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So, How Does Geffen Hall Sound Now?

Justin Davidson: "I’m not ready to declare the hall a flop or a triumph. Acoustics are not a separate entity from the music that gets played there." - Vulture

Nikki Finke, Once ‘The Most Feared Woman In Hollywood,’ Has Died At 68

Finke, the founder of the site Deadline, was "a tenacious journalist who revolutionized entertainment reporting." She "placed a singularly unforgiving spotlight on the studio executives and high-powered agents who make the industry run" instead of fawning over celebrities. - Variety

Speaking Of Me Too, Harvey Weinstein Is About To Go On Trial In Los Angeles

"Weinstein, who has been accused by more than 90 women of sexual misconduct, faces 11 charges in his Los Angeles trial, which is expected to last six to eight weeks." - The New York Times

Putting Emily Bronte Back In The Narrative

Writer-director Frances O'Connor says, "Sometimes it takes us a while to get the courage to step into something that we really feel passionate about, ... but if you’re going to tell a story now, I think it’s good for it to speak to women in a way that’s alive." - The Observer (UK)

The Intangible Effects Of The Me Too Movement

"As a worker’s rights movement, it brought about a slew of upgrades to industry standards and state law. As a major news event, it transformed the way media outlets report on sexual misconduct. And as a consciousness-raising effort, it gave all of us a new language." - Slate

Streaming Services Want To Fill The Family Movie Void

A Netflix exec: "We loved going to see great original family films. ... Sadly, now when you look at what a lot of the offerings are, they aren’t live-action family. It’s usually animated for family, and then it’s reboots, remakes, sequels, low-budget horror." - The New York Times

An Artist Has Turned Iran’s Fountains Blood Red

"The Persian-language Twitter account 1500tasvir, which has been monitoring the state crackdown that has killed dozens, credited the red liquid in the fountains’ basins to an anonymous artist/activist, referring to it as a protest artwork whose title roughly translates to 'Tehran sinking in blood.'" - Washington Post

Without Italian Opera, Mexican Ranchera Would Be Very Different

It all started with tours: "In the early 1800s, opera companies and their star singers traveled from Italy to perform across the country. 'It was like a parade, people would welcome them in the streets of Mexico City.'" Then radio hit. - NPR

Driven Out Of Belarus For Opposing The Regime, An Opera Singer Rebuilds His Career

Ilya Silchukou was the "lead soloist at the State Opera Bolshoi who represented his nation at official government functions at home and abroad and performed at opera houses across Europe." Now, after speaking out against Belorus' leader, he teaches middle-school music in Boston. - Seattle Times (AP)

The Lessons Of 60 Years Of Listening To The New York Philharmonic

Geffen Hall (previously known as Avery Fisher Hall) was an acoustic disaster from the jump. But while "the hall was no Carnegie or the Musikverein in Vienna ... the badness of the acoustics was often overstated. On a given night, a concert there could be terrific." - The New York Times

Battered By The Pandemic, Secret Cinema Gets A Real-Life Fairytale Ending

Or rather not ending, but continuation, as a U.S. company buys and intends to expand the company that hired actors and built elaborate sets for "immersive screenings" of everything from Star Wars to Stranger Things. - The Guardian (UK)

LA Opera Gets A New Resident Conductor

Lina Gónzalez-Granados was 5 "when she joined a 'tuna' — a musical group traditionally made up of college students who ... stand in a semi-circle wielding Spanish guitars of various sizes and shapes and singing ballads." That was her first lesson in the physical nature of music. - Los Angeles Times

How To Get Newspapers To Drop Their Paywalls

Get them to become part of public media networks, as with the Chicago Sun-Times. - Nieman Lab

London In Three Dimensions

For those visiting for Frieze, London offers the rewards of sculpture - even if the death of the queen scuppered a planned Sculpture Week. - The New York Times

Why Is Director David O Russell Avoiding Consequences For His Behavior?

His terrible treatment of his actors, including Amy Adams, on sets has been an open secret for quite some time. Yet he's faced no consequences, including for touching his niece's breasts - he claimed she was acting "very provocative and seductive." - Washington Post

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