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Steve Martin Writes About Being Friends With Peter Schjeldahl

Peter’s goal, per him, was to have one idea, at least, per sentence. His best mentoring, he said, came from journalists, which makes sense. His reviews have an urgent quality. Breaking news! - The New Yorker

Roman Polanski Exonerated In French Defamation Case

"A French court on Tuesday acquitted film director Roman Polanski of defaming British actress Charlotte Lewis after she accused him of raping her when she was a teenager. … She sued for defamation after Polanski called her allegations a 'heinous lie' in a 2019 interview with Paris Match magazine." - Reuters

Saxophonist David Sanborn, 78

Sanborn was known for luxurious saxophone melodies on songs including "Maputo," but his sound — informed by R&B and global funk— and his legacy extended far beyond his jazz roots. Often perceived as a "smooth jazz" artist, Sanborn loathed that term. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Kathleen Battle Returns To The Met. Tim Page Reports

Ms. Battle was greeted with an immediate and prolonged standing ovation—the first of many—from her eager audience as she walked onstage in a black dress with a long, turquoise-colored wrap. - The Wall Street Journal

Alice Munro, 92

A spokesperson for publisher Penguin Random House Canada said Munro, winner of the Nobel literary prize in 2013, died Monday at home in Port Hope, Ontario. Munro had been in frail health for years and often spoke of retirement, a decision that proved final after the author's 2012 collection, "Dear Life." - Washington Post (MSN)

Iranian Filmmaker Who Was Sentenced To Prison And Flogging Escapes Iran

"The Iranian film director Mohammad Rasoulof has secretly fled Iran after he was sentenced to prison amid pressure over his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which is due to premiere at the Cannes film festival this week." - The Guardian

Tony Nominee Sarah Paulson Enjoys Playing Tough – Some Might Say Unlikeable – Characters

"Some actors avoid playing objectionable people, concerned about being pigeonholed into villainhood, or that in the audience’s impressionable minds, their character’s likability might blur with their own. … Paulson said those kinds of thoughts haven’t occurred to her." - The New York Times

John Leguizamo Says Rejection Made Him The Actor And Activist He Is Today

"For clearly one of the hardest workers in show business with one of the longest resumes I've ever seen, it's hard to believe that rejection is still ever-present for Leguizamo. ‘They were never going to pick me — no matter how talented I was,’ he said.” So he’s going it on his own. - Salon

Judi Dench Talks All Kinds Of Books

Her macular degeneration might keep her from “reading” the old-fashioned way, but she still loves books of every sort. "I love being surrounded by books — they’re snapshots of the past: first-night gifts, holidays abroad, memories of lost friends and loved ones." - The New York Times

Roger Corman, Independent B-Movie Director And Producer, Dead At 98

Corman “specialized in fast-paced, low-budget genre movies — horror, action, science fiction, even some family fare — and his company became a work-in-training ground for a wide variety of major talents.” - Variety

What Phylicia Rashad Brought To Howard University

It’s still “newsworthy that a veteran artist — one who’s still working steadily as a stage actress and is increasingly one of the go-to directors of the Black theater canon — took on rebuilding a fine arts college.” - Washington Post

What Made Beethoven Stand Out

What did make Beethoven stand out from the crowd was his personification of the Romantic revolution, which coincided more or less with his lifetime. In the popular imagination, Beethoven was the quintessential romantic hero. - History Today

John Waters Briefly Hospitalized After Car Accident

The 78-year-old filmmaker/artist/author's car was struck near Baltimore by a driver running a red light. "Since it hurts when I laugh," he said in a statement, "I will have no witty answer about being in a car accident that no one has said was my fault." - The Baltimore Banner

Kevin Spacey Will Face A Civil Trial In London For Sexual Assault — And This Is A Legal Victory For Him

Earlier this year, the judge in the case delivered a default judgment in favor of the plaintiff because Spacey's attorneys failed to submit their defense documents on time. An appellate justice overruled that judgment, stating that Spacey should not be penalized because of his lawyers' mistakes. - Reuters

Peter Schjeldahl: Why Frank Stella Mattered

Arriving at the all-time peak of American hegemony in world art, Stella was the poster prodigy of a new breed of artists: post-bohemian, university-trained, professional from the get-go. - The New Yorker

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