When British actor Steve Coogan (“Tristram Shandy,” “The Trip”) felt pigeonholed in both the UK and the US, he just bought a story and co-wrote the screenplay, including a dramatic part for himself.
Tag: 11.29.13
Stumbling Across America, No Philanthropists In Sight
“Contemporary theater is largely a false market supported by philanthropy’s phantom seats and unless we want to really invest in letting it fail with the support of funding, we ought to pull the rug out from underneath.”
The Turner Prize: Yet Another Way The UK And US Are Deeply, Deeply Different
“The prize is well known in Britain, and it makes for a moment when people entirely uninterested in contemporary art discuss contemporary art. The award ceremony on Monday will be shown live on national television, as it is each year, and bookmakers are eagerly taking bets on the winner.”
How To Hate-Watch Reality TV (Or Maybe How To Just Revel In The Bad Stuff)
“Viewing reality TV as both credulous consumer and critic isn’t uncommon. Plenty of us get as much pleasure out of pulling a show apart limb by limb as we do out of engaging with the storyline.”
Want To Be A Conductor? 10 Tips From Esa-Pekka Salonen
“I get all my conducting sticks in [Harry Potter’s] Diagon Alley.”
Dramatic Underinsuring Of Art Collection Leads British City To Suggest Selling It Off
The city of Bradford “had been insuring its 4,000 item collection for £20m but a new valuation found that 195 pieces alone were worth more than £30m.” And the city’s in debt – so should it sell some art?
How Will – Or Can – We Preserve The History Of Video Games?
“We should preserve the apparatus of a game, but it’s impossible to save the culture of a game, which is really the most important part.”
Walt Disney Had Some (Possibly Surprising) Opinions On Women Working In Animation
The currently hot “Frozen” is the first feature film from Disney Animation with a woman director, but perhaps not because of Walt (in 1941): “The girl artists have the right to expect the same chances for advancement as men, and I honestly believe they may eventually contribute something to this business that men never would or could.”
How Do You Get Toddlers Into Orchestral Music? Use A Penguin, Of Course
“We have to be a bit careful of the way music and story go together. … It can ignite immediate joy or sadness or fear in young children.”
It’s Nearly 2014, And Ballet Still Has A Big Issue With Black Dancers
“The problem in modern ballet is the problem of the color line. Scan the rosters of the nation’s top companies and African American dancers are rare, while African American ballerinas are nearly nonexistent.”