praeceptrix

I wasn't sure where to post this, but here's an interesting article about a voice actor, Bev Standing, suing Tik Tok over unauthorized use of her voice.

Probably. Check out the threads in the Everything Else section. I remember checking out that section way back when TWoP died and I found this site. I kinda forgot about it until the Royals topic got moved there, but have only looked at a few of the threads.

You beat me to it! I was just about to type out a rant on the topic of obviously empty cups! Drives me batty.

We all know that Jessica Fletcher was actually responsible for bumping off 90% of the victims! Add to the list of places with ridiculously high rates of murders and serial killers: Midsomer. I'm up to season 8 and almost every single episode has multiple murders! One of the comments on an episode on YouTube pointed out how rare it was for there to be only a single murder. Then there's the family connection: I get that the series is in the cozy genre and thus steeped in small English village ambiance, but it's still more than a little odd for Tom Barnaby's wife and daughter to be tangentially connected to so many of his cases.

There's an interesting article in today's New York Times about the changes to television productions due to the pandemic and the changing advice/rules for safety protocols.

British-Asian actress Parminder Nagra has said she was once turned down for a role on a well-known US TV show because they "already had an Indian person".

The legal drama continues: A lawyer for Britney Spears says she has requested to speak directly about her conservatorship in court.

Glimmerglass Opera just announced that their Emeritus General & Artistic Director, Paul Kellogg, died today (of natural causes) at the age of 84. The obituary in Broadway World is quite informative. Mr. Kellogg was also the General & Artistic Director for New York City Opera. I'd have to go through my (extensive and completely disorganized) collection of playbills to find out if I ever saw his productions at City Opera; I only attended performances of Glimmerglass long after his retirement.

Opera star Christa Ludwig has died at the age of 93.

I don't pay that much attention to awards shows, so I had no idea that it's been almost a half century since the last time there were two Black women nominated for Best Actress oscars (I still think Cicely Tyson should have won in 1973). The New York Times published an insightful article about how movies portray brilliant Black women musicians. From the article: Both “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” represent the singers more as victims of their social circumstances than virtuosos, potentially obscuring the contributions of two of the most innovative, influential American figures to ever sing onstage. The article does acknowledge that that's a genre problem, that movies about brilliant artists often focus more on personal trauma than artistic talent, and that the problem is amplified when the artist is female. I suspect it's also a case of lazy story telling. When your subject is a complex example of intersectionality -- Black, female, and brilliant in a field few people outside the field understand -- it's simply easier to repeat the trope of the traumatized victim who overcomes their past. The article does provide some hope that there are filmmakers who are willing to go beyond lazy tropes and provide more nuanced portrayals: Ultimately, it is another Oscar-nominated film that offers up the most unencumbered depiction of Black women’s musical virtuosity: “Soul,” the animated Pixar film, with its revered jazz saxophonist Dorothea Williams (coincidentally voiced by Bassett). Partly because we know so little of her back story, she comes across as an icon, and is the musician whom the film’s protagonist, the pianist Joe Gardner, most wants to play with and emulate.

Helen McCrory, 52, has died. She starred in Peaky Blinders and played Narcissa Malfoy in three of the Harry Potter films.

More than 80 actors and entertainment industry professionals including Amy Poehler, Naomie Harris and Jessica Barden have signed an open letter against prejudice and discrimination towards disabled talent in Hollywood. From the linked article: The letter says there's an "urgent need to act on disability inclusion" and urges major studios to appoint permanent disability officers. The number of disabled characters on screen "continues to severely under-represent the actual US population living with disabilities", it says. "Due to years of misrepresentation in the media, social barriers, and chronic ableism, the deaf, hard of hearing, neurodiverse and disabled communities continue to be underrepresented and disrespected in the entertainment industry." How much good it will do remains to be seen, but I think -- hope -- that it will at least raise awareness among non-disabled actors and encourage them to support their colleagues in a more active fashion.

Lena Dunham is expanding her horizons and debuting a fashion line in partnership with 11 Honoré. I've not watched any of her shows or movies, so I can't really comment on her talent or how she presents herself. I do think this could be a good venture, if the prices were more reasonable.

Do you have a citation for the abortion? From the little I know, there were many rumors about Rappe, but nothing conclusive. Her wikipedia entry says that the autopsy proved that the rumor of Ms. Rappe having had a child in 1918 was false, but given the source (an article in the Sausalito News quoting the District Attorney prosecuting Arbuckle) I am not sure how trustworthy it is without seeing the actual autopsy report. The Arbuckle entry states that the autopsy showed that she had never had a child or an abortion, but doesn't provide a citation. It's clear that the media had a field day (and made lots of money selling papers) publishing nasty stories about both Rappe and Arbuckle, but not much in the way of verifiable facts.

French director Bertrand Tavernier, 79, has died.

Julie Pomagalski, a two-time Olympian for France in snowboarding and a former world champion, was killed in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps on Tuesday, French sports officials said on Wednesday. She was 40.

Fashion designer Jessica McClintock, 90, has died of congestive heart failure. She was the owner (but not founder) of Gunne Sax, whose dresses I always wanted to wear back when dinosaurs roamed the earth.

That sofa looks a lot like the purple velvet love seat I foolishly bought years ago. Cat fur + cat claws + velvet = recipe for disaster under normal circumstances. Alas, my brat, Artemus Squeakifur, also felt the need to pee on it (while I was trying to sleep on the floor right in front of it, no less!). Sigh. There's a reason I don't have nice things.

Tina Turner (how on earth is she 81?!?) has made a documentary about her life. She is an incredibly talented woman, but her life has been the opposite of easy.

English singer Sarah Harding has announced that she has terminal breast cancer.

Vermicious Knid posted the NPR obituary for Flory Jagoda almost a month ago. The New York Times has finally gotten around to publishing their obituary In the six degrees of separation category, I used to take lute lessons with a member of her trio, Howard Bass.

One of the presenters at the César Awards ceremony, Corinne Masiero, staged a naked protest. She was presenting the award for best costumes. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56382612

Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actress Rosamund Pike doesn't put her awards on display. She buries them in her garden. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56375377

I live under a rock, so I had no idea that Mariah Carey had published a memoir, let alone that her siblings are suing her for defamation and emotional distress caused by it. https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-56277805

Another reason to love Dolly Parton: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56261397 Indeed, who among us has not been tempted to tweak the words of Jolene at one time or another?