Mike Fleming

People Magazine has hired a new film critic to replace Leah Rozen, the mag’s critic since 1997 who took a buyout late last year. The gig went to Alynda Wheat, who spent the last six years at Entertainment Weekly. Rosen’s exit came at a time when media was lamenting the death of film criticism. While things haven’t improved that much — the big shocker for me was the exit of my former Daily Variety colleague Todd McCarthy — any fear that People would phase out reviews is dispelled by this hire. I must confess she was not on my reviewer radar (frankly, I never heard of her), but it’s not surprising that People would hire from within the Time Inc magazine family.