Stories

Paramount Boss David Ellison’s Big Challenge: Winning Over Hollywood

The Paramount Skydance chief executive will have to work hard to repair badly frayed relations with Hollywood talent who fiercely opposed the consolidation of two historic studios as a bad deal for workers. - Los Angeles Times

Why America Looks The Way It Does

It would be hard to overstate how ignorant the Founders of the United States were about their own country. The main map they’d used to negotiate the postwar peace with Britain was woefully inaccurate. - The New Yorker

The Glenn Gould Of Imagination

The first thing anyone notices about Gould’s playing is the precision of his articulation, and that articulation is so precise that you might—not that you should, but you might—think of him as mechanical, if you didn’t also see him. - Hedgehog Review

Why Viewers Love To See What People Will Suffer For Money

Beast Games does not provoke debates about who can or should win and how. Rather, it stages a demonstration of what money can make people agree to. - The Conversation

AI And The Flattening Of Creative Aesthetic

Like the coffee shops of 2016, widespread AI adoption is generating a massive amount of content and products that share an eerie sameness. - Noema

Congress Considers New Tax Breaks To Save Hollywood

The bill provides a tax credit of at least 20 percent on the wages of the vast array of workers who create movies and TV shows. That includes actors and directors as well as camera operators and makeup artists. - The New York Times

Theatre As A Public Good

To me, Theatre as Public Good argues that the convening power of theatre, and the belonging and connection it creates, is essential, and should therefore be classified as a public good. - Karthik Subramanian

The Checks And Balances That Could Have Saved The Kennedy Center Failed

Even as these and other construction-related lawsuits are pending, the Trump administration has proven its willingness and ability to build, renovate or destroy federal landmarks without clear authority to do so. - The Conversation

The NAZA Filmmakers Defend Themselves And The Film At Its NY Premiere

“'These crimes that you saw are ongoing,’ Abraham said. ‘They’re ongoing because it’s what our country is doing, and because of what your country is supporting and funding.’” - The Guardian (UK)

What Will Westminster Do With Banksy’s Flag Statue?

“The council said it had spent almost £60,000 on safety barriers, administration and for a security guard to keep watch over it.” - BBC

Booksellers Are Sounding The Alarm About A Presidential Memorandum

“The presidential security memo issued last year specifically targets what the regime sees as leftist ideas in books, zines, and other publications, which is a major concern for all of us that care about books and freedom of expression.” - LitHub

When Hallmark Movies Have Something In Common With Concrete

It’s all about attention to mundane detail. The new The History of Concrete fits Hallmark "because that’s the kind of living proof that this rhythmic cyclical way of storytelling is actually soothing and attractive to people over long periods of time.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

If You’re A Northern Irish Actor, You’ve Probably Been In A Show About The Troubles

Lola Petticrew wasn’t just in one show about the Troubles before she left Northern Ireland; she starred in - and was acclaimed for - two. “A lot of the questions that were raised were questions that I, as a young adult, have about how we heal and move on,” she said. - The New York Times

What Happens To Your Art When You Become The Set Designer For Everything, Including The Olympics?

“In the 30 years since she won the Linbury prize for stage design in 1995, Es Devlin has established herself as a go-to set designer for highbrow theatre, international opera, global pop …, official celebrations …, fashion runways and public sculpture.” - The Guardian (UK)

When Collecting Becomes Nearly A Blood Sport

Well, a bot sport, anyway. Bots are doing so much online work that regular collectors just can’t keep up - and are getting excluded from the things they love as a result. - The Verge

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