Extra, Extra—Read All About It

The first half of the 20th century was a major time for newspapers—haven't y'all seen Newsies?—and the boom of the movie industry meant plenty of fodder for the press.

From the film's montage of newspaper stories that are skeptical about George's self-produced silent film, to the glowing reviews of Peppy's first sound film, the role of newspapers in the success or failure of movies and actors is just as important in the film as it was is real life.

And because The Artist is a silent film, it often uses written text to tell the story. The papers attribute lines like "I'm Not a Puppet, I'm an Artist" and "Talkies Are Not Serious" to Valentin. In a movie where dialogue is few and far between, these headlines add extra information (and extra depth) to George's character.

Sometimes the newspapers in The Artist even act like a soothsaying oracle, predicting the future better than the characters themselves. The day after the film premiere where Peppy bumps bums with George and steals the show, the headlines ask the question that starts Peppy's career rolling: "Who's That Girl?"

Once she becomes famous, the papers posit her as a household name: "Who Doesn't Know That Girl in L.A.?" Likewise, when George arrives at Kinograph after his nightmare, the maintenance man explains why the lot is a ghost town by handing him a newspaper.

The headline: "Kinograph Studios Stop All Silent Productions To Work Exclusively On Talkies."

Ouch.

Even the stock market crash is announced by the Los Angeles Tribune, and Doris throws a newspaper at George when he refuses to talk.

So: in the weird and wonderful world of The Artist, a commonly audible medium like film is silent, while a traditionally quiet medium like the written word "speaks."

Very clever, Hazanavicius. Very clever.