“Amid debate over purported bias against American writers, the Swedish Academy on Thursday awarded it’s the 2008 Nobel Prize for literature to Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, a French novelist, children’s author and essayist regarded by some French readers as one of the country’s greatest living writers.”
Tag: 10.09.08
At Jacques Brel Auction, What Economic Meltdown?
“Fans of Jacques Brel battled to buy the singer’s possessions, including guitars, photos and manuscripts, at a Sotheby’s auction last night in Paris. Admirers of the Belgian-born star of French chanson spent a combined 1.03 million euros ($1.4 million), beating a presale estimate of as much as 470,000 euros. Only one lot was unsold….”
Gallery Alleges Extortion Attempt By Former Enron Exec
“Enron Corp.’s former chief operating officer of global markets, Jeff Shankman, was sued by a New York art gallery for allegedly trying to extort more than $150,000 by claiming a painting he bought was a forgery.”
Don’t They Have Barnes & Noble There?
“People would be able to chat, drink coffee and watch videos in English libraries under a new government proposal… Andy Burnham, the Secretary of State for Culture, will today launch a consultation on changing the face of libraries which he believes are out of touch.”
UK to Get Its First Gay History Museum
The £10 million collection, to be housed in London and called Proud Nation, will include ancient papyri, medieval documents on same-sex partnerships, the door to Oscar Wilde’s jail cell, and the 1970s doll Gay Bob, complete with closet to come out of.
Political Comedy Rules Late-Night TV
The intense interest in the 2008 presidential election – not to mention Tina Fey’s channeling of Sarah Palin – has brought younger viewers flocking to late-night comedy. “I think the gods smiled on us with the Palin thing,” says Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. “Like if he’d chosen Romney, I think it would be completely different.”
Rufus Wainwright’s Opera Ends Up at Manchester Int’l Festival
The folk-pop divo’s first stage project, originally commissioned by the Met and subsequently withdrawn, will premiere next July in a MIF co-production with Opera North. The director, conductor and four-person cast have been announced as well.
Hollywood Comes to the Banlieue
A new thriller starring John Travolta is shooting scenes in one of the impoverished Paris suburbs at the epicenter of the 2005 riots – thanks to a drive by filmmaker Luc Besson. But what happens when the film crews leave?
Fundraising Campaign Keeps Rubens Sketch in Britain
“A Rubens sketch for the Banqueting House ceiling in Whitehall, described as a ‘unique treasure in the history of British art’, is to remain in the UK after the Tate raised £5.7m by the final day of the deadline to buy it.”
Nobel Laureates Making Opera
Burial at Thebes, a treatment of the Antigone story directed by Derek Walcott and adapted from Seamus Heaney’s translation of Sophocles (with music by Dominique Le Gendre), premieres in London this weekend.