Happy New Year 2011

It’s now been nearly eight years since Roger Watkins, Peter Besas and Jack Kindred huddled in a London restaurant and decided to start up this website, which has kept many of the ex muggs in touch, and where we have posted a wide variety of notices, articles, comments, tributes and, alas, obituaries. Even if a few months should elapse without any new postings, remember we are still alive and kicking and open to all submissions which can be sent to: pbesas@hotmail.com.

As the years speed by, fewer and fewer of the old staff remain above ground, but those of us who have survived promise to continue posting this Site as an homage to those who have “gone West” (as the old World War I expression used to be) and as a platform for any of the old crowd that wants to post news or get in touch with those who used to work for the sheet that Sime Silverman founded in 1905 and whose curmudgeonly spirit we try to keep alive.

The Besas and Watkins families that run this Site wish all you ex Variety muggs all over the world a happy and especially a healthy New Year.

– 30 –

Soundtrack

Following are some of the tidbits we have culled from various muggs over the past few days:

Mark Adams now writing for Screen International in London… Deborah Young just finished her fourth stint as director of the Taormina Film Festival in southern Italy. She’s also still writing reviews for The Hollywood Reporter… Sandy Campomanes has shifted to a job with a new mag, Interior Design… John Dempsey ankled Variety about two years ago after umpteen years on the sheet, but we have no info where to locate him now… Todd McCarthy is now writing for the Indie Wire website, a film industry and filmmaker resource for independent and documentary film news, film festivals and awards. He’s no longer connected to Variety… David Stratton was recently a member of the Grand Jury at the Karlovy Vary film festival. “It was good to relax with an undemanding program in summer weather plus lots of delicious Czech food,” he writes us. David may be coming through Madrid at the end of August.

Ted Clark still living in his idyllic village on the French Riviera. He writes us that his only activity, other than keeping the village bistros in profit, is on the committee of an association that a few years back established a medicalised bi-lingual retirement home for the numerous foreigners who live in the south of France and for local French oldies who fancy an international atmosphere…

Jim Robbins checked in and said he’s no longer with “Fed”, whatever company that was… Liz Guider has been editor of The Hollywood Reporter for three years, and sez it’s been “interesting, fun, challenging, exhausting, and humbling”. She attended Cannes last May, and caught glimpses of some of the former muggs… Liz writes that Jack Loftus retired from Nielsen about three years ago, but no one seems to know his present whereabouts… Jay Blickstein touched base with us; he is now managing editor of Broadcasting & Cable… Pat Watkins is moving house next month, but plans to remain in Birchington, the charming English seaside village where she lived so many years with Roger.