Karla Sofía Gascón was a frontrunner for Best Actress, but “recently resurfaced racist, anti-Muslim and openly anti-diversity tweets have upended the Oscar campaign not just for Gascón but for every Emilia Pérez nominee.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Art students at the University of Wolverhampton aren’t happy with the plan. “Yes, it can get a bit cold in the winter and some double glazing would be nice, but any replacement would never match the spirit that this building offers.” - The Guardian (UK)
Because of the fires, “Voting had already concluded on Jan. 10, meaning the weeks that followed — marked by major events including the announcement of the Oscar nominations ... — had no impact on the results.” - The New York Times
“All of our feeds are at their core tremendously banal: They’re just windows into what people do with themselves all day, repeated over and over again. And we watch, because, for some reason, we love watching humans be humans.” - The New York Times
“Obviously, they wanted films to make money. They were not public servants. They wanted a profit. But they really believed that film could create a culture, could do good in the world. And they really - in a lot of their films, they attempted to do that.” - NPR
“Trump’s conflicts with Kennedy Center programs began when some honorees in 2017 threatened to pull out of events including him, following his handling of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.” - Washington Post (MSN)
Interior designer Vicente Wolf: “Amy was the first of a new generation of designers. … She was unrestrained in the sense that she wasn’t going to do things the way everyone else was doing things — in her mixture of furniture and her use of color.” - The New York Times
Canada hopes the new anime series called Anne Shirley will bring back Japanese visitors to Prince Edward Islands. “Anne of Green Gables was first translated into Japanese and published in Japan in 1952. It went on to become a bestseller.” - CBC
The Romanian government says the Saint Sebastian is “part of its national art collection was removed from the country in 1947. That year, the country’s last king, Michael I, went into exile after being forced from power by Communist forces.” - The New York Times
The so-called “ink knights” were deeply into the spy game. “What’s stronger than the sword? Apparently a humble aspect, a high tolerance for cocktail party talk, and a library card.” - LitHub
Hockney would take friends “on a ‘Wagner Drive,’ something he devised as an opera-loving motorist. He’d drive up through Malibu Canyon to Mulholland Drive and then west to Decker Canyon, where he would time the turns and crests to the crescendos of the classical composition.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Trump plans to announce the dismissal of multiple members of the Kennedy Center board as soon as today, a group likely to include recent appointees of former President Joe Biden. - The Atlantic
"In its full-year results for 2024 The New York Times Company reported ending the year with 10.8 million digital subscribers — an increase of 1.1 million (year-over-year). Of those 10.8 million subscribers, 3.5 million (or 32%) subscribed only to either its Games, Cooking, Wirecutter, Audio or The Athletic products." - Press Gazette (UK)
David Hajdu strives to refute the ages-old criticism that art made with machines is cold, soulless and artificial. In fact, he argues, machines have enabled radical new art forms, empowered marginalized communities and served as instruments of cultural change. - Washington Post
