“Television Workshop, one of the country’s most successful acting programmes, can be found in a small, unassuming room down a street of former industrial buildings in Nottingham. … Auditions are rigorous and places are allocated based purely on talent.” And the school is now facing a financial crisis. - The Guardian
If the old Academy had a terror of making odd choices, the new Academy seems to be looking for ways to be odd. Its membership seems to have become in love with the unexpected gesture of heralding the unheralded because they value the symbolism, not because the work is worthy. - San Francisco Chronicle
Are we past the point where social media almost entirely drives arts marketing? While it’s unlikely social media platforms will all collapse in 2025, their ubiquity will almost certainly dissolve significantly in the years to come. - ArtsHub
Lester Holt (NBC Nightly News), Chuck Todd (Meet the Press), Hoda Kotb (The Today Show), Norah O’Donnell (CBS Evening News), Joy Reid and Alex Wagner (MSNBC) — all recently departed. And their successors won’t yet have established credibility with viewers at a time when faith in TV news is ebbing. - Variety
“Radio Begum launched on International Women’s Day in March 2021, five months before the Taliban seized power amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops. … The Taliban (has) lifted their suspension over alleged cooperation with an overseas TV channel.” - AP
Escapism is more tempting than ever in the digital age and is often associated with guilt or laziness. But some are unlearning those narratives, teaching each other to normalize radical rest and permit healthy doses of escapism with the popularization of concepts like “rot day.” - The Tyee
Oscars voting is finished, but who is one of the bigger voting blocs for the Oscars? That’s right … the actors. So Demi Moore’s win for The Substance and the win for the British film about choosing a new Pope might be strong bellwethers for next week’s big show. - The New York Times
Best Director winner Sean Baker "spoke passionately about the difficulty of making independent films in an industry that is no longer able to fund riskier projects. He said indies are in danger of becoming calling card films — movies made only as a means to get hired for bigger projects.” - CBC
The director, Dag Johan Haugerud, “said the film was about the act of ‘writing and reading.’ He added that people should ‘write more and read more, it expands your mind.’” - The New York Times
“When I called one to ask how the season had gone, she responded with seven uninterrupted seconds of laughter. Thankfully, this week was the pencils-down moment” - Oscars voting is over, and there’s nothing more to be done. - Vulture
Legally, "producers do not need to acquire consent from their performers when using AI to alter ‘pitch, tone, clarity ... or the voice of the performer to a foreign language.’” There’s the rub. - CBC
While some politicians no doubt celebrated the disappearance of pesky journalists, others are lamenting their absence, because municipalities must now work harder and spend more to keep people informed. - The Walrus
Since taking over as chairman, FCC Chair Brendan Carr has revived bias complaints against CBS, ABC and NBC over their 2024 presidential campaign coverage after the Biden administration dismissed them. - Los Angeles Times
The Academy Awards’ marquee category for international cinema, best international film, has been continually criticized as unjust, outdated and subject to political interference. - Seattle Times
