Todd McCarthy, Welcome to the Ether

· Joanthan Poritsky

Just wanted to jot down a few quick thoughts on Todd McCarthy’s recent announcement that he is joining the indieWIRE blog network. As you may recall, [Todd lost his job as Variety’s chief film critic](http://blogs.indiew ire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/03/08/variety_lays_off_its_lifes_blood_critic s_mccarthy_and_rooney/) the day after the Oscars this year. As a result, the press exploded with opinions on the death of film criticism, with the usual culprit being the online blogger/critic. Now, Todd has found a home online, the very land that supposedly caused his undoing.

Bet you idiots feel pretty stupid now.

There really is no better fit for Mr. McCarthy than indieWIRE, a network that has defined and redefined the online cinema magazine/trade publication time and time again. The real loser here is Variety, who has taken nearly every misstep possible in the age of internet journalism. Their pay wall will eventually be their undoing, but by literally handing their golden boy to the free competition, Variety seems to have put the nail in their own coffin.

Mainly, I would like to say welcome, Todd; the ’net is happy to have you. I have no doubt that you will enjoy an online career as exciting as Roger Ebert or David Bordwell. Film journalism, and especially criticism, is not dead but alive and well online. If ever we see a weakening in the art of film writing, we can only blame ourselves. The internet has nothing to do with it.

(If you’ve been wondering where I am, all my film writing is at the candler blog, but you can also see my work peppered on Greencine Guru, Heeb Magazine, and NachosNY.)