You can’t run Stratford by consensus

STRATFORD

A recent cover of The New Yorker magazine depicted Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton sharing a bed, both drowsily reaching for the same fabled red phone at 3 a.m. The image gave one hilarious answer to the question of who would be better equipped to handle the ultimate crisis call. Why couldn’t they share ultimate responsibility at the White House?

Almost as ludicrous, it strikes me, was the notion that several people could share the job of artistic director of the Stratford Festival. But that is what the festival announced, in 2006, with no joke intended.

To some of us, the only really surprising element of the news earlier this month about the acrimonious termination of the festival’s group directorate was that almost everyone involved professed to be surprised that it didn’t work.

"Star Wars" fans picket in support of delayed film

By Borys Kit and Gregg Goldstein

LOS ANGELES (Hollywoood Reporter) – Angry “Star Wars” fans, aggrieved about editing changes to an upcoming Weinstein Co. comedy inspired by the sci-fi franchise, picketed theaters playing the studio’s latest film, with both sides claiming some sort of victory.

Protesters, organized by a fan group calling itself the 501st, showed up in “Star Wars” gear on Friday at AMC Theatres in New York and Los Angeles that were playing “Superhero Movie.”

A gamble wins at the box office

LOS ANGELES — Moviegoers laid their money down on “21,” a gambling romp that was the weekend’s box-office high roller with a $23.7-million (U.S.) debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess as math geniuses who make a killing at Vegas’ blackjack tables, Sony’s “21” bumped off “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!”, which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends.

“Horton Hears a Who,” distributed by 20th Century Fox, slipped to second place with $17.4-million, raising its total to $117.3-million. It is the first movie this year to pass the $100-million mark.

Despite solid holdover crowds for “Horton,” overall business continued to dip. The top 12 movies took in $90-million, down 23 per cent from the same weekend last year, when “Blades of Glory” was No. 1 with $33-million.

Canadians help luxury train to Lhasa keep on track amid chaos

BEIJING — The timing was awkward, to say the least. On March 13, as Lhasa was about to explode into bloodshed, a tourism company was announcing that China’s first luxury train would soon be carrying “travel connoisseurs” to Tibet — complete with butler service “to cater to the whims of each guest.”

The next day, Lhasa was in flames and Tibetan monks were battling Chinese police. Hundreds of people would be killed or injured over the following two weeks. But none of the violence has deterred the entrepreneurs — including Canadian financiers and mining companies — who still see Tibet as a happy hunting ground for potential profits.

China has banned almost all foreigners from entering Tibet since the protests began but foreign investors have managed to keep their projects going.

Tough questions for coast guard after sealer tragedy

There are still some questions the coast guard must answer with respect to the tragic death of several seal hunters off the coast of Iles de la Madeleine, says the town’s mayor.

Joel Arseneau told CTV’s Newsnet Sunday he wasn’t completely satisfied with the reasons given to explain why the sealers were left on board the vessel while it was being towed.

“The coast guard seems to say it’s a regular procedure but we’ve questioned this especially, since done at night-time and people seem to have been asleep during the tragedy,” he said. “It’s the kind of questions we still have.”