Post #3 - Leonard Maltin’s 2009 Movie Guide and Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide, by Leonard Maltin:

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Being the editor of a reference book in the Internet age might seem like taking up sheepherding or manufacturing buggy whips. Why bother publishing a book when one can find all the information one needs in a matter of seconds online?

The answer is clear to me, if not to everyone: a lot of that "information" isn't always accurate. What's more, many sources on the Internet allow contributors to add or change material. That leads me to wonder, "Who's in charge here?"

When I make a mistake-and believe me, I do-I have to bear the blame. It's usually one of our readers who spots the boo-boo, but fortunately, I can fix it in the following edition; that's how our Guide has become more accurate with each passing year.

But there's more to a guidebook than a mere listing of facts; I find that it's a matter of selectivity.

For instance, when I saw "Catch a Fire", with Derek Luke and Tim Robbins, I thought I recognized one of the supporting players. Then, when I read the closing credits onscreen, I realized who he was: Marius Weyers, the South African actor who starred in the runaway sensation "The Gods Must Be Crazy" back in 1981. He also had a small but noticeable role in "Blood Diamond". Weyers may not be a star, but he's never stopped working, and while you won't find him listed in most cast lists for these movies, I think he's worthy of noting in our cast list.

Among the students in Billy Bob Thornton's class in "School for Scoundrels"-in relatively minor parts-you'll find two people who didn't make the cut in most cast rosters: Bob Stephenson, who had a costarring role as Jennifer Aniston's unlikely benefactor in Friends With Money, and Dan Fogler, a busy actor who won a Tony Award for his performance in "The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". (He went on to costar in the comedy "Balls of Fury".) We can't list every single actor in a movie, but when actors have familiar faces-and credentials like that-I think they belong in our book.

Another aspect of revising the book every year is staying current-not just by adding new movies, but taking stock of remakes, sequels, and rising stars. It might be something as simple as noting that "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" was remade (officially-if not rewardingly) as the Ice Cube comedy "Are We Done Yet"? Or that Ray Lawrence's Australian movie "Jindabyne", with Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne, expands on one of the Raymond Carver stories previously told in Robert Altman's film "Short Cuts". Or adding the talented Sandra Oh to the cast list of Rowan Atkinson's "Bean", made a decade ago. You'd have to go scanning down a list of names online to find her-if you bothered to take the time.

I'm not knocking the ‘net-I use it all the time. I'm just saying that reference books aren't yet obsolete.

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