Film critics elbowed aside by Hollywood

Interesting piece from the Daily Telegraph's correspondent in Los Angeles, Catherine Elsworth, on "the demise of the film critic". She points out that a record number of movies have opened this year without press screenings, thereby "demoting the critic to the average Joe with no head start to pronounce on a new release." Elsworth says critics are furious that the much-hyped thriller Snakes on a Plane will open tomorrow without offering them a preview. They wonder whether it's a punishment for their scathing reviews of films that did well at the box office, such as The Da Vinci Code and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. But she has much more to say. (Via Telegraph Blogs)