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Comments: Week of September 8, 2014

Readers sound off on David Fincher, Time Inc., and more.


1. Mark Harris’s “Fall Preview” cover story on the making of Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher “paints a detailed picture of the long struggle to bring Foxcatcher to life—challenges with financing, writing a screenplay,” wrote examiner.com’s Mark Palmer (“Obsession With an ­Obsession,” August 25–September 7). At nymag.com, one reader agreed: “As in-depth as all others should be about the process of pre-script to production. Appreciated.” But it was a short interview with Tyler Perry that probably made the most noise of anything in the issue. “If I had known who David Fincher was, and his body of work,” he told Jennifer Vineyard, “I would have said no” to a role in Gone Girl. “Wait,” wrote one reader. “Tyler Perry didn’t know who David Fincher was or his body of work before making this movie? That says a lot.” Vanity Fair’s Katey Rich wondered what the quote implied. “If Perry is telling the exact truth,” she wrote, “that means he’s giving his agent an extraordinary amount of power, signing him up for projects with directors he knows nothing about ... Then again, doesn’t it seem entirely possible that David Fincher has never seen a Tyler Perry movie? And that these two men, accustomed to being the first and last word on their own movie sets, could only get along because they didn’t know to try and one-up the other?” “I don’t know why all the hate for Tyler,” wrote one forgiving commenter. “What I see is a fairly humble guy who had a hell of a time making this movie. Not every film has to be Citizen Kane and this guy’s over-the-top success speaks for itself. I wouldn’t see one of his movies if you offered me $500, but a lot of people feel differently. And I think it’s cool he didn’t know who Fincher was. He’s clearly not one of those suck-up types that works the ball bag of anyone with Oscar cred. He’s in his own world doing what he loves. Haters gonna hate tho.”

2. “Iraq it is not, but Time Inc. is the most vivid case study of the crisis confronting all legacy media companies,” wrote Gabriel Sherman in his portrait of the flailing magazine company (“The Matter of Time,” August 25–September 7). “Yikes,” wrote the Huffington Post’s Jack Mirkinson. “Even the most heartening quote—from Time editor Nancy Gibbs, who told executives, ‘If you want to save money you can start with my salary’—is still pretty gloomy when you think about it.” Others felt the company’s problems were largely self-inflicted. “I know this is trollish to say, but I only see Time Inc. publications when I’m at a doctor’s office,” wrote one. And another: “The financial challenges confronting the company are real and even grim … Now ads on the covers, native advertising, and all the other tweaks being contemplated with the elimination of the church-state wall are supposed to change the dynamics of the business? Somehow I doubt it.”

3. “Like knights circling a dragon looking for patches of soft skin between the scales, smaller, newer companies have spent years scanning Amazon’s business model for weak points,” wrote Kevin Roose in a column on the e-commerce titan’s aspiring competitors (“The Plan to Kill Amazon,” August 25–September 7). “And now, increasingly, they’re finding them.” But readers weren’t so sure those patches were all that soft, or the dragon that vulnerable. “My money’s on Amazon,” Debra Carroll tweeted. “Selection, price, convenience. Really heard to beat. #happycustomer.” At nymag.com, one commenter agreed: “I guess they can keep looking for ways to put a dent into Amazon, but it’s not going to be easy. Amazon makes shopping there so easy.” Many readers argued that planning to “kill” the company was not even in a competitor’s best interest. “People can compete with Amazon without Amazon failing,” wrote one. “And we could be better for it. Competition will only spur Amazon to continue to innovate and keep prices low.” Another reader agreed. “Whatever time companies spend trying to kill Amazon,” he mused, “is time they’re not spending trying to attract customers or improving their own business. That’s a win for ­Amazon right there.


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