Tag: 10.31.04

No Solutions Yet For Montreal Film Fest

“Telefilm Canada and Quebec’s film agency SODEC have rejected the four proposals submitted to receive funding for a Montreal film festival… Unhappy with the Montreal World Film Festival and its director, Serge Losique, the government agencies called for proposals Sept. 7. The call came after a study highlighted several problems with the existing festival, compared to others run in Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax.”

The Critic Who Hated David Mamet

It’s a difficult thing to admit, but critic John Moore has come to the conclusion that he actively hates playwright David Mamet, the brilliant wordsmith responsible for some of the more provocative plays and film scripts of the last century. And Moore doesn’t deny Mamet’s skill or talent. He doesn’t even resort to the most frequent criticism of Mamet, that he is a barely-disguised misogynist. “I hate Mamet because he is so infuriatingly brilliant, and yet he has spent the majority of his career honing a peculiar, cruel adeptness for showing men and women at their most amoral and violent. His world is a vulgar wasteland devoid of ethics and compassion.”

Philly Hoping To Avoid A Strike

“A contract extension for musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra expires just after midnight tonight, but players say a strike is not imminent.” That doesn’t mean that a settlement is near, only that the orchestra is scheduled to play children’s concerts this week, and striking against a bunch of kids wouldn’t look too good. Still, there seems to be at least some optimism that a deal could be reached without a work stoppage, especially with the mayor of Philadelphia now taking an aggressive and active role in the process.

Demolishing A Decade

“In a society otherwise enamored of the styles of the 1960’s, the architecture of that decade is rarely loved and frequently reviled. All over the country, 60’s buildings are being torn down while much older buildings survive. Functional problems, like leaky roofs and inadequate heating systems, are often to blame. But just as often, the buildings are simply disliked by institutions that have enough money to replace them.” There is a burgeoning movement afoot to save the structures, but the “so-bad-they’re-good” logic doesn’t seem to be attracting many supporters for the boxy, concrete buildings that dominated the ’60s.

George W., Theatrical Muse

You can’t turn around in the theatre world today without bumping into an on-stage characterization of the President of the United States. Ben Brantley has watched a wide array of the Bush portrayals, and is amazed at the passion the man seems to have inspired in actors and playwrights. “This wide-ranging theatrical Bush garden is the more remarkable considering that in the 1990’s, I never reviewed a work in which William Jefferson Clinton was the leading character.”

Crossover, A Primer

“Crossover used to be the special realm of opera singers, who dipped into the vernacular by enthusiastically singing folk songs or reluctantly pandering with a bit of pop fluff.” But that was then. Now crossover is a way of life for performers and the genre has been mainlined…

You’re A….Ooh… Rockist?

“A rockist isn’t just someone who loves rock ‘n’ roll, who goes on and on about Bruce Springsteen, who champions ragged-voiced singer-songwriters no one has ever heard of. A rockist is someone who reduces rock ‘n’ roll to a caricature, then uses that caricature as a weapon. Rockism means idolizing the authentic old legend (or underground hero) while mocking the latest pop star; lionizing punk while barely tolerating disco; loving the live show and hating the music video; extolling the growling performer while hating the lip-syncher. Over the past decades, these tendencies have congealed into an ugly sort of common sense.”