Dann in reel life: A peek behind 'Page One'

Reel Life review: ‘Page One: Inside The New York Times'

Hollywood couldn't create a character like New York Times media columnist David Carr. Feisty. Smart. Pugnacious. A former homeless drug addict, Carr quickly becomes the dominant personality in Andrew Rossi's impressive behind-the-scenes documentary “Page One: Inside The New York Times.”

It doesn't seem plausible that the staff and leaders of the NYT would let Rossi shoot the inner workings of the staff meetings and intimate chats between the editors and reporters just as the Gray Lady (the NYT's nickname) gets hit with the perfect storm of a tanking economy and deserting advertisers swarming to the Internet.

“Page One” at least has the appearance of being the genuine article, even though it seems that those wireless microphones strapped to the employees might be a constant reminder to keep their game faces on and their debates restrained.

“Page One” refuses to be a schmoozy valentine to the paper. But it doesn't unearth much corporate dirt, either.

We meet whiz kid Brian Stelter, who tries to train the paper on how to surf the Internet wave. Editor Bruce Headlam has in his office a French poster for the newspaper movie “Citizen Kane.” (Headlam points out that Orson Welles never had the narrow waist depicted on the poster.)

We get a general feel for what it must be like to work at the Times, especially during the hard period of corporate layoffs a couple of years ago.

We get a glimpse of the personalities and conditions that drive its coverage, although Rossi skips over many sections of the paper, such as sports and arts.

Rossi's scattergun approach takes in many facets of this amazing communications titan, but never stops to thoroughly examine anything in detail.

Whenever the pace bogs down, Rossi tosses in some footage of David Carr, a galvanizing personality with the drive of a bulldog and the no-nonsense style of Lt. Columbo.

Don't be surprised if some TV network already has plans to launch a series titled “Carr” or “New York Times Confidential.”

“Page One: Inside The New York Times” opens at the Century Centre in Chicago. Rated R for language. 87 minutes. ★ ★ ★

Must see best film?

Be prepared for an avalanche of hyperbolic critics' blurbs this weekend as Paramount Pictures rolls out the ads for Michael Bay's partially Chicago-shot action film “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.”

What can we expect? The obvious ones are “Best ‘Transformers' yet!” and “Best film of the summer/year!” (Even though the summer isn't over. Or the year.)

Most of these blurbs will be supplied by critics you've never heard of, media people of dubious credentials and taste who praise (or agree to praise) movies so they can be quoted in national movie advertisements. They carry the unflattering nickname of “quote whores.”

Not only do some supply effusively glowing, hyperbolic notices for unworthy movies, they have also been known to make up different versions of quotes to please studio bosses, or sign their names to quotes actually created by studio executives.

How can you spot these sleazy blurbs? Easy. They fall into 10 basic categories:

1. “A must-see!”

2. “(Actor 1) and (Actor 2) are at the top of their game!”

3. “A masterpiece!” (or “a classic! or “an instant classic!” or “a triumph!”)

4. “It's howlingly entertaining!” (or use any adverb of choice, such as “wildly,” “marvelously,” “hysterically,” etc.)

5. “The greatest/funniest/scariest/most romantic/most thrilling movie of the year!” Or summer. Or season.

6. Any combination of the easy, vaguely undefinable superlatives “Great!” “Perfect!” “Magnificent!” or the empty promise that “It will blow you away!”

7. “(Actor 1) and (Actor 2) light up the screen!”

8. “Keeps you guessing until the very end!”

9. “A thrill ride!” (or “a roller-coaster ride!”)

10. “It's a winner!” (even if the movie hasn't won anything)

Let's not forget the most brain-dead piece of manufactured praise ever created in the history of movie quotes: “It's awesome!”

And because “Dark of the Moon” is a 3-D film, we can expect gushy superlatives such as “This is why 3-D was invented!” or the most obvious blurb, “The best 3-D movie since ‘Avatar'!”

Sometimes, bona fide movie critics actually get their blurbs in ads, but most of them try to avoid sounding just like quote mongers. As I've noted before in this column to critic Jeffrey Lyons, when a major critic adopts the signature catchphrases of the quote mongers, the public doesn't make much of a distinction.

Film critic Erik Childress of Elk Grove Village keeps tabs on this continuing journalistic sham at efilmcritic.com.

Teen fest needs flicks

If you're a filmmaker 12 to 18 years old, you can enter up to three submissions in the fifth annual Teen Film Fest to take place Aug. 19 at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Ave. Arlington Heights. Deadline is Aug. 12. I'll be there to host the event. I'll also be the judge. But don't worry. There will also be an audience award, so anything can happen! Call Tom Spicer at (847) 506-2629 or go to teenlibrarian@ahml.info for rules.

• Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire's column runs Fridays in Time out!