Tag: 11.01.05

The Game To Expand Copyright

“Copyright holders have been batting a thousand at the Supreme Court over the last decade. So why the complaints? The Property Rights Alliance and its allies know the real copyright debate isn’t about whether intellectual property should be protected (virtually everyone agrees that it should) but over recent attempts to expand copyright far beyond its traditional boundaries. Those expansions are hard to defend, so copyright hawks are doing their best to change the subject.”

Just When You Were Afraid There Weren’t Enough Novels In The World…

Yup, it’s National Novel Writing Month. “Now in its seventh year, this global write-fest was the brainchild of Chris Baty, a Californian freelance writer, and has grown from 21 participants in 1999 to over 42,000 last year, all trying to meet the 50,000-word finish line by midnight on the last day of the month and make it onto the NaNoWriMo roll of honour. This year, an estimated 60,000 speedwriters are taking part and there are local chapters scattered across the UK, from Brighton to Birmingham.”

Scotland’s Roman Amphitheatre With A Twist

The stadium will be constructed on classical Greco-Roman lines and due to open in 2009. The Colosseum will rise to 148 feet (45 metres), with a dome measuring 394 feet (120 metres) across. It will be clad in translucent material that allows it to glow in the dark. The arena, by the Clyde in Glasgow, will seat 12,500, the same as London’s Wembley Arena. But unlike Wembley and other large arenas in the UK, the Colosseum will not be built around a sporting ‘key’. The design is solely dedicated to huge entertainment events such as concerts and theatrical performances.”

Will The iPod Reinvent TV?

TV shows are selling well for the video iPod. What does it mean? “The iTunes distribution model gives the networks a huge opportunity to reinvent themselves. By allowing viewers to purchase individual episodes, broadcast-television executives could free themselves from the yoke of advertising revenue. That could potentially usher in a new age of television, one where fans have the power to keep their favorite series in production and producers have the opportunity to create more elaborate, controversial, and innovative programs.”

Toronto Film Sales Record

The Toronto Film Festival generated a record $52 million in film sales this year. “The sales included $29 million in domestic film sales and $23 million in international sales. Titles from Brazil, China, Germany, and Spain were sold this year, alongside films from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.”

New Life For New Operas?

“For decades now, the pattern has gone more like this: An opera company, spurred on either by a particular dramatic idea or some generalized sense of wanting to do what’s right, commissions a new work from a composer of greater or lesser renown. An initial run is scheduled, perhaps followed (especially if there are co-commissioners) by a second production elsewhere. The world premiere comes off with lots of fanfare, and for a week or two, all eyes are on the company giving the premiere. Critics fly in from throughout the United States and Europe and proffer their opinions. Then the run ends and the opera is never heard again.” But there are signs this pattern is changing…