For Hollywood studios, 2021 was a year of great experimentation and the rare chance to relentlessly test movie distribution patterns in ways they had salivated over prior to the pandemic. - Variety
"They don't want another NeverTrump Republican who will chummily respond to the liberal hosts' musings with 'yes, but' qualifications (their focus groups suggest that viewers like clash). But they also don't want an unvaccinated authoritarian who's going to spit venom in Joy Behar's face." - New York Magazine
Dozens of monuments and artworks await repairs and conservation that may never be forthcoming because of rising maintenance costs and shifting priorities to newer memorials. - The New York Times
"(He) turned a keen eye on nature, his childhood and numerous other subjects in more than 20 volumes published across half a century." - The New York Times
Under Senate Bill 1142, if just one parent objects to a book it must be removed within 30 days. If it is not, the librarian must be fired and cannot work for any public school for two years. Parents can also collect at least $10,000 per day from school districts if the book is not removed as requested. -...
A foreign policy scholar suggests (with some evidence) that the Tchaikovsky/Petipa/Ivanov adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's story was intended as a portrait of the calming of formerly hostile relations between Europe and Russia under Tsar Alexander III. - World Politics Review
It shouldn’t have to be restated every time a lackluster movie is released that a critic’s job is to evaluate a film’s quality and how well it conveys the ideas it presents, not applaud filmmakers on the basis that the ideas they present are correct. - The Daily Beast
This is not the film Idiocracy, depicting us all as dumb consumerist sheeple. This is a film with great faith in humanity, and cynicism only about the institutions we have built and the particular people who hold power. - Current Affairs
"A federal judge has issued a default judgment against a major overseas e-book piracy operation known as the KISS Library after its operators failed to answer a lawsuit filed in July, 2020 by the Authors Guild, Amazon Publishing, Penguin Random House, and a number of authors." - Publishers Weekly
And the authors of those books — who, not long ago, couldn't get a single look from publishers — can thank social media: Booksgram, BookTube, and BookTok. - The Guardian
Says one exec, "While we don't live or die by ratings, as at commercial stations, learning when and for how long people are listening helps us make programming decisions. Since we sell sponsorships, being ranked in the top 10 is helpful especially when approaching media buyers." - Inside Radio
Tony Kushner: "She either comprehends or intuits, not what necessarily is the most obvious choice for dramatic action, but what's under the surface, where the real meaning of a piece lies. … She has this absolutely uncanny ability to translate that into music." - The New York Times
"The public continued to interrogate museums over their treatment of workers, their attachments to patrons with problematic sources of wealth, and their dragon-like hold on items of questionable provenance." And then there's Hunter Biden … - Artnet
