10.30.2010

Seattle: The movie theater that might

In the six years since it opened, Seattle’s Columbia City Cinema, has endeared itself to moviegoers weary of trekking downtown. The cinema has been hit by serious economic headwinds, a result of the nagging recession. Now, faced with a need to generate about $50,000 by January 1, the movie house has embarked on a novel plan to raise much-needed capital, offering the public lots of $1 shares in the business. This "crowdfunding" approach has a populist punch that’s worked successfully before. It's a chance to buy an equity stake in a fixture of one of Seattle's emerging neighborhoods. 

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10.29.2010

MPAA chases the pirates

Warner Bros. and Disney on Wednesday won a legal victory in their ongoing fight against online piracy when a judge signed a consent judgment against a company that referred ads to sites streaming pirated movies and TV shows. The decision may make other studios bolder about pursuing other anti-piracy initiatives. Jon Healey of the Los Angeles Times reports.
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10.25.2010

New York: Reviving Miss Daisy

Tony Award winner James Earl Jones always hoped to tackle Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy, despite the popularity of the Oscar-winning film. For Uhry, the story of an elderly Jewish woman (played by Vanessa Redgrave) coming to love and trust a black man in the bigoted South resonates in 2010. 

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10.20.2010

Seattle: Change afoot at Bumbershoot?

Layoffs at its parent nonprofit and talk of split weekends have aroused concerns over the future of Bumbershoot, a staple of the Pacific Northwest music and arts scene, and a fixture on the U.S. touring calendars of bands from indie to established. As a result of declining attendance (down significantly compared to previous years), changes are being contemplated — some of them central to the groundbreaker ethos of the region’s biggest music and arts festival, a barometer of national trends and talent. Chris Kornelis of Seattle Weekly breaks it down.

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10.17.2010

The recluse in the light

J.D. Salinger made as much a career of hiding from the public as he made doing the writing that made his being a recluse necessary in the first place. His celebrated novel The Catcher in the Rye, captured the imagination of postwar America; reading the exploits of Holden Caulfield became a signpost, a literary rite of passage for generations. Salinger died in January, steadfast in his withdrawal from public life. On Jan. 25, 2011, Random House drags him into the light with Salinger: A Life, a biography of the author by Salinger scholar Kenneth Slawenski, according to the book-publishing Web site Galleycat. (The book’s already out in the U.K.) And when it rains it pours: Galleycat reported previously on a mammoth (800-page) bio also in the works by director Shane Salerno and author David Shields. 

Slawenski’s Dead Caulfields research Web site recently posted this undated video of Salinger late in life — a brief but tantalizing look at the man of mystery.





10.16.2010

New York: David Mamet grows up

For years he’s been considered the profane enfant terrible of American theater, but at 62, David Mamet — playwright, screenwriter, director and father of four — finds his enfant sensibilities facing down the shadows and realities of late middle age. A new Broadway production of A Life in the Theatre (which he wrote while in his 20’s) has given him a whole new perspective on his art and his life. The Wall Street Journal checks in.                     
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10.15.2010

Prince gets set 2 hit the road

With his new album 20Ten set for release soon, Prince on Thursday night announced plans for a limited U.S. concert tour starting on “a Purple Day in December in the year 2010.” The “Welcome 2 America” tour — his first big tour since 2004 — will feature a host of players on stages in the New York metro area. His Purpleness speaks below: