"It’s five actors playing about 50 parts, God love them,” laughs Jonathan. “The poor actors, they’re in rehearsals all day and then they go home and they’re studying archive footage from Coronation Street over the last 50 years to try and get the voices right.Corrie! opens at The Lowry in Salford on 7th August.
Amazon has told Pocket-lint that it expects Kindle ebook sales to eclipse paperback sales by the end of 2011, and to eclipse combined hardback and paperback sales shortly after that in the US.And here's an interesting discussion on the future of e-books from TechCrunch.
"I think we [Amazon] will sell more Kindle books than paperback books in the next year [2011]", Steve Kessel, the man tasked with making the Kindle the number one ebook reader in the world, told Pocket-lint in an exclusive one-to-one briefing.
SNP ministers have asked the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera to prepare for cuts of up to 10 per cent.
The companies have been asked for blueprints on what they would scrap if their budgets were cut by three per cent, seven per cent and 10 per cent.
Novelist Ryu Murakami plans to release his latest novel exclusively for digital bookworms through Apple Inc.’s iPad ahead of the print version. Mr. Murakami, the acclaimed author of over 15 novels including “Coin Locker Babies” and “In the Miso Soup”, replaced the publishers with a software company to help develop the e-book titled “A Singing Whale,” or “Utau Kujira” in Japanese. The digital package will include video content and set to music composed by Academy Award winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, according to the Japanese business daily Nikkei. The newspaper reports the e-book will cost 1,500 yen ($17) and will be ready to download pending Apple’s approval.
Gwyneth Williams has been appointed Controller of BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7...
Gwyneth Williams said: "Radio 4 represents the BBC at its best: it is loved and trusted and stands above all for quality. It is a privilege and honour to be asked to lead the network through the next stage of its evolution. I am hugely looking forward to working with so many talented programme-makers, each with a unique contribution to make. I want to ensure that this creativity shows on air and delights and inspires our listeners."
BBC Worldwide announces today that it has completed the sale of an 85% shareholding in BBC Audiobooks (including BBC Audiobooks America) to AudioGo Limited. BBC Worldwide will retain a 15% stake in the business.
Formed in 2001, BBC Audiobooks is the leading audio publisher in the UK. Its products are available on CD and in downloadable formats for retail and library markets. Following the sale, BBC Audiobooks will trade as AudioGo, and will continue to publish BBC-sourced content under the BBC Audiobooks imprint.
Given the economic climate, and the fact we have been asked to model a reduction of up to 30% over four years, we are now asking you to model prudently for a minimum of a 10% reduction in your funding for 11/12. This figure is not final, but we suggest it is a reasonable figure for you to address at this point.
This allows us all to use 2011/12 as a year of transition that builds towards a new approach to the arts landscape, shaped by our ambitions for the arts. The Arts Council is developing Achieving great art for everyone, a 10-year strategic framework for the arts, setting out clearly what we want to achieve over the next 10 years. At the briefing sessions we will report back on responses to the consultation. It’s important that in this time of short-term cuts we keep our eye on the big picture, so that whatever cuts we do have to make now, art can still thrive over the next 10 years.
...whether they know it or not (and, at the highest levels of the biggest publishing houses, they certainly do know it) the competitive advantage of the trade publisher is inextricably dependent on the survival of brick-and-mortar shelf space for books, which is distinct from total sales of books or even total sales of print books. You don’t need an organization of the scale and capabilities of a major publisher to reach customers through online channels. And, in fact, because the biggest trade publishers are horizontal in their subject matter, their size is more of a handicap than an advantage in competing for markets online.Link via @berniecorbett
What does Hollywood get right about art heists?
Sometimes they get right the value of the artwork – and the importance of it. That’s about it.
What do they get wrong?
Generally speaking, the security systems that Hollywood says are in place are totally bogus. If you look at some of the different movies that are out there – The Thomas Crown Affair [Screenplay by Leslie Dixon & Kurt Wimmer] comes to mind – those security systems, they just don’t exist. It doesn’t happen. There’s no taking a painting off a wall and the bars coming down like the Temple of Doom or something.
The All Party Writers Group (APWG) is pleased to announce that John Whittingdale MP has been elected as the new Chair of the Group.
The MP for Maldon has taken a keen interest in copyright protection, and supported the Digital
Economy Act as it progressed through Parliament because “We need to send a signal that we take the issue of piracy seriously”. More recently Whittingdale was re-elected as Chairman of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, a position he has held since 2005.
On his successful election to Chair of the All Party Writers Group he stated: “The creative industries form a hugely significant part of the UK economy and will have a major role to play in our efforts to establish a more financially stable future. These industries are built around the talent and hard work of creative individuals and I am therefore delighted to be involved with this group at such an important time for creators”.
To support John Whittingdale in his role Denis MacShane MP remains on the Group as Vice Chair and award winning author, Baroness Ruth Rendell, has taken over the role of Secretary from the new Minister for Culture, Ed Vaizey. Jim Dowd MP takes on the role of Treasurer.
“While we have collective agreements that set minimum fees, we don’t have agreements guaranteeing any given number of new commissions.
"...Theatres can’t cheapskate on fees to writers, but they can say that, instead of commissioning six new plays, they will only commission four next year. That is bad from our point of view and it’s a worry.”
Pixar's films are such rousing successes because of the attention each individual at the studio dedicates to the screenplays. "Andrew Stanton's rule of thumb is that it takes 10 man-years of labor to make a good screenplay," Arndt explains. "Either two writers working five years or 10 guys working one year. For Toy Story 3, it was even more than that -- probably the equivalent of 10 people working two or three years."Billy Mernit has some interesting reflections on Myers's post on his own blog (now, sadly, retired). At Pixar, he points, out
"To me, this is what separates Pixar from almost everyone else," Arndt concludes. "They realize how hard it is to come up with a great screenplay."
...instead of throwing everything and everyone at a weak story until something seems to stick, they start with a writer and an idea they believe in, then do it, do it, do it till they're satisfied....
What most studios call development is ass-backwards. The operative ethos amounts to "It doesn't work, but we can fix it... with writer after writer after writer," so we shouldn't be surprised by the results.
If you’re a gambler who likes action and want to play the odds, the new Kindle royalty structure is your game. If you’re an author or publisher, you could make out very well if list prices stay high. But you could also take a bath if there’s a price war. You may decide to opt for the safe, straight 35% of list price. But bear in mind that that’s 30% less than the 50% that Amazon was paying you before The Great Change [to their payment structure]. If you add the delivery charge the net proceeds to you are even smaller.
Hollywood scribes saw a 12% rebound in earnings last year -- recovering much of the 15.4% financial hit that they took in 2008 from the double whammy of the recession and the 100-day strike.However, as Richard Verrier reports in The L.A. Times, tough economic conditions are having an impact.
The Writers Guild of America West, which sent its annual report to its 8,000 members this week, disclosed that total earnings covered by WGA contracts hit $931.4 million in 2009, up $100 million from 2008. That gain, the report noted, was fueled largely by "strong" earnings by TV writers.
This week the Writers Guild of America, West reported that while earnings for screenwriters have bounced back to pre-strike levels, there is a lot less work going around: employment has fallen 11% in the last three years, with 226 fewer screenwriters working in 2009 than 2006, the year before the 100-day walkout and the lowest level in at least six years.
Indeed, the recession has given the movie studios a reason — or an excuse, depending on the perspective — to adjust in their favor how they employ screenwriters.
When screenwriters do get a shot at work, they are increasingly subject to "sweepstakes pitching," in which as many as a dozen are pitted against one another, with producers picking the one they like best.
For endeavors that require knowledge of craft, and constant experimenting to get it right, age may actually be a benefit...
My favorite septuagenarian inspiration is Norman Maclean, who published the most beautiful, word-perfect novel of the American West, “A River Runs Through It,” when he was 74. And then he had a second book in him, “Young Men and Fire,” published after his death at 87. Old, seemingly doomed, and brilliant — a role model for all second-act aces.
To call the e-book world messy would be an understatement. E-books sold on Amazon will only work on the Kindle. Google Books can be downloaded to a variety of e-readers, but not the Kindle. Apple’s iBooks work only on its devices. Want to “share” an e-book? Sorry: Sharing is supported on just a handful of readers, and always with strict restrictions on how long you can lend out a copy.Unfortunately, despite the demand from publishers and the public, a solution doesn't look likely any time soon.
We have the stodginess of the New York publishing empires, the paranoia of major booksellers like Barnes & Noble, and the oversized egos of Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos to worry about, all at the same time. Getting these guys to agree on one thing would be as easy as parking a whaling vessel in my garage.Link via @BernieCorbett
