Gugu Mbatha-Raw has become a producer as well as a star actor. "Acting is just one department of the entertainment industry. ... curious to know how every other department that is less visible can still evolve and become as diverse." - The Guardian (UK)
"Whether owing to regional or racial bias, or to the author’s deeply ingrained humility and privacy, Kenan has not taken his rightful place in the postmodern canon, though his fictional town of Tims Creek proved as generative as any Macondo or Yoknapatawpha." - The New York Times
The concert hall in London is feeling the pain - and asking the British government to make masks and proof of vaccination required for venues its size. - BBC
They have the actors to suit any Hollywood twistedness or despair. And, let's face it, "There is clearly a very strong appetite for bleak nuance in current American entertainment." - The Observer (UK)
Redevelop it, of course. Not everyone's a fan: "A plan to redevelop New York’s Pennsylvania Station (or Penn Station) and its surrounding blocks is facing fierce opposition from community members and conservationists." - Hyperallergic
The third movie in the Tom Holland Spider-Man universe busted records, reaching the third biggest opening ever, not just during the pandemic. What does this mean for movie theatres as the omicron variant threatens Christmas showings? - Baltimore Sun
"If you believe the hype, NFTs are poised to transform the art world, changing not only how art is bought and sold, but also what kind of art we value, and which artists." That's ... a big if. - Washington Post
But it's not for winter warmth - the giant purple and green tipis are meant to draw attention to the disproportionate affects of the pandemic waves on Native peoples. - WBUR
Especially in New York, where last-minute omicron-variant cancellations led to a very strange night. "The rigid format—with every sketch introduced by one of the performers reading a hastily written lead-in—yielded a disconcerting, even apocalyptic, atmosphere." - The Atlantic
Her books - like Eve's Hollywood and Sex and Rage - brought new views of the city to those outside, and her frank, fresh voice became a hit with younger generations in the 2010s after a Vanity Fair profile of the elusive author, who has died at 78. - Variety
"Patrons savor the chance to browse aisles of paperbacks and hardcovers stacked on tables in pavilions from different countries. ... To revel in what to many Iraqis is the true, enduring character of Baghdad." - The New York Times
