Tag: 12.19.03

The No-Pee Conspiracy

Movies are getting longer every day, and it seems like every time you set foot in the multiplex, they’ve added another gallon or so to your “cup” of pop. And no, there are still no intermissions at your favorite Hollywood blockbuster. You see where we’re going with this. When, exactly, are America’s movie lovers supposed to take a bathroom break?

Does Canadian Drama Need Protection?

When a Nova Scotia-based TV production company was shut down by its corporate parent last week, it sparked renewed fears that Canadian drama is in severe trouble, and unable to compete with the influx of American programming. Now, a coalition of union activists are calling for new federal regulations designed to protect and encourage Canadian programming.

Someone Get That Critic A Bodyguard

Hey, look! It’s a movie critic who doesn’t like the Lord of the Rings movies! Why, the nerve of that guy! Everyone loves LoTR! Where does he get off? What did he just say? It’s too long?! “Every time you think the final credits are about to roll, another scene lurches in, adding another chance to look at your watch in awe and wonderment at how much sheer footage the film has.” Grrrrrr…

Balanchine, Through The Eyes Of His Dancers

George Balanchine would have been 100 next month, and naturally, dance companies worldwide are planning to mark the occasion. New York City Ballet will be producing more than 50 of Balanchine’s ballets, and the NYCB dancers who knew the choreographer say that while his shadow still looms large over the world of classical dance, it was the little things that made him a true legend. “He put everything back to its real value, the right size, the right time, the music in time and space. He simplified, explaining and showing the logic…. He was frankly an educator, for all of us, for the public, for the critics.”

Saturating The Market?

A long-planned project to build a museum focusing on African-American heritage in the nation’s capitol has been getting plenty of press lately. But some observers in Baltimore are concerned that the D.C.-based museum could steal the thunder of Baltimore’s own fledgling African-American history museum. (Baltimore is less than 60 miles from the District of Columbia.) Still, Baltimore museum officials say they aren’t worried, and that the two museums can coexist.

Over Budget, And Maybe Out Of Luck

A concert hall already under construction in suburban Washington, D.C., and intended as the second home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, is in danger of having the plug pulled on its funding if the local county council does not approve an additional expenditure for cost overruns on the project. The council is reportedly “galled by the request for more money, given that the council agreed to approve its $44.6 million share of the cost only after explicitly writing into the funding bill that the council would not pay a penny more.”

UK Arts Biz, 03

So what kind of year was it for the arts in the UK? “The Arts Council itself can always be relied upon to provide a little black comedy. The esteemed organisation paid consultants over £70,000 to remove the words “the” and “of” from its name, so it was transformed from The Arts Council of England to the stunningly different Arts Council England. A triumph for branding professionals everywhere.”