In a research lab at Penn State, “four pigs — Hamlet, Omelette, Ebony and Ivory — were trained to use an arcade-style joystick [with their snouts] to steer an on-screen cursor into walls. … And the pigs even continued playing when the food reward dispenser broke — apparently for the social contact.” – BBC
The Agents Behind Hollywood’s Book-To-Movie Boom
“The entire structure of the traditional book-to-film deal has changed. Our authors are now at the cutting edge of those deals, in the selling of their work and as producers.” – Los Angeles Times
The New Mexico Museum Of Art Is Planning To Destroy A Historic Chicano Mural
Not for nothing – for a new museum of contemporary art. But … really? “‘We invited the Department of Cultural Affairs,’ Carrie Wood, a member of a campaign to save the mural called Keep Santa Fe Multicultural, said of the planned peaceful gathering that took place last weekend, ‘but they didn’t respond to our email, or even take the time to talk to us. They just sent the cops.'”- Hyperallergic
One Idea For What To Do With Unused And Deconsecrated Churches
Artists need studios, and usually studios with light … and churches often have that. “Places of worship are typically built to outlast their parishioners. The steepled Protestant churches in upstate New York are often the oldest buildings in their towns — repositories of local memory, even as their congregations have dwindled.” – The New York Times
Will Covid-19 Kill The Pandemic Movie?
Maybe, but then again, the form has a way of shifting with new information to meet the times. However, it will have to be something other than documentary: “Unless there emerges a bizarre public hunger for films in which tired parents try to connect their tablets to Google Classroom during a phone call with their boss, it is hard to think that anyone will want to watch the reality of this pandemic reflected back at them.” – The Guardian (UK)
A Norwegian Book Festival Becomes 12 Global Festivals
“One of the things I wasn’t thinking about, but which is very obvious to me now, is the great value of having each festival stage exactly what they would like to present. This has brought in a richness I couldn’t have dreamt of.” – LitHub
Pennsylvania Governor Proposes Zeroing Out Funds For Public TV
The state has issued $750,000 to seven stations annually since 2019. The funding, which is divided evenly among the stations, supports technology needs and operating expenses. It also covers program-related fees, production and distribution costs, and acquiring equipment. – Current
Empty Movie Theaters Are Being Rented Out To Video Gamers
The cinema chain Malco has been doing this in six Southern states since November, and the South Korean chain CGV started it in January. With prices for a small group of players running around $100 for two hours, it’s not close to making up for the lack of moviegoers, but it’s at least a bit of income. And the gamers seem to love it; said one, “The sound quality is particularly amazing. The sound of the gunshots is just so vivid, and when something flew directly at me from the screen I even screamed.” – BBC
At Last Minute, Trump Made The Arts Commission Overseeing Capitol All-Male, All-White
“After Donald Trump made a flurry of hasty, last-minute appointments to the board that oversees the design of much of what is built in the capital, the CFA is once again all White and all male after decades of more diverse membership.” – Washington Post
Whatever Became Of Shelley Duvall? This.
A sting of Robert Altman films in the 1970s made her into a major movie star with a Best Actress win at Cannes. Then came Kubrick’s The Shining, a physically and emotionally grueling film shoot leading to a performance that strikes viewers as either brilliant or grotesque. She spent the ’80s and early ’90s producing children’s television with marquee Hollywood actors. Then she up and disappeared — until 2016, when the Dr. Phil show found her in Texas and aired a disastrous interview. Writer Seth Abramovitch “only knew that it didn’t feel right for [Phil] McGraw’s insensitive sideshow to be the final word on her legacy.” So he went to the Hill Country to meet her. – The Hollywood Reporter
L.A. MoCA Is Restructuring, Will Hire New Executive Director
“Museum of Contemporary Art Director Klaus Biesenbach will take on a new role as artistic director … [and] will focus on programming, collections and exhibitions, international and digital outreach as well as fundraising and development. … The executive director … will steer daily management and operations at the museum, including ‘establishing key strategic, institutional and capital priorities, long range planning,'” and diversity initiatives. – Los Angeles Times
Jazz Pianist Chick Corea, 79
“Since the 1960s, Mr. Corea had been a prolific and dynamic force in music, building on his early training in classical music, Latin jazz and traditional jazz to build an original style that freely crossed musical boundaries. During a six-decade career, he won 23 Grammy Awards, more than any other jazz performer.” – The Washington Post
Southern Hemisphere’s Largest Arts Festival Watches And Waits As COVID Restrictions Come And Go
“Adelaide Fringe festival is scrambling to determine how the sudden closure of South Australia’s borders to Melbourne residents may affect dozens of its shows. The festival, the second largest open-access arts festival in the world after the Edinburgh Fringe and the largest in the southern hemisphere, is scheduled to open on 19 February and run for four weeks.” Last week, the Perth Festival lost its opening events when Western Australia imposed a sudden five-day lockdown. – The Guardian