Stories

Mattel’s dolls for the Wicked movie list a porn site on their box instead of the actual movie site. Oops. - Variety

“What started as a simple audio processing tool in the 1990s has become the dominant force in music.” And listeners, honestly, love it. - The Verge

It’s partly because he was such a great lead in rom-coms. "Once America’s sweetheart, Grant has become its heel. … And it’s a delight.” - Slate

His manager said that the actor - who worked consistently across TV, video games, and movies, but whose first love was theatre - “gave his time and resources to aspiring actors, consistently advocating for greater representation and authenticity within the industry.” - The New York Times

"India‘s Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) is teaming with French diplomatic missions in India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives on a two-year project dubbed FISCH (France-India-Sri Lanka Cine Heritage).” - Variety

Ninety thousand Parisians died from war and starvation just a couple of years before the first Impressionist show. But “if most fans of Impressionism remain unaware of its intimacy with the horrors of what Victor Hugo dubbed ‘l’année terrible,’ it’s because the Impressionists did not picture them." - The Atlantic

Go-wan-go Mohawk “decided to write her own roles, ultimately carving out a groundbreaking career in which she told stories onstage about Indigenous people as the heroes of their own lives. She also did it while performing as a man.” - The New York Times

Of course, a lot of us accept “good enough” AI, but … maybe we can make better choices? “An AI-curated set feels like a dessert buffet. It’s all the stuff you love, and it’s great at first, but then it gives you a stomach ache after a while.” - The Verge

“The Cultural Olympiad (can’t we go back to the friendlier Arts Festival?) is special. It is the only aspect of the Olympics that needn’t be politicized or commercialized.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Thanks to a long and protracted civil ward, “the country’s archaeological sites, ancient cities, and pre-Islamic artifacts have become easy targets for looters and unscrupulous art dealers.” - ARTnews

You never know whom you’ll influence - or end up being influenced by, in an artistic collaboration years down the line. - The New York Times

And what’s next for the alt-publishers who brought the lawsuit originally? - Wired

“I really believe that Los Angeles today is what New York was in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, what Paris was in the turn of the century. ...This is the spot.” - The New York Times

Kier has worked with Andy Warhol, Lars von Trier, Madonna, Gus van Sant, Rainer Maria Fassbinder - and nearly everyone else. "Of his work, he estimates ‘100 movies are bad, 50 movies you can see with a glass of wine and 50 movies are good.’”  - Variety

Development - driven in part by remote work and the pandemic, and also by the TV show Yellowstone, is driving development. That is “a grave threat because of how it is carving up an ecosystem that must stay relatively intact to function.” - The New York Times