“A growing cultural rift over the perceived quality of German television has intensified as yet another TV literary critic blasted the country’s public broadcasters, forcing pubcaster ZDF to fire her and cancel her show.”
Tag: 10.24.08
Oprah Hearts Kindle. Will Readers Follow Suit?
“Kindle sales appear likely to get a significant boost on Friday, with talk-show megastar Oprah Winfrey apparently about to endorse Amazon’s digital book reader.”
On Broadway, Economic Chill Is Waiting In The Wings
“Here’s a grim game theater insiders are playing: guessing how many Broadway houses will be empty in January.”
After The Curtain Call, The Paramedics
“A leading actor in a West End play insisted on finishing his opening night performance before being taken to hospital. Concealing his discomfort from critics at the Gielgud Theatre sufficiently for them to later deliver glowing reviews, Ian McDiarmid carried on with his role” even as he suffered what reports have called a heart attack.
City Council: Banksy Broke Rules, Artwork Must Go
“An artwork by street artist Banksy in central London will be removed to send a message to graffiti artists in the city, a council has decided. Westminster City Council has ordered a 23ft-high (7m) mural, entitled One Nation Under CCTV, to be removed from a building on Newman Street.”
Tennessee Williams, Portraitist — Literally
Michael Garady reminisces about Tennessee Williams on the occasion of their joint exhibition of paintings: “As we painted, I asked Tennessee for advice on writing. He gave me a lot of hints and I ended up writing three novels. He said keep everything very simple and straightforward: be honest to yourself.”
Alan Bennett Donates Archive, Takes Swipe At Oxford
“Playwright Alan Bennett has taken a sideswipe at the government and Oxford university over tuition fees as he bequeaths his literary archive to the Bodleian library in Oxford. The sort of free state education that he had enjoyed was something today’s students could only dream of, he told the Guardian, criticising his old university for demanding higher fees, and telling it off for accepting money from Rupert Murdoch.”
Challenge: Choose 300 Works That Say ‘De Montebello’
“If the Mad Hatter suddenly acquired taste and culture, he might hang a Jackson Pollock drip painting with a watercolor of a fruit bat and call the match inspired instead of weird. Such bizarre couplings rule ‘The Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions,’ the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s effusive hats-off tribute to its retiring director of 31 years.”
Sotheby’s Lost $15 Million Paying Guarantees
“Disappointing art auctions in London and Hong Kong this month cost Sotheby’s $15 million in losses on guarantees it provided sellers. The losses occurred because the artworks either sold for less than the minimum price the auction house guaranteed to sellers, or not at all, Sotheby’s said in a filing late yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.”
You Mean It Has Art Inside?
“The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao… is reported to have paid well over the odds for art to fill Frank Gehry’s swooping titanium masterpiece.” Internal documents reveal that former director Thomas Krens “paid more than the market value for the works, offering whatever price the artists demanded.”