In another reminder of the harsh realities of film journalism, Daily Variety announced yesterday that it was dismissing its veteran film critic Todd McCarthy in a cost-cutting move. They also laid off theater critic David Rooney and other staffers. The trades are often the first places movies are reviewed, so McCarthy wielded considerable critical clout in Hollywood. Probably the best response to the sad news is from film critic Roger Ebert. Check out his post here on who McCarthy is and what it all means.
Mar 9
2010
08:32 PM ET
'Variety' fires lead film critic
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Is it time to trim the fat at EW yet?
EW let several people go last year.
Terrible. McCarthy was one of the best critics in the country. What is Variety without film critics? It’s like the Wall Street Journal firing their financial reporters.
So what? Who cares? Critics are a blight on art and society. They create nothing, merely leeching off other’s work. I’ll cry about a plumber or a mechanic losing their job first. THEY contribute to society.
and yet here you are on ew.com
i don’t agree with that at all. Everything you choose to be surrounded with – movies, art, culture, books – have been hand-picked for you by critics. They’re an essential tool in guiding you through what would otherwise be a endless field of unfiltered work. I personally believe that the strong backing of the critics was responsible for The Hurt Locker’s rise and BP win this year.
It’s people like you who make trash like “Transformers” & “Twilight” hits & encourages Hollywood to continue making that type of trash.
What the hell is the point, then? It’s literally the only reason Variety is on my radar. I could get my entertainment info anywhere on the web. I go for the great, intelligent film reviews. Grrr.
I hate for anyone to lose their job that truly loves what they are doing and are trying to be fair and honest in their critiques. But when critics write biased reviews of films without even seeing the movie or write inexplicably filthy reviews just for the sake of being perverted or write glowing reviews for garbage, I along with any sane American no longer value the reviews of such critics. I check out the trailer, ask friends or family that may have seen the movie already for their opinion or I ask the ticket person at the box office what’s good and what’s bad. They are surprisingly honest and will tell you what to avoid (lol).
You ask the ticket person? Are you for real? And what if your friends and family haven’t seen the movie yet. And you trust the trailers? Do you watch Entourage. There was a great episode where the movie was a total bomb and the studio knew it, so the studio was constructing the trailer to get people to go see it. Entourage is written by “inside” people who know what goes on in Hollywood. And to the person who says critics review without seeing the actual movie. Seriously, you think that? You must be one of those conspiracy people.
Matt I told agree with you. And asking someone who works at the theater what they think makes very much sense. They see who comes in and out and the general audience reaction.
They have saved me some serious money.
It’s always sad to hear someone lose their job but film critics are pretty useless to the younger generation. Most people that watch movies trust their friends over what a film critic says. Most magazines and newspapers are going under so I expect this trend to continue.
Exactly. Let them get a REAL job.
how is journalism not a real job – and yes being a movie critic qualifies as journalism. i can understand how someone might see a review as pointless, but look at it as expanding on a simple comparing and contrasting statement like “avatar is just like pocahontas…” – if ever i dont get to see a movie i end up reading various reviews instead. anyways this saddens me as i look at my degree in journalism from penn state collect dust.
That is a REAL job.
What a stupid comment.
That’s true but “the younger generation” ages fast. Trust me.
Yes, journalism is a very real job. A career I plan on entering one day. It’s sad that these people are losing their jobs, but we don’t know the details as to why, so what can you really say for a fact about the issue.
Even if their friends are idiots?
That’s why there’s so much junk coming out of Hollywood. Young people who trust their addle-brained friends over intelligent commentary. Go Transformers! Smokin’ Dude. Yeah, I trust you youngins to choose good movies.
As a former member of the younger generation I’d like to point out you do grow up and like to read things, most of us anyway.
I hope you get rectal cancer!!!!!
I think there’s a bias against critics because they don’t always side with the lowest common denominator and encourage readers to check out complex, sometimes disturbing films. Most Americans, apparently, would rather watch a series of explosions and CGI-effects held together by a series of cliche plot points.
Amen, dizzyspins. Intellectuals have always been vilified in our society (and others. (By intellectual I mean anyone who reads above a 6th grade level, our standards haven’t gotten so low). I’ve read comments on this site from readers who have said hateful things about the critics just because they didn’t agree with the critique of the film.
Oops, mean to say “have gotten so low”.
Sad article but look at the bright side – one day, EW might do the same to Lisa Schwartzbaum to the delight of ALL their readers! (I see a movie version being put together by Harvey Weinstein called ‘The Bright Side’ starring Sandra Bullock in her next head-scratching Oscar winning role…)
That’s pretty funny, TorontoTom, but sadly it won’t happen — Lisa is all over the magazine (reviewing books and plays as well as movies) so I don’t think she’s going anywhere. This is just a strange story. Was McCarthy pulling in such a huge paycheck that they couldn’t work it out? It just seems like an odd move.