Mail from our readers

Fresh Faces
I think ”Faces to Watch” (#103 January, 31) once again shows just how much Entertainment Weekly continues to be the magazine to watch! It shows me the kind of sharp, well written, bad mama jama I expected it to be when I subscribed in the first place.
Leodies Jones Jr.
Chicago

What a delightful surprise to see your ”Faces to Watch” article featured 6 African-Americans out of 19 artists. It is refreshing to see a publication as reputable as EW give African-American artists their due press coverage. I was really blown away.
Terrie M. Williams
New York City

Thank you for your profile of Christian Bale as a ”Face to Watch.” Whenever I watch Empire of the Sun I am amazed at Bale’s transformation from a boy into, yes, a man. His talent is incredible, and he is one of my favorite younger actors.
Annie Young
Lancaster, Pa.

Murder, Inc.
Serial-killer and mass-murderer trading cards are not my idea of warning the public how killers operate. I can’t believe that EW would write about it. Eclipse Enterprises’ goal is not to warn or educate the public; its goal is obvious — to make money at the public’s expense! I hope there are companies with integrity that decide not to put this so-called product on their shelves.
Colleen M. Davis
Seattle

Radio Days
Your reviewer Ken Tucker talks about Ken Burns’ new documentary, Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio. In it he states, ”Burns’ underlying theme is a great one: He wants to explore the ways that brilliant men like Sarnoff, de Forest, and Armstrong could be denied the full credit they were due as inventors because their creations were almost immediately co-opted by big corporations.” To the best of my knowledge David Sarnoff never invented anything; he had inventors working for him. He was the primary corporate mogul instrumental in denying inventors their credit. He not only delayed the advent of FM and caused Armstrong great frustration but he also tried unsuccessfully to discredit Philo T. Farnsworth, who invented an electronic TV system before any of Sarnoff’s people could. As much as Sarnoff did to advance the industry, he did much harm as well, particularly to inventors like Armstrong and Farnsworth.
David L. Smith
Professor, Ball State University
Muncie, Ind.

• Overpaid
• I want to clear up a misconception about monies due to profit participants on films. If Bruce Willis’ new film were to gross $60 million at the box office (#102 News & Notes), and he has 5 percent of ”first dollar” gross, he would not receive $3 million. Gross participation is based on what the studio receives, which is about half the box office gross, so the studio’s share would be about $30 million. Bruce would have to settle for $1.5 million.
• Rod Liber
• Santa Monica, Calif.