ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

PEOPLE

Bela Tarr, Hungarian Director Beloved By Cinephiles, Has Died At 70

“Susan Sontag once claimed she would be ‘glad to see’ Béla Tarr’s 1994 masterpiece Sátántangó ‘every year for the rest of my life.’ No small compliment given that the film is more than seven hours long.” - The Guardian (UK)

Wagner Moura’s Starring Year

“After his breakout role as Pablo Escobar 10 years ago on Netflix’s Narcos, Moura frustrated his agents by turning down many of the high-profile, lucrative projects that came his way.” Then? The Secret Agent came along. - The New York Times

Orlando Fully Launched Tilda Swinton’s Career

And she pays the book, at least, back with a reread every few years. - The New York Times

Ron Protas, Martha Graham’s Heir And Controversial Custodian Of Her Work, Has Died At 84

"Graham … died in 1991 at 96. Tensions between her company and Protas then simmered for a decade before boiling over in a court fight starting in 2001, after which performances by her dancers all but ended for two years. To (his) critics, … he was ‘the most reviled man in dance.’” - The New York Times

Renee Nicole Good Merch Pops Up On Amazon And Etsy

Less than 24 hours after the horrifying shooting of a woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, merchandise related to the slain U.S. citizen is already proliferating on e-commerce shopping sites, including on Amazon and Etsy. - Fast Company

Renee Nicole Good Was A Poet. Here’s Some Of Her Work

The bio from a now-private Instagram account belonging to Good describes her as a “Poet and writer and wife and mom and shitty guitar strummer from Colorado; experiencing Minneapolis, MN.”  - LitHub

Bruce Crawford, Ad Exec Who Led Metropolitan Opera And Lincoln Center, Has Died At 96

In his primary career, he ran agencies BBDO Worldwide and Omnicon. As the Met’s general manager, he erased the company’s big deficits and stabilized operations; he also served twice as board chairman. As chair of Lincoln Center, he established peace among feuding resident organizations and set big projects in motion. - The New York Times

Remembering Literary Critic John Carey

Pugnacious, fearless and disdainful of academia’s more pretentious mores, Professor Carey was a paradoxical figure in the British literary establishment for more than half a century. - The New York Times

Tyler Perry Faces Two Sexual Misconduct Lawsuits. Are More Coming? Or Is This All A Swindle?

“The first lawsuit accusing Perry of leveraging his power to sexually assault aspiring male actors in his orbit was filed in June. Another lawsuit was filed Dec. 26, with the entertainment mogul characterizing claims from both of the accusers as a shakedown. But his legal troubles may just be beginning.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Denyce Graves On The Challenges Of Retiring From The Stage

For opera singers, the challenges are unique. I’m going to have to figure out how to deal with giving up a life’s work that has asked for my whole heart all the time. - The New York Times

Béla Tarr, Prizewinning Maker Of Darkly Comic Films, Is Dead At 70

“Tarr became internationally in the ‘90s and ‘00s as his films” — among them Sátántangó and Werckmeister Harmonies — “were shown more widely, partly because of their inordinate length and partly because of what appeared to be his definitive expression of middle-European black-and-white miserablism.” Yet he insisted his movies were comedies. - The Guardian

The Gene Kelly School Of Life

Somehow, these sensations felt deeper, like something dormant awakened: Why the hell was Gene Kelly making me feel so much? - The Atlantic

Francis Patrelle, Champion Of The Story Ballet And Founder Of A New York Dance Company, Has Died At 78

In 1987, the choreographer and ballet teacher “founded Dances Patrelle, for which he created over 50 works, blending dancers from his ensemble with guest performers from prominent companies like the American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet and Dance Theater of Harlem.” - The New York Times

Pamela Colman Smith, The Artist Behind The Bestselling Tarot Deck Of All Time

Perhaps unsuprisingly, The NYT didn’t give Colman Smith an obit when she died in the 20th century. But now: “An occult scholar ... commissioned her to illustrate the tarot deck he was creating in 1909; she was paid a small one-time fee for many months of work and research.” - The New York Times

Actor Miranda Otto On Mistakes And That Scene In Lord Of The Rings

And by “that” scene, we mean the stew scene, of course. - The Guardian (UK)

Our Free Newsletter

Join our 30,000 subscribers

Latest

Don't Miss

function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');