Apparently, 70 percent of the moviegoing public - which is, let's note, far higher than the percentage of fully vaccinated people in the U.S. - feel comfortable going to reopened movie theatres now. This week, "before the studios showed off trailers for their upcoming slate of movies, Schwarzenegger led the audience in a chant: 'We are back. We...
Like so many businesses, the movie theater industry has been ravaged by the economic effects of the pandemic. Theaters were starved of audiences when lockdowns went into effect, and studios delayed new releases or, in some cases, put them out on streaming services. Some chains have shut down and others have declared bankruptcy. AMC Entertainment’s chief executive, Adam Aron,...
The first scheduled event is the finale of this year's Tribeca Film Festival on June 19. Only vaccinated people will be admitted. And how will management ensure that patrons are telling the truth about their shots? Said CEO James Dolan, "That's a really good question, I have no idea." - The New York Times
And that seems like something to celebrate, and take advantage of, to a lot of museum directors. "We know that all museums’ audiences will be more local, which offers a great opportunity for arts and culture to sit at the heart of their communities, especially where those communities have experienced such hardship over the past year." - The Observer...
After 15 months of COVID-19 restrictions, deaths, infections, fear, and all kinds of life challenges, we must have more public art. "It does a simple but essential thing: reminds everyday people that they are not alone in this bizzarro moment, and miraculously and fortunately, they are still alive and kicking." - Hyperallergic
The traffic started out the other way, of course, with over-the-air programs being released as or adapted into podcasts. "But podcasting has turned into an incubator of sorts for new radio shows, with several now making their way to local airwaves. … Starting out as a podcast offers show creators a chance to explore and experiment while also building...
Why? Money, of course: to put it in business-speak, the companion podcast "offers a new way for creators to diversify IP assets." What's the draw? "People want to spend more time thinking and talking about the shows that they're watching, whether they're binge-watching it or watching it once a week," says HBO's director of podcasts. "It's on their mind,...
"Ticket-buyers are being told they will be required to wear face masks (although it's not clear how changing advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might affect that expectation). Theaters will have upgraded HVAC systems with virus-trapping filters. Most ticketing will be digital. And theaters are reserving the right to impose a variety of safety protocols" —...
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the lifting of a series of pandemic-related restrictions as of May 17; the new measures include the reopening of theatres, cinemas, concert halls, museums, and similar venues. However, social distancing requirements and capacity limits will still be in place, and many theatres say they can't afford to reopen to only half-full houses. -...
With a 500-person limit, a record high in private funding, new digital streaming infrastructure, and a mandate to be more ecologically conscious, the Milan opera house and its new artistic director, Dominique Meyer, are ready to put the horrible experience of 2020 behind them. - The New York Times
"Art NFTs put me in mind of film auteur Werner Herzog’s distinction between the 'truth of accountants' and 'ecstatic truth.' NFT mavens wax lyrical about the 'authenticity' of these tokens as if they are trading a semi-divine quality, yet the authenticity encoded by an NFT is the same kind encoded by a transaction number on a credit card statement....
Instead of the whiff of noblesse oblige and platitudes about the uplifting nature of classical music, this is about working together. "The key phrases when Bandwagon 2 was announced last month were the desire to 'center the voices of our partners' and 'utilize the Philharmonic’s resources to amplify the work of our collaborators.' In less fancy terms, the orchestra...
No matter what you've got in your house, there's nothing like watching a movie in the theatre with scores of other people. Then there are the prices: "The fact that I know I’m being ripped off is, somehow, part of the charm. Have you got a statistic about the ludicrous mark-up on popcorn for me? Have you got a...
" Kwame Kwei-Armah told The Guardian the pandemic had changed theatre forever, with the livestreaming of plays becoming 'hard baked' into how the industry operates. said that during lockdown he had resolved to 'innovate, not just replicate' resulting in a project titled Best Seat in Your House which will use multiple cameras and allow online audiences to change...
"With as many as eight shows a week to fill, and the tourists who make up an important part of their customer base yet to return, producers need time to advertise and market. They need to reassemble and rehearse casts who have been out of work for more than a year. And they need to sort out and negotiate...
