Odds: Wednesday - Slow.

By Alison Willmore on 08/16/2006

Patrick Goldstein gets all curmudgeonly about the whole print critics/web critics thing at the LA Times again. We have run out of things to say on this topic — though there are still plenty of others out there who haven't — so we'll direct you to Xan Brooks at the Guardian's blog, who at least uses amusing British slang.

So the pundits become the punters and the punters become the pundits until it's hard to keep track of exactly who is who. The irony is that, just when Hollywood thought it had killed off the critic, the reviewing population is exploding beneath its very nose, and their opinions are spread, free of charge, across the internet. The studios might be able to crush a handful of scribblers but a whole planet's worth is a different matter altogether. There are simply not enough wild devil dogs to go around.

In other news, Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts at the Washington Post report how Dan Futterman was cast to play slain journalist Daniel Pearl in Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart":

Security concerns were so high that all involved were sworn to secrecy. Because they hoped to be perceived as a documentary or news crew, the filming took place without any Hollywood trappings. There was also some concern because Futterman, like Pearl, is Jewish. "One thing I admire about Danny is how proud he was of his heritage, and how he refused to lie about it, no matter where he was," he said.

Futterman, 39, was picked for the part two months ago after a two-hour meeting with Winterbottom. "The movie's not about Daniel Pearl -- it's about the search for him," Futterman said. "We talked a lot about the balance, showing enough to make an impact. By all accounts, he and Mariane had a really blessed relationship." The actor has met with Pearl's parents: "They were extremely generous, but I was aware that it was an incredibly sad meeting to be having."

Via the AP, the rumors are confirmed: Johnny Depp will play the lead role in the adaptation of musical "Sweeney Todd," with Tim Burton set to direct. And in our favorite headline of the day, Canadian site Movies Online announces that "3 Hotties Join Hostel 2" — those would be Lauren German, Bijou Philips and Heather Matarazzo. Yup, Dawn Weiner.

Jake Coyle at the AP interviews Bill Murray about nothing in particular, as far as we can tell — but hey, it's Bill Murray:

"I tell people I'm retired," says Murray, 55.

This at first sounds like a bombshell that would strike a lightening bolt of sorrow in the lives of the King of the Deadpan's fans. But he continues.

"I kinda like this Jay-Z thing, where he's retired, but he keeps doing shows. I think I beat him to that," Murray says. "If you say you're retired, people don't bother you so much, and then if you want to do something, you can do it."

At Kaiju Shakedown, Grady Hendrix points to this open letter from Ursula Le Guin in which the author rips Goro Miyazaki's first Studio Ghibli film, "Gedo Senki (Tales From Earthsea)," to bits. Le Guin has done this before. A selection:

In August 2005, Mr Toshio Suzuki of Studio Ghibli came with Mr Hayao Miyazaki to talk with me and my son (who controls the trust which owns the Earthsea copyrights). We had a pleasant visit in my house.

It was explained to us that Mr Hayao wished to retire from film making, and that the family and the studio wanted Mr Hayao's son Goro, who had never made a film at all, to make this one. We were very disappointed, and also anxious, but we were given the impression, indeed assured, that the project would be always subject to Mr Hayao's approval. With this understanding, we made the agreement.

At that time, work had already started on the film: a copy of the poster of the child and the dragon was given us as a gift, and also a sketch of Hort Town by Mr Hayao and the finished version of it from the studio artists.

Work on the film went on extremely rapidly after that. We realised soon that Mr Hayao was taking no part in making the film at all.

I had a very moving letter from him, and later one from Mr Goro. I answered them as well as I could.

I am sorry that anger and disappointment attended the making of this film on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.

I am told that Mr Hayao has not retired after all, but is now making another movie. This has increased my disappointment. I hope to put it behind me.

And Arthur J Pais at Rediff notes that Karan Johar's "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (Never Say Goodbye)" had a $1.35 million opening weekend, the highest ever for a Hindi film in North America. The New York-set film features Bollywood superstars Shahrukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. In his review in the New York Times, Neil Genzlinger wrote that "For something so silly and so long, the film is surprisingly engaging, thanks largely to its very watchable actors."

+ Critics' Voices Become a Whisper (LA Times)
+ Critical mass (Guardian: Culture Vulture)
+ Lying Low on Location While Portraying Daniel Pearl (Washington Post)
+ Depp, Burton let hair down for musical (AP)
+ 3 Hotties Join Hostel 2 (Movies Online)
+ Bill Murray on car chases & 'retirement' (AP)
+ URSULA K. LEGUIN SPEAKS OUT ON GHIBLI EARTHSEA (Kaiju Shakedown)
+ KANK, big hit overseas (Rediff)