The LA movie industry has gathered 40,000 signatures in three months on a petition to California governor Gray Davis asking for tax credits for the movie business. Credits will help keep more movie productions from leaving LA, backers say. Variety
Tag: 12.31.99
DO THE MATH
“About 846 million new CDs were sold last year. But at least six billion MP3 files were downloaded from the Net in the same period. Although a medium still in its infancy, MP3 threatens to effect the most far-reaching changes in the way we listen to, store, think about and (crucially for the music business) pay for music since Thomas Edison recorded Mary Had a Little Lamb onto a wax cylinder in 1877.” – London Telegraph
“GEE – THIS WILL MAKE BEETHOVEN”
Walt Disney was said to have said after watching the original “Fantasia.” Now there’s an update – here’s a blow-by-blow description. – Toronto Globe and Mail
- A disappointment Chicago Tribune 01/09/00
- Wonderful followup. Miami Herald 01/04/00
- Not just a film, an event. National Post 12/31/99
- Sensory overload. San Francisco Chronicle 12/31/99
- Entertaining update Louisville Courier Journal 01/04/00
- More remakes on the way. San Francisco Examiner 12/31/99
- Previously: The compositions that are about to die salute you: A “Fantasia” to induce the cold sweats. Financial Times 12/23/99
- THE PROBLEM WITH “FANTASIA 2000” No longer a collaboration of equals” as was the first version, writes Norman Lebrecht. London Telegraph 12/22/99
- ATTRACTIONS AND IRRITATIONS: Disney’s new “Fantasia 2000” revives old arguments. New York Times 12/21/99 (one-time registration required for entry)
- “FANTASIA 2000” DEBUTS AT CARNEGIE HALL: “Hey,” shrugged Disney chief Michael Eisner, accepting handshakes after it was done, “I go for the emotion.” Los Angeles Times 12/20/99
ROUGH DECADE
The Three Tenors road show has gotten embarrassing, especially as heard in a San Jose sports arena through a sound system that must have cost all of $9.98. “Comparing these singers with their decade-old selves is not flattering. The luster has dimmed considerably even from the internationally televised Paris World Cup concert two years ago.” – San Francisco Examiner
- A contrary view: “Heartwarming and often very beautiful. And to hear the unique blend of these three voices in their over-the- top encore of “Torna a Surriento” as the crowd roared is to feel the immensely sensual power of music. It is a lucky universe that boasts these stars.” – San Francisco Chronicle 12/31/99
WHERE WE’VE BEEN, WHERE WE’RE GOING
A group of prominent British artists gets together to talk with the Guardian about the state of the arts. London Telegraph
BETWEEN GENIUS AND CONTEXT
Simon Schama talks about his new Rembrandt book. The Art Newspaper
END OF THE WORLD – A POPULAR THEME
Apocalypse is an idea that grabs ahold of our imagination. London Telegraph
- Previously: DOOMSDAYISM: British Museum looks at a millennium of apocalypse and art. New York Times 12/30/99
VIRTUALLY REAL
In Seattle, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas is creating a new form of library for the information age, attempting to create a communal center for learning that hovers somewhere between the virtual and the real city. Los Angeles Times
BIG BLOW
Enormous storms that have swept across Europe in the past week have damaged French monuments to the tune of $90 million. CBC
BUILDING BOOM
London will see an unprecedented new array of lottery-funded arts buildings built in the new year. Prepare to be transformed. London Telegraph