edited by Jonathan Doyle

Cloverfield [BLU-RAY] (Paramount Home Entertainment, 6.3.2008) Disguised under deliberately goofy, yet deliciously edible-sounding, aliases such as Cheese and Slusho, Matt Reeves' Cloverfield was produced and rushed into theaters under an equally appetizing shroud of secrecy. From last year's incredibly elusive Super Bowl ad to the film's viral marketing campaign, Cloverfield had everybody scratching their heads and drooling in anticipation. Aside from the as-yet untitled title and the Blair Witch-ian visual style, the film's biggest appeal was the enigmatic creature who was last (un)seen hurling the decapitated head of the Statue of Liberty onto the crowded streets of New York City. All we knew about the mysterious beast was that it was big and angry. Now that the highy-anticipated project has come and gone, one question has fortunately been answered: Cloverfield was a major success. (continued)

Upcoming

July 2

Hancock

July 3

The Whackness

July 4

Diminished Capacity

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson

Holding Trevor

Kabluey

We are Together

July 9

Full Battle Rattle

July 11

A Man Named Pearl

August

Eight Miles High

Garden Party

Harold

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Meet Dave

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

The Stone Angel

July 18

A Very British Gangster

Before I Forget

The Dark Knight

The Doorman

Felon

Lou Reed's Berlin

Transsiberian

July 22

Two Tickets to Paradise

July 23

Boy A

Kill the L.A. Times

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Wall Street Journal reporter Thaddeus Herrick wrote yesterday (8.29) that "some" in the real-estate industry "believe that real-estate swashbuckler Sam Zell, who is in the process of buying the Tribune Co. (i.e, owner of the L.A. Times), could sell its properties, including the Los Angeles Times building." Zell declined to comment for the piece, and "most real-estate experts acknowledge that the value of the Tribune Co.'s real estate is minimal compared with the company's overall assets," Herrick reported.

If I were Zell I would go all Genghis Khan on the L.A. Times. No one half-complicit in deadwood dilletante-ism would be safe from my terrible swift sword. I would slash the people who are holding on just to hold on (including as many sacred-cow upper-level execs as possible) and unload the Spring Street building and move the staff into some less pricey warehouse space in Flintridge or La Canada. I'd have a lot more reporters work from home and maybe come into staff meetings once a week, if that.

You don't need lavish central headquarters. You don't need all the flush perks. You don't need highly-paid editors driving big fat SUVs out to their McMansions in Westlake Village. It's time for everyone to start living like Parisians (I've been there -- they ride to work on buses or the Metro, or on scooters) and live outside of the lazy corporate-comfort membrane. It's time to downsize and get rid of the apparatchiks and gravy-train riders.

We all know the heyday of the L.A. Times is over. I love all the Calendar reporters and critics (Horn, Goldstein, Turan, et. al.) but everyone I know hates the big messy thing itself, particularly those awful , brightly-colored pull-out promotions and the feeling that you're contributing to the decimation of the Northwest forests every time you buy it. I don't know a single soul who really loves the L.A. Times, and I'll bet thousands hate it as much as I do. (A friend just told me the other night she's cancelling her subscription...good!) I know this will be painful for employees, but the sooner that this messy and flatulent lump of a newspaper is finished the better it will be for Los Angeles because something new and more vibrant and essential will take its place. On to the new and off with their heads.

Chicago building blown up<< previous | next >>"Atonement" gang

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on August 30, 2007 at 07:49 AM

comment #1

erniesouchak says ...

I would be happy to "live like Parisians" if it meant 8 weeks of paid vacation per year.

"Hate" is far too strong a word for the way I feel about the Times. In addition to Turan's reviews, which don't appear often anymore (is he working on a book, or what?), I enjoy its Food section (I love that they have their own test kitchen) and the occasional great investigative piece or series. Otherwise, I don't think about it. And frankly, I prefer its voice over the Weekly's.

Speaking as someone who often works from home, I can say its cons match its pros. If a business only wants to save money, it's the way to go, certainly, but if employee morale is at all a factor in the equation, which perhaps it should be, transitioning everyone to work from home should be handled very carefully. Sounds like there isn't much morale left at the Times; what's there should be bolstered.

Posted by erniesouchak at August 30, 2007 09:38 AM

comment #2

pm123 says ...

For all the people who bitch and moan about the L.A. Times - have you seen the newspapers elsewhere in the country? Try San Francisco - the Chronicle is an embarrassment - AP wire stories fill the paper, which is about fifteen pages long. The Tribune is not bad, but it isn't half the paper the L.A. Times is. Too many color ads!? Yes, it's an annoyance and a waste of paper, but come on. Talk about missing the forest for the trees (pun intended). Newspapers may be undergoing radical changes, but you can't beat reading the L.A. Times over breakfast - in our house the kids read the comics and the sports, the parents do the crossword, and when you want to see a movie, you grab the calendar section out of the recycling - the internet will NEVER replace that...

Posted by pm123 at August 30, 2007 09:38 AM

comment #3

christian says ...

one big problem with the times is the creep of paens to corporate servitude with unending unquestioning articles in business and calendar sections about how cool and exciting it is for actors, bands, tv shows and movies to pimp endless products now.

plus their stable of consistently wrong neo-con hack columnists and wishy washy editorials gives the paper little intellectual stature.

welcome to the machine!

Posted by christian at August 30, 2007 10:15 AM

comment #4

Walter Sobchak says ...

"Print is dead."
- Dr. Egon Spengler, New York, 1984

Posted by Walter Sobchak at August 30, 2007 11:49 AM

comment #5

pm123 says ...

"neo-con" hack columnists? Like who? I think they do a pretty good job of presenting a balance of opinions. Every neo-con hack is matched with a neo-progressive hack, for the most part, as they should be. The real sad, telling detail is the fact that of all the bits Wells puts up on his site, this one has gotten the fewest responses, by far. Ouch. I guess print is dead. Very sad. I'm sick of reading ranting, partisan hack "blogs," either from the left or right. Use a filter, people!

Posted by pm123 at August 30, 2007 05:13 PM

comment #6