Materre, who has died at 67, distributed Daughters of the Dust in the 1990s, as part of her work as "a distributor and educator who promoted Black women’s voices in film and released influential independent movies by Black creators." - The New York Times
The Chinese box office absolutely crumbled last week. "The current epicenter is Shanghai, where a megacity of 25 million people has been locked down in two phases for much of the past week." - Variety
They're Ukranian Dancers, not Russian Dancers - and it's not just a stunt during the war. The director of London's Ukranian Institute said last week, "Curators have no problem presenting Jewish, Belarusian or Ukrainian art and artists as Russian." - The Guardian (UK)
Just ask Meryl Streep. But it's probably even harder when you're British. "Before the release of the Meryl Streep–starring film Julie & Julia in 2009, Sarah Lancashire had never heard of Julia Child. 'She had no public persona in the U.K.,'" Lancashire said. Now she is Julia. - Vulture
That discovery came nearly 150 years after Marianne North drew the plant, in Borneo. She was a different kind of illustrator - she used oils, and painted the surroundings. "Not only did Marianne tie down exactly where grew, her paintings also indicated the environmental conditions they grew in." - Atlas Obscura
Or, more likely, has April Fool's Day ruined the internet? "People, us included, get so easily hoodwinked, and ... this has led us to a place where we start to suspect that nothing online is real." - Slate
She created tiny books, as did her sisters, when she was a young teen, to amuse her family and to help create her imaginary world. This one was last seen at auction in 1916. - The New York Times
First, it canceled a full day of shows. "Then, late Saturday night, the production said that it was canceling all performances until April 8 “due to the detection of a limited number of positive covid test results within the company." - The New York Times
Sometimes they get the accents right (Kate Winslet, on her second try), or sort of right (Kate Winslet, on her first try). Sometimes, not so much (Jude Law). - The Guardian (UK)
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, delivered a pre-recorded message: "Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos. ... They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can't hear them. But the music will break through." - BBC
Yes, cancel Will Smith's movies, but by all means, award a Grammy to Louis CK, media folks. Great job. (Here's a tweet that explains the issue.) Anyway, congrats! - Los Angeles Times
To be fair, Al Jolson was a Broadway star long before he hit Hollywood. Still, when he returned to the stage, "consumers tossed money over the box-office transom by the sackful, creating one of the biggest box-office advances in memory." - The New York Times
And activists, including the co-director of last year's documentary nominee Crip Camp, would very much like that to change. (The report focuses on representation of and by Black, indigenous, and other people of color, and women of all races and ethnicities.) - Variety
