The country’s film industry is the world’s second largest by output, but the big streaming services who had been commissioning films have cut way back or withdrawn from Nigeria altogether. So actors, directors and screenwriters have been making and posting movies on YouTube at an astounding rate. - The Guardian
CPB leaders denied that request, citing federal law that establishes the independent nonprofit outside of the control of the federal government. The request comes as the president is launching a broad assault against the country's two largest public broadcasters. - NPR
Trump appointed Todd Blanche, his former defense lawyer, as librarian of Congress after abruptly firing Carla Hayden. Library staff resisted, insisting Congress must be involved and barring two other Justice Department officials chosen by Blanche from entering the agency’s headquarters. - The New York Times
The acclaimed new play broke history many times over and recently announced that it holds the all-time record for the highest grossing play in Broadway history and is the first play to surpass a gross of $4 million in a single week. - Deadline
“For over half a century, (he) stood as a towering figure in French cinema, a titan known for his commanding physical presence, instinct, sensitivity, and remarkable versatility. … His fall from grace was completed Tuesday when a Paris court found him guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a movie set in 2021.” - AP
For decades, there has been a nationwide artistic and cultural infrastructure receiving bipartisan support, including through the first administration of Donald Trump. Now that is changing — and drastically. - ABC News
It was long thought the giant reflective pool in front of the statue of Athena acted as a mirror, sending light shimmering across its golden surface. The 3D model, however, showed the light barely reached her shins. - Artnet
The timing was extraordinary: the office had released a report just two days earlier (on Friday, May 9), concluding that many current AI training practices likely exceed the boundaries of fair use. No matter your politics, there are two sides to this story. - Shelly Palmer
“All of this — right down to that climatic, rushing release called catharsis — is provided, near the end of a delectably tuneful show, by a lone woman performing a single song in what is generally regarded as the cheeriest of theatrical forms, the American musical.” - The New York Times
“The man was filmed while spraying the graffiti on one of the original walls of Chan Chan, a pre-Columbian city 500km (300 miles) north of Lima that is visited by thousands of people a month. … Some Peruvians questioned how he was able to damage the wall unchallenged.” - BBC
“New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has approved a state budget that increases the cap on the state’s film and TV subsidy to $800 million, nearly double the amount from 2022. The expansion creates a $100 million pool earmarked solely for independent projects.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“The performers’ major concern was a wage increase. David Kolen, a senior business representative at Actors Equity Association, said the performers have taken a major step towards earning living wages with a five-year contract that will yield 35% increases that compound out to 40.5% ‘over the duration of the deal.’” - WBEZ (Chicago)
“Hollyhock House, Frank Lloyd Wright’s eclectic Los Angeles masterpiece, is under threat of closure and losing its UNESCO World Heritage Site status amid drastic budget cuts proposed by the city’s mayor Karen Bass.” - Artnet
The 72-year-old South Korean-born, US-trained conductor has appeared at the Milan opera house more often than any other guest conductor, going back to 1989. He succeeds Riccardo Chailly in the fall of 2026, and his initial term runs to 2030. - Bachtrack
“The actor, 76, has been convicted of having groped a 54-year-old set dresser and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of Les Volets Verts (‘The Green Shutters’).” He received a suspended sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment and fined €29,040 (around $32,350). - AP
