Using Toni Erdmann, Cristian Puiu’s The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, the orignal British version of The Office, and a new Canadian comedy (yeah) from VICE Media as examples, John Semley argues that not quite getting the joke is half the fun.
‘Trainspotting’ (The Original One): An Oral History
“With the sequel – finally – upon us, the director [Danny Boyle] and star [Ewan MacGregor] plus author Irvine Welsh, producer Andrew Macdonald and more look back on the 1996 Cool Britannia flagbearer and how it all happened.”
And Now… An Artist Who Doesn’t Understand How The NEA Works Argues Against The NEA… On NPR!
“Well, the basic problem with the government supporting the arts in the way that it does – through the NEA and through direct grants to producing organizations – is that it stands in the way of free market competition, which is really the best way for arts organizations to build new audiences…”
Scenes From The War On Scalpers: West End Edition
Hamilton in London and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child are working hard on strategies to combat “the secondary market” and the high prices it charges.
Kirk Douglas At 100 – He’s Still Here
He may tire quickly and need a live-in nurse, but he’s still present and lucid – and how many people have a stroke at 80 and live another 20 years? He’s even published a new book, his 12th. Hadley Freeman pays a visit.
Mezzo Throws Up Onstage, Finishes Concert Nevertheless
Our heroine in the latest episode of “The Show Must Go On” is mezzo Sasha Cooke, who was singing beautifully in Verdi’s Requiem in Houston when nausea struck and she didn’t quite make it offstage in time. Even so, she came back and finished the job. Steven Brown has the details.
The Humanities Only Survive Because Of Long, And Deep, Exploitation
“We might note that the conditions ravaging our profession are also ravaging our work. The privilege of tenure used to confer academic freedom through job security. By now, decades of adjunctification have made the professoriate fearful, insular, and conformist.”
Are There Plays That Should No Longer Be Produced? (And How To Decide?)
“Just as we need to produce more women, LGBTQIA artists, and people of color (that is to say, more people who aren’t straight white men), we need to consider what plays should no longer be produced. This is not about political correctness. This is not about censorship. This is drawing a moral line that defines what is in and out of bounds in our culture.”
The 94-Year-Old Persian Intellectual Who Is Finally Breaking His Silence About His Lover, A Giant Of Iranian Literature
Fifty years “after Forough Farrokhzad’s sudden death, the reclusive Ebrahim Golestan has finally broken his silence, speaking out about the seriousness of their relationship. … Farrokhzad, one of Iran’s most loved literary figures of the past century who was largely overlooked in the west, was known for her candid writings challenging the patriarchal limits of Iranian society and has been compared to Sylvia Plath.”
Let’s Talk About Public Sculpture – And All Of The Attendant Problems
The basic problem is not that it gets climbed upon or graffiti’d or messed up by the public it’s supposed to engage. It’s that people don’t care.
Trying Desperately To Outwit The High-Tech Scalpers Of Harry Potter And Hamilton
Though both shows are making tons of money in their home theaters, they’re trying new things as Hamilton preps for its London opening and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child for New York. “‘I’ve been in the business 50 years, and I’ve lived through lots of scalping,’ said Cameron Mackintosh, producer of Cats, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. ‘It’s just got far, far more sophisticated, because of automation’s creeping stranglehold on human beings.'”
Saturday Night Live Garners Its Highest Ratings In Six Years, Thanks To Its Impressions Of Trump And Spicer
Not only did this weekend top ratings for the comedy sketch show, which starred Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer and Alec Baldwin as the president, but the season overall is doing really well. “Viewership of the show for the season to date is up 22% in total viewers (10.6 million) and 19% in adults 18-49 (3.5) compared to the same period last season. That makes it the most-watched ‘SNL’ season in 22 years, since the 1994-95 frame.”
Al Jarreau, Who Smoothly And Gorgeously Spanned Jazz, R&B, And Pop, Has Died At 76
“Although he made his initial mark in the jazz world, Mr. Jarreau’s style, and his audience, crossed stylistic barriers. His music incorporated elements of pop, soul, gospel, Latin and other genres. It was a mark of his eclecticism that he won six Grammys across three different categories.”
Adele – And David Bowie – Is The Big Winner At The Grammys
Beyoncé won Best Contemporary Urban Album for “Lemonade” but lost out to Adele in the other big categories; David Bowie won his first Grammys for Blackstar; Chance the Rapper had a big night – and politics took center stage for some performers, like Katy Perry and A Tribe Called Quest (google “President Agent Orange”).
Can The New York Times Remake Itself Fully For The Digital Era?
The real question is whether the NYT can make itself “indispensable” to the lives of its subscribers. “The main goal isn’t simply to maximize revenue from advertising—the strategy that keeps the lights on and the content free at upstarts like the Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, and Vox. It’s to transform the Times’ digital subscriptions into the main engine of a billion-dollar business, one that could pay to put reporters on the ground in 174 countries even if (OK, when) the printing presses stop forever.
Top AJBlog Posts For The Weekend, 02.12.17
Meetings Across Space and Time
Douglas Dunn + Dancers’ Antipodes comes to roost in Danspace St. Mark’s. Paul Singh supports Christopher Williams in Douglas Dunn’s Antipodes. Laura Brenneman at the piano, Mimi Gross’s woodpecker on the pillar. Photo: Ian Douglas … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2017-02-12
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2017-02-10
Bring me the head of Norman St John Stevas
What’s the point of Parliament? If you watched the BBC thriller Apple Tree Yard, you’ll know it’s to accommodate Emily Watson’s illicit shag in the cellars, igniting a slow-burning fuse of suspicion and self-deceit. … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2017-02-10
What’s the point of Parliament? If you watched the BBC thriller Apple Tree Yard, you’ll know it’s to accommodate Emily Watson’s illicit shag in the cellars, igniting a slow-burning fuse of suspicion and self-deceit. … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2017-02-10
Will Spotify Survive 2017?
The Swedish firm, which accounts for a huge percentage of music consumed in the U.S. and has delayed its public offering to 2018, might be “too big to fail” – or it might just fail. “Spotify must pay ever larger sums to its creditors just to settle the interest on its loan, while the amount of money it can raise from its IPO is trimmed by an ever greater amount.”
Is The British Acting System Weighted Against The Working-Class?
As the BAFTAs roll out Sunday night, actors grapple with the fact that their industry has become more exclusive. “‘It’s not enough being talented – these days you need cash,’ said Steve Coogan, who went to drama school thanks largely to a state grant. The absence of public support, Coogan believes, means that it is now only ‘privileged actors who, as well as being talented, can go to drama school because they have family money to provide the cushion for them.'”