Working in partnership with Paramount Pictures, BBC and ITV, on behalf of a Kuwaiti developer, the team have concocted a perfect vision of little Britain that will bring a tear to even the most steely of Corbynite eyes. After being drawn into the great union jack glass tent, visitors will be funnelled into High Street, a place “full of shops and restaurants” – like actual British high streets used to be. Maybe there’ll be an empty library and an interactive food bank experience, too. – The Guardian
Tag: 12.16.19
This 1875 Family Picture Might Be The Earliest At Stonehenge
English Heritage is now asking people to get in touch if they know of an earlier family snap at Stonehenge. The earliest known photograph of Stonehenge, not featuring a family, is thought to date from 1853 – 22 years earlier. – BBC
Andrew Clements, Author Of ‘Frindle’ And Other Children’s Novels, Dead At 70
“Mr. Clements wrote more than 80 children’s books, including the text of picture books about a pampered Egyptian cat, an unbecoming fish, a Christmas in which Mrs. Claus stands in for Santa and a young girl who can’t stop using compound words such as nitwit, higgledy-piggledy and itty-bitty. That rib-tickling book was appropriately called Double Trouble in Walla Walla (1997).” – The Washington Post
Don’t Mess With Opera Fans, Episode 396
Matthew Feargrieve was found guilty in London of punching Ulrich Engler at least once while attending a performance of Wagner at the Royal Opera House on 7 October last year. Feargrieve, 43, attacked Ulrich Engler, who had climbed into an empty seat next to him and moved Feargrieve’s partner’s coat at the Royal Opera House in central London. – The Guardian
Dance Magazine’s 25 To Watch For 2020
“Breakout stars, paradigm shifters, game changers. Our annual list of the dancers, choreographers and companies that are on the verge of skyrocketing has a knack for illuminating where the dance world is headed. Here they are: the 25 up-and-coming artists we believe are ready to take our field by storm.” – Dance Magazine
How Banksy And I Got Away With Amazing Pranks
Steve Lazarides has now self-published a book of his photographs from the time he travelled the world tasked with making sure Banksy didn’t get arrested or duffed up and didn’t run out of spray paint. “I had the time of my life,” he says as he sits on the roof of his London office, talking about the man he calls Matey Boy. “We were lawless and did just what we wanted. Matey Boy had a political agenda that you can see very clearly in everything he does, but I just had a fucking blast.” – The Guardian
New Giant Movie Theatre Chain: UK’s Cineworld Buys Canada’s Cineplex, Will Merge It With Regal
Cineworld previously paid $3.6 billion for Regal Entertainment Group, its entry into the U.S. market last year. The company plans to combine the operations of Cineplex and Regal to create the largest exhibitor in North America. Following completion, the enlarged group would have 11,204 screens globally and a combined 8,906 screens across the U.S. and Canada. – Variety
Scary Times For Producing TV
“When I got into producing television, the business model had been the same for about 70 years and, suddenly, in the last five years it’s completely different. And it looks like over the next five years it’s going to be completely different again. And nobody really knows.” – Toronto Star (CP)
Peter Schjeldahl On The Art Of Being Peter Schjeldahl
When I started writing criticism, in 1965, in almost pristine ignorance, I discovered that I was the world’s leading expert in one thing: my experience. Most of what I know in a scholarly way about art I learned on deadlines, to sound as if I knew what I was talking about—as, little by little, I did. Educating yourself in public is painful, but the lessons stick. – The New Yorker
In Retrospect “Cats” Was A Brilliant Idea. At The Time? Not So Much
The idea proved anything but irresistible. No one wanted to finance the project: the show’s producer, Cameron Mackintosh, had to solicit small-fry investors through newspaper ads; Lloyd Webber took out a second mortgage to make up the ultimate shortfall. He had composed an epic, genre-spanning score, using a Moog synthesizer to imitate meowing, but, when he played it for Twyla Tharp, hoping that she would choreograph what would have to be a very dance-heavy musical—Valerie would permit the production only if they relied entirely on Eliot’s material, which left little room for plot or spoken dialogue—Tharp said no. – The New Yorker