“This is all quite novel in the United States, but actually AMC has been doing it for years in our European theaters. Indeed, in Europe we charge a premium for the best seats in the house — as do just about all sellers of tickets in other industries — take sports events, concerts and live theater, for example.” -...
"In the last few years, as China’s diplomatic relations with the west – and in particular the US – plummeted, the preferences of Chinese audiences changed, too." Now homegrown Chinese media is in vogue, changing Hollywood calculations (and funding). - The Observer (UK)
Three hosts, two fan-voted awards, eight categories cut from the live broadcast … "Too many of these Oscar decisions seem motivated by bone-deep insecurity — a sort of self-loathing from the Academy about what the show really is, let alone what it ought to be." - The New York Times
"The communal understanding that this is our space, our work, our shared awareness is an incomparable feeling. ... Every joke hit. Every cultural reference resonated. I remember thinking, why don’t we do this more often? Seriously. Why don’t we?" - Los Angeles Times
"Venue staff are increasingly on their own, leaving ushers, house managers, security staff and box office managers in the crosshairs of different audience members' diametrically opposed preferences as they deal with the fallout of unclear and inconsistent COVID guidance from government officials." - San Francisco Chronicle
Says one, "There are so many moments where I'm shocked by humanity. Once when I called out for proof of vaccination and photo IDs, a man said, 'I got my proof of vaccination tattooed on my ass. Want me to pull my pants down?'" - Time Out New York
The return rate to movie theaters in the first week of February was 58% of what it was before the pandemic. Restaurants were nearly three-quarters as full as they were before Covid-19, and air travel had recovered to about 80%. - The Wall Street Journal
The researchers at SMU Data Arts have updated their numbers, incorporating information about ticket sales, prices, COVID case rates, vaccination rates, etc.; they have new projections based on two scenarios. The key factor: higher vaccination rates aren't making the same difference in attendance they had earlier. - SMU Data Arts
"Authoritative tellings of Nashville's music history have centered institutions like the Grand Ole Opry and Music Row. ... But that focus neglects a world of activity that went on in the historically Black part of town." Brassville aims to change and reclaim that history. - NPR
Boston music lovers are curious because "the Boston Symphony Orchestra has been quietly searching for its next concertmaster. Whomever they appoint to this coveted chair will hold a tenured position occupied by only three violinists over the course of the last century." - Boston Globe
"Broadway's mask and vaccination policy will remain in place through at least April 30, the most recent extension date for the policy announced last month. Broadway has required audience members to be be vaccinated and wearing a mask since its return last year." - Playbill
The "TikTok tickets" scheme will offer £10 seats, along with subsidized travel to Stratford-upon-Avon, to people aged 14 to 25 for this summer's productions of Richard III and All's Well That Ends Well. - BBC
“Dune,” the sprawling first installment of Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious adaptation of the 1965 science fiction novel, was the only nominated film that could claim to be a classic box office success, having earned more than $100 million in bricks-and-mortar theaters. - Washington Post
"The definition of success (is) more slippery than ever. Gone are the days when box office is the only metric; streamers calculate their investments not based on conventional monetary returns, but in gaining and retaining subscribers." And some nominees simply don't fit within the art-pop binary. - MSN (The Washington Post)
To boost its efforts to offer an alternate means of counting the video-watching masses, NBCU is working with more than 30 different advertisers to test a new measurement tool it has built with iSpot.TV — and using the company’s Olympics and looming Super Bowl broadcasts as a sort of test run. - Variety
