Hollywood can’t seem to crack Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’

SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 2015 38

Hot-air balloons fly over a beach yesterday in St Peter-Ording, Germany. Pompeii to rise again in happy end to restoration saga ompeii is rising from the ashes again despite the worst that Italy’s mafia, and bureaucracy, could throw at it. The Pancient city, buried during a volcanic eruption in the first century, is undergoing a multi-million euro restoration which will see the preserved bodies of victims go on display at the site. But the transformation of one of the world’s most treasured archaeological sites has been a challenge both for archaeolo- gists and for Italy itself. Archaeologist Massimo Osanna was sent in to turn around the project two years ago amid reports of degradation of the ruins, of theft and even of looting by the Neapolitan mafia, the Camorra. He now has a 130 million Euro budget, most of it from the European Union. In March, UNESCO inspectors-who had threatened to take Pompeii off the list of World Heritage sites-acknowledged that there had been considerable improvements to the site’s conser- vation. “This is a really exciting time for Pompeii,” Osanna told AFP. “Thousands of people are working together. We currently have 35 construction areas on the site.” Pompeii’s transformation includes a new special exhibition of around 20 victims of the eruption, preserved in plaster with their expressions and positions fixed at the very moment they met their fate, carbonized by the intense heat of a 300-degrees Celsius gas cloud. Displayed for the first time, the bodies of men, women and children from Pompeii and neighboring Herculaneum-which was also engulfed by the eruption — are Visitors look at the bodies of eruption victims exposed in the ruins of ancient Pompeii. A tourist walks in the ruins of ancient Pompeii.— AFP photos laid out in a wooden pyramid in the middle of an ancient amphitheatre. A series of nighttime visits until September 27 give visitors the chance to explore the site by moonlight, with guided tours, in preserving Italy’s cultural heritage. started our work, the area had already been inspected and against a backdrop of a series of shutdowns at the site which left video installations and wine tastings based on a ancient Roman “This is a new era for Pompeii and our efforts are bearing repaired to ensure that it was secure,” she said as she finished angry tourists locked out and seriously embarrassed the govern- recipe. “We have followed UNESCO’s advice to extend projects fruit,” said Italy’s Minister for Culture Dario Franceschini, as he working on a site just metres away from the Agora, the spectac- ment. Some 120 workers sparked controversy two weeks ago beyond the initial deadline of 2015,” said Osanna. “We have the inaugurated the Palestra Grande (Large Gymnasium) on ular main square. Osanna said the region’s economic problems-it when they went on strike over overtime pay and closed the resources and we will carry on working.” Tuesday, after seven years of restoration work. The enormous is one of Italy’s poorest makes Pompeii a particularly complex doors. “Our actions have been twisted” by the press, said one of space surrounded by columns is where young Romans played site to work on, and he hopes the bid to improve conservation the workers who did not want to give his name. — AFP ‘A new era’ sports until Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79AD. efforts will be echoed by investment in the surrounding region. With 2.7 million tourists visiting the ancient city last year, the Restorer Paola Zoroaster said, “We are all specialized in differ- “We want a fast train which goes directly to Pompeii’s archae- ruins are the second most visited attraction in Italy after the ent areas, some in stone work, plaster, frescos and mosaics. ological site. We want the area surrounding the site to be just as Colosseum in Rome, and are seen as a symbol of the challenges “The conditions here on the site are good because, before we beautiful as the site itself,” he said. His optimism, however, comes FX boss: There’s ‘too much television’ with decline ahead ohn Landgraf, the CEO of FX networks, feels the audi- the clutter and create real buzz.” This trend won’t be going on One way for a programmer to navigate these stormy waters: ence’s pain. “I long ago lost the ability to keep track of much longer, he warned, saying 2016 will likely represent the cultivate and rely on that network’s own brand identity, which Jevery scripted series,” he confessed. “This year, I finally lost programming peak. can be a rallying point for viewers. track of the ability to keep track of every programmer who’s in “We will begin to see declines coming the year after that “Brand is a mission statement and a promise to viewers,” the scripted programming business.” Viewers, along with net- and beyond,” he said. An across-the-board erosion in ratings said Landgraf, whose FX brand represents shows that range work bosses, can all agree with Landgraf: “This is simply too will lead to this reduction in series as well as outlets that pro- from “Louie” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” to much television.” vide them. “You take a fixed audience and divide it by 400- “American Horror Story,” “Fargo” and “The Bastard Executioner,” Last year, he noted, the total of original scripted TV series plus shows, it stands to reason their ratings will go down,” he an upcoming series from “Sons of Anarchy” creator Kurt Sutter. had swollen to an eye-popping 370 - and he predicted this said. Meanwhile, viewers’ access to programs has extended “FX is a brand viewers love and trust,” he said. But while voic- year the number would likely exceed 400. Adding to the from the night a given episode is introduced to potentially ing confidence that FX can prevail, Landgraf didn’t soft-pedal influx, of course, have been program newcomers like Netflix any time after that, thanks to video-on-demand and digital the struggles that lie ahead for his network group and others. and Amazon and, in the season ahead, a boosted push by dig- platforms spreading out each series’ audience over days and “Managing through this transition is hard,” he declared. ital services such as Crackle. even months. Speaking for the shakeout that will face the TV business over- In this image released by FX, John Landgraf, CEO of FX With such a proliferation of viewing options, even the “You’re seeing a transformation in the mode that people all, he said, “It’s going to be a messy, inelegant process.” — AP Networks & FX Productions speaks during the Executive good shows contribute to the problem as they “get in the way are using to access television,” Landgraf added. With increas- Session panel at the 2015 FX Summer TCA on Friday at the of the viewer finding the great ones,” Landgraf said. “This has ing viewership on apps or subscription video-on-demand, Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. — AP had an enormous impact on everyone’s ability to cut through “that’s putting a lot of pressure on linear channels and ratings.”