Where to begin. Perhaps with the first sentence of the Wikipedia entry: "Steven Allan Spielberg Kbe (Hons.) (born December 18, 1946) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur." And this year, as he turns 65, he's Father Christmas, too — at least at the box office. After a mightily successful run in Europe, The Adventures of Tintin opens in the Us on Wednesday, followed by War Horse on Christmas Day.
"Every time a new Steven Spielberg film opens, a divisive critical discourse emerges," wrote Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert in 2003, introducing a symposium at Reverse Shot. "Are Saving Private Ryan and Amistad heavily critical of American history, or are they glowing tributes to democracy? Is The Color Purple a progressive portrayal of a region mostly ignored by Hollywood, or a sugarcoated bastardization of Alice Walker's far grittier novel? Is A.I. sentimentalized Kubrick or cynical Spielberg? Does Schindler's List...
"Every time a new Steven Spielberg film opens, a divisive critical discourse emerges," wrote Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert in 2003, introducing a symposium at Reverse Shot. "Are Saving Private Ryan and Amistad heavily critical of American history, or are they glowing tributes to democracy? Is The Color Purple a progressive portrayal of a region mostly ignored by Hollywood, or a sugarcoated bastardization of Alice Walker's far grittier novel? Is A.I. sentimentalized Kubrick or cynical Spielberg? Does Schindler's List...
- 12/20/2011
- MUBI
We were lucky enough recently to sit down with Elijah Wood, Robin WIlliams, Hank Azaria, Common, and director George Miller to discus the intricacies of making an animated feature, voice acting and all things Happy Feet Two. Check out the transcript of our chat below:
George, can you talk about your collaboration with Savion Glover and the challenges of choreographing so many different sizes and shapes of animated wildlife?
George Miller: Well, the first thing to know is that I can’t sing and I can’t dance, and so in a way I had no right to be there. But we had very, very good choreographers and people who really understand music. Everyone from the composer John Powell to three choreographers—in this case Wade Robson, who did the earlier material; Dein Perry, you might know him from Tap Dogs, who did all the tapping later on; and Kate Warmald,...
George, can you talk about your collaboration with Savion Glover and the challenges of choreographing so many different sizes and shapes of animated wildlife?
George Miller: Well, the first thing to know is that I can’t sing and I can’t dance, and so in a way I had no right to be there. But we had very, very good choreographers and people who really understand music. Everyone from the composer John Powell to three choreographers—in this case Wade Robson, who did the earlier material; Dein Perry, you might know him from Tap Dogs, who did all the tapping later on; and Kate Warmald,...
- 11/29/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Milan (Reuters) - Salvatore Licitra, a leading Italian opera tenor seen as an artistic heir to the late Luciano Pavarotti, died Monday from head injuries suffered in a scooter accident last month, a statement on his website said.
Licitra, 43, fell and hit his head when he lost control of his scooter late on August 27 near the Sicilian city of Ragusa.
He was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Catania, where his condition was described as very serious.
"Salvatore Licitra did not make it," the statement posted on his official website said. "The doctors have declared him brain dead."
His family agreed to his organs being transplanted, it said.
The Swiss-born tenor debuted in 1998 but made his international breakthrough in 2002 when he stepped in for Pavarotti in Puccini's "Tosca," at New York's Metropolitan Opera. The New York Times had praised him for his "worthiness of the great Italian tradition.
Licitra, 43, fell and hit his head when he lost control of his scooter late on August 27 near the Sicilian city of Ragusa.
He was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Catania, where his condition was described as very serious.
"Salvatore Licitra did not make it," the statement posted on his official website said. "The doctors have declared him brain dead."
His family agreed to his organs being transplanted, it said.
The Swiss-born tenor debuted in 1998 but made his international breakthrough in 2002 when he stepped in for Pavarotti in Puccini's "Tosca," at New York's Metropolitan Opera. The New York Times had praised him for his "worthiness of the great Italian tradition.
- 9/5/2011
- by Reuters
- Huffington Post
Opera novice Mike Figgis is taking charge of Lucrezia Borgia at the Eno. Trouser parts and Renaissance porn were part of a steep learning curve
Mike Figgis is about to make his debut as an opera director at English National Opera. But his production of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia is hardly the fulfilment of a dream for the 62-year-old Oscar-nominated director. "I was never an opera-goer growing up. I was a jazz musician. I'd go and see Miles Davis. It would never cross my mind to go to the opera. My only preconceptions about opera were based on clips I had seen, to be honest." He smiles sheepishly beneath his mop of hair. "I only went to my first opera three or four years ago, when my girlfriend took me to the Met in New York."
Figgis is the latest in a long line of Eno's recruits from the worlds...
Mike Figgis is about to make his debut as an opera director at English National Opera. But his production of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia is hardly the fulfilment of a dream for the 62-year-old Oscar-nominated director. "I was never an opera-goer growing up. I was a jazz musician. I'd go and see Miles Davis. It would never cross my mind to go to the opera. My only preconceptions about opera were based on clips I had seen, to be honest." He smiles sheepishly beneath his mop of hair. "I only went to my first opera three or four years ago, when my girlfriend took me to the Met in New York."
Figgis is the latest in a long line of Eno's recruits from the worlds...
- 1/21/2011
- by Tom Service
- The Guardian - Film News
Mattila/Álvarez/Gagnidze/Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra/Colaneri
(Virgin Classics)
Karita Mattila has announced she is dropping Tosca from her repertoire, so those who were hoping to hear her in the role in London next year will have to make do with this performance from the New York Met, filmed during the opening run of Luc Bondy's controversial 2009 production. There's evidence – forced chest tones, unsteadiness when singing softly, lunges at high notes – that Mattila's move into dramatic soprano territory was a mistake from which she is wisely trying to extricate herself. But her extraordinary sense of theatre makes her compelling to watch, whether she's sexually teasing Marcelo Álvarez's fervent Cavaradossi in church, or attacking George Gagnidze's perverted Scarpia with a violence that borders on the pathological. Bondy keeps Puccini's specified period (1800), but also views the work as prophetic of 20th and 21st-century political violence. His...
(Virgin Classics)
Karita Mattila has announced she is dropping Tosca from her repertoire, so those who were hoping to hear her in the role in London next year will have to make do with this performance from the New York Met, filmed during the opening run of Luc Bondy's controversial 2009 production. There's evidence – forced chest tones, unsteadiness when singing softly, lunges at high notes – that Mattila's move into dramatic soprano territory was a mistake from which she is wisely trying to extricate herself. But her extraordinary sense of theatre makes her compelling to watch, whether she's sexually teasing Marcelo Álvarez's fervent Cavaradossi in church, or attacking George Gagnidze's perverted Scarpia with a violence that borders on the pathological. Bondy keeps Puccini's specified period (1800), but also views the work as prophetic of 20th and 21st-century political violence. His...
- 12/9/2010
- by Tim Ashley
- The Guardian - Film News
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts calendar of events for the fall months has just been released. All events are subject to change without notice. Free performances are held each evening at 6 p.m. on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
1 p.m. Meet in the Hall of Nations
Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell For Adults!
From pliés to pirouettes, discover how it feels to dance as Suzanne Farrell leads this unique and inspirational movement class for non-dancers presented by Explore the Arts. Leotard, leggings, ballet slippers, and ballet skirt are encouraged but not required. Please note: due to the structure of this ballet class, no late entry will be permitted once the class has begun.
Tickets: $35
1:30 p.m. Oc Eisenhower Theater
Sydney Theatre Company
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Kennedy Center
Cate Blanchett stars as Blanche DuBois in the U.S. premiere of Sydney...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
1 p.m. Meet in the Hall of Nations
Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell For Adults!
From pliés to pirouettes, discover how it feels to dance as Suzanne Farrell leads this unique and inspirational movement class for non-dancers presented by Explore the Arts. Leotard, leggings, ballet slippers, and ballet skirt are encouraged but not required. Please note: due to the structure of this ballet class, no late entry will be permitted once the class has begun.
Tickets: $35
1:30 p.m. Oc Eisenhower Theater
Sydney Theatre Company
A Streetcar Named Desire
The Kennedy Center
Cate Blanchett stars as Blanche DuBois in the U.S. premiere of Sydney...
- 11/8/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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