It's not going to be easy: "Genetic determinism is a fantasy tradition. ... As both a ruleset and a fantasy backdrop, D&D is in the business of translating these racial differences into numerical scores." - Wired
Can a novel be, or feel, contemporary without references to doomscrolling or at least brushing up against social media? "While the internet and mobile phones initially posed problems for fiction writers - not least for their potential to destroy traditional plots of desire and obstruction (chance encounters, missed connections, quests), the dangers of such instant gratification increasingly appear to...
Or at least AMC, despite its debt load and the damage from the coronavirus shutdowns. Adam Aron: "Some of my competitors, the ones caught up in the past, are saying that I’m the worst human being alive on the planet. ... But sometimes you have to stare change in the face, recognize that it has or soon will arrive,...
Despite the fact that the previous president was, himself, the product of show business, the arts seemed to mean nothing to him. "If artists were hostile to Trump’s policies, Trump’s White House — perhaps from a self-protective attitude of 'If I can’t have it, then I never wanted it' — was unusually inhospitable to or at best uninterested in...
You've heard "The Wellerman" by now, no doubt, since the Scottish postman who sang it a TikTok rendition of it went completely - ridiculously - viral. Now he's quit his job and earned a record contract. But how's that going to go? Viral stars and those who study them say "the hard part comes months later, when everyone has...
"Several parents raised concerns with Scottish Gymnastics a year ago over dance classes for eight to 12-year-olds at the prestigious Ballet West school in Taynuilt, Argyll. Allegations were made that children at Ballet West’s lower school were shouted at by coaches and 'body shamed,' causing distress and anxiety." - The Sunday Times (UK)
A survey of frequent theatregoers says that widespread vaccines are the only way most people will feel comfortable in the theatre - and, even with that, 94 percent of those surveyed said they still want mask requirement in place. - American Theatre
The official Star Wars account (and thus, Disney) is backing its Star Wars: The High Republic Show host Krystina Arielle, a Black woman who tweeted last summer in support of Black Lives Matter. - BBC
The producer of the Celebrating America gala had to be very cautious, and very (very) flexible: "Our plans were carved in Jello. Everything was moldable. In a way, it makes it tenfold harder, but in a way it’s a little freeing because you’re not stuck into shoehorning into the things that exist. The pandemic also caused us to figure...
The Better Online Ticket Sales Act was enacted in 2016, but this is the first time it's seen enforcement. Aside from using bots, "the companies are accused of creating accounts in the names of family members, friends and fictitious individuals and using hundreds of credit cards to snap up the best seats at sporting events and concerts." - The...
That's a long way to say the global creator and distributor of streaming (and don't forget DVD) content wants, and needs, to diversify the voices making its content. That's where Vernā Myers comes in. - Los Angeles Times
King "shot the breeze with presidents and psychics, movie stars and malefactors — anyone with a story to tell or a pitch to make — in a half-century on radio and television, including 25 years as the host of CNN’s globally popular Larry King Live." - The New York Times
Brontez Purnell: "All good theater and literature should run the zodiac of feelings: Some of it should be sad, some of it profound; some of it should be boring and some of it should jump completely off the cliff. Whatever vehicle I’m using, I’m always trying to arrive at a certain sense of balance." - The Atlantic
“Faced with the photo evidence, Pham then allegedly admitted to climbing over torn-down fences to get inside. But still, he insisted his reasons were benign: He just wanted the rare opportunity to view ‘historical art,’ investigators said.” - Washington Post
