A movie ticket in New York is now $20...

...and I'm about to cry (or at least my wallet is). The story from Collider is here, but feel free to rant on the cost in the comments.

-Thoughts?

Variety fires Todd McCarthy as they elect to no longer have staff critics...

...making for a sad day in movie land for all critics like myself. Here's an article from the Los Angeles Times:

In a striking move that reflects changing state of film criticism, Variety has laid off its longtime chief film critic Todd McCarthy.

Neil Stiles, publisher of the Hollywood trade paper, said that chief theater critic David Rooney is being let go as well. "We are eliminating all full-time review staff for film and theater," he said.

The paper will now rely exclusively on freelancers and in-house staffers with other duties to review movies and shows. Stiles claimed that Variety will not cut back on the number of movie reviews it carries, which last year totaled about 1,200.

Variety and its competitor the Hollywood Reporter have always been known for reviewing a broader array of films around the world and at festivals than any other publications. Within the entertainment industry, Variety reviews have traditionally carried a significant amount of weight.

McCarthy is hardly the first high-profile film critic to lose his post, as scores of critics have been let go or have taken buyouts as the publishing industry struggles with declining circulation and ad revenues. However, the loss of a reviewer with the title of chief film critic could be a blow to Variety's credibility and prestige. McCarthy has worked at the paper since 1979.

"People still want to reviewed by Variety and we want to make sure we do at least as many as we have always done," said Stiles. "The challenge for us is being flexible in the face of economic realities."

Variety's chief television critic Brian Lowry, who also writes a column and a blog and occasionally reviews movies, will remain in his job, Stiles said.

-Thoughts?

Jeff Wells knows exactly what 10 films will be nominated for Best Picture this year!

Well, no, but in his rather odd attack that he posted on Hollywood Elsewhere on Awards Daily's poll on what readers think will be nominated for Best Picture (poll found here) he seems to dismiss almost every film in the running except for the 10 he decided on. I don't mean to attack Wells, but there's two things that bug me about this:
1. It's a poll of what readers think, not what will happen. It's that kind of mightier than thou attitude that turns people off to film critics and some bloggers in general, and it's something we desperately try to avoid here, so when I see it, it bugs me.
2. It's 100% impossible to have any certainty about what will end up being the 10 Best Picture nominees. Half the movies in contention haven't even come out yet, and a handful have barely been seen by anyone, so it really just is a guessing game now, so for Jeff Wells to declare game over with him the winner just seems irresponsible to me.
-You be the judge though....am I off base and Jeff Wells has it all correct or did Wells unnecessarily attack the poll on Awards Daily?

Batman Has No Limits...

As sort of an antidote to all the Bale bashing going on since his tirade leaked, I thought I'd try and go in the other direction, and while certainly I'm not apologizing for him or making excuses for his behavior, it's perhaps prudant to cut down on the vitriol.

-My main contention is that it's not real news. It's an "in the heat of the moment" conflict on set. It's taken out of context, and much like if you listened in on sporting events, there'd be heated exchanges you'd be shocked you heard. Bale may have been over the line in terms of verbal abuse, but his complaint seemed to be legit. The DP was obstructing his eyeline in what has been described as an emotional scene. He was in the moment, got thrown, and blew up. We've all been there.

-Again, I'm not defending him, but it's basically us commenting on a private moment. It just seems wrong to me. Hopefully this borderline gossip can be done with soon and we can get back to slightly less unimportant news.

-Feel free to comment and tell me if I'm completely wrong, right, in need of counseling, etc...have at it.