July 2
July 3
July 4
Diminished Capacity
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson
We are Together
July 9
July 11
August
Eight Miles High
Journey to the Center of the Earth
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
July 18
A Very British Gangster
Before I Forget
Felon
Lou Reed's Berlin
Transsiberian
July 22
July 23
Another big-name print critic has been trap-doored -- Newsweek's David Ansen! One of the best critics in the country, certainly one of the wisest and most learned, a good fellow and a major voice on the big-time movie circuit since 1977 is being proverbially put out to pasture due to plummeting ad revenues and the general downswirling of dead-tree journalism. Ansen, 63, is one of 111 Newsweek staffers who accepted buyout deals last week.

Radar broke the story two or three hours ago. Variety's Anne Thompson is reporting that Ansen "will continue reviewing for the magazine until year's end, at which point he starts a year-long contract as contributing editor delivering reviews and longer features."
"Obviously the climate at newsmagazines is not great," Ansen told Thompson. "More cost-cutting, more trimming." He said he's looking forward to writing books, teaching and "not going out to screenings every night," he said. "I want to watch DVDs of movies I might actually like and read a book or two. Face it, a lot of movies are not that interesting to write about these days."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 30, 2008 at 04:31 PM
Posted by D.Z.
at March 30, 2008 05:28 PM
comment #2
says ...D.Z., are you confusing People Magazine with Newsweek? 'Cause the Newsweek I know features news on politics, international affairs, the environment, and on and on. And there's pop culture news. In the back. For five pages.
Just like US Weekly. Right.
Anyway, it's a shame that Ansen's going. Just proves that no one (except maybe Ebert) is safe from the print critic going the way of the dodo.
Posted by js1
at March 30, 2008 06:13 PM
Posted by D.Z.
at March 30, 2008 06:46 PM
Posted by erniesouchak
at March 30, 2008 06:54 PM
Posted by js1
at March 30, 2008 07:26 PM
Posted by BurmaShave
at March 30, 2008 07:46 PM
comment #7
says ...I'm glad Ansen has something good waiting for him - assuming the deal he made doesn't become fubar - but it's sad to see another knowledgable critic leaving because of cutbacks. While I may have disagreed with him, I always enjoyed reading him.
Posted by lipranzer
at March 30, 2008 07:55 PM
comment #8
says ...D.Z. apparently has not looked at an issue of Newsweek in many years. The current editor has no use whatsoever for arts coverage, tabloid-style or classy. Ansen and the other talented entertainment writers there have been severely marginalized for a long time. I'm surprised they didn't lay off every entertainment writer on staff, since they refuse to let any of them write anything. It's sad.
Posted by Jimmycrackcorn
at March 30, 2008 08:12 PM
comment #9
says ...This seems as insane as firing Pete Hammond from Maxim. Does Newsweek not want publicity from film companies any more? Are they just going to stop film coverage altogether, or pay freelancers a pittance?
I know from working in a theater that the public wants reviews to help them decide what to see. Yet publications seem to think no critic is worth it nowadays.
Increasingly, I suspect the only ones who will continue to work are those prepared to do it as a hobby regardless of what their principal job is.
Posted by LYT
at March 30, 2008 08:58 PM
Posted by Wrecktum
at March 30, 2008 09:04 PM
Posted by Mr. Blood Vessel
at March 30, 2008 09:39 PM
Posted by corey3rd
at March 30, 2008 10:03 PM
comment #13
says ...LYT wrote:
This seems as insane as firing Pete Hammond from Maxim. Does Newsweek not want publicity from film companies any more? Are they just going to stop film coverage altogether, or pay freelancers a pittance?
NEWSWEEK probably wants the kind of film coverage they got a decade ago from folks like Corie Brown and Jeff Giles--go-along/get-along.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at March 30, 2008 11:04 PM
Posted by Jimmycrackcorn
at March 31, 2008 01:09 AM
Posted by thorsen1nk
at April 1, 2008 12:48 AM
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)