Turns out that much complained about and, to Hollywood, highly disruptive move was a winner for its streamer, HBO Max. Through day-and-date movie releases including Dune, "HBO Max may have found a way to hack the streaming wars." - Wired
Nesmith was called "the quiet Monkee" by the marketers behind the TV show, but "he was musician enough to have a modest solo career after Monkee mania faded at the end of the 1960s, and that led him into a role in music-television history." - The New York Times
The lawsuit claims that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association expelled Magnus Sundholm to get back at his partner, who had been a whistleblower against the group. - Los Angeles Times
Sometimes it's better to read than to experience. "I think I like winter weather best when it’s on the page and not the thing standing between me and the closest bar or the corner bodega when I’m out of popcorn." - LitHub
Or at least some of us have, according to the reaction to a New Yorker profile of actor Jeremy Strong. There's "a sense that the emperor’s method nudity has finally been exposed for what it is: pretentious, performative, narcissistic nonsense." - The Guardian (UK)
"By flooding the market with counterfeit Native American art and craftwork, these crimes cheat the consumer, undermine the economic livelihood of Native American artists, and impair Indian culture," said a law enforcement official. - NPR (AP)
Rice, whose Interview with the Vampire was a huge hit, died from complications of a stroke, her son reported. Rice's Gothic novels and massive popularity meant her book signings were "shows attracting dancers and fans in costume." - The New York Times
Photos shot as part of Cold War propaganda in 1970 show the utopian ideals - including Jim Henson's love of creativity and everyone's experimentation to reach kids with the least money and hope, and show them a world of possibility. - The Guardian (UK)
The 91-year-old musician and teacher may have contracted COVID-19 at one final performance where he received the Jazz Master award from the NEA. - Washington Post
Even as the new movie is playing in theatres, "everything about how West Side Story has unfolded suggests opera might be an ideal form to move the needle." - Los Angeles Times
The stories a grandfather on the Dingle Peninsula told his grandson of a visiting American, a scholar who took video with a hand-crank camera, led to the discovery in Chicago of hours of silent film reels from 1925 and 1926. - The New York Times
"Nonfiction writers make mistakes, too, of course. But not on the first page. As soon as I discovered my falsehood, I vowed to turn my back on nonfiction forever and write nothing but poetry, a genre in which you’re encouraged to lie." - LitHub
The actor, in the middle of yet another Marvel publicity tour, says he's about ready to quit acting and return to his first love, dancing. - The Guardian (UK)
