WASHINGTON, DC – SnagFilms, the DC-based site founded by Ted Leonsis and backed by former AOL co-founder and Revolution Chair Steve Case, has snagged well-known and highly respected Variety film critic Todd McCarthy for its indieWire network. It is yet another sign that film criticism and other cultural commentary is moving from the shrinking print realm to the expanding Internet.

“Changes in the media business have hit the critical community especially hard, threatening the reach of some of the strongest voices in film,” said indieWIRE Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder Eugene Hernandez. “Yet we are committed to making it an incredibly vibrant moment for film criticism, harnessing the power of the web to link leading writers with a broader audience.”

From Variety to the Internet

McCarthy was chief film critic and columnist at Variety, where he worked for 30 years until the publication let him go as part of its cost-cutting moves recently. Many in the film industry bemoaned the loss of McCarthy’s voice at Variety, which, like many print publications, is struggling to survive in an increasingly Internet dominated media world.

In his new blog Todd McCarthy’s Deep Focus at indieWIRE, McCarthy will bring his sharp critical eye and historical perspective to bear on important new film releases and major international film festivals.

H will also provide commentaries on older pictures, film life in Hollywood and around the globe, and cinema personalities of the present and past.

McCarthy joins journalist Anne Thompson (a fellow Variety veteran), noted film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, and critic Eric Kohn as recent additions at indieWIRE.

As fans of film in general and documentaries in particular, we can only applaud the increased access to less well known movies that sites such as SnagFilms provide. But we are particularly gratified to see that the Internet is providing a new home with an even larger and more diverse audience for the serious coverage of film online from top journalists with decades of experience.

Rick Allen, CEO of SnagFilms , which owns and operates indieWIRE, said, “Film matters now more than ever, culturally and financially. Timely insight is prized by those in the business and film fans alike – and while others are cutting back on coverage, indieWIRE is doubling down.

Also a documentary film-maker

McCarthy won an Emmy Award for writing the documentary “Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer,” while “Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography,” which he wrote and co-directed, won awards for best documentary of 1993 from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics.

He has also written numerous film-centric books.

SnagFilms features free ad-supported viewing of more than 1300 award-winning titles from some of the greatest names in documentary film production and distribution.

All films are fully shareable anywhere on the web. Since its launch in July 2008, SnagFilms’ library has been featured on over 2 billion web pageviews, via more than 80,000 web pages, and is distributed throughout AOL channels, and the websites of The Washington Post, the Miami Herald, the Chicago Reader, IMDb; portals like Hulu and Fancast; hundreds of non-profits, special interest sites and blogs; and thousands of social network pages.

Its backers, in addition to Leonsis and Case, include former digital executive Jean Case; operating executive and philanthropic venture capitalist Miles Gilburne; a group led by Ted and Jim Pedas, founders of Circle Films; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.