"Peter Barnes had 14 soliloquies on BBC Radio 3 under the umbrella titles Barnes' People and More Barnes' People. They attracted remarkable actors, including Laurence Olivier (in his final role), Judi Dench, Alec Guinness, Alan Rickman, Janet Suzman and Jeremy Irons. Barnes wrote, though, a 15th monologue, which the BBC, in mysterious circumstances, withdrew from production in 1990....
"I asked you to stop watching the show and thank God almighty for you, you did," he told an audience in Austin. "You made that show worthless because without your eyes, it's nothing. And you stopped watching it. They called me and I got my name back and I got my license back and I got my show back...
For several years in the 1950s, starting in 1952, Oscar night featured simultaneous gatherings in Los Angeles and New York. One can imagine something similar happening this year — maybe even including cities outside of the U.S. like London, Paris and Seoul, since the Academy's membership is now truly international — to spare people from having to undertake long-distance...
In a category that has historically overlooked female directors, this feels like progress. After all, only five women have ever been nominated for the best-director Oscar, and if Zhao, King, and Fennell all make it in, that number would nearly double in a single year. But look a little closer, and there’s still a pernicious double standard at play....
"Veteran producers Bruce Hendricks and Galen Walker have optioned the rights to the late Stanley Kubrick's unmade film Lunatic At Large, and have plans to bring the film-noir storyline to the big screen. … The project was one of three film stories found in Kubrick's archives after his passing." Production is expected to start this fall. - The Hollywood...
"Many private Polish TV channels and radio stations fell silent and online sites and newspapers ran black front pages on Wednesday in a concerted protest over a planned tax that critics fear will weaken or destroy some media." The ruling Law & Justice party says the tax is a "solidarity fee" to fund healthcare and COVID relief for arts...
"My name is Leo and I am 8 years old. I listen to All Things Considered in the car with mom. I listen a lot. I never hear much about nature or dinosaurs or things like that. Maybe you should call your show Newsy things Considered, since I don't get to hear about all the things. Or please talk...
"Paramount has a screenplay for a new movie, according to court papers. But Alan Schwartz, Trustee of the Truman Capote Literary Trust, has been shopping a television series, and has gotten seven-figure offers from multiple interested buyers. Early last year, both sides pursued settlement with the idea that Paramount would be involved in the TV production, but in May,...
In the network's motion to dismiss the voting company's defamation lawsuit — which alleges that Fox News and three of its hosts knowingly spread a false conspiracy theory that Smartmatic's tabulation software (with the help of the late Hugo Chávez) changed vote totals — Fox's attorneys argue that any allegation, no matter how bizarre, by a President or his...
Nothing against the (many) kick-ass, and asskicking, Black actresses of the science fiction universes, but for something closer to reality? Enter Queen Latifah. - Los Angeles Times
Nomadland took top honors at the London Film Critics Circle on Sunday night. Zhao won for screenwriting, though; Steve McQueen took home Best Director honors for Small Axe, his anthology series of five films on Amazon Prime. - The Guardian (UK)
Yes, it's devastating all kinds of careers in the arts. One TV director: "The big question is ‘will I ever work again?’ And if not, how can I best say goodbye to an industry I have been part of for all my working life?" - The Guardian (UK)
Nearly two years after screenwriters fired their agents in a fight against agency actions that were costing TV writers quite a bit of money, the Writers' Guild Union approved a new deal with WME. - Los Angeles Times
The last big film festival from 2020 had its virtual tryout this year. It wasn't terrible, but, says one critic: "I’m usually whiny and cranky about Sundance. Why are we in the snow? Why January? I could see all you people in Los Angeles. But this year, I was so nostalgic for every bit of the experience. I wanted...
The director of Meek's Cutoff and First Cow is also feeling, well, a bit cynical. "There’s so much celebration of women and people of color this year and I’m thinking ‘that’s great,’ but a cynical part of me is thinking ‘Is this just Covid?’ Are they just thinking ‘Let’s just let women in and give them the awards this...
