Introducing the *new* Thompson on Hollywood by Eugene Hernandez (July 31, 2009)
I was in the Salt Lake City airport, on my way back home from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, when I learned that Anne Thompson would be leaving Variety. I immediately called her to find out more about her future plans. We kept talking as Anne considered the direction she wanted to go with her career. We’ve now spent six months not only discussing her ideas but also developing a plan to work together to build her exciting new site, and to integrate it fully within indieWIRE and SnagFilms. Today, we are excited to announce that Anne Thompson is moving her popular Thompson On Hollywood blog from Variety.com to the indieWIRE network. With the re-imagined site, Anne is declaring her editorial independence. It will launch this Monday, August 3rd at: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood. The move marks the latest step forward for indieWIRE as we continue to build our business to better serve filmmakers, the industry and moviegoers. Anne talks about the move in her final post on the Variety site. As far as I’m concerned, Anne Thompson is the leading voice from Hollywood and she has such a strong sense of how journalism about movies and the industry is evolving. She is an informed veteran with a topnotch editorial track record and a powerful Rolodex. Her new site will maintain many of the elements familiar to her regular readers but she will also expand her coverage to include new content areas and a broader focus on entertainment and cultural trends. I expect her new web home within the indieWIRE network to be a go to spot for news, insight and perspective on the industry, festivals, awards season, and the latest movies. In the wake of the dramatic shift at the Hollywood trade papers this past year, there are a number of online outlets that have emerged to track the ups-and-downs of the industry. Anne’s experience and background, not to mention her passionate love of the movies, will ensure that she remains a force to be reckoned with and I expect her to draw a rabid daily readership to her blog and indieWIRE generally. For more than two decades, Anne Thompson has been a leading journalist covering films and the industry. Born and raised in New York, she has been a contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, The Observer, and Wired. She has served as film columnist at Variety, and deputy editor of Variety.com, where her daily blog, “Thompson on Hollywood,” has run since March 2007. Anne was the Deputy Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter, the West Coast Editor of Premiere, a Senior Writer at Entertainment Weekly, and West Coast Editor for Film Comment. She wrote the film industry column “Risky Business” for L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times syndicate. She is a graduate of the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University, and teaches the fall semester of “Sneak Previews” for UCLA Extension.
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To be able to read my favorite film reporter’s column at my favorite film site is something I am very much looking forward to in the days to come. Congratulations to Ms. Thompson, and to indieWIRE for snagging her.
I couldn’t be happier. Anne Thompson was my favorite part of Variety and will be a rich addition to Indiewire. Good job!
Finally a showcasing Anne deserves. She provides the most timely and useful information about the world of films, both domestic and inforrnation. She loves to write (and does it well) and we love to read her.
Gary Meyer
An excellent new association! Intelligent, erudite, articulate, intuitive and in touch with what’s going on in indie film community. Congrats!
Congratulations to both Eugene and Anne; this makes Anne seem more accessible, since Indiewire is my first hit in the morning. Should be nicely expansive for both.
Catherine Wyler
Hey Eugene - you forgot an important part of Anne’s resume: she used to be a publicist! She handled flackery for more than a half-dozen movies (see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0859864/) and jumped full-time into the journalism game during the 1980s. Now, some of my best friends work as professional praisers, so I don’t understand why that part of her job history was left on the cutting room floor. Since then, she’s gone on to be a fine and competent reporter and, although she doesn’t regularly break important news stories like Nikki Finke and the NY Times, she’s still interesting to read and has a good relationship (sometimes too good, actually) with leading filmmakers. Here’s hoping that Anne becomes a good fit for IndieWire and together you guys bring in plenty of dough—and hopefully even a few scoops that will serve to blow some holes in Finke’s and Waxman’s egos. —Joey
When I heard that Anne would be moving to indieWIRE a few weeks ago I was quite happy. I think everyone knew she would find a new home, or make one for herself. I’m glad she’s landed with indieWIRE, an outlet that will allow Anne to truly gain her “editorial independence” as you so aptly put it.
Congratulations to you both!
- J. Sperling Reich
It’s terrific to see such a great writer joining your group. I also read her column regularly. Among other reporting, she always has a grat persepctive on various festivals and markets.
Wonderful news for indieWIRE and the community. Bringing Anne’s blog aboard is a coup!
What a smart move on indieWIRE’s part. Anne Thompson is the savviest industry observer we’ve got. Nobody can pull the wool over her eyes!
Welcome Anne. IndieWire gets better and better by the day! Thanks for also making an Acquisitions section in the news, something I had asked Gene for during Cannes. I like IndieWire’s responsiveness to its readers!
Yes, this is excellent news for indieWire.
Congratulations! Anne Thompson is the one journalist I consistently follow for both news and perspective (besides Indiewire itself of course). Great addition.
—B Ruby Rich