How’s this for a dotting of the “i” and crossing of the “t” with regards to Variety’s official transition into the PMC era? In between the Sunday preparation for and Tuesday arrival of Daily Variety‘s final print edition, the trade has announced the hiring of a new chief film critic.

The credentials of Scott Foundas, a native of Tampa, FL and graduate of USC, are long, diverse and impressive. As a result, Twitter congratulations are quickly pouring in. From this afternoon’s announcement:

The renowned writer was most recently the chief film critic for the Village Voice, where his reviews, essays and interviews appeared regularly in all 11 Voice Media Group publications. Foundas will remain based in Gotham and work closely with senior film critics Justin Chang and Peter Debruge on reviews and other commentary and reporting for all Variety platforms.

If film criticism is dead, the revamped twin towers of Hollywood trade journalism are not buying into it. One-time Variety critic Todd McCarthy is now at THR, while Foundas – many years ago a Variety contributor – has jumped from the alt-weekly world. The trade double-circle is now complete.