Friday, December 19, 2008

Film Critics in Peril on a Cliffhanger: A HND@Grassroots Podcast

INTRODUCTION

What's shaking California?!!

Film critics are a dying breed, since they're either stuck online, being laid off from print publications or going off to Grad School. Dave Hudson himself gathers the tales of woe—this is clearly not the time to be a Journalist, but a perfect time to start digging ditches and hoping for New Deals.

But before all that comes to pass, have a listen to this impromptu podcast we recorded in early December featuring Variety associate editor Peter Debruge, who wrote up the whole "OMG NYC HAS BLOG WRITER" trend last week and quotes most of the people he met with. Of course, it's also important to mention Peter's invite was forwarded to a good number of us—I got mine through a third party. Don't fret, I'm still not a real critic dear listeners.

In addition to Peter, we've got a decent crowd for this canned chat: Lauren Wissot (Infamous for Various Reasons), Michael Joshua Rowin (The L Magazine, Stop Smiling); House contributor and Cine File Andrew Schenker, S.T. VanAirsdale (The Reeler, Defamer). There's a myriad of topics covered in this episode, ranging from the soul of a critic to why the hell someone would turn down work based on their soul. We cover it all—and it basically boils down to the following: some people subscribe to that nasty "Journalism" concept; others believe being a critic means keeping chaste, pure, and being able to lift their nose up to work that others would gladly take from them.

To hear the breaking news visit The House.

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