Thursday, May 24, 2012
Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
Posted by Kevin Allman on Thu, May 24, 2012 at 2:40 AM
David Carr's report comes after a tumultuous week in the T-P newsroom, which began after incoming publisher Ricky Mathews came to New Orleans last week and held meetings with some — but not all — Times-Picayune executives off the building's premises.
Multiple sources have told Gambit that editor Jim Amoss and city editor Gordon Russell were in the meetings, as were sports editor Doug Tatum and features editor Mark Lorando. Managing editors Peter Kovacs and Dan Shea, the No. 2 lieutenants to Amoss, were excluded.
As for what the newsroom itself will become, the outlook is still unclear, though everyone expects significant layoffs to occur soon. As Carr wrote, "the newspaper will likely cease to exist as a daily newspaper, and will publish two or three times a week."
A Gambit source whose timeline of the reductions dovetails closely with Carr's report said in an email earlier this week that it was expected "the staff will immediately be whacked by at least a third (from 150 to 100 or fewer reporters). Top brass will be fired and reporters who remain aboard will take sharp salary cuts and be expected to start blogging through the day [for affiliated website NOLA.com]."
Carr's report says that the restructuring will mean longtime editors Kovacs and Shea will be leaving the paper, which Gambit also confirmed earlier this week with multiple sources. Carr says Amoss will be leaving as well, which Gambit was not able to confirm independently.
Reached by phone Wednesday before The New York Times story broke, Russell refused all comment about the paper, the future of the paper or his role there.
The level of disrespect for T-P employees by upper management was the main topic of conversation tonight. All employees with whom Gambit spoke — even longtime senior writers and editors — said they learned of their fates from The New York Times report.
"My supervisor didn't even fucking know," said one reporter. "My supervisor."
"I had to find this out by Twitter," said another. "Do I go in to the office tomorrow? Do I even have a job to go in to tomorrow? I don't know. No one has called me. No one has said anything."
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Who would make the best big screen Ignatius J. Reilly?
Posted by Alex Woodward on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 12:52 PM
The trailer for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby adaptation and the news that Zach Galifianakis may be cast as the hero of John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces broke almost at the same time — confirming many people in my Facebook feed haven't read much after high school.
Dunces has never, ever successfully made the big screen leap. Harold Ramis and, more recently (and infamously unplugged), David Gordon Green, tried and failed to adapt Toole's landmark mess. Terry Gilliam said it couldn't be filmed. (Read Kevin Allman's piece on Toole's latest biography in Gambit.)
Last night, Vulture reported that comedian and actor Galifianakis (who starts in the New Orleans-shot The Campaign) has been cast in an adaptation by Flight of the Conchords co-creator and The Muppets director James Bobin for Paramount Pictures. Vulture also says the script is helmed by Phil Johnston, who wrote 2011's Cedar Rapids and the forthcoming Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, The Descendants) film Nebraska.
Casting Confederacy
Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Confederacy is one of those books that people sometimes describe as "unfilmable" (I think a four- or six-hour HBO miniseries would be better than a regular movie), but trying to cast it is a fun, fantasy-footballish exercise. Here's my list (note: Spud McConnell has aged out of Ignatius territory, at least in the movies):
• Philip Seymour Hoffman as Ignatius
• Jessica Lange as Irene Reilly
• Estelle Parsons as Miss Trixie
• Becky Allen or Amanda Hebert as Santa Battaglia
• John Reilly as Patrolman Mancuso
• Jessie Terrebonne as Darlene
• Patricia Clarkson as Lana Lee
• Damon Wayans Jr. as Jones
• Neil Patrick Harris as Dorian Greene
• Zooey Deschanel as Myrna Minkoff
Any better ideas?
(Here's our recent cover story on Confederacy and Butterfly in the Typewriter, the new biography of Confederacy's author, John Kennedy Toole.)
Oysters by the riverside
Posted by Ian McNulty on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 11:32 AM
- Ian McNulty
- Oysters, oysters everywhere.
When you need an oyster dish or two, raw, fried or grilled are the predictable and delicious safe bets. But what happens when you need more like two-dozen different oyster dishes?
In the case of the New Orleans Oyster Festival, planned for June 2-3, you get smoked oyster boudin balls with Rockefeller aioli from Bourbon House; oyster and meat pies from Remoulade, the casual spin-off of Arnaud’s; or fried oysters with foie gras and truffle oil, courtesy of Elizabeth’s Restaurant.
Those are a few of the examples of the oyster dishes on offer at the third annual Oyster Festival, which this year will be held at Woldenberg Riverfront Park.
OMG: Justin Bieber is coming to New Orleans
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Beliebers rejoice: the pop star stops in New Orleans on Jan. 15 for a concert at the New Orleans Arena. Tickets go on sale June 2 at 10 a.m., and I'm pretty sure they will sell out quickly.
Fellow Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen, who is responsible for quite possibly the best pop song of 2012, "Call Me Maybe," opens.
Discovered on YouTube, Bieber gained legions of screaming, Twitter-using teenage fans (take caution before clicking on any Bieber-related Twitter hashtag) through his 2009 debut single "One Time" and the follow-up "Baby." His new album Believe, featuring the decidedly more grown-up single "Boyfriend" that's reminiscent of former teen idol Justin Timberlake's solo music, comes out June 19. He's also ditched the swoop-bang hairdo that became an Internet meme.
Check out the video for "Boyfriend" below.
Via MTV
Hollywood 2012? Big winners, big losers
Posted by Ken Korman on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 10:35 AM
The Avengers has just found a place among the all-time five highest-grossing movies in America as the still-mounting domestic box-office total passed $460 million. The Hunger Games currently sits at number 14 on that all-time list with a domestic take of $391 million. Of course, those numbers don't include international box office, which in The Avengers' case already brings the grand total to well over $1 billion. And don't forget DVD sales, theme park tie-ins, and a hundred other sources of revenue. The profit on on a hit movie of this size is very hard to estimate, though some people try.
But these successes have been balanced by two gargantuan failures in 2012. Both John Carter and the just-opened Battleship were made with budgets in the same astonishing $200 million range as The Avengers, but tanked at the box office. Widely accepted estimates say that John Carter and Battleship will each lose around $150 million when all is said and done. John Carter's failure was so painful, it led directly to the resignation of Disney CEO Rich Ross last month. And according to multiple stories out today, Battleship creator NBCUniversal is now in the position of saying it's "standing by" its executive team, which is not what you want to hear on the radio when you're stuck in L.A. traffic on the way to work at Universal.
Universal's latest blockbuster, the surprisingly dark-looking Snow White and the Huntsman, has a budget estimated at $175 million. It arrives in theaters next Friday, June 1st. There are going to be some sleepless nights happening in Hollywood over Memorial Day weekend.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Public Transit Tuesdays: Galvez
Posted by Megan Braden-Perry on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:43 PM
Like the Broad bus route, the Galvez bus route is pretty long and goes from the edge of Uptown to the 9th Ward, passing through the 6th, 7th and 8th Wards. Another commonality is that when riding along these routes, you'll see that we are still nowhere near being finished with rebuilding after almost seven years. Is it government corruption? Laziness? Lack of resources? Gentrification? Many 6th Ward residents and shopkeepers believe it's a combination of them all, especially one woman I met who had a lot to say...
NOLA tourism leaders call for Hospitality Zone legislation to be pulled
Posted by Kevin Allman on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 7:55 PM
As amended by Peterson, Senate Bill 767 (the former SB 573) would have made the hospitality zone board subject to the same laws that govern public meetings and would have reduced the percentage of funds allotted to some of the major backers. Under Peterson's plan, 40 percent of monies raised would have gone to the city for infrastructure improvements, while the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Board and the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Board would have each received 20 percent. The remaining 20 percent would have been split between the French Quarter Management District and the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network.
Abandonment of the plan, which had been criticized fiercely by neighborhood associations that tagged it "The Ho Zone," was expected after the changes were made. Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who had been a fervent supporter of the original bill, made no mention of it in his annual State of the City address this afternoon.
In its statement, the Hospitality Coalition PAC referred to "unpalatable amendments" placed on the bill and called the original version a "very unselfish effort to tax ourselves and generate significant dollars." The statement also said the funds would have been paired with "a $30 million dollar allocation from the [Ernest N. Morial] Convention Center. Those components are suspended as well."
Dear Friends of Tourism,On behalf of the Chairs and Executive Committee members of the major tourism organizations, we wish to inform you that the industry leadership has asked that the hospitality zone legislation proposed in this legislative session be pulled down for this year.
This decision came after serious consideration and much discussion among a broad-based coalition of New Orleans legislators, business leaders, tourism workers, neighborhood partners and leadership of the hospitality industry.
We are extremely sad that this very unselfish effort to tax ourselves and generate significant dollars for marketing, job creation and revenue growth for our businesses and the city, has come to an end because of unpalatable amendments placed on the bill. Though the bill could likely have been passed in its new form, the amendments made it off target to the private sector coalition which originated the bill in partnership with the Mayor.
A Divine day indeed: scenes from Sunday’s second line parade
Posted by Red Cotton on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 5:12 PM
Baby when I tell yoooooou! That second line on Sunday was EVERYTHING!
The Divine Ladies annual parade is guaranteed to be EPIC for several reasons:
(more below the jump!)
Air Sex preliminary rounds begin Wednesday night
Posted by Alex Woodward on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 4:30 PM
- CHERYL GERBER
- Air Sex host Chris Trew
Now in its fourth installation, the world championship of humping air kicks off Wednesday with a preliminary round at Republic, one of a select locations in U.S. cities where the city's finest can show how it's done, on stage.
Think air guitar, but with doin' it.
Air Sex, founded in 2009 by New Orleans comic Chris Trew, hosts preliminary rounds from New York to San Francisco in search of the nation's finest air doers, but it kicks off in New Orleans. (Watch Trew introduce the event to Oxygen's Bad Girls Club.)
The rules are simple: you get two minutes to perform your Air Sex routine, which can be straight-forward or may include the date, the opening to the boudoir, etc. Participants should email an MP3 of a selected track (or bring a CD), and you also may include an up to 30-second prelude. Wear costumes, use a stage name, don't be a big creep, and props and teams are OK, too — visit Air Sex's YouTube for an idea of what to expect, or do.
The three selected finalists will compete at the regional championships and may go on to compete in the national championships in Austin, Texas.
Air Sex preliminary rounds being 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 23 at Republic (828 S. Peters St.).
Top Commenters
Recent Comments
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
the bad thing about this is that Ricky Mathews and Advance Alabama/Mississippi. (Advance Publications, the…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Casting Confederacy
Great minds think alike Tara!
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Casting Confederacy
Great, but I think John Goodman would be better to play Ignatius and he lives…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Public Transit Tuesdays: Kenner Local
I had to laugh at the vision of you, in your floral dress, kicking in…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
Personally, I'm glad they are printing the paper less. I think it is a waste…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
I am sad.
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
It's not the market, it's the cretins who own the paper. It has been making…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
It's inevitable that this would happen someday. The TP/SI has alienated a good portion of…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
I live out of state and used NOLA.com to get my fix…
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
The new, revamped NOLA.com is horrendous. I live out of state and…
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
@markmayhew - markets are harsh sometimes, but the people involved can still be decent. That…
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
I cannot imagine not enjoying tea and the TP each and every morning.
- on May 24, 2012
- More »
