Julien starred as an ex-convict turned pimp, but he also wrote and co-starred in a feminist western. He didn't like the name "blaxploitation" and wanted every aspect of Black life portrayed on screen. - The New York Times
We can't watch them - for very good reason, as the organization that put them on is ... problematic, to say the least - and publicists have been avoiding them. Do they matter to Hollywood? - Vulture
Search out painters, sculptors, and other artists you like, and buy what you can. For fun. For your own space. For falling in love with art. "If a vaguely affordable picture speaks to me, the tips of my fingers seem to tingle and burn." - The Guardian (UK)
The year is 1995. And, well. "Every part of that song is a hook. That song broke every conceivable barrier in pop music. You can’t deny that." Then there was the dance. - Slate
The star of many films says that she's ashamed she didn't go into poetry, and that she's thinking about retraining to be a caretaker (or carer). - Irish Times
So don't try. Instead, "figuring out how to do something a little less or a little more is likely to yield the best results for most people, even if it’s not going to turn you into a different human." - The Atlantic
Una Loughran had a strong guiding hand for decades with Oregon Shakespeare Festival/Portland, its successor Portland Center Stage, and BodyVox Dance. One artistic director said, "She was powerfully important to the arts community here, and she was highly regarded around the country." - Oregon ArtsWatch
"When he returned to Broadway in 1959 for the premiere of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, he was already famous" - and the play might not have been mounted without him. - Los Angeles Times
File this under Covid stories: A woman who performed with Wicked's national tour and Broadway ensemble as Elphaba's understudy but left theatre in 2015 got the call in late December, flew to New York, and stepped into the cast. - Vulture
Of course, the Mouse - Pixar's parent company - is putting a good spin on it: "Subscribers around the world enthusiastically embraced Pixar’s Academy Award-winning Soul and the critically-acclaimed Luca when they premiered exclusively on the service." - Variety
Perhaps it's obvious, but just to be clear: "The rock is a metaphor for pandemic denialism, and Elmo represents the vaccinated — those who, now in year three of pandemic life, are fed up with the false beliefs surrounding Covid-19." - The New York Times
Can this last? "For the first time in almost a decade, more than 1,000 indies are open for business: it is a sector thriving against the odds." - The Guardian (UK)
