We live in a golden age of digital creativity. Forget A.I.: you, yourself, can record an album from your sofa, or curate a photo-essay on the train. In that spirit, here are some of my favorite creative digital tools. - The New Yorker
Simon Stephenson claims that, for The Holdovers — which received five Oscar nominations in 2024, with a win for supporting actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph — director Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson stole plot points, characters and structure from Stephenson’s screenplay Frisco, which he had shopped to Payne in 2013 and 2019. - The Hollywood Reporter
Hum 10, as it’s commonly known, has become the surprise hit of Harvard’s academic lineup and something of a campus institution. Demand to get into the class has surged, fueled by word-of-mouth from “Hum Alums” who talk it up on social media. - The Wall Street Journal
They argue the city is responsible for nuisance conditions on public property in part because 15 years ago a councilman decided to clear some brush to create a viewing spot near their homes. That brought the crowds, they say, and the city has ignored years of complaints. - Los Angeles Times
We might never have known about Van Gogh without Theo's wife. "Jo didn’t seek to put herself at the center of this story, but she is there, nonetheless." - Time
"The archive allows researchers to follow Byatt as she assembles the raw material of her fiction, tests ideas and repeatedly questions whether they will work." - The Guardian (UK)
Addison Duffy, an agent at United Talent Agency who helped negotiate the “Understudy” contract, said that short stories are a form “that almost every single agent in our group is selling in a big way.” Their bite-size format appeals to busy studio executives facing mountains of scripts. - The New York Times
Though she was also active onstage, she was better known for screen work and amassed over 120 credits, including on TV series Barney Miller and Suddenly Susan (as Brooke Shields’s grandmother), and films such as One Potato, Two Potato (Best Actress at Cannes) and Breaking Away (Oscar nomination). - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
“Hollywood veteran Kathleen Kennedy has been tapped to replace Peter Rice” — just appointed as Netflix’s chief content officer — “as head of ceremonies and content for LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, … four separate events that will be viewed by an audience of billions across the globe.” - The Hollywood Reporter
“Life magazine is making its long-awaited return to print on Nov. 23, exactly 90 years after its landmark 1936 debut, with a $45 quarterly publication that will forgo traditional print advertising as part of a broader push into digital content, video and live experiences.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)
“(He was) known as much for his name changes – Bishop and Bishop-Kovacevich – as for his emotionally charged playing of Beethoven, his sparkling interpretation of Bartók and his elegant line in Schubert. A Kovacevich recital was invariably a meaty affair, filled with passion, wildness and temptation, somewhat like (his) personal life.” - The Telegraph (UK) (Yahoo!)
After an interesting and very messy experiment with programming and organization in 2025 and going dark for summer 2026 (not to mention a tumultuous few years before that), the festival has given up its planned expansion into year-round activity, shrunk its full-time staff to three, and is planning a smaller 2027 event. - BroadwayWorld
The company was to open its season this weekend with Kamala Shankaran’s The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. Orchestra musicians say it’s a lockout; management says it can’t risk what happened at San Francisco Opera, with opening night cancelled minutes before curtain time when the orchestra declared a strike. - The Minnesota Star Tribune (MSN)
She was one of the Metropolitan Opera’s favorite light lyric sopranos in the 1970s and ‘80s, known especially for her Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, and Adina in L’elisir d’amore opposite Pavarotti as Nemorino. - OperaWire
