“In those days, you might as well say: ‘And by the way, I love cock,’” he said about his 1996 interview to promote The Birdcage. “But I wasn’t ready; I wasn’t brave enough. I was a character actor. I wasn’t thinking I was going to become a leading man.” - The Guardian
Speculative and futuristic visions of environmental calamity are being imagined globally through environmental fiction. Eco-dystopian novels can help people process their fears or mourn the loss of a more stable climate. - The Conversation
This is a war over whether technology will merely optimise calculations or eliminate a quintessentially human element such calculations can’t capture. But beneath these debates, the question still lurks: what makes us so special? And can it be computed? - Aeon
Research on cultural ecosystems suggests that institutional collaboration is crucial to sustain vibrant arts production. This is especially the case as music and the arts face increasing pressure from shifting funding models and post-pandemic austerity. - The Conversation
These developments suggest a rough future for a certain kind of writing: nonfiction that’s based on reportage more than on personal experience or celebrity—a.k.a. long fact, literary nonfiction, or narrative nonfiction. - The New Republic
The company hadn’t produced its beloved staging of the Stravinsky ballet, with sets and costumes by Geoffrey Holder, since it went on hiatus in 2004 due to financial problems. DTH was resurrected in 2013, but until now it didn’t have enough dancers available to perform the piece. - The New York Times
A chance encounter fifty years ago "helped fuel a lifelong quest: mapping a musical route that mirrored the trans-Atlantic slave trade and birthed nearly all of the popular music that we now take for granted, including rock ’n’ roll and hip-hop." - The New York Times
The most successful and lucrative family vlogs are indiscreet almost by definition—and yet the wrong kind of indiscretion can derail the whole gravy train. - The New Yorker
For a jury that has spent weeks listening to experts debate market definitions, vertical integration and other fine points of antitrust law, the testimony about Irvine’s failed amphitheater, and other disputes, has provided a perspective on how all the abstractions play out in real life for taxpayers, industry insiders and concertgoers. - The New York Times
By the end of the 1990s, the “fastest mouse in all Mexico” had been pulled from US television amid concerns about stereotyping and racist caricature. Yet the cartoon character remained popular in Latin America, and numerous Hispanics in the States complained about his banishment. And now there’s a Speedy feature film coming. - The Conversation
In ink-on-dead-trees print, sure. But a large majority of the newspaper’s readers consume the Times online or on an app, where the difference between the magazine’s articles and those of the regular newspaper is barely visible. - New York Magazine (MSN)
The town whose bombing the painting depicts is in the Basque region, and politicians there want to borrow Picasso’s canvas and display it in the Guggenheim Bilbao to commemorate the atrocity's 90th anniversary. Meanwhile, Madrid's president insists that Guernica remain where it is now, the Reina Sofía Museum. - The Guardian
“Evan Yionoulis, who has been dean and director of The Juilliard School’s drama division since 2018, will take over the post at Yale starting July 1. She succeeds James Bundy, who has been in the role for close to 25 years and announced his retirement last year.” - The Hollywood Reporter
The Colombian-German conductor, who turns 30 next week, is a former Dudamel Fellow at the Phil and currently assistant conductor at the Boston Symphony; she begins this fall as chief conductor of the Ulster Orchestra and artist-in-residence at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
Less than two weeks after summarily firing director Markus Hinterhäuser, the festival’s board has named Karin Bergmann, most recently director of the Salzkammergut Festwochen Gmunden and previously chief of Vienna’s Burgtheater, to lead the festival for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. - Moto Perpetuo
