Thompson On Hollywood

LA Times To Lay Off 250

The bloodletting continues at the LAT, which announced today that it will lay off another 250 employees across the board. 17% will come from the editorial department. The current economic crisis, especially the local housing crunch, hurt the LAT, which depends on real estate ads.

Media Watch: LA Times Fights Over Magazine

The situation at the LAT just goes from bad to worse.

Nightmare Hits L.A. Times

The worst-case scenario is about to hit the L.A. Times, reports Variety and the NYT, where Sam Zell is about to wreck wreak havoc on the newsroom in order to help pay off his debt for acquiring Chicago Tribune Media. He wants to measure a newspaper staffer's worth strictly by column inches delivered. We all know that has nothing to do with quality. Every paper has their workhorses, their journeymen, their hacks, their pros, and their stars. Some write better, longer, and slower than others. Some can churn out the prose 24/7. It takes all kinds.

Looks like weekly Hollywood columnist Patrick Goldstein will be getting his blog under way in the nick of time. The LATimes links to me in various places on the site. But when Patrick links to me--my traffic goes through the roof. So that's another worthwhile measure.

The counterintuitive thing is to invest responsibly, make a good newspaper that people want to read, and sell ads. The worst case scenario is that Zell slashes and burns the LAT, turns it into something worse than USA Today, renders it unreadable and then kills it.

Here's an excerpt from the NYT:

James O'Shea, who was fired recently as editor of The Los Angeles Times for refusing to cut his newsroom staff, said Mr. Michaels's statements showed a misunderstanding of how newspapers work.

"The problem is the papers aren't producing ad revenue, and diminishing the journalism isn't going to solve that," he said. He said it was wrong to think that a paper could cut staff without reducing output and quality.

In his note to employees, Mr. Zell wrote that Tribune papers would be redesigned, beginning with The Orlando Sentinel, on June 22. Surveys show readers want maps, graphics, lists, ranking and stats," he wrote. "We're in the business of satisfying customers, and we will respond to what they say they want."

Fernandez Goes to THR

Hollywood Wiretap makes a fuss about LAT Scriptland columnist Jay Fernandez going to THR. They wooed him a year ago after an exodus of reporters--but weren't willing to give him enough money at the time. He wasn't on staff at the LAT though, and eventually, it helps to have a paying gig and benefits.

Oscar Watch: Predicts

At long last, the Oscar ballots are in and it is the week before the Oscar kudocast! It's time to make your fearless forecasts and plunk your money down in your office pool. (I can tell you one thing--it's not easy to come out on top here at Variety, where everyone is an Oscar expert.)

I'll be filing my final Oscar predicts today at the LA Times Buzzmeter and MCN Gurus O' Gold polls. Oscar expert Pete Hammond lays out what's at stake for the Coen brothers: they could make Oscar history and equal Walt Disney's 1953 win in four categories. I don't think they will, though...Oscar voters are likely to parcel out some wins for other movies too. I'm betting the Coens win picture and director and not adapted screenplay (Ronald Harwood could steal it for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and editing (as Roderick Jaynes). The movie could also pick up Javier Bardem and a sound award or two. I also don't buy into the thesis that No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood will cancel each other out. I suspect No Country will beat There Will be Blood in some categories like picture and director, and TWBB will win some others, like cinematography (because Roger Deakins is competing with himself and Janusz Kaminski will also pull some votes) and art direction.

As always, our own Oscar blogger Kris Tapley links to everything you'd ever want to know about the Oscar race, from Shootout's interviews with the likes of George Clooney to Nathaniel Rogers' latest Oscar symposium.

Here's Salon on the Oscar race, the LAT's Patrick Goldstein on No Country for Old men producer Scott Rudin, Film School Rejects, and Oscar forecasts from Stephen Schaefer and Scott Feinberg. (Send me more, by all means.)

Glenn Kenny is doing the same he said/she said Oscar ritual--albeit in blog form--that I used to love doing at Premiere. (I couldn't do it this year.)

Over at his Vanity Fair Oscar blog, The Reeler has come up with a novel (and morbid) way to liven up your Oscar pool.

Here's one clip from the Shootout Clooney interview:

And an ode to the Oscar nominees (hat tip Awards Daily):

L.A. Times Names Stanton as Editor

As times in the newspaper biz remain dicey and both the LAT and NYT face massive staff cuts and layoffs, Russ Stanton is taking over the helm as editor at the LAT. He plans to merge the editorial operations of the print and online editions. Good luck. It wasn't so long ago that many LAT writers labored over long features in the hopes of winning a Pulitzer prize. Now they're fighting for their jobs and the paper's survival. But the LAT brass know that making their online business pay is their only future.

Poland Vents on Old Media vs New Media

Every few months or so, Movie City News' David Poland goes on one of these rants about who's covering the industry on the old and new media side, usually involving swipes at the LAT and NYT Hollywood beat reporters and other rivals on the Internet.

While Poland makes some good points, I often feel that there's an element of envy involved in these outpourings. I agree with him that the LAT should let Claudia Eller loose--but the reasons why they wanted to defang her still exist: they aren't willing to take the inevitable heat from the studios.

I too admire Spout's Karina Longworth, but she is a child of the Internet; she's thriving in her fave milieu after trying to survive in a more conventional day job at Netscape Movies. Gawker Media's Nick Denton should give her the Defamer spot. She's not a witty charmer like Mark Lisanti--she's more of a NY film geek insider-- and there would have to be an adjustment, but she's a gifted blogger, and would bring her own following.

Strike Watch: Winners and Losers

Slate's Kim Masters.

NYT's David Carr.

LAT's Patrick Goldstein.

Best and Worst Online Marketing Gimmicks

The LAT has assembled a photo gallery of the best and worst online marketing gimmicks of 2007. Here's my Simpsons avatar.

McIntyre Joins L.A. Times; Grego Joins Hollywood Reporter

Bravo to my old THR crony Gina McIntyre, who is leaving The Hollywood Reporter after seven years to join the L.A. Times, reporting to Entertainment Editor Betsy Sharkey.

Here's the announcement memo:

2 October 2007 To the Staff: From: Betsy Sharkey, Entertainment Editor We are pleased to announce that Gina McIntyre will join the Calendar staff later this month as an assistant entertainment editor, replacing Rene Lynch, who has moved to the web.

Gina brings an extensive background in film and television journalism to her new post and will help shape our reporting in those areas, as well as pop music. She comes to us from the Hollywood Reporter, where her duties as managing editor/features included overseeing the "Next Generation" report, which spotlights the hottest young executives in film, television and new media; the Cannes Film Festival special issue; and the Indie Power survey. During her seven years at the Reporter, Gina also was part of the writing/reporting team that covered most of the major film festivals.

Early in her career, Gina edited "The 'X-Files' Official Magazine," which should make her our go-to person for any conspiracy theories.

Gina officially takes up her new post on Oct. 29 and will report to me.

Back at the THR film department, Carl DiOrio is now covering boxoffice as well as the legal/guilds beat, while tech reporter Carly Mayberry and legal eagle Leslie Simmons are now film reporters. And months after Glenn Abel's departure, Melissa Grego has taken over as web editor of THR.com. She was managing editor for TelevisionWeek after spending her first two years there as a news editor and also worked for Variety.

UPDATE: Here's LA Observed.

TIFF: The Visitor Hot Title

Acquisitions action is heating up in Toronto. One of the big titles is expected to come down Friday night: Tom McCarthy's The Visitor, which Participant Productions and Groundswell have partnered on. Here's Patrick Goldstein's preview. UPDATE: Dade Hayes tracks Toronto action.

Truth is, I just can't stand not being in Toronto. So I'm heading Northeast on Saturday.

LA Times: Portfolio's Swanson to Join Film Staff

Conde Nast Portfolio blogger Tim Swanson is joining the LAT as film editor in September, reporting to Entertainment Editor Betsy Sharkey. He's a great choice. I worked briefly with Swanson at Premiere; after I left he eventually replaced Sean Smith as West Coast Editor. (Smith recently left Newsweek for Entertainment Weekly, joining other ex-Premiere staffers Christine Spines and Nisha Gopalan.) Swanson knows the territory, and he's a deft writer and editor. He already knows ex-Premiere staffers Rachel Abramowitz and John Horn.

The trick will be in getting the LAT film staff to file more stories, and do more quick and dirty stuff for the web. They often prefer to chew on longer meatier features, leaving artful freelancers like Sheigh Crabtree to run around chasing daily stories.

But what does this mean for Portfolio? It's early days for so many staffers to be jumping ship. (Swanson was a contract player.)

The announcement from the LAT's John Montorio is on the jump.