Rising costs and a commitment to paying artists better, organizers say, are leaving the vital theatre festival in the red. And, they say, it’s not just Vancouver - theatre fests across the country need infusions of cash to survive. - CBC
Hayao Miyazaki was the oldest person ever nominated for an Oscar for best animated feature - and then, in a surprise moment (Spider-Man: Into the Multiverse was tipped to win), the oldest to win. Now, “rumours are swirling that he will return to work yet again." - The Guardian (UK)
Then what happened to The Callahans and the Murphys? "Released in June 1927, the comedy initially received encouraging reviews.” Then things got ugly, and fast. - The New York Times
Lorrie Moore, Maaza Mengiste, and many others signed a letter criticizing PEN America for not doing enough to highlight 'the scale and scope of the attacks on writers in Gaza’ … and drew a contrast with the organization’s forceful condemnation of the war in Ukraine." - The New York Times
And they call for more help: "About two-thirds of the 67 respondents said they need increased public funding in order to stay open, with many saying they would need about $50,000 annually for the next three years to close immediate gaps." - CBC
Specifically, some, or many, say they want to become part of IATSE - a stagehands and construction crew union across the country. Said the head of sound for the play Titanique, "There’s no reason why theatre can’t be something that we love to do and we can support ourselves doing it."- American Theatre
Broadband speed of 25 Millibytes per second (Mbps) for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads isn’t it anymore - now the FCC says wants to more than quadruple each speed. (Gamers and those who have experienced buffering understand this all too well.) - Wired
VFX is for a lot more than explosions. “For every Kraven the Hunter or Argylle, there’s a Ferrari, Maestro or Killers of the Flower Moon, movies with sophisticated visual effects that the filmmakers hope you’ll never realize was an effect at all." - The New York Times
"After a decade on Twitter I’d had every possible insult hurled my way. The most awful abuse you can think of. It stopped affecting me. I became desensitised. It’s hard to hurt me now – there’s nothing I’ve not heard. Still, I’m not on there any more.” - The Guardian (UK)
Have we all been deeply punked? Was this the plan the whole time? Hm: "The show's lead producer, Richard Kraft, has assembled a team of writers and producers for the project titled Willy Fest: A Musical Parody.” - BBC
“This is a once in a generation transformational change that will ensure Britain remains the global capital of creativity,” stated composer and producer Andrew Lloyd Webber. - Forbes
First, and most simply, philanthropy is most certainly a business model, or at least the core of such a model, because it is at the heart of financing nearly every private university and almost all of the country’s leading cultural institutions, from museums to the performing arts, as well as most organized religious institutions. - Second Rough Draft
As governments spin up new AI programs, regulators around the world are urgently trying to hire AI experts. But some of the job ads are raising eyebrows and even chuckles among AI researchers and engineers for offering wages that, amid the current AI boom, look pitiful. - Wired
