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The Parents Of The Late Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins Are Trapped In Ukraine

The cinematographer was shot and killed as she filmed the movie Rust. Her widower "Matt Hutchins said in a tweet that his late wife's family remains in Kyiv as attacks on the country's capital continue in areas that had been designated as safe passages." - NPR

Need A Film That Truly Captures The Process Of Making Theatre?

Then you're in luck with Oscar nominee Drive My Car. The three-hour Japanese film is "an impeccably textured elucidation of a group of strangers joining up to animate the written word, and of the ways a great play remains eternally relevant." - Washington Post

Why Are Publishers Fighting Libraries So Very Hard On E-Books?

Maybe because people love them so much. No, seriously, what's up with all of the lobbying against state legislatures trying to give libraries what they need? Follow the (large amounts of) money. - Sludge

The Myths Of Black Artists And Landscapes

Ingrid Pollard, a British photographer known for her portraits and landscapes, says, "Everything about is fabricated for industrial rural use. The barbed wire, the telegraph pole, the tarmac. Stereotypes about Black people are constructed in exactly the same way." - The Observer (UK)

Is Hollywood Souring On Streaming?

Matt Belloni: "The leading minds at media companies (and the consulting firms that nudge them) have convinced the C-suite trigger-pullers that if you spend enough money streaming ... the riches of global scale and pricing power await." Why? "It’s true, because everyone says it’s true." - Puck News

The True Story Behind That Midge Maisel-Sophie Lennon Rivalry

Yes, Mrs. Maisel is ending soon, but there's always reality. "One of Midge Maisel's primary foils on the show — Sophie Lennon, played with over-the-top bravura by the great Jane Lynch —seems to have been inspired by two real-world figures ... Phyllis Diller and Totie Fields." - Salon

Australia Is, For Some Reason, In The Midst Of A Handmade Ceramics Boom

Sure, some people are making midlife career changes, but for others, it's social media - and the coronavirus, as with a young potter whose "unexpected lockdown hobby turned into a small business." - The Guardian (UK)

What The Amazon-MGM Deal Means For Streaming

Amazon is trying to figure out how to take on Disney and WarnerMedia, probably with Rocky and James Bond spinoffs. The result, says one entertainment finance professor, means "We like the brands we know, but it's going to be harder for new ideas to shine through." - NPR

Author NoViolet Bulawayo On The Power Of Literature, And The Responsibility Of A Writer

The murder of George Floyd, and the protests, prompted her to rethink her own responsibilities. She says, "There are generations of freedom fighters who have been doing this work without the internet, without being spotlighted." - The Guardian (UK)

The Psychological History Of How, And Why, We Buy Stuff

Ideas and ways of shopping "fall by the wayside and then return at a later date in new guises or with new names. They often have every appearance of being newly invented. Take fast fashion, for instance" - and its origins in 18th century London. - Fast Company

Drive My Car Is Just A Movie About Grief And Love, Says Its Director

Just a multiple Oscar nominee and multiple other award-winning movie about grief and love, that is. "The last Japanese film-maker to be nominated for best director was the revered Akira Kurosawa, for Ran, 36 years ago." - The Observer (UK)

A Ukrainian Dancer Has Died Of Injuries Suffered From Russian Artillery Fire

"The 43-year-old principal dancer with the National Opera of Ukraine is the latest of several celebrities in the country that have been killed since the Russian invasion began last month." - Washington Post

Humans Can Only Experience Time In One Direction

Luckily, writing is different: "In poetry and in prose, time can warp, twist, and buckle." - The Atlantic

Should The Getty Return A Possibly Looted Piece To Pompeii?

It's a beautiful fragment, but "Prof Christos Tsirogiannis has a photograph of the same fresco fragment from the archive of Robert Hecht who died in 2012, having faced accusations that he trafficked in illicit artefacts." - The Observer (UK)

CODA Wins Producers Guild Award

The win has thrown "the race for this year’s best picture Oscar into chaos" as Academy Awards voting continues. It's possible that ranked-choice voting for the Oscars will come up with a very different movie than the favorite, Power of the Dog. - Los Angeles Times

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