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Even The Big Vermeer Exhibition Is Getting A Reality TV Competition

In "The New Vermeer," "two professional painters and dozens of amateur artists compete to reinvent the lost works of the 17th-century master. The results are judged by Vermeer experts from the Rijksmuseum ... and from the Mauritshuis, a collection of old masters in The Hague." - The New York Times

Kentucky Legislators Want To Disband The Board Of The State’s Public TV Network

"Called an effort to 'protect' the integrity of Kentucky's public television broadcaster, a bill passed unanimously (in) a Senate committee Wednesday that would disband the current board for Kentucky Educational Television and require future appointments by the governor to the board be confirmed by the Republican-controlled state Senate." - Kentucky Lantern

Sex Scenes Seem To Be Fading Out Of Hollywood Movies

"Less than 1 percent of movies released in 2022 feature a sex scene. ... When audiences have been conditioned to want only sexless Marvel movies, fully clothed Christopher Nolan epics, chaste action thrillers, and possibly cocaine bears, why take a chance on love?" - MSN (The Atlantic)

Needed: Commonsense Tools To Protect Creative Work

A report released by Digital Citizens Alliance in August 2020 found that pirated streaming subscription services are used by an estimated 30 million individuals in the U.S. alone, generating over a billion dollars in revenue annually for the criminal enterprises operating these services. - The Hill

NPR To Lay Off 10% Of Its Staffers

"National Public Radio will reduce its workforce by 10 percent as it grapples with what CEO John Lansing says is a 'sharp decline' in sponsorship revenue. ... More than 700 employees work at the public media firm." - The Hollywood Reporter

Why The Alex Murdaugh Case Has Spawned A Media Boom

There's a hit podcast, three primetime TV specials, three documentary series, and the livestream of the trial.  (Scripted dramas are coming, no doubt.)  Says one local reporter, "It's a point of critical mass for a storyteller. You'll live your whole life and never get another one like this." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

Netflix Doesn’t Seem To Understand The Difference Between Hard And Soft Products. It’s Finding Out

The distinction between hard and soft products helps explain the controversy about changes Netflix is making to its streaming service—along with many other changes in the internet-enabled service economy. - The Atlantic

New York Times Critic A.O. Scott Is Leaving The Movie Beat For The Book Review

"Scott, who has reviewed more than 2,200 films for the Times over the last 23 years, will shift to The New York Times Book Review, where he will 'write critical essays, notebooks and reviews that grapple with literature, ideas and intellectual life.'" - The Hollywood Reporter

Criminal Charges Against Alec Baldwin For “Rust” On-Set Shooting Have Been Lowered

"Baldwin still faces one count of involuntary manslaughter, a fourth-degree felony that carries a sentence of 18 months in prison. But prosecutors have removed what's known as a firearm enhancement, a part of the criminal code that extends prison sentences when firearms are involved in the commission of a crime." - NPR

The BAFTA Nominees Were Pretty Diverse.  The Winners Were All White.  Criticism Has Ensued.

"By the end of the night," wrote one journalist covering the awards, "when it slowly sank in that every single winner was white, you could practically feel the BAFTA team's heads sink into their hands as they braced for yet another social media storm."  They weren't wrong. - BBC

Public Radio’s “The Takeaway” Will End In June

"The news program, which launched in 2008 as an alternative to NPR's Morning Edition, has seen declining carriage and audience, according to leaders at WNYC, which co-produces the program, and distributor PRX. … The show airs on 241 stations, ... (but) carriage has declined by about 13% over the past several years." - Current

An Algorithm For A Fandom Site? Makes No Sense

AO3 is one of the biggest fan fiction sites today. It’s an open source, multi-fandom archive for transformative fanworks that, as of January 2023, is home to approximately 10.5 million works across over 55,000 fandoms, ranging from big names to the most niche corners of the internet. - Wired

BBC Relaxes Dress Code For Presenters: Sweaty Is More Authentic

“It’s a bit like, be as sweaty and dirty as when we’re in the field is actually more trustworthy than if we look like we’ve just stepped out of an awards ceremony or a fine dinner party.” - Deadline

Was Disney’s Purchase Of Fox A Huge Mistake?

One analyst: "Even without Fox, Disney would still be struggling with linear channels and figuring out how to make streaming profitable. ... But they’d be in a much better position, financially." - Los Angeles Times

How To Make A Movie When You Don’t Know Enough About The Topic

Enlist your friends, of course. One of the friends: "Like many other adoptees, I used to victimize myself and isolate. I didn’t want to talk to others because they wouldn’t understand. ... With the movie, I felt more legitimate." - The New York Times

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