A couple of days back, we wrote about why we love Jeffrey Wells’ ever-
informative Hollywood Elsewhere website / blog, and why we’ve visited his blog several times a day for years (as well as all previous web incarnations of Mr. Wells’ work, from Reel.com through Hollywood Confidential).
This weekend, we’ll focus on another of our favourite cinema-related websites, a link to which we’ve built into our Firefox Bookmark Toolbar, and suggest why you might give this website due consideration for a visit.

Anne Thompson’s Thompson on Hollywood: Former film columnist at Variety, and deputy editor of Variety.com, where she started the “Thompson on Hollywood” blog in March 2007, this New York-based writer has over the years contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Observer and Wired. From January 2005 to March 2007, she served as the Deputy Film Editor at The Hollywood Reporter and before that was the West Coast Editor of Premiere, from 1996 to 2002.
Before joining Premiere, Thompson wrote about behind-the-scenes Hollywood for Entertainment Weekly, and was West Coast Editor for Film Comment Magazine. From 1985 to 1993 she wrote the film industry column “Risky Business” for LA Weekly and the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. A graduate of the Department of Cinema Studies at New York University, she teaches the fall semester of “Sneak Previews” for UCLA Extension.

At present, Ms. Thompson publishes daily at IndieWire, where she’s their stalwart and their defacto lead blogger (Leonard Maltin and Peter Knegt, among others, also write for IndieWire), her clarion voice just as passionate as Jeffrey Wells’ voice, her spirit upbeat and her love (and knowledge) of ‘the movies’ unparalleled.
Anne publishes three or four items a day, she’s always informed and informative, and (thankfully, cuz we need a voice of reason in the movie criticism field) rarely as provocative as the indefatigable Mr. Wells.
Last year (a full year before the estimable Mr. Wells, “imitation being the sincerest form of flattery“), Anne Thompson joined with In Contention’s Kris Tapley in posting a weekly iTunes podcast titled Oscar Talk which, sorry to say, lacks the energy of Jeffrey Wells and Sasha Stone’s Oscar Poker, mainly because we find that Mr. Tapley comes across as ‘angry’, as an inauthentic contrarian, strangely passionless about the movies, and (in our estimation) simply not all that well informed. Ms. Thompson is always great, though: engaging and thoughtful, with a ready, warm sense of humour!
Anne Thompson’s Thompson on Hollywood is a daily must-visit for anyone who loves the movies, and who wishes to read an informed, generous and keen insight into worthy upcoming films, and the U.S. film industry.
Next week, we’ll write about more of our favourite cinema-related websites.

We’ve written about him before, and we’ll write about him again: Jeff Wells, of the cinema-related website, Hollywood Elsewhere, is our favourite online columnist, writer, racounteur, curmudgeon and all around high energy, take no shit, “I’ll speak my mind, and damn the consequences” online wonder, who posts about film — films that are upcoming, and the best of films past — and often American politics, six times a day, and more, writing cogently, with élan and savoir faire.
Mr. Wells’ output is impressive, as is his ability to write reviews at length, as he at all times remains utterly original and true to himself. Sure, he can piss his readers off, but that’s all to the good.

VanRamblings visits Hollywood Elsewhere several times throughout the day, each and every day.
There’s almost always some new, provocative and thought-provoking topic of interest available on his blog / website. For the most part, the ‘commentary’ on his site (those who comment on his posts) is first-class: sometimes the commentary is screamingly funny, and almost always the commentary is thoughtful, well-considered and informative.
Again, for the most part, Mr. Wells (can we call him Jeff?) allows his commenters free reign, and although I’m sure he doesn’t appreciate it, the site is sometimes at its best when Mr. Wells finds himself under amiable attack. We particularly appreciate those who comment on Jeff’s site about his propensity to define people relating to the ‘thread count’ of their clothing, bedding or bathroom towels, or when he used to refer to his upstairs neighbours (he’s since moved) as Hispanic party elephants — there’s a ludicrous, whacked-out craziness (we mean our commentary to be read with the deepest affection for Jeffrey Wells) to his frustration.
Jeff almost never ‘holds back’.
VanRamblings’ appreciation for Jeffrey Wells has grown that much more since the recent début of his and Sasha Stone’s iTunes podcast, Oscar Poker. Both Jeff and Sasha are incredibly well-informed about film, the film market, and the work of prominent actors and directors past and present.
Their rapport on Oscar Poker is utterly relatable, natural and becoming, informed and compelling. Honestly, Oscar Poker’s two commentators come across as if they’re lovers, their affection for one another deep, abiding and respectful. At all times (despite Jeff’s propensity to be curmudgeonly, which Sasha Stone only laughs at — with a knowing affection for Jeff, cuz he’s outrageous but right) both Jeff and Sasha come across as generous and thoughtful commentators and human beings — these are people you’d actually like to get to know, to discuss ‘the movies’ with over a beer.
That those who follow Wells’ website affectionately attack him for his sometimes intolerant rants allows Jeffrey Wells the opportunity to come across as all the more human, for all of us are flawed, and all of us can be intolerant at times — and if you’re reading this, and you know you’re perfect, neither Mr. Wells, nor VanRamblings, would wish to have anything to do with you, and would recommend to you most highly that you repair, as soon as possible, to a psychiatrist for some much-needed talk therapy.