Thompson on Hollywood

Media Roundup: Multiple Changes in Movie Coverage

Reviews

The April 4 death of Roger Ebert unleashed an unprecedented outpouring of affection and appraisal. Ebert embodied the old and the new, the tough-nosed competitive reporter and film enthusiast as well as the new model internet communicator and brand-builder. On the one hand, he revealed as outmoded the film critic as expert expounding down to their audiences. But he also exemplified the authoritative experienced veteran whose opinion was valued. He had clout.

By Anne Thompson
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April 16, 2013 6:53 AM
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Roger Ebert Update: Funeral Held, Memorial Services Planned in Chicago

News

On Monday April 8 at 10 AM funeral services for Roger Ebert, who died Thursday at age 70, will be held at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral, 730 N. State St. Friends and fans are welcome on a first-come basis.

By Anne Thompson
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April 8, 2013 6:54 PM
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Obit: Roger Ebert was a Superman

News

Sad news. Roger Ebert has died of complications of cancer. The legendary and indefatigable Pulitzer-prize-winning film critic had announced Tuesday that he was taking a "leave of presence," per his journal on the Chicago Sun-Times. Since December he had been recovering in a Chicago rehab facility from a hip fracture. It turned out that the cancer he had been fighting since 2002 had returned. He is survived by his loving wife Chaz.

By Anne Thompson
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April 4, 2013 4:01 PM
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Now and Then: Why We Love GIFs, from Taylor Swift to Goats (VIDEO)

Reviews

Disclaimer: this will not be your usual romance. It involves Taylor Swift, a goat, and a lemon among its cast of thousands. It has no clear "meet cute," and may not reach a happy ending. In one sense at least, it has no beginning or ending at all. But somewhere along the way we fell in love with the GIF. This is one man's attempt to explain why.

By Matt Brennan
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April 2, 2013 3:49 PM
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Penske's Moves: As Daily Variety Prints Last Edition, Adds Critic Foundas, Reduces Movieline

News

Variety lovers are feeling mixed emotions. On the one hand, Penske Media Corp CEO Jay Penske is making changes that were long overdue. He has pulled down the firewall, modernized the website, added a troika of editors--LA Times import Claudia Eller (film), and Variety's Cynthia Littleton (TV) and Andrew Wallenstein (digital)--to run the online and print weekly trade, and ended publication of the print daily. Tuesday March 19 was the last print edition after 80 years. The revamped weekly publishes on March 27.

By Anne Thompson
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March 18, 2013 9:36 PM
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Now and Then: What's the Matter with Film Critics?

Reviews

The only genuine surprise of Sunday night's Oscar telecast — varying levels of predictability, misogyny, and self-congratulations being par for the course these days — came during the "In Memoriam" montage, which by definition should be the least surprising moment of all.

By Matt Brennan
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February 27, 2013 12:44 PM
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Film Critic Lisa Schwarzbaum on Movies, the Good, Bad and Ugly of Engaging with Readers, and Leaving EW After 22 Years

News

When Lisa Schwarzbaum announced earlier this month that she would be leaving Entertainment Weekly, I wrote her asking why. "I'm leaving under the happiest of circumstances," she replied. "22 years is enough for anything, don't you think?"

By Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
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February 21, 2013 2:57 PM
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Obit: Author Donald Richie Boosted Japanese Cinema

News

Donald Richie, who spent more than 60 of his 88 years in Japan and introduced the English-speaking world to post-World War II Japanese cinema, died February 19 in Tokyo. He is best known for his writings on the great Japanese directors Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu.

By Aljean Harmetz
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February 19, 2013 10:07 PM
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'Gangster Squad' Early Reviews: Action-Packed and Over-The-Top, Movie Stars Playing Cops and Gangsters

Reviews

Ruben Fleischer, director of "Zombieland," "30 Minutes or Less" and now "Gangster Squad," is facing some less-than-stellar early reviews for his would-be-noir thriller about the LAPD vs. gangster Mickey Cohen in 1940s Los Angeles, based on Paul Lieberman's book of the same name..

By Sophia Savage
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January 7, 2013 1:07 PM
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National Society of Film Critics Goes with 'Amour'

Awards

Always the last of the major film critics groups to weigh in, usually after the new year, the National Society of Film Critics has made its picks for 2012, led by much-lauded multiple winner "Amour."