John Scott

Culture

OPINION: It’s time to give reboots the boot

John Scott | April 24

If you thought television was a safe space from the reboot/remake/sequel bug of blockbuster filmmaking right now, you might want to check again. On Wednesday, April 12, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that a new Harry Potter television series is in development for the also newly announced combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service, Max. Exactly a week later on Wednesday, April 19, Lionsgate TV announced that a new Twilight TV series is also in development for an unannounced network/streaming service.

Culture

Onset aims to connect creatives

John Scott | April 17

“A LinkedIn for creatives,” is how the Onset app was described in an email to the Daily Lobo from the app’s founder Inès Bensalem. Bensalem, a French film producer in fiction and documentary work, started the app to take an industry that operates largely on word-of-mouth and put it into a more social media-like platform.

Culture

REVIEW: ‘Air’ is certainly a movie with a plot, but not much else

John Scott | April 10

If I had to pick an up-and-coming film trend bound to dominate both theaters and streaming platforms for the next couple of years, it would have to be the “nostalgia-ridden biopic featuring varyingly successful creative choices that feel subversive and fun for a subgenre largely dedicated to recounting real life stories.” This could describe a number of films released in recent years (2022’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” 2023’s “Tetris” and “Paint”). This list certainly includes “Air,” a film that is, if not anything else, moderately entertaining.

Culture

REVIEW: 100 gecs are slimier and sillier than ever on latest album ‘10,000 gecs’

John Scott | March 20

Oh, how we’ve missed you, 100 gecs. If you’ve been present in the online sphere since the duo, made up of Laura Les and Dylan Brady, released their first single, you’ve probably had at least one conversation with friends about whether the pair’s music is genuinely good or just a grating, mildly funny joke. Regardless, the group’s latest outing “10,000 gecs” proves that they’re here to stay, retaining the skilled production and irreverent self-awareness that made their debut so captivating while proving to have even more tricks up their sleeve.

Culture

Meow Wolf: Corporatized cash grab or subversive art experience?

John Scott and Addison Key | March 6

The Meow Wolf artists collective, initially founded in 2008 “as an informal DIY collective of Santa Fe artists,” has had a successful last few years with the founding of their flagship branch in Santa Fe in 2016 and opening subsequent locations in Denver, Las Vegas and a recently announced location in Grapevine, Texas, according to their website. With this expansion in popularity and monetization comes questions of authenticity — is Meow Wolf still the homegrown art exhibit it started as in 2008?

News

UNM celebrates Black History Month

John Scott and Zara Roy | February 13

Feb. 1 marked the start of Black History Month, a time to reflect, honor and appreciate the history of Black people in the United States as to further incorporate these discussions into the broader mainstream discussion outside of the month of February, according to the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The University of New Mexico has a calendar full of events hosted by various departments to allow students to celebrate and enjoy the month.

Culture

OPINION: No way to justify the Oscars’ continual snubbing of Black artists

John Scott | February 13

Casual and hardcore movie fans waited with bated breath on Tuesday, Jan. 24 to see what films would garner nominations for the 95th annual Academy Awards: would we see a best director nod for Gina Prince-Bythewood for “The Woman King?” or maybe Jordan Peele for “Nope”? Could Keke Palmer break through and grab a Best Supporting Actress — or even Best Actress — nomination?

Culture

Filmmaker irrigates a flow of change through documentary

John Scott | January 30

When asked about the one thing she wants people to take away from her films, tears formed in the eyes of Aracely “Arcie” Chapa, a documentary filmmaker and manager of multimedia services with the University of New Mexico’s Center for Regional Studies. She recounted a memory of attending a Rocky Mountain Collegiate Press Association competition. Her mother was a month away from dying. “She was so happy when I got back, and when I told her, (she) couldn’t believe I had won the big award. And she said, ‘Always use your talent to give a voice to the people who don’t have a voice and to make a difference.’ That’s always been my mission and my goal. That’s what drives me,” Chapa said.

Culture

REVIEW: ‘A Thousand and One’ is a hazy epic straight from a storybook

John Scott | January 30

It’s never too early to plan ahead: while some moviegoers concern themselves with what might take home the gold at the 2023 Oscars, others look to this year’s Sundance Film Festival, which has once again provided us an early glimpse at the films to watch for next year’s upcoming awards season. There may not be any making quite as many waves as the Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic winner “A Thousand and One,” whose millenium-spanning story announces writer-director A.V. Rockwell as a talent to watch.

News

UNM announces goals for 2023 legislative session

John Scott | January 23

With the start of the 2023 New Mexico legislative session on Tuesday, Jan. 17, the University of New Mexico unveiled its priorities for the upcoming 2024 fiscal year. The priorities focus on research and public service project requests and general outlined goals UNM seeks to further and accomplish prior to the session’s closing at noon on Saturday, March 18. The more general legislative priorities, outlined by the University’s Office of Government and Community Relations, include recruiting and retaining current staff, faculty and health professionals; improving student support services as well as “workforce development, research and public service,” improving campus safety, retaining state-funded scholarships, improving health care and health care access, and promoting economic growth, according to the Office of Government and Community Relations.