Kuyda’s closest friend, had died. Kuyda had spent that time gathering up his old text messages, setting aside the ones that felt too personal, and feeding the rest into a neural network built by developers at her artificial intelligence startup. She had struggled with whether she was doing the right thing by bringing him back this way. At times it had even given her nightmares. But ever since Mazurenko’s death, Kuyda had wanted one more chance to speak with him.”

How Natural History Museums Got Hijacked For Kids. Time To Give ‘Em Back To Adults

“Museums were originally meant to be places of inspiration, literally the ‘seat of the Muses’. In our 21st-century interpretation, however, we expect them to function as providers of kid-oriented entertainment more than anything else.”

Taj Mahal’s Dome, Long Yellowing, To Get A Mud-Pack Beauty Mask

“Scaffolding will cover the Taj Mahal’s main dome next year while a ‘mud pack’ is applied to its yellowing marble, authorities said Thursday as they battle the effects of smog on the country’s top tourist attraction. The famed monument to love, which attracts millions of visitors, has for years been acquiring a yellow tinge despite a ban on coal-powered industries in the area.”

Now Visitors To The Statue Of Liberty Will Finally Have Something To Actually Do

“It is time for a backyard construction project on an island with a resident population of one and a transient population of 4.3 million. … The project, a $70 million museum, is intended to make the visitors’ time on Liberty Island more meaningful, more enjoyable and perhaps less crowded.

And What Are The Odds On This Year’s Nobel Prize For Literature?

With a week to go, the favorite was running at 4:1, followed closely by candidates at 6:1 and 7:1.

Here Are The Finalists For The 2016 National Book Awards

“Memory, childhood, and the legacy of race in America are preoccupations that propelled works in each of the categories for this year’s finalists … The winners will be announced at the National Book Awards ceremony on November 16th.”

Bernard Labadie’s Chamber Orchestra, Les Violons Du Roy, Selects His Successor

Jonathan Cohen, a British cellist and harpsichordist who serves as one of William Christie’s associate conductors at Les Arts Florissants and runs the period-instrument collective Arcangelo, will become music director as of 2019. Labadie founded the Quebec City ensemble in 1984 and announced in 2013 that he would step down from its helm.

Tag: 10.06.16