Film Fatale

Got issues with the New York Times Arts and Culture section?

Now's your chance to mix it up with new editor Sam Sifton, who's taking questions from readers who care, dammit, about which film reviewers review which film, how (and why) the paper of record covers gossip and celebrity culture, and why the Monday arts and business sections bother to print weekend box office numbers on Monday morning.

That last one's an excellent question--the "win/lose" horserace reporting is reductive, the Monday AM numbers and rankings are unofficial and often unreliable. Besides, Variety has the real numbers on Tuesday afternoon--why not report those?).

Scroll down to read Mr. Sifton's praise for Jennifer Aniston. "Well, here's the thing," says the Timesman, she's "kind of a good actress. I can say that without being a board-certified critic. She is. (Rent "Office Space" and see if you don't agree.) She is also ridiculously famous. And I think it's just plain interesting to see how she negotiates that divide, to understand how she is forced by circumstance to make real artistic decisions at the same time that her personal life is undergoing dissection at the hands of tabloid editors and the paparazzi. (And at the same time that she is, at one level or another, courting the attention.)"

Times employees are hereby invited to tell Movie City News whether Mr. Sifton has Our Jen's image as a screensaver. Your anonymity will be assured.