Tampa Film Fan

film critics and film bloggers at war (with themselves, not each other)

There was a post recently on Entertainment Weekly’s Popwatch blog about the war on film critics. Newspapers all over the country are laying off film critics (and book critics, music critics, art critics…) and then Variety goes and slams professional film critics.

Meanwhile, some film bloggers are warring online (or as The Moviezzz Blog says “Blogger Fight! Blogger Fight!”).  Ryan Stewart at Cinematical is upset at not being included in the recent Comic-Con Masters of Web panel discussion and by what Robert Sanchez at www.iesb.net allegedly said at the panel about a blog owned by AOL (which means Cinematical) taking stories from his site without crediting him. This is what Sanchez had to say in response.

SlashFilm thoughtfully weighs in here.  Read Film Screen Rejects’ eloquent post here.  The Rec Show writes about the distinct appeal of different movie websites.

I miss the good old days when film critics looked down on bloggers and film bloggers railed against the main stream media critics.  Sigh….

farewell to film critic joel siegel

It’s possible to respect a person’s accomplishments without respecting the person.  Having talent and skill doesn’t necessarily mean that one is a decent human being or a good person. 

By most accounts, Good Morning America film critic Joel Siegel had both talent and decency. Siegel died at the end of June after a long struggle with colon cancer.

Roger Ebert wrote about Siegel’s supportive friendship, love for his son and his penchant for sending joke emails. FOX News’ John Gibson wrote about working with Siegel at the beginning of his (Gibson’s) career.  Harry Shearer shared stories at the Huffington Post about the pre-moustached Siegel who was an intelligent history buff.  At ABCNews.com, Bill Blakemore quoted several of Siegel’s reviews and wrote about his long career.

He will be missed.

www.bobrossmovies.com auditioning for guest hosts tonight

Received via email (delay in posting is totally my fault):

www.BobRossMovies.com is having an open casting call for guest hosts at Channelside Cinemas and IMAX on July 12 from 7-9 p.m. Be prepared to discuss and critique films and film news with Bob Ross in front of an audience that is “live to tape.”

Any questions, email production(at)bobrossmovies.com or call 813-254-1700. Check out www.BobRossMovies.com.

(Taken from Guzzo Brother #1’s e-newsletter. Thanks also to Eric Sturm for sending this to me.)

news and notes:free tickets at steve persall’s blog, upcoming films from picturehouse, local movie 100 tears

• The St. Pete Times’ film critic Steve Persall might have some movie tickets to give away on his blog Reeling in the Years. I love free stuff, but I LUV free movie tickets!
• Received via email: La Vie en Rose (opening at the Tampa Theatre June 29) is released by Picturehouse, the theatrical motion picture company that produces, acquires and releases feature films, and has brought to the screen some of our favorite films including A Prairie Home Companion, Pan’s Labyrinth, and Gracie. This summer, from Picturehouse, you can look forward to El Cantante, a music-infused biography of Puerto Rican, salsa pioneer Hector Lavoe, starring Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony; and Rocket Science, the first narrative film from Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound) which premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it received rave reviews and won the Directing Prize and many more. For more information about upcoming releases visit www.picturehouse.com.
• Congratulations to local filmmakers Marcus Koch and Joe Davison for the recent press attention their new movie 100 Tears recently received in the Tampa Tribune. I wasn’t able to attend the movie’s premiere at Channelside Cinemas this past weekend, but I heard that the turnout was good and the film was well received.

steve persall is back in the blogosphere!

Well, color me excited! The St. Pete Times’ film critic Steve Persall has started blogging again.  His blog Reeling in the Years can be found at http://blogs.tampabay.com/movies/.  Just when I’ve finally recovered from my separation anxiety caused when Persall suddenly stopped his last blog a while back – Steve, you didn’t even say goodbye!  You just went around the corner to the store for a carton of milk and never came back to the blogosphere! — he’s back to feed my movie blog addiction.

I enjoy reading journalists’ blogs and seeing the less-inhibited, open, sometimes wackier side of these well-known writers.  (If you’ve never visited the blog of Eric Deggans, the Times’ media critic, you should.  He’s great and is really funny.)

So far, Persall has blogged a great deal about local filmmakers, which is wonderful.  The more attention our local filmmaking community can get, the better.

Stop by Reeling in the Years and tell Steve I said hi.  Also, tell him about this local blogger you know of — Tampa Film Fan or something like that – who would make a really great subject for an interview or profile in the Times.  (Let’s get this grass-roots campaign going!)

the tampa trib debuts its “reel people” reviews

The Tampa Trib has added a new feature to its Friday Extra section today — Reel People “street team” movie reviews.

Welcome to Reel People. It’s a place where, you guessed it, real people like yourselves spout off on new movie releases.

Or as Sticks of Fire put it recently, “Bob Ross has been replaced by you.” ** I can’t knock the Trib’s idea too much, though, because the Friday Extra editors and writers are doing the best they can with what they have to work with.  It’s not their fault that Bob Ross and others were laid off; it’s the fault of the Corporate Powers That Be.  The current Trib staff members are turning lemons into lemonade.

The other reason I can’t knock the Trib’s new idea is because … gulp …  I’m now a Reel Person.  Yep, Yours Truly is going to get to see a movie or two every month for free, fill out my assigned paperwork, and have an excerpt or two appear in the paper.  (They had me at “free movie.”)

I had my photo shoot earlier this week (sounds glamorous, doesn’t it?) and am dreading seeing my head shot.  I’m absolutely terrified.  My hair was windblown, I had bags under my eyes from staying up late the night before watching Land of the Dead for the tenth time for some unknown reason, and I think I had lipstick on my teeth.  Hmmm…free movies versus personal humiliation?  Free movies or citywide embarrassment?

What can I say?  I’m a sucker for free movies.

**And yes, the Friday Extra folks are aware of my pro-Bob Ross, anti-Trib post, which I mentioned in a comment on Sticks of Fire.  My punishment will probably consist of having a horrible My Name Is Earl-type head shot and only getting tickets to movies like Norbit, Baby Geniuses 2 and Basic Instinct 2.

local film critic bob ross has new website

According to www.sticksoffire.com, former Tampa Tribune film critic Bob Ross now has a new website:

Your favorite local film critic goes global at www.BobRossMovies.com — a video-powered, user-driven web site featuring yours truly and a cast of thousands.   

I’ll be delivering my reviews two ways: As video clips and, in slightly longer form the traditional written way. Thanks to the high-tech artisans at Tampa Digital Studios (www.tampadigital.com), we’re going to have great graphics, frequent updates and lots of interactive input.

Check out our first entries. In addition to a couple of reviews (which you’ve already read on this site), there’s a personal pitch from me for audience response. First up is a poll asking for your preferences and what you’d like to see on a full-service film site.

We’ll also have camera crews at screenings, prizes for those who submit their own reviews, trivia, calendars and movie news from national and local sources. We’ll combine our own ideas with the suggestions we get from readers/viewers.

We’ll be adding new features over the next couple of weeks, from listings to archived reviews and interviews with filmmakers.

It’s new media. It’s the future. Most of all, it’ll be fun.

Please join us. Click early and often. That address again: www.BobRossMovies.com.

Thank you for your support.

I’m torn between excitement and panic — excitement over a great new local website and panic that no one will ever read my blog again.  (Sniff…)

catching up on some film news:bob ross, roscoe lee browne, 100 tears, gasparilla film festival

Between being under the weather last weekend and processing reams of real estate paperwork at my Real Job this week, I’m WAY behind with my blogging.  And the stack of DVDs on my floor keeps getting higher. Here are a few things that have been on my mind:

• Damn you, Tampa Tribune, for laying off some of the Bay area’s most respected and well-known writers, including film critic Bob Ross.  And what’s wrong with the Friday Extra insert?  It’s invaluable and the first part of the office-purchased newspaper to disappear at work every Friday.  Fans of Ross’ writing don’t have to jump off the Sunshine Skyway bridge just yet, because he’s now blogging at www.sticksoffire.com.
• Emmy-winning actor and writer Roscoe Lee Browne (The Cowboys, The Cosby Show) died earlier this month.  Read the full obit here.
• Local filmmakers Joe Davison and Marcus Koch are getting some well-deserved media attention for their new horror film 100 Tears.  I saw a preview a couple of weeks ago and can’t wait to see the whole film.  Even though we’ve seen the killer clown idea before, this film promises terror, suspense and great gore.  (If you’re not a horror fan, skip that last sentence.  Liking “great gore” doesn’t make me weird, I swear.)
• Photos from the Gasparilla Film Festival have been posted on the festival’s MySpace page at www.myspace.com/gasparillafilmfestival.

this week’s hot list

Here are a few things I like this week:

• Filmmaker Peter Jackson has purchased the movie rights to Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones.
• Awake in the Dark — a collection of 38 years’ worth of reviews, essays, interviews and profiles by Roger Ebert
• Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume 1
• Essential Art House:50 Years of Janus Films DVD set — Antonioni, Bergman, Fellini, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Truffaut and more.  If only I had an extra $850 to spend on myself.
• It looks like I don’t have to say goodbye to Fox’s TV show Standoff just yet
• Receptionist Pam from The Office has a MySpace page

five questions with online film critic norm schrager

Norm Schrager, senior film critic at www.filmcritic.com, graciously agreed to play Five Questions with me:

1.  What’s the last movie you’ve seen?

The Queen

2.  Which movies have meant the most to you and why?

Oddly enough, two Barry Levinson films have proven meaningful to me. Diner
was one of the first movies that really got me hooked on story, dialogue and
character development, and as a kid I loved all the crosstalk between the
characters. Avalon is one of my all-time favorite films — it reflects many
things that occurred for my parents’ parents so I feel a personal connection
and it has a wonderful melancholy without being sappy.

3.  Which movies could you watch more than once and still enjoy?

Almost Famous, The Exorcist, The Godfather Part II, Boogie Nights

4.  If you could meet any film character, who would you choose?

This might be cheating, but Mahatma Gandhi (as played by Ben Kingsley). That
would be inspiring, to put it mildly.

5.  If you could meet any filmmaker (living or dead), who would you choose?

I think a day with Coppola would be fun. He’s worked inside and outside the
Hollywood system, has tried to maintain integrity, and has admitted to going
for the big bucks now and again. He also likes the arts, good food and wine
and his family. Even if we didn’t talk film, it sounds good.