And finally, Jeff gets his very own page of Civilian Voices to express his views on the Internet's coverage of the film industry. (I told you this was going to be a long one.) I'll be back on Tuesday with a brand new column. That is, if you keep those e-mails coming. Have a very safe and happy holiday weekend, everybody!

"What's disappointing about web-based film coverage is its propensity to tell me what I already know and want to hear. That is to say, there is enough pandering on most movie sites to make a Floridian politician blush. It should perhaps come as no surprise while covering an industry priding itself in the construction of big-budget sequels to mediocre movies, sitcoms and comic books that a bumper crop of colorful Websites have all taken the initiative in becoming the digital successor to the shilling spirit of 'Entertainment Tonight'. The more the technologies change, the more the plot remains the same. Still, it leaves one disheartened nonetheless. A few years back I was watching Mary Hart and John Tesh rehash Batman Returns preview footage, interview Arnold about reprising his role in Terminator 2 and get goofy over that silly Wayne's World 2 trailer. Now I find Batman: Year One rumors at Dark Horizons, read Arnold transcripts about Terminator 3 off FilmForce, and chuckle about the Dieter fallout over at Coming Attractions. Doing a search on Ain't It Cool News, there are some twenty odd articles referencing this year's Get Carter remake, from initial casting news right up to the inevitable reader reviews. Despite coverage dating back to the Spring of 1999 and several passing positive remarks regarding the original film; the original's writer/director, Mike Hodges, is not mentioned once in any of those articles. Hodges just so happens to also have released arguably one of this year's finest films, Croupier. Searching for Croupier on AICN turns up no hits regarding pre-production or casting news. But nearly five months after The Shooting Gallery opened Croupier nationally, there was posted a lone review by site-contributor 'Persona' kindly complimenting Hodges' skill (the only discernible utterance of Hodges' existence anywhere on AICN). Moriarty, introducing the review, confessed not having caught Croupier yet. In the following weeks, Moriarty went on to review both Nurse Betty and The Cell, and revealed his 'geek frenzy' regarding Neal Stephenson's possible participation with the forthcoming Batman Beyond. Lest I be dismissed as a film-snob (a moniker I'd graciously accept as a compliment), I am not at all suggesting Nurse Betty and The Cell are unworthy of attention. I simply find it curious and a bit sad that today's movie sites -- run by folks proclaiming an avid, almost overpowering love of cinema -- devote so much more electric ink and publicity to two films opening wide on over 1,400 and 2,400 screens respectively. At least Mary Hart and John Tesh respected their audience enough to present themselves as little more than well dressed TelePrompTed drones. You can't read more than three fingers deep into Knowles' site without being inundated with inspirational reminiscences of movies past. Yet, when confronted by a modern filmic gem such as Croupier that most film-lovers would savor (even if they disliked it), AICN is almost entirely silent. You find no coverage prior to release. You read nothing about its opening on 19 screens in April. You hear nothing as the per-screen take more than triples in a month's time. Nothing but crickets as the film expands onto over a hundred screens in June. And mum remains the word at a peak of 141 screens in July. It is not actually until early August, thanks to one site-reader, that AICN's audience is even privy to the fact that Croupier is a movie at all -- never mind already five months into national release. Not to infer discovering diamonds in the rough is a lost cause on the Web, there is indeed hope -- albeit with an ironic twist. Thanks to a recent Internet article (from the 'old media' print press), my DVD player was put to one of its most rewarding uses just the other week. Based on The New York Observer's Andrew Sarris and his praise of 1971's Two Lane Blacktop, I was fortunate enough to bump into the works of Monte Hellman for the very first time. Immediately afterwards, I rented Hellman's Ride in the Whirlwind and The Shooting to furthered great satisfaction. Don't ask how I never noticed Hellman's work up until this point on my own. I can only express my gratitude to Mr. Sarris for mentioning a movie I should see, rather than one I'm likely watch. By the way, there are actually a few quick references to Monte Hellman on Ain't It Cool News. Just don't go there or to Coming Attractions or Dark Horizons or C.H.U.D. expecting any coverage whatsoever of whatever Hellman is currently hard at work on. After gobbling up so much space reassuring everybody the special effects in Spider-Man will be dapper, the costumes in Planet of the Apes will be wicked realistic, Final Fantasy will look stunning, and The Lord of the Rings could still potentially turn out even bigger and better than Star Wars... I guess there isn't much server space left for the Mike Hodges and Monte Hellmans of the world. Oh well, gotta run, 'E! News Daily' is about to start. -- Jeff

Thanks for the great e-mail, Jeff. If anyone else out there needs more than a little space here at Civilian Voices to express your views, don't be afraid to send me a lengthy e-mail. We can always find server space for well-thought out and informative letters.

 

Send your submissions to civilianvoices@roughcut.com

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Must be age 16 or older to submit a story. Stories will be edited for length and content by representatives of Roughcut. Not all stories will appear online. By submitting this story you agree that Roughcut has the perpetual right to use the submitted story, in any and all media, without limitation, as Roughcut may determine in its sole discretion. You also acknowledge that you will not receive any monetary compensation for the use, if any, of your story.