Here's some reading that fell into my orbit this morning....
Thom Yorke doesn't want to duet with Paul McCartney.
Damian Chapa is making a movie about Roman Polanski. It's going to cover it all, from his childhood in Poland during the Holocaust to Sharon Tate's murder to the sexual abuse charges that caused Polanski to flee the US. Apparently, casting is taking place in the next couple of weeks. Any suggestions? Sean Penn? Ryan Gosling (for younger Polanski)? At any rate, I wish I knew more about Chapa and his track record. Polanski's is a complicated, dramatic story that will require a delicate touch.
Tim Page, Pulitzer-prize winning classical music critic for the Washington Post goes off on DC Councilman and former Mayor Marion Barry in an email to Barry's publicist. Page seems to have blown a gasket. Calling Barry a "crack addict" and "useless" doesn't fit the civilized veneer of a classical music critic, much less a working journalist. Both Page and the Post are doing damage control.
Seventeen entertainment bloggers are going dark today in solidarity with the Writer's Guild of America.
The Believer has an interview with art critic Dave Hickey. His opinions are always piercing and bold, and delivered like a proud battle-axe. In the interview, Hickey talks about despising art education, the changing landscape of art criticism, how, in his opinion, MFA programs produce mostly "idiots with low-grade depression" instead of working artists, the upsides of Las Vegas, and much more. Also, in this month's issue, but not available on the website, is Hickey's top ten list of artwork from the last 40 years.
Have you been itching to toss decorum aside and just swig your wine out of the bottle in a brown paper bag, all malt liquor style? You can now join the ranks of discerning oenophiles.
