Ban on Oscar previews grows dissent
HOLLYWOOD, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The firestorm of opposition to the ban on Oscar movie previews continued to grow over the weekend, Daily Variety reported Monday.
British independent distributors including Pathe, Momentum and Optimum decried the ban and vowed to ignore it.
An increasing number of independent executives now say they believe rather than the MPAA's stated goal of curbing piracy, the ban is motivated as much by a desire to give studio pictures a better shot at winning Oscars.
A number of comments on Variety.com's discussion boards suggest a backlash could be brewing. Several Academy members said they would factor the ban into their choices, and be inclined to vote against studio pictures if the ban remains.
Canadian director Norman Jewison wrote a letter to MPAA chief Jack Valenti stating his opposition. Jewison heads a coalition of filmmakers with illustrious Oscar histories, including Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, who are mobilizing against the ban and are expected to issue a formal statement this week.
U.S. military bases to get Shakespeare
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Entertaining the troops usually involves Brooke Shields, but U.S. military bases are getting Shakespeare, evidently the bard has a lot of military fans.
The National Endowment for the Arts has signed an agreement with the Department of Defense to bring its national theatrical tour comprising of six theater companies touring four plays -- to more than 100 military bases across the country, Daily Variety reported.
"If we are truly going to fulfill our charge of bringing art of indisputable excellence to all Americans, we have to reach into communities where we've never gone before," said NEA chairman Dana Gioia.
"I think it's safe to say that the National Endowment for the Arts and the Department of Defense have never before been mentioned in the same sentence. We're delighted to make cultural history."
Congress appropriated $1 million into a defense bill to make the Shakespearean tour possible.
A trumpet fanfare to reopen Satchmo house
NEW YORK, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Numerous jazz trumpeters will ring in the October 15 museum opening at the simple New York home where Louis Armstrong lived from 1943 until his death in 1971.
The city will close off the working-class residential street for most of the day for a celebration featuring performances by trumpeters including Jon Faddis, Clark Terry, Randy Brecker, Tom Harrell, Cecil Bridgewater, Ingrid Jensen, Jimmy Owens, Randy Sandke, Warren Vache Jr. and Terrell Stafford.
The Louis Armstrong House and Archives in the Corona neighborhood in Queens, was named a national historic landmark in 1977. It recently completed a $1.6 million renovation. It is now owned by Queens College.
The site's memorabilia includes Armstrong's trumpets, his personal scrapbooks and rare photographs.
SAG and AFTRA film-TV negotiations
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Two Hollywood unions have taken the first step toward negotiating a film-TV contract, Daily Variety reported.
The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists are negotiating jointly on wages and working condition for a contract that expires on June 30.
Despite the unions' speedy negotiation dealing with commercials, the performers unions are likely to wait until the Writers Guild of America -- which faces a May 1 expiration date -- establishes its negotiating schedule.
In 2001, SAG and AFTRA had also waited and as a result achieved many of the same gains agreed to in the WGA agreement including minimum payment boosts of 3 percent per year, while the WGA contract got got a 3.5 percent.
