Morning Report - News from July 19, 2002

MOVIES

Hollywood Dominance: An 800-Pound Gorilla?

If it’s not exactly “Yankee Go Home,” it’s far from a ringing endorsement. This week, Russia and Australia displayed ambivalence about the dominance of American movies--no matter that the U.S. market share is declining globally.

Meeting with culture minister Mikhail Shvydkoi on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed dismay at the spate of big-budget Hollywood movies and the paucity of local product.

“The number of movie theaters has increased almost two times recently, while the proportion of Russian films in the total volume of circulation is less than 2%,” he said.

Shvydkoi dismissed calls for quotas on the number of foreign films, favoring a more proactive approach. The goal is to bring the share of Russian films in circulation to at least 25% and to produce at least 100 new Russian films a year, he said. A particular focus: children’s films--once a mainstay of the Soviet film industry. Since state support for the arts evaporated, Russian films have been dominated by low-budget formulaic crime thrillers

Half a world away, members of the film industry met at Fox Studios in Sydney Wednesday to hear the Australian Film Commission discuss Hollywood’s stampede Down Under. The U.S. cinematic invasion was mostly good for the industry, it concluded--providing professional exposure and experience for local crews.

Only 10% of the 160 workers surveyed said foreign production was damaging to the domestic film culture, which has blossomed since the 1970s. Still, chairwoman Maureen Barron warned that careful management is needed to avoid becoming an adjunct to their American counterparts.

Complaints ranged from a lack of egalitarianism on the set (arrogance, disrespect and rigid hierarchical systems) to the treatment of local workers, who are often paid less than U.S. crews.

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THE ARTS

House Gives NEA a Financial Boost

The House voted Wednesday to increase funds for the National Endowment for the Arts, the agency conservatives once tried to eradicate on the grounds that it supported obscene or blasphemous projects.

A 1997 bill to eliminate all its funding failed by a single vote.

By a count of 234-192, the House agreed to increase the agency’s budget by $10 million, to $126 million, for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 The same amendment to a spending bill for public lands programs and cultural agencies boosted funds for the National Endowment for the Humanities by $5 million, to $131 million.

The NEA provides matching grants for arts groups and state and local arts organizations, while the NEH supports fields such as history, literature and philosophy.

“We’ve had draconian cuts, but we’ve come back,” Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) said.

Though critics acknowledge that the agency has tightened its controls over grants in recent years, most Republicans voted against the amendment, saying it’s a mistake to put more money into the arts when the economy is so sluggish. Other conservatives argue that it sets a bad precedent to exceed President Bush’s budget recommendations.

The Senate, traditionally more responsive to NEA needs, is expected to vote for the increase. Though a decision could be made before an early August break, national security concerns could delay things. Even Senate and House approval is no cause for breathing easy, insiders point out. Given the cost of the war on terrorism, funding for all national agencies could later be reduced.

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MUSIC

A Rolling ‘Requiem’ to Honor 9/11 Victims

Thirty choirs from Europe, Asia, Central America and the U.S. have signed up to perform Mozart’s “Requiem” on Sept. 11 as part of what organizers are calling the “Rolling Requiem”--concerts honoring victims of the terrorist attacks. As many as 125 other choirs may join them, according to chairwoman Madeline Johnson.

Each performance is set to begin at 8:46 a.m. local time--the moment when the first plane plunged into the World Trade Center. The event would start at the international date line and move westward. Singers in each group will wear badges bearing the name of a person who died in the attack.

“There was so much loss of life, property and trust,” said Johnson. “This is a counterbalance to some of that loss.”

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QUICK TAKES

Angelina Jolie has officially filed for divorce from Billy Bob Thornton, citing irreconcilable differences, the TV show “Extra” reported Thursday. In the court papers, she asks for her jewelry and personal effects, her earnings since the day they separated, and sole custody of Maddox, their adopted Cambodian son. “It’s a very sad thing,” said Thornton’s publicist, Arnold Robinson of Rogers and Cowan....Susan Sarandon will join Tim Robbins in Anne Nelson’s The Guys” at the Actors’ Gang in Hollywood for the July 30, 31 and Aug. 1 performances. Philip Baker Hall (“Magnolia”) and Jeanne Tripplehorn (“Basic Instinct”) will replace the current cast of Robbins and Helen Hunt, Aug. 6-23....Martha Stewart, plowing ahead despite questions over possible insider trading on Wall Street, will launch “Martha’s Favorite Books,” a weekly author segment on her syndicated daytime show, the New York Observer reports. Her weekly cooking stint on CBS’ “Early Show,” has been suspended, however, following a June 25 interview in which she was questioned about her stock sale.... After 26 years, the Roy Rogers-Dale Evans Museum is saying farewell to California, moving from Victorville to a new $3-million building in Branson, Mo., next spring.

Elaine Dutka