Adieu Patrick Goldstein's LA TIMES "Big Picture" column.

Further Goldstein Thoughts :: Hollywood Elsewhere

Patrick Goldstein was a part of the LOS ANGELES TIMES for quite awhile; I first remember reading his rock-gossip "Pop Eye" column.  And for the past dozen years, he was on the film Industry beat, writing "The Big Picture" column mixing "what directors and studios told me" anecdotes, Right-leaning salvos against Hollywood liberals (I remember singer/songwriter Nellie McKay taking a few minutes during a concert at Sunset Strip's Roxy to vent her irritation about Goldstein), and annual columns about film-savvy teens rating their interest in Summer Movies based on trailer viewing.

Whether or not one liked Goldstein's opinions, he was certainly readable on a regular basis.  But the LOS ANGELES TIMES is evolving in terms of entertainment/film coverage into TV-tabloid (sort of like this week's Tony Scott Danger Seeker article), fluffy, zippy-and-zingy, etc.  And if Patrick Goldstein is nudged into taking a buyout (ending his TIMES career), it's safe to guess that Kenneth Turan (who's the 2012 equivalent of THE NEW YORK TIMES' Bosley Crowther circa 1967; i.e. Not Down With Contemporary Film Pop Culture) will be asked to walk the plank.

UPDATE 10:53 p.m.: Geoff Boucher, who wrote the "Hero Complex" column for the LOS ANGELES TIMES (focusing mainly on fanboy-favored Big Movies), is also being let go from the paper according to chatter on Twitter from various people in the film critic/reviewer communities.

NBC's Ben Silverman steps down.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006519.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/07/the-long-wait-is-over-ben-silverman-finally-out-at-nbc.html

Ben Silverman, as NBC exec and Reveille majordomo, will probably be best known for making the American version of THE OFFICE a reality. Otherwise, Silverman's track record is mixed, with a lot of aim-really-low reality-show junk on his watch.

And, with the 10-11 p.m. hour ceded to the low-cost THE JAY LENO SHOW, it will be interesting to watch the results of NBC's prime time schedule for 09/10.

Patrick Goldstein on Judd Apatow's editphobia.

I've only just managed to read Patrick Goldstein's LOS ANGELES TIMES piece on Judd Apatow's apparently mule-ish determination to make the upcoming FUNNY PEOPLE two-and-a-half hours long (those familiar with Apatow's other self-directed comedies, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN and KNOCKED UP, may be aware that Apatow has a compulsion for including just about every bit of comic improv/scripted antics whether they work or not--and let's not forget the even-longer DVD versions):http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/05/memo-to-judd-apatow-your-movie-is-too-long.html

I don't always agree with Goldstein (first a rock-and-roll, now a film gossip columnist), but this time we're in perfect sync.
[UPDATE 6/12/09: Apparently, the running time for FUNNY PEOPLE has shrunk to a still-lengthy 2 1/4 hours.]

Nikki Finke on delay of SAG strike authorization vote.

Whether or not the Screen Actors Guild "vote yes for strike authorization re the AMPTP contract" contingent or the actor/producer contingent (including George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Danny DeVito--thinking more of their production deals than of rank-and-file actors) urging members to vote no (and wait three years for the next negotiating period) wins out is an open question at this time.

Here's Nikki Finke with her opinion of the delay in the strike authorization vote--and why she thinks it may be a good thing: http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/dhd-to-sag-forget-strike-authorization-ballot-vote-on-contract-proposal/

Regardless of who wins or doesn't win the issue of the current SAG contract, the switch of TV episode reruns to websites (aka New Media) from over-the-airwaves broadcasts is a big deal and actors deserve proper residual compensation. To my mind, regardless of the AMPTP propaganda (sometimes transmitted by Patrick Goldstein of THE LOS ANGELES TIMES), it's a lot better that SAG and the producers get this worked out now than waiting another three years--when there will be other AMPTP-created reasons not to deal with the New Media issue.