Nathan Lee Clipped

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The Reeler's (and not, in this instance, Defamer's) Stu VanAirsdale reported an hour ago that another New York City film critic -- the Village Voice's Nathan Lee -- has been whacked for "economic reasons." Lee was a Voice staffer for a grand total of 18 months.

"My employment at the paper ends immediately," Lee said in an e-mail earlier today. "Someone else, alas, will be tasked with specifying the precise shade of periwinkle frosting atop the cupcakes in My Blueberry Nights. And so I am, as they say, 'looking for work,' though presumably not as a staff film critic as such jobs no longer appear to exist."

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on March 24, 2008 at 7:12 PM

comment #1

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

Judging by the Village Voice these days, he got out of there not a moment too soon.

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at March 24, 2008 7:45 PM

comment #2

jenyamato says ...

Holy crap, another one bites the dust. This is such a shame. Hope he lands somewhere else fast.

Posted by jenyamato at March 24, 2008 10:45 PM

comment #3

T. Holly says ...

And Jeff thinks the web has filled The Voice void.

Posted by T. Holly at March 24, 2008 11:19 PM

comment #4

Terry McCarty says ...

As far as film critics employed by NEW TIMES baron Michael Lacey go, he stayed longer at the VOICE than Lacey pet Robert Wilonsky did guest-critiquing on ROEPER WITHOUT EBERT.

Posted by Terry McCarty at March 24, 2008 11:30 PM

comment #5

scooterzz says ...

this is just so wrong....really....but there's a lot more to come.....ralph wiggins knows.....

Posted by scooterzz at March 25, 2008 12:41 AM

comment #6

Bob Violence says ...

I agree with Mgmax that this is probably a blessing in disguise, but I'll go on pretending it's actually some sort of karmic payback for calling Southland Tales last year's best film, which is about as close to "objectively wrong" as film criticism gets.

Posted by Bob Violence at March 25, 2008 2:27 AM

comment #7

Mgmax, le Corbeau says ...

The Voice became a void while the Web was still Arpanet.

I remember well when critics who knew something and could write, like Andrew Sarris, started being pushed aside for those who merely had the right gender/race and politics.

New Times may not be a good owner, but the Voice's decline long predates them.

Posted by Mgmax, le Corbeau at March 25, 2008 5:04 AM

comment #8

raygo says ...

I'll have to check to see what films he reviewed. Most of the time Village Voice reviews are just a series of random musings that seem to have little to do with the film, and are typically far too brief to give any real critique.

Posted by raygo at March 25, 2008 9:59 AM

comment #9