Afterwards: “Austria in Hollywood – Composing for the Dream Factory” – on March 11th from 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – The “kulturMontag” presented by Clarissa Stadler on March 11, 2024 at 10:30 p.m. on ORF 2 brings a summary of the previous Oscar night with an overview of the winners and best moments of the 96th Academy Awards. The program also reports on the new Viennese Actionism Museum and its unusual creation, and the upcoming amendment to the 100-year-old Austrian monument protection law is also the topic of the cultural magazine. The documentary “Austria in Hollywood – Composing for the Dream Factory” (11:15 p.m.) by Barbara Weissenbeck then puts the spotlight on a young generation of Austrian musicians who are continuing the work of the great pioneers of film music.
Glitter and glory – who will win the Oscar race?
Who has the most sought-after golden boy in their pocket? Who is the favorite and who goes away empty-handed? If it were up to the global “Barbie” fan base, this year’s Oscar would definitely be rosy. After all, the blockbuster was the most commercially successful film of last year. It is all the more disappointing for those involved and fans that of the “only” eight nominations for the coveted trophy, Greta Gerwig as director and leading actress Margot Robbie came away empty-handed. Things are different for Christopher Nolan and his biographical drama “Oppenheimer”, which is considered a safe front runner with 13 nominations, as is the western gangster epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” by Martin Scorsese as one of his strongest rivals. Or will Giorgios Lanthimos’ eleven-time nominated feminist Frankenstein experiment “Poor Things” with Emma Stone prevail? Maybe Jonathan Glazer can also convince the Academy with his Holocaust drama “The Zone of Interest” and the terrific Sandra Hülser? “kulturMontag” shows the highlights of the 96th Academy Awards Gala. In a live broadcast to Los Angeles, ORF film expert Christian Konrad analyzes the Oscar night.
Private versus state – The new Viennese Actionism Museum
The news of a private museum for one of the most radical artistic movements of the 20th century has made waves in the local art scene. The “WAM”, the Viennese Actionism Museum, opens on 800 square meters in the middle of Vienna’s city center. The initiator is the Viennese gallery owner and collector Philipp Konzett, who, together with a financially strong consortium, purchased a huge collection from the Friedrichshof collection. As a lasting tribute to Günter Brus, Hermann Nitsch, Rudolf Schwarzkogler and Otto Mühl, around 900 oil paintings, thousands of photos, graphics, drawings and watercolors were produced two years ago from the municipality that was dissolved in 1990 and founded in 1972 as an alternative model of society and life in Burgenland had acquired from the managing cooperative. Hubert Klocker headed the most extensive private collection of Viennese Actionism and initiated the takeover of part of the holdings by the Museum of Modern Art in 2002. The then director Edelbert Köb wanted to establish the museum as an international competence center for Viennese actionism. But his successor Karola Krauss could not or did not want to expand this legacy any further. For the museum itself, a purchase for financial reasons was simply an illusion. There is no word on how much Konzett and his partners paid for the works of art. The motivation for the extraordinary project is to secure one of the most important collections – not just for Austria – which is now to be made public for the first time. How does such a financial show of strength work out, given that Viennese activism is heavy stuff? “kulturMontag” asked.
Fresh paint? Amendment to the Monument Protection Act
Around 40,000 objects are under monument protection in this country – the relevant law, passed on September 25, 1923, is now literally getting old and needs a new coat of paint in order to be fit for the next century. Preserving cultural heritage costs a lot of money and not all – often private – owners can afford to keep the buildings in good condition. Others deliberately allow buildings to fall into disrepair in order to then build something new and profitable. That should now change, at least if the government has its way. Until now, the Federal Monuments Office had no recourse in cases in which owners allowed objects to fall into disrepair purely for profit purposes, so that demolition was the last resort. The amendment also includes measures for energy efficiency and sustainable energy production. UNESCO World Heritage protection should also be precisely stipulated in the new law in the future and the Federal Monuments Office should take on a central coordination role. In addition, an additional six million euros are made available annually for funding. The amendment will be presented to the Culture Committee on March 12th. “kulturMontag” took a close look at the law.
Documentary “Austria in Hollywood – Composing for the Dream Factory” (11:15 p.m.)
What would the dream factory be without music? The Viennese Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold are considered to be the inventors of the typical “Hollywood sound”. In her documentary, director Barbara Weissenbeck shines the spotlight on the contemporary generation of film composers from Austria who are perpetuating the Hollywood myth with their soundtracks.
Compose until your fingers bleed: Hans Zimmer calls his music empire “Bleeding Fingers Music”. The German is one of the busiest and most renowned film composers in the world. Anyone who can join their team has made it. This applies to 32-year-old Carinthian Adam Lukas, who, among other things, has an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Music Composition” in his showcase. He has been accompanied by music since childhood – albeit from a completely different genre: his mother Dagmar Obernosterer has written countless lyrics to popular hits, and her walls are full of gold records. Anyone who works for the dream factory like Adam Lukas doesn’t have time to wait for inspiration. When asked where his gift for finding the right tone under pressure comes from, he says: from Carinthia.
Today, young talents are discovered less through talent scouts and more through social media. The 21-year-old Viennese Lily Marlovits put her own composition on TikTok a few years ago – and was blown away when she received a call from a producer in the USA. A little later she packed her bags, landed in Los Angeles and was signed by the film composer duo “The Newton Brothers”. Since then, her musical work has continued to grow.
Linz native Paul Haslinger’s path to Hollywood led him to Hollywood via a classic audition. For years he was the keyboardist of the band Tangerine Dream, which also created film music. Today he single-handedly composes and produces for films and computer games, primarily in the horror and suspense genre. He became internationally known with productions such as “Motel”, “The Girl Next Door” and “Underworld”.
Also speaking in Barbara Weissenbeck’s film are the actor and film music PR agent Thomas Mikusz, who knows all the secrets of the industry, as well as Walter Werzowa, professor of media composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Also the composer Roman Kariolou, who works in Klosterneuburg, discusses past and future film music with director Robert Dornhelm in his studio.