Here’s the thinking: A lack of cost savings could dissuade employers from using AI-generated performers instead of real actors like Emma Stone or Viola Davis. “In my opinion, if synthetics cost the same as a human, they’re going to choose a human every time." - The Hollywood Reporter
It’s far worse: It does wrong by Shakespeare. "Hamnet changes many details and events in Shakespeare’s life to tell its story, but it is in its prestigeiness that it truly does Shakespeare dirty.” - Slate
Financially, it’s likely to be good for the Opera. “The news of the split could inspire a groundswell of support from longtime patrons who pumped the brakes on their operagoing in 2025 amid the Trump takeover. It may even serve to restore projects that were thought lost.” - Washington Post (Yahoo)
“'The shared laughter in a crowded theater, the eager debrief after a musical, the heavy silence that hangs over all of us in a drama — these are moments that every New Yorker deserves,’ Mamdani said.” - The New York Times
The proposal by artist Gabrielle Goliath was a performance to mourn Gaza’s dead after Israel’s actions against the area. A spokesperson said that it wasn’t focused enough on South Africa: “We need to use our platforms to sell our country to the world.” - Hyperallergic
Welp, podcasts are in, music is out; sorry to "Alexandre Desplat for Frankenstein, Ludwig Goransson for Sinners, Jonny Greenwood for One Battle After Another, Kangding Ray for Sirat, Max Richter for Hamnet and Hans Zimmer for F1: The Movie.” - The New York Times
“Even if tiny mics are a trend that’s crossed over from influencer culture, they’ve become yet another obnoxious staple of the film industry that favors a viewer’s pleasure over decorum. Not everything needs to be kitsch, dumbed down, or turned into a competitive status symbol.” - Salon
“The young Thomas was an enthusiastic contributor to Swansea Grammar School's magazine after joining as an 11-year-old in 1925, but Gallenzi found at least a dozen examples where Thomas had copied wholesale from work published in other magazines.” - BBC
“His detour into literature began in 2000, when he was asked by Martin Blaser, the chairman of N.Y.U.’s department of medicine, to join him and Danielle Ofri, who had worked with Dr. Lowenstein when she was a resident at N.Y.U., to start the Bellevue Literary Review.” - The New York Times
Her publisher sure didn’t help, at least not at first. But then the community “was nurtured and deepened by the connections that Louise made through her own efforts, touring, doing events in the U.S. and Canada, meeting readers face to face, and then also building a social media presence.” - CBC
Kit Harington’s timing was perhaps challenging. Game of Thrones finished; he went into rehab; then the pandemic hit. "When things started up again after the lockdown, Harington told his agent he wanted a ‘no swords’ rule for vetting potential jobs.” - The New York Times
“This second Night Manager season arrives at a moment when spy dramas have moved on, and in a grubbier, more down-to-earth direction than the one the first season ushered in.” - Slate
That is to say, climate change makes fools of us all, including reality TV shows: "Filming for Love Island: All Stars has been postponed after the villa was evacuated due to wildfires." - BBC
“Chloé Zhao recovered from looking shellshocked to quote Paul Mescal, saying that making Hamnet made him realize that being an artist is about being vulnerable and being seen for who we are, not who we ought to be, and giving ourselves fully to the world.” - The New York Times