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Commentary: The real reason the Getty and National Portrait Gallery’s joint acquisition is a big deal

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Commentary: The real reason the Getty and National Portrait Gallery’s joint acquisition is a big deal

In an unusually intelligent fundraising gambit, information flashed across the British press and social media early Friday morning to announce the joint acquisition by London’s Nationwide Portrait Gallery and Los Angeles’ J. Paul Getty Museum of a superb 18th century portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792).

“Mai is staying! Joshua Reynolds’ Portrait of Omai shall be acquired and owned collectively by @NPGLondon and @GettyMuseum — simply introduced,” tweeted author Lucy Ward, who has been instrumental in efforts to maintain the privately owned portray from leaving the U.Okay. Its proprietor, Dublin-based businessman John Magnier, supplied the work on the market on the open marketplace for a reported £50 million (greater than $61 million) nearly two years in the past, and an export license was instantly deferred to offer a U.Okay. purchaser an opportunity to match the asking worth.

“Celebrating that the nice Reynolds portrait Omai — Mai as he was truly named — is to remain!” a prominent British historian tweeted, correcting the Polynesian sitter’s identify. (The “o” earlier than “mai” is an introductory phrase, like “right here’s” or “I’m.”) Another writer exulted, “Good news. Following a superb marketing campaign” to save lots of the masterpiece for the British public.

“The concept,” defined London’s Artwork Newspaper, “is that the Reynolds portray shall be on show in London and Los Angeles half the time, being moved between the 2 museums maybe each 5 years.”

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“Nationwide Portrait Gallery and Getty to share possession of Reynolds portrait” headlined the information from the U.Okay.’s Museums Assn.

And on went the rejoicing — understandably so, given what seems to be an impressive murals. Practically 8 toes tall, the oil portray depicts a tattooed younger Tahitian man in his early 20s who sailed to London with Captain Cook dinner in 1774. Mai turned a sensation in aristocratic British society, feted by King George III.

Reynolds took the superstar route for his portrait of Mai. He’s theatrically wearing classical Roman robes and a turban, and he’s posed earlier than an entirely imagined and idealized South Pacific panorama.

Many students hail the work as Reynolds’ biggest portray. Whether or not that’s the case is difficult to say, as the image has been in non-public arms and infrequently proven in public because it was painted nearly 250 years in the past. (Reynolds was placing brush to canvas simply across the time a quill was being put to parchment in Philadelphia to jot down the Declaration of Independence.) I’ve by no means seen it, nor have many different critics and historians.

Simon Schama, the nice British historian of European cultural historical past, had not laid eyes on it both, till just a few weeks in the past, when London’s Nationwide Portrait Gallery gave him a glance. Schama promptly posted a stirring plea to YouTube to maintain the image in Britain and accessible to the general public.

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An acquisition by the NPG, reopening June 22 after a serious three-year renovation, would in some ways signify a full-scale coming-out social gathering for an impressive Grand Method portrait of an individual of coloration — a rarity in an aristocratic style so nicely represented at, for instance, the Huntington Library, Artwork Museum, and Gardens in San Marino. (Reynolds’ “Sarah (Kemble) Siddons because the Tragic Muse,” “Portrait of Samuel Johnson, ‘Blinking Sam’” and “Diana (Sackville), Viscountess Crosbie” are standouts amongst a dozen work by the artist there.) A portrait of the Black author and composer Ignatius Sancho by Thomas Gainsborough, Reynolds’ nice rival, painted six years earlier than “Mai,” is within the assortment of the Nationwide Gallery of Canada.

Drowned out in all of the hoopla, nevertheless, have been some moderately sobering caveats. The formal press launch collectively issued by the NPG and the Getty was cautious to notice some “ifs.”

NPG director Nicholas Cullinan was excited to “hopefully change into co-owners” of the masterpiece with the Getty.

Getty Belief CEO Katherine E. Fleming is blissful for the “alternative to take part” in what can be an modern association.

British Arts and Heritage Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay expressed delight that the 2 museums “are closing in on finalizing a deal.”

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Getty Museum director Timothy Potts was most direct, noting that the sharing plan would occur solely “if the Nationwide Portrait Gallery is profitable within the last part of its fundraising marketing campaign.”

Will or not it’s?

Plainly, that’s what right this moment’s announcement is designed to push for. It’s a last-ditch fundraising pitch.

For a spectacular artwork museum acquisition to be formally declared earlier than it has truly taken place is very uncommon. This ballyhooed announcement appears designed to create such a celebratory temper round a portray little-known to the British public that failing to seize it now can be nothing lower than a nationwide scandal.

It’s Britain, in any case, not the Getty that hasn’t been capable of muster the required funds. U.Okay. fundraising stalled at beneath $30 million — lower than half the asking worth. The Getty, safe with an $8-billion endowment, supplied to share the acquisition some months in the past, however Britain at first declined, decided to have the image stay in London full-time. Lower than two weeks in the past the deferment on the export license, which had been prolonged as soon as, was set to run out after a full yr. For an apparently unprecedented third time it was prolonged once more, pushed to June 10 — simply days earlier than the NPG’s deliberate reopening.

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Information in regards to the potential joint buy represents a big turnaround within the NPG’s pondering. A yawning hole of greater than $30 million within the fundraising aim has been slashed to a significantly extra manageable determine of about $1.2 million. (An emailed request to the museum for an actual determine was not returned by press time.) Partial possession is now preferable to no possession in any respect, particularly for a portray that immediately turns into an important in your complete museum assortment.

In fact, with out the export license deferral, the Getty might need been the museum to carry the masterpiece full-time, negotiating acquisition on the steep asking worth. It could have been illuminating, particularly beneath the big-money circumstances, to see it hanging in Brentwood with the three-quarter-length Gainsborough “Portrait of James Christie,” founding father of the London public sale home that also bears his identify.

Britain’s protectionist art-export legal guidelines have been an issue for years, and the apparently unprecedented extensions to snag the Reynolds present how tattered the scheme has change into. Now that the artwork market resides within the stratosphere, whereas cash-strapped Britain struggles, it is going to solely worsen. As soon as Reynolds’ “Mai” has been secured, that’s an issue that officers desperately want to handle.

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George Lucas voices support for Bob Iger amid Nelson Peltz proxy battle

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George Lucas voices support for Bob Iger amid Nelson Peltz proxy battle

Is the Force strong with Bob Iger? On Tuesday, “Star Wars” creator George Lucas threw his support behind the Walt Disney Co. boss amid the executive’s fight with activist investor Nelson Peltz.

The Lucasfilm founder and longtime Disney shareholder released a statement professing his “full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob’s track record of driving long-term value.” The Burbank-based entertainment giant acquired Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion and has since released a spate of “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” movies and TV series under the storied banner.

“Creating magic is not for amateurs,” Lucas said in a statement provided to The Times. “When I sold Lucasfilm just over a decade ago, I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my longtime admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger’s leadership.”

Lucas’ stamp of approval comes at a pivotal time for Iger and the Disney board. The House of Mouse’s annual shareholder meeting — which will see Peltz and his company, Trian Fund Management, attempt to unseat two Disney board directors — is scheduled for April 3.

Also on Team Iger is investment firm and Disney shareholder ValueAct Capital Management. In Peltz’s corner are former Marvel Entertainment Chief Executive Ike Perlmutter and ex-Disney Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo, whom Trian is nominating for a board position along with Peltz.

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“When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved,” Lucas continued in his statement. “No one knows Disney better. … I have voted all of my shares for Disney’s 12 directors and urge other shareholders to do the same.”

Lucas hasn’t always spoken so warmly about Disney. In 2015, in an interview with Charlie Rose, he expressed regret for selling Lucasfilm to what he referred to as “white slavers.”

“They looked at the stories, and they said, ‘We want to make something for the fans,’” Lucas told Rose. “They weren’t that keen to have me involved anyway — but if I get in there, I’m just going to cause trouble, because they’re not going to do what I want them to do. … And so I said, ‘OK, I will go my way, and I’ll let them go their way.’”

Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm was among Iger’s most high-profile accomplishments during his first 15-year run as CEO, along with the purchases of Pixar, Marvel and 21st Century Fox.

The company brought back the Skywalker franchise in 2015 with J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which grossed $2 billion in global box office sales. Jon Favreau’s series “The Mandalorian” was one of the first major hits for Disney+, leading to a surge in subscribers and Baby Yoda merchandise sales.

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But the studio, led by Kathleen Kennedy, also has had stumbles, including the poorly received film spinoff “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” The 2019 trilogy capper “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” grossed $1.08 billion, significantly less than the two previous installments, and got poor reviews. Lucasfilm’s latest movie, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” collected a disappointing $384 million in ticket sales.

The next “Star Wars” movie for theaters is “The Mandalorian & Grogu,” planned for 2026, with Favreau directing.

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The Idea of You first reviews: Anne Hathaway-Nicholas Galitzine’s rom-com debuts with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score

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The Idea of You first reviews: Anne Hathaway-Nicholas Galitzine’s rom-com debuts with 100% Rotten Tomatoes score

Anne Hathaway, known for her slice of life romantic movies had been involved with serious and pathbreaking stories lately. Fans were eagerly waiting her return in light-hearted love stories for quite some time. The actor has finally made her comeback with Michael Showalter’s rom-com The Idea of You. The movie is being hailed by critics after its premiere at SXSW for its feel-good moments and sparkling chemistry between Anne and actor Nicholas Galitzine. The initial first reviews of the film has got it a stellar response on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. (Read more: The Idea of You OTT release date: Catch Anne Hathaway’s sizzling chemistry with Nicholas Galitzine)

The Idea of You starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine is soaring high in its first reviews.

Anne Hathaway shines in feel-good romantic comedy

The Idea of You scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes on the basis of five reviews so far. A positive review by The Hollywood Reporter read, “The Idea of You functions best as a carefree treat — a feel-good romantic comedy that delivers some laughs and bursts with the magnetism of its lead. That it manages to wiggle in some lessons about self-discovery is merely a bonus.”

Hindustan Times – your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The Idea of You is a coming-of-age story on self-awareness

IndieWire lauded Anne’s acting prowess in its critique and wrote, “What makes the character fascinating and unique is how she is not trying to recreate her younger years or reclaim her lost youth. Instead, Solène is just finding herself in this new stage of her life, learning what she wants, and growing into her new self. Life doesn’t end on motherhood, let alone end on 40. There is still plenty of time to find yourself, find love, get a heartbreak and push yourself into more. Hathaway captures this with incredible vulnerability, but also a self-awareness and confidence in what she wants that makes Solène excel at both the comedy and drama of the story. Early on, Hayes says people don’t really know him, they know the idea of him. By the end of this adaptation, we get the full picture of this romance and the two people involved.”

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Anne Hathaway owns every scene in Michael Showalter’s rom-com

While appreciating the storytelling and characters, Variety in its review was quoted as, “The film version finds a solution that honors Lee’s intentions — the way Hathaway’s character puts any number of priorities ahead of her heart — while providing a more satisfying sense of closure for their on-and-off relationship. Galitzine, who played it so proper in Amazon’s Red, White & Royal Blue, turns up the emo charisma while relaxing his body language, letting the puppy dog eyes and tattooed torso do the talking (though the English accent doesn’t hurt). Still, this is Hathaway’s movie, and she owns it: independent, desirable and never, ever desperate. Solène’s a cool mom to Izzy, and when it comes to Hayes … ‘I could be your mother,’ she tells him. ‘But you’re not,’ he fires back. Wouldn’t want to get the wrong idea.”

The movie has also got a stellar 6.2 Score on IMDb. Anne will next be seen in David Lowery’s epic American melodrama Mother Mary.

The Idea of You is scheduled to release on Amazon Prime on May 2, 2024.

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Inside 'Moonlight' writer Tarell Alvin McCraney's inaugural Geffen Playhouse season

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Inside 'Moonlight' writer Tarell Alvin McCraney's inaugural Geffen Playhouse season

Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Tarell Alvin McCraney has unveiled the lineup for his inaugural season at the helm of the city’s most prominent Westside theater.

The 2024-25 season will feature a mix of classics and new co-productions, as well as Los Angeles, West Coast and world premieres. It also debuts a strategic direction for the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, the Geffen’s intimate performance space.

“I’m someone who tends to plan ahead so I see this season as seeds in the ground,” said McCraney, the Oscar-winning “Moonlight” screenwriter and decorated playwright who was appointed in September. “It’s a primer and a foundational setting for the development work we’ll be doing on other plays that I’ll program into this season, and it’s readying us to be able to take larger swings in future seasons. So to me, it’s a call to work, to water those seeds and nurture them as best as we can.”

The season launches with a 20th anniversary staging of McCraney’s “The Brothers Size” (Aug. 14-Sept. 8), the modern-day fable about two brothers in the Deep South that marked McCraney’s theater debut. Part of his autobiographically resonant trilogy “The Brother/Sister Plays,” the co-production with New York City’s the Shed will be directed by Bijan Sheibani.

“It’s one of the first plays I ever wrote, and it’s the first professional play I debuted, and all these years later, it’s one of my most produced works,” McCraney said of the piece, inspired by his collegiate studies on Yoruba culture and his experience of his brother’s three-year incarceration. “Yet it all came from an ancient myth, a very small story that I came across in research for a class.”

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Performed in the round in the Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater, the production is meant to establish the Geffen venue as a lab for artistic development and a platform for creative experimentation and development of new works, including workshops and readings. It will also continue as a flexible performance space for select ticketed Geffen Playhouse productions throughout the season; additional programming will be announced at a later date.

Playwright and performer Sara Porkalob will portray dozens of characters in “Dragon Lady.”

(Songbird Studios)

The Gil Cates Theater will house the L.A. premiere of Sara Porkalob’s “Dragon Lady” (Sept. 4-Oct. 6). Directed by Andrew Russell, the solo show sees Porkalob embodying dozens of characters to recount her family’s remarkable origin story. “It reminded me of my early roots in theater and how compelling it is to watch someone do a virtuosic turn onstage that’s so simple and yet so difficult,” McCraney said of Porkalob.

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“Her storytelling blew me away — it’s enchanting, personal and wildly funny, and I love that she’s fully up for the challenge of getting in our larger space with this intimate show.” And because it’s the first of “The Dragon Cycle” trilogy, “I’m hoping that we build a strong case to bring in more of it later on.”

Conor Lovett and Rainn Wilson will star in a reimagining of Samuel Beckett’s classic tragicomedy “Waiting for Godot” (Nov. 6-Dec. 15), directed by Judy Hegarty Lovett and produced in association with noted Beckett theater company Gare St Lazare Ireland. (While the choice is driven by Wilson’s “strong affinity” for this text, McCraney also happens to have grown up near Miami’s Coconut Grove Playhouse, where “Waiting for Godot” had its American premiere in 1956.)

Then, it’s Michael Frayn’s beloved backstage farce “Noises Off” (Jan. 29-March 2, 2025), a co-production with Steppenwolf Theatre Company that’s helmed by its artistic director, Anna D. Shapiro. “Steppenwolf has deep roots here at the Geffen,” said McCraney, one of many Geffen players who are also ensemble members of the Chicago theater.

“We want to celebrate that, and there’s no better way to do that than to laugh at ourselves and how wild it is that people pay us to get together, imagine things and try to connect to an audience. Sometimes we get things right, and sometimes we get things wrong, but it still takes great bravery to keep getting up to do it again.”

The season continues with the West Coast premiere of a.k. payne’s “Furlough’s Paradise” (April 16-May 18, 2025). Directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden, the play centers on estranged cousins — one on a three-day furlough from prison, another on a break from work — who reunite at a funeral and grapple with their conflicting memories of the past and their shared hopes for the future.

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“As a person whose family was greatly affected by incarceration, I want a place for families to be able to come into the theater and imagine what it’s like to work through incarceration to something else,” said McCraney.

“This play is poetic and funny, but it’s also charting what it means to try to find a utopia in a world that has a criminal justice system that is far from perfect.” And payne, also a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, “was one of my students, and probably one of the most powerful writers I’ve encountered in my time as a professor.”

Jake Brasch, in a green turtleneck sweater and red-framed glasses, smiles at the camera.

Playwright Jake Brasch’s “The Reservoir” follows a recent college graduate on the road to recovery.

(Thomas Brunot)

The season wraps up with the world premiere of Jake Brasch’s “The Reservoir” (June 18-July 20, 2025), a co-production with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. Directed by Shelley Butler, the humorous play centers on a recent college graduate who depends on his four lovable grandparents amid his struggle to stay sober after rehab.

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“It’s a beautiful and arresting play, but I’m not gonna lie, I also want to have four or five actors of that age onstage at the same time, which is something that we so rarely get to do,” said McCraney. “I want younger and older generations to see themselves in this and see that there are ongoing conversations about our communities and our world that we can all be actively involved in.”

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