It’s that time of the year when we look back and take stock of the year that was. The culturati over at New York Magazine have put together their annual “Year in Culture” issue. They curate the most gripping, unexpected, head-scratching, and lovely moments in the arts over the past twelve months, then unveil their top-ten lists in Movies, Television, Music, Theater, Books, and Channing Tatum, Carly Rae Jepsen, and the other standouts of 2012. It’s one of my favourite lists, so get over to NY Mag to take a look back at what made our year.
The History of Film is an infographic created by award winning designer, Larry Gormley. The infographic, from HistoryShots, showcases the 2,000 “most important films” of all time are mapped by genre and release date spanning 100 years. The films selected to be included have: won important awards such as the best picture Academy Award; achieved critical acclaim according to recognized film critics; are considered to be key genre films by experts; and/or attained box office success. It’s a handy tool to view the trends in film and the cycles in genre popularity. You can click and zoom in on the info graphic at The History of Film.
What mattered in 2011? Zeitgeist sorted billions of Google searches to capture the year’s 10 fastest-rising global queries and the rest of the spirit of 2011. And what made number 1? Rebecca frickin’ Black. She made a big splash on the Internet with the release of her 2011 pop single “Friday.” The music video catapulted the then 13-year-old to celebrity status after the video went viral, receiving over 167 million views on YouTube.
Here’s some mildly interesting yet perfectly useless pop cultural information that you can drop at a dinner party this weekend. Forbes Magazine has released its annual list of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. At the very top of the list is Leonardo DiCaprio, who has apparently raked in $77 million in the past year. Johnny Depp was a not particularly close second, with $50 million.
1. Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million)
2. Johnny Depp ($50 million)
3. Adam Sandler ($40 million)
4. Will Smith ($36 million)
5. Tom Hanks ($35 million)
6. Ben Stiller ($34 million)
7. Robert Downey, Jr. ($31 million)
8. Mark Wahlberg ($28 million)
9. Tim Allen ($22 million)
10. Tom Cruise ($22 million)
11. Jim Carrey ($20 million)
12. Daniel Craig ($20 million)
13. Robert Pattinson ($20 million)
14. Brad Pitt ($20 million)
15. Matt Damon ($18 million)
Forbes state, “To compile our earnings numbers we talked to agents, lawyers, producers and other industry insiders to come up with an estimate for what each actor earned between May 1, 2010 and May 1, 2011. Earnings consist of pretax gross income. Management, agent and attorney fees are not deducted.”
Say hello to Time magazine’s Person of the Year: Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Facebook.
[Time Managing Editor Richard Stengel] said Zuckerberg stands out for accomplishing something that’s never been done before: connecting millions of people and mapping the social relations among them.
“This year they passed 500 million users — one in 10 people on the planet,” Stengel said.
“He’s our second-youngest Person of the Year,” Stengel added; only Charles Lindbergh, named the magazine’s very first Man of the Year back in 1927 when he was 25, was younger.”
It’s that time of year! The latest December 13 issue of New York Magazine showcases “2010 The Year in Culture”. The issue shows what’s worth remembering from the past twelve months in the arts. “Pop culture has become a riot of ambition. In 2010, its creators risked more, endured more, and combined more influences than at any time in recent memory”. From Kanye to Jonathan Franzen – to see what New York Magazine critics viewed as the best in movies, TV, pop, books, art, theatre and more in 2010, click here.
The Atlantic has published a list of ten of the most remarkable ideas to emerge in 2010:
What’s that expression? Necessity is the mother of… Let’s just say 2010 has been a year of great necessity. Natural disasters, man-made disasters, bedbug plagues, political tsunamis (or was it monsoons?)—they all changed life in ways that demanded ingenious thinking. And whether by finding new uses for existing technologies, or devising novel solutions wholesale, smart minds dealt with this year’s challenges with that most effective of coping mechanisms: innovation.
To take a look at ten of the most remarkable ideas to have emerged in 2010 click here.
Forbes has released it’s annual hip hop rich list for 2010:
In turbulent times stability often constitutes success–and that’s the case in hip-hop this year. The top 20 earners on this year’s Cash Kings list racked up $300 million in earnings, the same as last year, despite a troubled world economy and a music industry thrown into flux by new technology. Artists like Jay-Z, Diddy, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg have thrived, adapting to the new world order by diversifying their revenue streams beyond recorded music.
The top five consists of:
1. Shawn “Jay- Z” Carter – $63 million
2. Sean “Diddy” Combs – $30 million
3. Aliuane “Akon” Thiam – $21 million
4. Dwayne “Lil Wayne” Carter – $20 million
5. Andre “Dr Dre” Young – $17 million
The trend of talented Australian actors making it big on the world stage shows no sign of diminishing. In film, we have our Russell Crowe’s and Hugh Jackman’s, while in television, it would appear that casting an Aussie is considered de rigueur (see True Blood, House, Damages et al). In Australia there is deficit in quality productions and competition for film and television roles is fierce among local talent. It is little wonder so many antipodean thespians jump a plane to chase their Hollywood dream. Yet for every Ryan Kwanten, there are blokes back home who have gone about quietly cultivating their craft. These are our best kept secrets and actors who are at the top of their game.
Here is Record | Preserve | Share’s look at five actors international audiences should keep an eye on:
Ben Mendelsohn At 41, Ben Mendelsohn has matured into arguably Australia’s greatest acting talent. From his boyish roles in iconic Australian films from the late 80s and early 90s (see The Year My Voice Broke, The Big Steal,Idiot Box), he has progressed into playing darker and more emotionally complex characters. Last year’s unsettling Beautiful Kate was a revelation and his performance in this year’s Animal Kingdom was nothing short of masterclass. International audiences will have the opportunity to see more of Mendelsohn in 2011, when he stars in The Killer Elite alongside Robert De Niro, Clive Owen and Jason Statham.
Don Hany Don Hany rose to prominence for his role in the Australian television drama, East West 101. Hany plays Zane Malik, an Arab detective, struggling with his identity as he works in Sydney’s Major Crime Squad investigating crime and murder in all quarters of multicultural Sydney. In real life, Hany is a first generation Australian with an Iraqi father and Hungarian mother, and has said that he identifies with many aspects of his character. His performance saw him take home the award for Most Outstanding Actor at the Logies (the Australian Emmy’s) in both 2008 and 2010. At 35, Hany adds a measured intensity and deep integrity to every performance – the only way is up for this bloke.
Sullivan Stapleton
Sullivan Stapleton is best known to Australian audiences for roles in the edgy cable TV drama series Satisfaction and critically acclaimed drama The Secret Life of Us. But it’s his darker performances as a meph-head biker in Underbelly and the drug dealing Craig Cody in the Australian filmAnimal Kingdom that have really made people sit up and take notice – including the US. Stapleton has recently been signed to star in a new television drama from Joel Silver, the producer behind the blockbuster Matrix franchise. The series, The Odds, is described as ”a buddy cop show set in Las Vegas where the cops are just as outrageous as the crimes they solve”.
Dan Wyllie A uni drop-out shunned by the major acting schools, on screen, Dan Wyllie has captured attention playing loons and fools (see his character Bluey opposite Eric Bana in Chopper as a prime example). But Wyllie’s background is predominantly in theatre, which explains why he seems to be able to add subtle theatrical depth (be it comedic or dramatic) to his every performance. It was in the award winning Australian television series Love My Wayplaying Charlie Jackson (opposite Mendelsohn) that audiences got to see the full extent of his range.
Simon Lyndon With numerous stage and TV roles, Simon Lyndon is the guy Australian audiences “sort of know”. At 39, Lyndon is a talented character actor who always seems on the fringe of breakout fame. He played a feature role in Blackrock and charmed Aussie viewers in the television mini-series, My Brother Jack. He had an appearance in Terence Malick’s The Thin Red Line and received critical acclaim for his role in Chopper with Eric Bana, for which he won an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor. With his thick accent and shock of blonde hair, there is something so distinctly Aussie and “knock-about” in all of Lyndon’s characters. Next up for Lyndon is the local production, Caught Inside , which had its premier at the Sydney Film Festival earlier this month (trailer below).
Rolling Stone Magazine just released its omnibus issue listing what it considers the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. You can check the list out here. Notably, Jay-Z penned the introduction to the list. Read it below.
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