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An Interview With “The Interview Assassin,” The New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner

Q: Why do you think people still talk to you? IC: Most people don’t read bylines, and the vast majority of people I interview have no idea who I am. - Columbia Journalism Review

Cult Film Case Study: Rocky Horror Picture Show

A cult film is born through ritualistic traditions of audience attendance that must occur in a public, social screening setting like a movie theatre. The Rocky Horror Picture Show — the Hollywood-funded screen adaptation of Jim Sharman and Richard O’Brien’s successful British stage musical — owes its cult success to independent, repertory cinemas. - The Conversation

TS Eliot And The Impression Of Having Read Everything

Eliot was not only a prolific, but also a powerful prose writer. Impressively, he emerges even in the earliest of this work as if fully formed. His voice is mature and assured in a 1909 review published in the Harvard Advocate, where he already perfected the performance of having read everything. - Hudson Review

Judge Rules Authors’ Copyright Lawsuit Against OpenAI Can Proceed

In issuing his ruling, Judge Stein compared George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones to summaries of the book created by ChatGPT. The judge wrote that a “discerning observer could easily conclude that this detailed summary is substantially similar to Martin’s original work. - Publishers Weekly

Museums Aren’t Quite As Miserable To Work In As They Used To Be, Says Study

“More than 3,000 museum employees from over 90 arts organizations, and representing different roles, participated in it; it is the second edition of a longitudinal study that will continue through 2030.” Job satisfaction is higher than in 2022-23, but ongoing concerns include low pay and the “new culture wars.” - The New York Times

What Hollywood Gets Consistently Wrong When It Depicts Broadway Genius

Artistry is what the ’40s biopics get most wrong. Not just the facts, though the depictions of composition, collaboration and show-making are boldly inaccurate. “Rhapsody in Blue” makes a fuss about Gershwin’s use of a diminished-ninth chord in “Swanee,” a chord that appears nowhere in it. - The New York Times

A Piece Of Broadway History Disappears: The Cast Change Inserts In Programs

“I think the understudies, the swings, the standbys and the alternates do so much work, with so little recognition, so much of the time — this is a little piece of paper that makes sure they’re acknowledged by the people who are watching them.” - The New York Times

Big Foundations Band Together To Pump $50 Million Into Literary Arts

Seven deep-pocketed philanthropic foundations are coming together to help fill in the gaps. The coalition announced on Tuesday the creation of the Literary Arts Fund, which will distribute "at least" $50 million through grants to various nonprofit organizations across the country over the next five years. - NPR

Producers Of Documentary On Search For King Richard III’s Body Settle Libel Lawsuit

“The producers of The Lost King on Monday agreed to pay damages to an academic who sued for libel over his on-screen depiction. Richard Taylor said he suffered ‘enormous distress and embarrassment’ because of the 2022 film, which centers on amateur historian Philippa Langley’s quest to find the king’s remains.” - AP

Trump Administration Makes Emergency Appeal To Supreme Court To Fire Head Of The US Copyright Office

The administration’s newest emergency appeal to the high court was filed a month and a half after a federal appeals court in Washington held that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired. - APNews

Does AI Threaten Our Ability To Perceive The World?

Many people invoke a distinction between illicit uses of A.I. (such as the composition of entire drafts) and innocent auxiliary functions — outlining, for instance. But it is these seemingly benign functions that are the most pernicious for developing minds. - The New York Times

Trump Fires Entire Design Commission Tasked With Reviewing Capital Region Projects

The commission, which was established by Congress more than a century ago and traditionally includes a mix of architects and urban planners, is charged with providing advice to the president, Congress and local government officials on design matters related to construction projects in the capital region. - Washington Post

Writer Hanif Kureishi, Paralyzed After An Accident, Creates A Dance

“Kureishi, 70, who wrote the award-winning novel The Buddha of Suburbia and the film My Beautiful Laundrette, has devised a filmed piece about the devastating aftermath of his fall for two leading ballet dancers, in collaboration with choreographer and Royal Ballet principal character artist Kristen McNally.” - The Observer (UK)

Belgrade Theatre Festival Accused Of Censorship, Artistic Director Resigns

Festival administrators canceled controversial director Milo Rau’s play The Pelicot Trial, allegedly over Rau’s criticism of the Serbian government last year; consequently, the festival’s artistic director resigned. Artists say the government — which has been facing months of protests over corruption — is putting political pressure on the festival and slashing funding. - AFP (Barron’s)

Multimillion-Dollar Art Forgery Ring Broken By German Police

“German police said they busted an international forgery ring that was trying to sell fake works for millions of dollars to unsuspecting collectors. The fraudsters claimed the works were by artists including Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, and Frida Kahlo." - ARTnews

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