Just a year ago, a movie like Host was barely imaginable; now it seems almost inevitable. Director Rob Savage’s thriller — about a group of teens marooned at home during lockdown, who decide, just for kicks, to gather on Zoom and conduct a séance — inventively plays on our new anxieties, using face filters, software glitches and connection problems as plot devices. Host drew hundreds of thousands of new subscribers to the streaming platform that commissioned it, got Savage three new directing gigs, and is even about to get a theatrical run. – BBC
Secret To A Great Book? Mood
Horror is a mood, one of the most under-appreciated, under-discussed literary devices available to writers. And because horror is a mood, it’s subjective and transcends the limits of specific tropes or themes within a book—horror can be part and parcel of fantasy novels, mysteries or thrillers, literary fiction, and historical fiction. – Book Riot
Time To Talk About Dancer Body-Shaming?
Dancers are rarely ever given comprehensive or healthy guidance on how to get into the shape that’s being asked of them—even when the resources are available. – The Observer (UK)
Merriam-Webster And Dictionary.com Have The Same Word Of The Year For 2020, And It’s No Surprise
Both sites base their choice on search statistics, and the clear leader was, of course, pandemic. (Coronavirus was close behind.) – Mic
Net Neutrality’s Biggest Enemy Is Leaving The FCC Early
“U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said he’ll leave the agency Jan. 20, eliminating the possibility of a holdover Republican majority at the agency that could have temporarily stymied changes sought by the incoming Biden administration. Since being elevated to the chairmanship by President Donald Trump in 2017, Pai, a Republican, has led the commission in dismantling net neutrality regulations.” – Bloomberg
Remorseful American Tourist Returns Ancient Marble Fragment She Stole From Rome
“The National Roman Museum recently received the piece of stone, which was inscribed in black marker, ‘To Sam, love Jess, Rome 2017.’ ‘I feel terrible for not only stealing this item from its rightful place, but writing on it,’ said the note accompanying the item. ‘It was a big mistake on my part and only now, as an adult, do I realize just how thoughtless and despicable it was.'” – Artnet
An Emerging “Museum of The Future”?
A long period of relative peace, prosperity, and globalisation after the Cold War had lulled the museum field into complacency not only about its financial viability, but also about its relevance and credibility. The Covid-19 crisis—which coincided with a painful reckoning with the intertwined legacies of colonialism and racial injustice—has accelerated a push to adapt and innovate, in six principal ways. – The Art Newspaper
Objections To Giant Publishing Mega-Merger
In a statement on Wednesday, the Authors Guild laid out its opposition to the proposed deal. The sale “would mean that the combined publishing house would account for approximately 50% of all trade books published, creating a huge imbalance in the U.S. publishing industry,” the Guild said. – Publishers Weekly
London’s National Theatre Launches New Theatre Streaming Service
There will be two strands to the service: productions from National Theatre Live that were broadcast to cinemas; and a selection of plays from the NT’s archive being released online for the first time. – The Guardian
Canadian Opera Company Hires A New Leader
Over the course of his 36-year career, Perryn Leech has worked with the English National Opera, the Edinburgh International Festival, and the Glyndebourne Festival, and most recently as Managing Director of Houston Grand Opera (HGO). He first joined the HGO in 2007 and was later appointed Managing Director in 2011. – Ludwig Van
An Operatic Countertenor Is Now A Top Contender On ‘The Voice’
John Holiday, 35 and from metro Houston, “has long sung jazz as well as opera, and crossover success was in his sights even before the pandemic hit. He’s sung at the Apollo Theater, opened for Jason Mraz and told The New Yorker that gospel music and Cardi B influence his classical singing. His dream: perform to a sold-out Metropolitan Opera house one week and a sold-out Madison Square Garden the next.” – Los Angeles Times
As United Citizens Brigade Falters, Alums Found New Improv Theater
“Per the theater’s mission statement on its website, the Squirrel’s goal is to become ‘New York’s premier destination for sketch and improv comedy, …” The guiding principles of the theater will be ‘community, representation, transparency, and equality,’ and the website notes that equality will begin with the theater ‘financially compensating its artists'” — a years-long matter of controversy at UCB. – Vulture
BBC Requires Inclusion Rider For All New Commissions
Effective Immediately, “twenty percent of all on-screen talent and production teams must come from a Black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) background; have a lived experience of a disability; or be from a low-income background.” – The Hollywood Reporter
€2.1 Billion-With-A-B: Germany’s Culture Budget For 2021
It’s the federal government’s largest-ever package for supporting the arts, €155 million more than for this year, at a time of unprecedented need as the resurgent pandemic wipes out earned income. Among the notable line items is €85 million for renovating Wagner’s opera house at Bayreuth. – Artnet
“Reimagining” Your Orchestra Season? Really?
“When, over the summer, orchestras began making known their fall plans, the operative word was “reimagined.” At least twenty orchestras, from Albany to St. Louis, announced reimagined seasons. Yet, because so many institutions were using identical language, it didn’t seem that anything particularly imaginative was going on. A certain herd mentality also surfaced in the programming.” – The New Yorker
In Virtual School Test-Taking, Surveillance AI Is Intruding On Students
“In the swift and chaotic pivot to virtual test-taking, companies like Respondus — along with competitors including Honorlock, ProctorU and Proctorio — have stepped in to help schools keep watch on students. Because the new digital tools are required in certain courses, students are being forced to subject themselves to surveillance inside their own homes and open themselves up to disputes over “suspicious activities,” as defined by an algorithm.” – Voice of San Diego
TikTok Users Are Creating The Ratatouille Musical Disney Never Did
But these aren’t just any TikTokkers. “Thousands of TikTok users, including many with Broadway credits, have paid homage to the 2007 Disney Pixar film, about a rat who dreams of becoming a French chef, by creating their own songs, dances, makeup looks, set designs, puppets and Playbill programs.” And Disney is apparently paying attention as well, according to its Tweets and its own TikTok contributions. – The New York Times