U.S. District Judge William Orrick, in an order issued on Thursday night, rebuffed arguments from StabilityAI, Midjourney and StabilityAI that they are entitled to a First Amendment defense arising under a California statute allowing for the early dismissal of claims. - The Hollywood Reporter
RWB spokesperson Jocelyn Unrau said criminals used stolen credit card numbers to buy tickets, then sold them to unwitting customers through online resale platforms. - CBC
"MoMA, which acquired in 1949, received $4 million in compensation for giving it back under an arrangement negotiated by a restitution company that represented the seven heirs." - The New York Times
Joining, say, Sally Field in Norma Rae or Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, "actors in current Oscar-season movies enjoyed ample opportunity to wax eloquent via riled-up characters who simply cannot contain themselves any longer." - Los Angeles Times
More than 600 writers have signed a letter that "condemns PEN’s relative silence on the unfolding genocide in Gaza ... on the heels of two prominent novelists cutting ties with the organization over its decision to platform controversial actor and outspoken ceasefire opponent Mayim Bialik.” - LitHub
This year was the Metropolitan Theater Ensemble’s fifth year in the Warwick Theatre building, which "originally opened on Sept. 26, 1914, and seated 1,200.” Though the theatre’s structure wasn’t damaged, "the costumes, electrical system and dressing rooms were destroyed." - Yahoo News (Kansas City Star)
The prime minister said the media company that runs CTV and many radio stations had made “a garbage decision.” He added “that media layoffs have been eroding Canada’s 'very democracy' at a time that people need reliable news sources more than ever.” - MSN (Financial Post)
A journalist who got immersed as a security guard and gallery assistant says, "I became initiated into the way that the art world wields strategic snobbery to keep people out. And I think it's deliberate and I think it's unnecessary." - NPR
Never forget Deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members; audio signals must be matched with visual cues. And “finding the right actor to enlist as Jones — a deaf character who tricks his fellow soldiers into thinking he’s hearing and carries much of the show’s vocals — also proved critical." - Washington Post
That he, he’s so very finished with content warnings for something like the Scottish play, which he and Indira Varma star in. He said theatre should “shock and disturb,” and added, “I don’t think you should be prepared for these things." - BBC
Wenders, the German director whose latest film is nominated for an Oscar, but from Japan, says “For a long time I did not know , because I was searching for answers, too." - The Observer (UK)
The dance unites a disparate group. "Unlike cities like New York and Toronto, D.C.’s Chinatown no longer feels particularly Chinese Chinese architectural motifs still decorate shops and an archway celebrating the relationship between D.C. and its sister city of Beijing looms over H Street.” - MSN (Washington Post)
Can any opera company withstand the blows of the 21st century? “The ongoing crisis in opera parallels a current 'free fall' … in American theater — with low ticket sales, slumping philanthropy and rising costs putting experimental platforms and long-standing institutions alike on indefinite hiatus.” - Washington Post
